After Teodor told me the name of the God that he was worried about, he left before I was able to question him about the God named by Grand, and I couldn't help but become annoyed with him, even though I did not call him back to tell me what he meant by everything he said and let him leave.

There was a chance I would be finding out more about him in this quest to find this Red Wolf and kill her...

I bit back an annoyed sigh and shook my head before I started to walk to the front of my tent, feeling very exhausted but knowing that I had to check on my clan before I could do anything like getting some much needed rest.

It had been a long couple of days even before all of us had to leave the castle...

I pushed the flap of the tent before I started to walk around, and the few people that were still hanging around outside bowed their heads when they noticed me walking around and checking in on things.

No one tried to stop me or ask me something, and I had a few people give me curious looks before they turned to go back to what they were doing while some decided to retire for the evening and went to their tents.

I watched as some of them left before I continued to walk around, making sure that everything was fine and only paused when I heard people talking to each other somewhere to my left, and their voices were barely above a whisper so that I couldn't hear them nor what they were saying.

But I could tell that it was something important and could possibly be dangerous to not only myself but to the people that I swore to protect...

My whole body grew tense, and I couldn't help but wonder if it would be a good idea for me to go see what was going on and make sure that there was nothing going wrong with the people that were fighting with each other.

I took a deep breath and released it with a small whoosh, deciding that it wouldn't be a good idea to do that but having this feeling that I should stop it before something else could happen because I had a feeling that I knew who were arguing with each other and why they were arguing with each other.

Oh Gods, keep them safe...

I stepped on a branch to signal that someone was there, and the talking stopped while they looked that way.

"Who is there?" the person, Teodor, asked, and he sounded very protective of the male that he was near. "Come out now, or else I will kill you."

I bit back a small snort and walked over to them, placing my hands behind my back and clasping my hands together. "It's just me, you two," I said. "Are you sure that you want to kill me or to threaten to kill me?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I walked over to them and looked at Teodor, not angry but only amused.

Teodor's eyes grew wide when he heard my voice, and he instantly bowed and cleared his throat while he took a step away from Nikolai as if he wanted to make sure that my gaze was solely focused on him and not his Beloved. "My apologies, Your Highness," he said and bowed lower. "I didn't know that it was you."

"I know," I said and dipped my head closer to my chest before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "I know that you didn't mean anything about it and were only trying to protect someone weaker than yourself." I gestured toward Nikolai, and Nikolai scoffed a laugh and rolled his eyes, scowling.

Teodor bit back a small smirk and slowly nodded, but he didn't say a word as well. He glanced at his Beloved before he looked at me, and a look of guilt and pain flashed through his eyes.

"If it would please you, Your Highness, do you mind if he trains me?" Nikolai asked and raised an eyebrow in question while he studied me, silently asking if he would be able to have alone time with him.

"Unfortunately not," I said and shook my head, and both of them stared at me when I said that, and a look of shock and fear flashed through their eyes. I raised my hand to stop Nikolai from saying a word, and I waited until he closed his mouth and pursed his lips in annoyance. "I do not mind if he trains you when I am nearby, but I do not want you to talk or be alone together. Is that understood?"

Nikolai scoffed a laugh and rolled his eyes, pursing his lips in annoyance. Pain and sadness filled his eyes, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes and scowl because I knew what he was thinking.

I glanced at Nikolai from the corner of my eye and held back another eye roll. 'As I have told you before, Nikolai, I want you to stay alive and well. You are my best friend and one of my only true friends. I do not want to lose you, especially if it is found out that you two have been fated together and were not given a chance to choose.'

Nikolai glanced at Teodor to see him watching us with a blank look on his face before he looked at me. 'I am your only friend, Your Highness,' he teased and flashed me a small smirk and a wink. 'I do not know what you mean by me being your "one of your only true friends" when the only other person that you hang out with is your sister.'

I held back an eye roll and set my jaw but didn't say a word because what he said was true, he was my only true friend and was someone that didn't seem to want to be friends with me only because I was the next in line to the throne.

'Come on, admit it, Your Highness,' he teased while he bowed his head, and he bit back a small smile. 'I am your only friend, and your sister doesn't count.'

I bit back a tired sigh and shook my head. 'No,' I said, earning a small snort from the servant and a curious look from the guard who swore to protect me. 'I will not admit to anything about you being my only true friend when that isn't true.'

Even though it was the truth and something that I didn't want to admit out loud...

Nikolai bowed his head and bit back a small chuckle, and I had a feeling he knew what it was I was thinking. 'Of course, Your Highness,' he teased, and I scowled and narrowed my eyes. 'We will not discuss that out loud, even though we both know that it is true.'

You have my word...