The Deadly Alliance (The Deadly Alliance Series Book 1)

by Megan Bradish

  “Elias, I didn’t see any…” She stops in her tracks as she sees the arrow pointing directly at her.

  “Elias….What’re you?...”

  “Shut the fuck up,” he yells. “It’s time for you to die, Marjorie. You’re no good to me anymore. I kept you around for as long as I could. And if I’m being honest, I’m quite bored of our sex life. God, you’re terrible.”

  He shifts again, drawing the string back farther. “I know, I know. You’re just a child. But you’re so delicious. Those perfect little curves. Your perky breasts as I get to watch them grow more and more with age. God, Marj. Why couldn’t you just be what I wanted? Why are you so boring?”

  I feel like I’m going to throw up as Marjorie takes a small step backwards. “Please,” she cries. “Please don’t hurt me. I’ll try harder. I’ll be what you want!”

  “It’s too late now, my darling girl.” He lets out a slow breath and begins to release the string.

  “You can’t kill me!” She pleads. “I’m your queen! Your wife! This is murder!”

  Elias gives her a displeased look. “Don’t think of this as murder, darling. It’s an act of love, really.”

  “Marjorie, run!” I yell, as I step out from behind the tree. She stays in place, as tears stream down her cheeks.

  “Didn’t you hear me? Run!” I say again. She can’t seem to hear me and I begin to panic.

  “Goodbye, darling,” Elias says.

  “No!” I say in a blood curdling scream. I run into him, trying to knock him to the ground. I fall flat on my face, tasting the blood filling my mouth. I look up, and he’s still standing in exactly the same position. I ran right through him. How was that even possible?

  “Marjorie, please run,” I say in a small voice, knowing she can’t hear me.

  Elias releases the string, and the arrow goes flying into Marjorie’s chest, giving off a loud thud that echoes through my ears. She stands for a moment, looking down at the blood pooling from her body. She gasps for air as she begins to cough up blood. She’s choking and there’s nothing I can do but watch helplessly.

  She collapses, her lifeless body laying limp on the ground, her head positioned towards me. Her eyes are still open, and she’s looking right at me. She gives me a pleading look, and as I go to reach towards her, her eyes close. She’s dead. She’s dead and there’s nothing I could do. I just had to watch as this…this monster took her life.

  I collapse to my knees and begin sobbing. “No. No, no, no, no, no!” I yell at Elias. But he doesn’t hear me. He’s looking over Marjorie’s dead body, as if he’s admiring his handy work.

  He rips the arrow from her chest, wiping the blood off with his robe. Elias slings her over his shoulder and begins walking into the darkness, whistling a happy tune.

  I follow closely behind him, knowing he can’t see me.

  I feel like I’m going to be sick as I dodge the blood trail that’s following close behind Marjorie’s body. With every bounce of Elias’ shoulder, more blood comes pouring out of her chest.

  I let the tears slip from my eyes as we near closer to the castle. I’m aware that this must be nothing more than a dream, but I’m exhausted. And a little traumatized. I just pray that I will wake up soon. Why wasn’t I waking up?

  “Mother!” Elias yells as he storms through the doors of the castle. He still has Marjorie laying limp on his shoulder, her face has turned ghostly white now. And her eyes are glazed over with a hazy film.

  “Dear God, Elias! What happened?” Charolette asks as she covers her mouth with her hand.

  “Mother,” Elias cries. “We were hunting. It was an accident. I didn’t mean…”

  “An accident?” She yells. “How could you possibly shoot someone with an arrow by accident?”

  “What’s going on here?” I hear a man say as he enters the room. I assume it’s King Francis. “What’s all the yelling ab-” He stops when he sees his son holding Marjorie’s dead body.

  “He says it was a hunting accident,” Charolette says in a small voice. She looks ashamed as tears well in her eyes. She knows it was no accident.

  “Elias…We…We have to talk privately,” he says to his son in shock. “Go get Tobias,” he orders one of the guards.

  Tobias goes pale as he walks into the room, but quickly composes himself.

  “Tobias, there’s been an incident. Please take Marjorie for us,” King Francis says.

