An older male walked toward us and bowed while he placed his hands behind his back, and we stopped before we ran to him. "Your Majesties," he said while he looked between us and then at Carver. "Carver."
"Derrick," Carver said while he nodded in greeting. "How are you?"
"I am good," he said before he looked at me, and I shifted a little to the side, feeling nervous but not nervous at the same time if that made sense. "How are you, Little One?" he asked while he dipped his head closer to his chest, his voice cracking for some reason.
"Good," I said and looked at Carver before I looked at him again. I grabbed my mate's hand tighter. "Nervous," I admitted, and Derrick chuckled and slowly nodded as if he understood what I meant.
"Of course," he said before he cleared his throat and grew serious while he studied me. "You don't remember me; do you?" He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow in question while he studied me further, and my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound harder in my chest because what he said was true.
I pressed my lips into a thin line and stayed silent because I didn't remember him, and I couldn't help but feel very guilty about it for some reason.
Derrick bit back a small chuckle while he slowly nodded, and a look of pain flashed through his eyes. "It's ok if you don't remember me, Your Majesty," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "You were a young girl while I worked at the palace with your family, and I had two real eyes instead of one."
He winked a little before he cleared his throat and touched his face where claw marks and a glass eye laid, grimacing.
I set my jaw and looked at his face before I met his gaze again, my heart skipping a beat before it started to pound harder in my chest. I didn't say a word while I stared at him, not knowing what to do or what to say.
"He's right, Kat," Trevor said softly while he tapped my elbow, and I turned to look at him with a blank look on my face. He smiled and bowed his head a little. "Your parents trusted him with their lives, and they trusted him a lot."
Derrick looked at Trevor and bit back a small chuckle, and a look of relief flashed across his face. "Too much sometimes," he said with a slow wink, and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention while I slowly grew tense. "How have you been doing, Trevor?" he asked while he raised an eyebrow in question. "You don't look like a scrappy young boy any longer."
"And I have a mate," Trevor said while he folded his arms behind his back. He glanced at me before he looked at Derrick. "You might want to change your statement," he warned softly while he dipped his head closer to his chest, and Derrick raised an eyebrow in question. "About her parents trusting you a lot."
Derrick blinked and blinked again while he looked at me and then at Trevor again, confused. He didn't say a word while he looked at us, and I could tell that he didn't understand what Trevor meant by his comment.
"You told her that they trusted you a little too much, Derrick, and she is thinking that it shouldn't be that way," Ro said after he looked at me and then at Derrick with an amused smile on his face. "She thinks that you are going to be unfaithful to her and to the throne." He moved slightly closer to me and to my left while he stared at Derrick, and I could tell that he was worried about that, too, even though neither Carver nor Trevor were worried.
Derrick slowly blinked and looked between the two of us before his eyes grew wide. Realization dawned in his eyes, and his face grew pale. "Oh no," he said and shook his head. "Oh, no, no, no," he said before he cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, his cheeks turning slightly red. "Please, don't think like that, Your Majesty. That is not what I meant."
I didn't say a word and looked at Carver before I looked at him again, slowly blinking. My whole body was tense, and I couldn't help but still feel slightly nervous and worried.
Derrick bowed and placed his arm across his chest before he submitted fully, and my tiger purred in contentment and pride. "I swear on my life that I do not mean any harm to you, your people, or to those that you consider your family," he said, his voice soft and yet firm. "I swear that I will protect you to the end of time and will give up my life to protect yours. I s-"
I opened my mouth to stop him from saying what I thought he was going to say, but Carver nudged my shoulder to stop me from talking, so I closed my mouth instead while I looked at him, surprised and stunned.
"I swear to the stone that what I say is pure and true and wish for its blessing and a reminder of the promise that I make."
My heart skipped a beat before it pounded harder and faster in my chest with a steady thump,thump,thump.
The urge to grab my stone was strong and so was the urge to have him seal his fate with it, but I didn't and grabbed my mate's hand tighter, and my mate didn't even flinch.
Carver nudged my shoulder and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. 'Get it out,' he said while he dipped his head closer to his chest. 'Stop fighting the urge to do it. It will be fine.'
