"Robin," Joyce came barging into his room.
He looked at his sister and couldn't hold back the tears as he hugged her and sobbed on her shoulder.
"Are you alright? Why are you crying?" Joyce asked, her voice laced with concern.
Robin shook his head, not sure what to tell her.
"Are you crying because of that asshole Dmitry Ivanov? Coward. Ran away at the slightest hint of danger," Joyce said with disgust.
"What are you talking about?" Robin asked.
"I am really sorry, Robin. Alphas are assholes. Selfish bastards. His advisors asked him to leave the Marcella palace in fear of being assassinated. They think that because the King of Sarai was killed, they were next. The fucker didn't even bother to say goodbye to his mate. What kind of Alpha is he?"
"I don't think he is my mate," Robin replied. Victor's proclamation comes to haunt him again.
"You think so? I think so too. Thank goodness," Joyce said with a sense of relief.
"Joyce, I killed my mate," Robin said, barely holding back the quiver in his voice. He never wanted to be tied down to an Alpha, well god granted him his wish in the worst way possible. He would be mateless for the rest of his life. And he would blame himself for it.
"Wait. Wait. Wait. What are you saying?"
Robin bit the inside of his lips as a fresh wave of tears formed in his eyes. He told her the whole thing with Victor omitting the fact that he was the Prince of Dhasur.
"Oh, Robin," Joyce cooed, hugging him in a deep embrace. "Why didn't you trust him? He might be an enemy soldier but he didn't lie."
"How can you be so sure?" Robin asked, feeling horror engulf him once again.
"Aunt Katrina confessed to killing the King of Sarai. She went to his bedchamber last night. He might have said something to upset her. They got into a physical fight and he was a sixty-seven years old man. She slammed a brass vase on his head and he died from blood loss. She fled but confessed her crime when our father investigated the matter."
Robin shook his head in guilt. "What have I done?"
"What's done is done," Joyce said, squeezing his shoulder. "You should take a nap. You will feel better."
How could he fall asleep knowing he killed his soulmate? How stupid, how cruel could he be?
Joyce left his room a few minutes later. She probably thought he would recover from this but Robin's world was crumbling down.
He was drowning in his sorrow when someone knocked on his door. The door slid open an inch and his ladymaid peeked in.
"Can I come in, young master?"
"I don't need anything right now. Let me be alone," Robin mumbled, ignoring her.
"I want to tell you something very important," she said, eyes darting around in fear.
Robin paused. "Come in," he said even though he had no energy to talk to anyone.
"The pleasure slave you killed," she whispered. "He is alive."
Robin sat up, all ears now. "What?"
She nodded. "Yes. He had done some favors for the healer in the past, as his wife was a Dhasur citizen. He announced him dead so he would have a chance to escape. The guards threw his body outside Capital City, on the edge of Heka forest. He was not in a good condition though."
Robin's mind spiraled. Victor was alive. But Heka forest could be merciless even to the strongest of men. It snowed every night in Heka forest, not to mention the dangerous predators that lurked there.
He could save Victor, Robin thought. Redeem himself. But if he wanted to save Victor, he had to act fast.
"Thank you. Did you tell this to anyone else?" Robin asked.
She shook her head. "Only you. I thought you should know, seeing how devastated you were by his death."
Robin hugged her tight. "I appreciate you coming to me."
She gave him a reassuring smile.
He dressed in a guard's outfit and packed food supplies, camping gear, and a dagger if he needed to defend himself. He prayed he didn't have to use the dagger. He hardly knew how to use it.
He wrote a note for his sisters and mom, telling them that he was leaving the palace to escape his marriage. That he wanted to find himself. He wasn't entirely lying, there was some truth to it. He had always been a good little child for his parents, it was time for him to do something for himself even if it meant going against his family.
He hid his face behind a Corinthian helmet meant for soldiers but his father's guard often wore it for privacy. As he jumped down the high South walls of the palace he felt grateful for taking Gymnastics in School. He landed on his feet and then rolled over to lower the impact. He took the longer route to reach the main city, the valley. He had to trek down the rugged mountains. As a kid, he had played in the treacherous mountains with his sisters. The terrain wasn't unknown to him. He grew the less-used graveled road down the forest leading directly to the city. He reached the valley in the evening. It had been a long time since he came to the valley. The last time he was here was during his graduation ceremony. His heart ached thinking how he hadn't been outside the palace ground ever since he left school. All his schooling, his knowledge was going to waste, staying in the palace and waiting for an Alpha to show up just so his father could wed him off.