  Tobias nods quickly and takes Marjorie. He seems to be looking right at me, and I wonder if he can see me. But he quickly turns away and heads down the hall, going quietly out of sight before anyone can see what has just occurred.

  Elias and his parents quickly walk down the hall to the throne room, and I follow behind them. I need to know what was about to happen.

  “Jesus, Elias! Could you for one day act like a normal fucking person?” His father yelled. His voice boomed loudly, making me jump. This was by far the most life like dream I have ever had. What was happening to me?

  “Father what are you…?”

  “Oh, stop it this instant! You know this wasn’t an accident as well as we do!” Charolette yells just as loudly.

  “Alright, fine! I killed her! Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you happy now?”

  Charolette looks frightened as her eyes go wide. She slowly backs away. “Why, Elias? Why would you do this?”

  “It was just like I told her before I drove the arrow through her chest. She couldn’t produce an heir. How am I supposed to lead this country without a child to someday take my place? Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is? I need a woman who can give me what I deserve. And she was so boring in bed. Have you ever had a sexual partner that was so bad, you just craved killing them, so you could at least have some kind of excitement?” Elias rambled like a mad man, his eyes looked wild and distant.

  Charolette slaps him hard across the face, leaving a red mark on his cheek bone. “You are not my son,” She says, hatred filling her voice.

  “Dear God, Elias. Where did we go so wrong with you?” King Francis says as he shakes his head in disappointment.

  Elias says nothing as his parents head for the door. Before they leave he asks, “What are you going to do to me?”

  “I haven’t yet decided,” King Francis says, unable to look his son in the eye.

  I watch in horror as they leave Elias and me in the room. How could they not lock him in the cages for this? They were just letting him walk free until they decided? It was only a matter of time before he killed someone else! He enjoyed it too much for Marjorie to be his last kill. I could see it in his eyes, as he let go of the string. As the arrow struck Marjorie’s chest, he seemed at peace. He was sick. Utterly insane.

  “You rotten son of a bitch,” I say to him. He turns around, and looks straight at me.

  My heart jumps to my throat as I quickly back away. Did he just hear me? Can he see me now?

  “Who’s there?” He demands, as he jolts his head back and forth. “Show yourself!”

  I stay still, not breathing, trying to remain as quiet as possible. Obviously he can’t see me. But he did hear me. Or he heard something at the exact moment that I spoke.

  This dream was becoming too real, and I needed it to end. Though I was beginning to think this was more of a nightmare. I would be convinced it was real if it wasn’t for the fact that no one could see me or hear me. If they could, maybe I could have saved Marjorie in time. Maybe she would have ran like I begged her to.

  The fact that King Francis is alive, is another indication that I have to be dreaming. People didn’t just rise from the dead whenever they felt like it.

  Elias gives up, and leaves the room, slamming the door loudly behind him. I let out a loud breath and touch my head, feeling dizzy.

  Please wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up!

  Chapter 12

  “Your majesty? Your majesty, wake up!”

  I’m screaming uncontrollably, and it takes me a moment before I realize tha
t I’m finally waking up from the nightmare. My entire body feels like pins and needles, and I can’t catch my breath. I gasp loudly as I begin crying.

  “Your majesty?” I realize someone’s arms are around me, holding me tightly. I look up to see Lucien, and he lets out a sigh of relief. “Your majesty, you’re back,” he says.

  “B-back?” I stutter. I’m shivering violently, remembering Marjorie’s dead eyes staring back at me. And the cold. It was so cold.

  “You’ve been having a bad dream, I couldn’t wake you,” he says. His voice is low, soothing me to my core.

  “Oh…” I manage to say.

  “I was about ready to find Tobias.”

  “No need for that. I’m okay now.” I realize I’m still holding onto his arm that’s wrapped around my chest, and I didn’t care to move it. I decided I wanted this moment. This one moment of comfort after what I had just experienced. And he was comforting. There’s just something about him that’s so…irresistible. So reassuring.

  “You’re sure?” He asks in a whisper. His breath against my cheek sends chills down my spine. I turn to face him and his face is only inches from mine. He’s exploring my eyes with his, and I can feel passion raging inside of me. A passion I never knew existed.