I grew slightly stiff, and I set my jaw. 'Bu-'
'No,' he said, interrupting me while he shook his head. 'Pull it out from where you hid it, and show it to him. Let him swear to it like he wants to.'
I bit the inside of my lip and let go of my mate's hand before I took a step toward Derrick, deciding that I was going to do what Carver told me to do, even though a part of me didn't like it. I took it out from where I had hid it, my heart pounding hard and fast in my chest with a constant, thump,thump,thump with each step I took toward him and away from my mate.
Oh, Gods, please let nothing bad happen because of this, I silently prayered while I opened my hand to reveal the gem, and Derrick opened his eyes and stared at it, his eyes growing wide before it grew entranced with it.
"Say it again," I said, my voice firm and powerful and sounding slightly different than my normal voice. Power filled the air around us, and the other cats in my group bowed too. "Swear to the stone that what you say is true, and seal your fate to it, Derrick."
Derrick bit back a small smile and bowed again, closing his eyes, and a look of relief appeared on his face as if he was happy that I allowed him to do what he wanted to do even if it was against my better judgment. "I swear on my life that I do not mean any harm to you, your people, or to those that you consider your family. I swear that I will protect you to the end of time and will give up my life to protect yours. I swear to the stone that what I say is pure and true and wish for its blessing and a reminder of the promise that I make."
The gem in my hand blinked a couple of times before it grew brighter and brighter until it was almost a blinding light that would affect us if we didn't squeeze our eyes shut.
Tendrils came from the gem and wrapped around Derrick's hand, and Derrick bit his lip and grimaced, biting back anything that resembled himself as being in pain as if he was worried that a single sound from him could mean the end of this promise.
My heart pounded faster and faster in my chest while I stared at him, biting the inside of my lip because I had no idea what was happening to him or to me because for some reason, I was starting to feel a little different as well.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, but was only a few minutes, the tenerdils released Derrick and went back inside the gem, sealing his fate in stone.
The older male breathed a sigh of relief and opened his eyes, blinking a little as if he wanted to get aware of his surroundings again before he cleared his throat.
He looked at me and then at Carver before he looked at me again, and a small smile appeared on his face while he did so. "I do hope that you believe me, now, Your Majesty," he said softly while bowing his head in respect. "It has never been my intent to hurt you, and it will never happen. That I swear to you from the bottom of my heart."
I hesitated before I slowly nodded and hid the gem again while I cleared my throat. "I would have believed you eventually, Derrick," I said, my voice soft and barely above a whisper. "You do realize what you have done, right?" I raised an eyebrow in question, still concerned about this man who swore his life away.
Derrick bit back a sad smile and slowly nodded, pain flashing through his eyes. "Yes, Your Majesty," he said softly before he cleared his throat when it cracked. "I know what I have done. I swore to protect you and sealed my fate with the stone. If I go against what I say, then you will kill me."
"Then let's make sure that that doesn't happen," Carver said and placed a hand on my shoulder while Brody moved to my side again and grabbed my hand. "Now, come, let's go get Amity back under your control too. After that, I believe it might be time to get reconnected with this group of people and get them back on your side. Yes?" He raised an eyebrow in question.
I hesitated before I nodded, my heart skipping a beat before it started to pound harder in my chest, and my body started to fill with excitement and warmth. "Yes," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet, getting anxious as well. "Let's get Amity back under my control."
"Then come, and follow me, Your Majesties," Derrick said while he bowed, lowering his gaze. "I shall show you a place where you can contact her and have her be safe as you do your thing."
"While Ray and I will do something else," Ro said while he placed his arm around his sister's shoulder, and his sister shifted away from him with a look in her eyes that I didn't like.
He smiled at me, but it didn't reach his eyes while he squeezed his sister's shoulder. "Happy hunting, Kitty Kat," he said cheerfully, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes and scowl. "Have fun but not too much fun because we don't want you to get hurt." He winked teasingly, and my cheeks turned red.
And with that, they left, with Ro dragging Ray away from us without a single glance back, and we watched them until they were too far for us to see them again.
Oh Gods, please let everyone stay safe, I silently prayed, getting slightly nervous with my heart breaking into a few pieces. Please. I can't lose anyone else that I care about...