He walked to his friend's shop. Mari was a Merchant's daughter. She owned an artifact shop in the city. Most of his civilian friends were from the capital city. Very few kids came to study at Capital High. Not that it was ever welcoming to outsiders. He knocked on the glass door of the small shop and walked in. He didn't know what the etiquette of walking in a friend's shop for favors was. Mari's eyes brightened seeing him.
"Robin!" she beamed. "Good god. I am seeing you after such a long time. How have you been?"
"I am good," Robin said, smiling. "How are you?"
"I am great. I thought I would never see you again. I know royals are not meant to mingle with civilians so I didn't try to reach out," she said with some sadness. "What brings you here?"
"I need your help," Robin said after a long sigh.
"Sure, Robin. Anything for you. What do you need?"
"Can you drive me to the South edge of Heka forest?"
Her face dropped. "Why? Are you in trouble?"
Robin shook his head. "The less you know the better."
"Will I get in trouble?"
If Robin said no he would be lying. His father would not leave any stone unturned to find his missing son. He kept quiet.
"You are fleeing, aren't you?"
Robin nodded. "We could leave after sunset. It will probably snow, and people will be in their homes. Hopefully, no one will notice you taking your vehicle out."
She looked conflicted. In the end, she sighed and agreed to help him. They took her Magnita, a superspeed vehicle that was common among civilians. She drove him to the edge of the Heka forest without asking further questions which he was thankful for.
This was the first time he was going outside Capital City. His shaking had nothing to do with the cold as he stepped into the dense forest. The forest was dark, partially lit by the full moon but the thick canopy made it difficult for the light to reach the floor. Robin pulled his touch and looked around the periphery of the forest to see if he could find Victor. The forest was surprisingly quiet which made the tiniest noise sound like a blaring horn. The rustling of leaves beneath his feet, the creaking of insects, all heightened by his watchfulness. Robin was a carefree person, this was the first time he was so aware of his surroundings. He kept expecting something to jump out of the shadows and attack him. After all this was Heka forest, the forest of folklore, of deadly monsters and man-eating predators.
He called Victor's name hoping he would answer if he was conscious. There was no sign of Victor even after hours of screaming his name in the lonely forest.
The sun was about to rise. Robin sat under a tree, disheartened. All sorts of horrifying scenarios ran in my mind. What if one of the predators got Victor, what if he died in the cold, and was captured again by the patrolling soldiers?
He thought back about all the interactions he had with Victor. How had he not known Victor was his mate? The first time their eyes met at the initiation ceremony, Robin was shocked someone was volunteering. No wonder Victor was volunteering, now that he thought about it. He thought about the restraint it would have taken Victor to deny Robin during his heat, considering they were mates.
Robin stilled, remembering something. The day Victor was flogged, Robin had fallen ill after coming to his room. He was not able to get up from his bed. It made sense he felt so awful. He was feeling his mate's pain. That's how it worked between mates. They could feel one another's pain, one another discomfort. If he channeled his instincts to find Victor maybe he could locate him. Robin closed his eyes and tried to connect with the part of him that longed for his mate, even though he had tried to ignore that part his whole life. He tried to sense where his body was being pulled. He followed the feeling deeper into the forest. The feeling was almost like a physical nudge, weak but there. He found footsteps on the wet ground. His heart skipped a beat.
Robin followed the footsteps hastily that came to a stop in a pit. Robin looked down to find Victor passed out under the bushes. He ran to him and checked his pulse. It was barely there. His clothes were soaked in muddy water and his limbs were freezing. Robin pulled his eyelids to find his eyes unfocused. Robin pulled him out of the pit, laid him down on the ground, removed his wet clothes, and covered him with his own jacket. Robin pulled out the thermal blanket from his backpack and wrapped it around Victor.
Robin rubbed his hands, trying to bring back warmth in them. Placed his cheeks on his cold forehead. Robin tried to do everything he could to bring back some life to him. He hugged him tight to his body and prayed for the sun to come up soon.
Robin woke up to Victor's groans. He placed his palm on Victor's face, eagerly waiting to see his beautiful eyes. He didn't care if his hands were numb from holding Victor on his lap for the last two hours.
"Victor," Robin called, his heart swelling with happiness at seeing Victor alive again.
Victor's eyes were glazed over as they ran over Robin's face before closing once again. This time his breathing was even, his pulse was stronger and color was returning to his handsome face.
Robin looked around for firewood. He had never started a fire in his life. The good thing was he had packed camping gear that Mari, his lady maid, had given to him. Once the fire was up he started to set up the tent. It looked simple enough, but it took two hours for him to figure out the proper rope techniques to fix the thing in place. Robin covered the floor with dried leaves and twigs for better insulation.
