Slowly Thomas nodded his agreement. “Fine.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I have to stay back. I want to come,” Blake complained and pointed to Wesley. “Why does he get to go?”

Cain put a calming hand on his shoulder, knowing he had to placate Blake with something so that he didn’t feel left out. “I need you out here with Eddie. The two of you will search for John. Should we find him in the palace, Thomas will send a message to Eddie, but if he’s not in the palace, we need to find out what happened to him. I rely on you for that. You’re human. You’ll be able to go places that Eddie can’t.”

Blake’s chest swelled, and a proud smile formed on his lips. “You can count on me.”

How easy it was to manipulate the young human. Cain almost felt a little guilty, though he knew it was for the best. He had no idea how the presence of a human would be taken by this clan. Would they attack him because they saw him as the enemy? In any case, Cain didn’t need the added hassle of having to protect a human whose fighting skills were inferior to those of a vampire. Wesley would have a better chance at holding off any hostile vampire: they would smell that he was a witch and would be cautious about approaching him, fearing he could cast a spell against which not even a vampire had protection. They had no way of guessing that Wesley’s magic was weak. Perception was everything, which brought up another point: Cain’s memory loss.

“Another thing,” Cain now cautioned his colleagues. “The only way for the guards on the outside to even let us into the palace, is to make sure they know who I am. There can be no doubt in their minds when I approach them. When we are around them, you’ll need to address me as Your Majesty. I reckon they’ll recognize me, but we have to make sure that nobody suspects that I have amnesia. If they do, it weakens my position and may play into the hands of the assassin.”

“That’s understood,” Haven said, then scratched his head. “But how are you gonna explain why you were gone for a year? They must wonder what happened.”

Cain had already thought of that on his way back from the tunnels. “Don’t worry. I have a story for that too. I’ll fill you in on the way, so you’ll know what to say.” He motioned to the door behind him. “Let’s go. It’s about a half hour march to the palace.”

As he turned to the door, he noticed Thomas pulling Eddie into a hug and kissing him.

“Be careful,” Eddie said and ran his hand through Thomas’s hair.

Thomas winked. “You know me.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “That’s exactly why I’m saying it.”

Cain opened the door and stepped outside, inhaling the humid night air. No foreign smells drifted to him, indicating that no other vampires were in the vicinity. John hadn’t returned in the meantime.

As Cain marched ahead, his colleagues following him through the wooded terrain, he hoped that he hadn’t misread the vampire who claimed to have been his loyal guard. He’d sounded so sincere when he’d spoken about Cain’s past, and so full of regret about having failed him. Had John failed him again?

Mentally Cain prepared himself for taking his old life back. His heart pounded in his chest, and for the first time in his life he felt nervous.

“What are you thinking?”

Cain turned his head to Thomas, who’d sidled up to him, while the two brothers walked behind them. “Just hoping that John didn’t betray us. For all our sakes.”

Thomas nodded gravely. “Everything still seems very unreal. As you know, I checked out all the information you gave me when you joined Scanguards, but I couldn’t find anything about you. Nor has anybody at Scanguards ever heard of this clan and a king. I’m afraid we have no idea what we’re walking into.”

“I’m aware of that. Nevertheless, I know I’m the king. I can’t ignore that feeling.” Nor the fact that he recognized Faye from his dreams and that seeing her in Abel’s arms had produced a bolt of intense jealousy. “The woman he claims was my fiancée . . .” He hesitated.

“You don’t have to say it. You recognized her. She’s the only reason Samson authorized this excursion. He spoke to Dr. Drake.”

Cain raised an eyebrow. “What’s that shrink got to do with it?”

“Drake believes that your dreaming about her is a sign that your memory is coming back.”

Cain shrugged. He had thought the same thing, but tried not to get his hopes up for fear they may be dashed again. “And that’s why Samson agreed to give me a few men to check things out?”