He dragged Victor's heavy body inside the tent and covered him with his shirt, jacket, and the thermal blanket. He searched his backpack for something to eat but there was nothing except dried meat. Victor couldn't eat dried meat in this state. Robin put up water to boil on the fire. When the water started to boil he thought of picking up the mug to soften the dried meat but burnt his fingers. He cursed at his stupidity. He put the dried meat in the boiling water and let it simmer for a few minutes. Once it had softened enough he tore off pieces and placed it in Victor's mouth, hoping he would chew once he got a taste of it.
"You have to eat, Victor," Robin said, caressing his face. He placed some lukewarm broth on his dry lips, hoping he would drink up but he remained unresponsive. Robin went outside the tent, warmed up his hands, came in, and placed them on Victor's cold cheeks. After the fiftieth time, he was way too exhausted to move. He sat by Victor's side and looked at his beautiful face, he looked so vulnerable, nothing like the fierce Alpha he had met on his initiation.
"I am sorry I didn't believe you," he whispered as he lowered his head and kissed him on the forehead. He lay down beside him and hugged him tight. Sleep took Robin over even though he tried to resist it.
Robin woke up to Victor's face looking down on him. Robin sat up hastily and smiled with excitement. Victor was fine. He survived. But why was he glaring at him?
"What are you doing?" Victor asked.
Robin bit his lips, his face heating up. "I came to save you."
"You're shirtless," Victor said.
"I am wearing a vest."
"It's twenty degrees outside," Victor stated.
"You were cold," Robin said.
Victor placed his palm on Robin's face, his eyes intense.
"You could have died of hypothermia."
"So could you," Robin said, loving the feel of Victor's palm on his skin.
"Never endanger your life for someone else. No matter what."
"Not even my mate?"
Victor remained silent at that question, his lips twitched. If Robin wasn't looking so closely he would have missed it.
"Yes, even for your mate."
"Okay," Robin agreed even though he didn't regret taking care of Victor one bit. "I boiled some dried meat for you. It's frozen now. Do you want me to heat it up for you?"
"So domestic," Victor commented with a crooked smile. "You get dressed, I will heat up the broth." Victor put Robin's clothes on his lap and exited the tent. When he came back he had put his old clothes back on. He had the boiled broth in hand, smelling delicious.
Victor picked a tender piece of meat and raised it to Robin's lips. "Open."
"You eat first. You haven't eaten."
"I was sleeping while you did all this. You deserve this more than I."
"You were not sleeping, you were unconscious. There is a difference."
"Shh.." Victor placed a finger on Robin's lips. "You talk too much. Now open your mouth."
He opened and Victor placed the piece on his tongue. He had tasted food made by the world's renowned chefs yet nothing compared to this salty, soggy piece of hot meat.
"Now you," Robin said, pulling his hands out of his jacket pocket to pick up a piece from the broth. Why were they feeding each other again? They had perfectly capable hands, Robin thought.
Victor took hold of his hand and examined it. His eyes hardened. "How did you get these blisters?"
Robin pulled away. "It's stupid."
"Tell me."
"I grabbed the hot mug with a bare hand like a moron."
There was gentleness behind his touch as he ran a finger on the blistered skin. "You need to put something on it," he whispered.
"What do you suggest?"
"I will find something."
They enjoyed the rest of the meal in silence. Except Victor kept his eyes on him the whole time and Robin squirmed on the ground trying not to dissolve with embarrassment. No one had ever regarded him so intensely before.
"Do you have a plan?" Victor asked after they were done eating.
"What plan?" Robin asked.
"What next, now that you have saved me?" Victor asked, crossing his arms.
"I don't know," Robin said, shrugging. He didn't think so far.
"Do you want to come home with me?" Victor asked, a hint of excitement behind his question.
"Home?"
"Yes. To Dhasur."
"And do what?"
"Whatever you want."
Robin blinked a few times processing the information. "I should probably go back to the palace."
"You can go back. You can do whatever the fuck you want. But just so you know if you go back I will follow you. Damn the concequences."
"They will execute the healer that saved you."
"You think I care?"
"You should. He saved you."
"Then don't go back," Victor demanded.
"Or maybe don't follow me."
"If it was so easy to let you go I would have left the palace a long time ago."
"I didn't lie when I said I don't want to be tied down to an Alpha," Robin said, holding Victor's gaze.
"I will never tie you down. Moreover, I am not asking you to marry me. I am asking you to come with me. Meet my family. See what a free country looks like. However, it's not so free anymore after your father's invasion. But the people, their spirits are free. I want you to experience life outside of your father's restrictions."
"Okay," Robin said after some thought.
"Okay?" Victor asked with a wide smile on his face like Robin had just given candy to a child.
"Yes. I will come."