  “I’m sure,” I whisper back, not turning away from him.

  “If you need me, I’ll be right outside your door,” he says, hesitating to pull away from me. I could tell he was feeling the same way as I was, and that only added to the passion I was feeling. But he did pull away. Of course. He couldn’t be seen holding the queen for too long. That wouldn’t be good for either one of us. If Elias thought I was having an affair…

  I shiver at the thought.

  “Lucien?” I say as he heads for the door.

  “Yes?” He says, looking back at me.

  “I…thank you.”

  He gives me a small, almost sad smile. “Anything for you, my queen.” And he slips out the door.

  I look around the room, trying to find my grip on reality. I need to let myself know that I’m back. I’m not in that dreaded place anymore. At least not that version of it, anyway. I’m here, in the present. There are no dead bodies. There are no mad kings. It’s just me.

  I’m really dreading morning now, having to see Elias after what I had just seen. Could that somehow have been how it really happened? Did Marjorie really die by the hands of King Elias? God, I wanted to believe more than anything that it wasn’t true. I need to believe that I’m safe here, that he won’t hurt me.

  But if it weren’t true, why would that man in the hallway tell me to keep the dagger on me?

  The dagger.

  I jump out of bed, and rummage through my things. I can’t find it anywhere and begin to panic. I just had it with me! It had to be here. Or maybe Elias snuck in while I was sleeping and took it…

  I shake my head, knowing I’m being paranoid. There’s no way he would have slipped in past the guards. At least, I didn’t think so. They wouldn’t just let him waltz in without my permission would they?

  I lift the wedding dress from the floor, and the dagger goes clanking across the floor. I sigh with relief, as I remember I hooked it to the inside of my dress before leaving. I quickly snatch it off the floor and clutch it to my chest. I pray I never have to use it, but it’s reassuring to have. Knowing if I had to use it, I could, thanks to Tobias. Maybe he was aware that I was in danger, and that’s why he gave me this dagger as a gift. He was in the dream, disposing of Marjorie’s body. If it really did happen that way, he would obviously have answers for me. If I knew I could trust him, I’d ask. But I have no idea if he’s friends with the king or not. I don’t know much about anyone here. I’ll be sure to get a feel for him, to see if I’m able to trust him to be a confidant. There had to be someone in the whole castle I could trust. It was just a matter of finding them.

  I lay in bed, putting the dagger securely under my pillow. I close my eyes, picturing Lucien. His rugged, handsome face. The way his muscles bulge and move under his armor. And his soft hands, as they lightly and carefully touch my body.

  I hold onto these thoughts as I finally drift back to sleep.

  “Time to wake up my queeeeen,” Milly sings as she bursts through the door.

  I groan, feeling exhausted from the previous night. I didn’t get much sleep, and the little bit that I had, was filled with nightmares. It wasn’t exactly what I’d call a restful sleep.

  “Milly, must you be so chipper in the morning?” I ask as I rub my eyes.

  “Just because you aren’t so chipper in the morning, doesn’t mean you have to ruin it for the rest of us,” she teases as she sets down the breakfast tray on the end stand.

  I pick at it, muttering under my breath. I finally pick the toast and take a few small bites. “What time is it?” I ask.

  “It’s seven. Your father will be leaving soon. I thought maybe you’d want to say goodbye to him before he goes,” she says.

  “Yes, I do,” I say in a small voice. Father leaving meant I’d no longer be under his protection. It was time for me to start protecting myself.

  Milly begins laying out clothes and picking up my messes from the night before. I stay silent as I nibble my breakfast. I eventually give up. Every time I try to eat, Marjorie flashes in my mind. Her frightened, child-like face as Elias hunted her. As he killed her, like she was nothing more than an animal. I throw the plate back on my end table and sigh.

  Milly gives me a sideways look. “Is something wrong?”

  “I had a dream last night,” I say. She knows everything else. I might as well tell her when they keep happening.

  Milly walks over to me and sits down on the bed. “Did she come to you again?” She asked, referring to Marjorie.

  “Kind of. But it was different,” I say.

  “Different how?” Milly plucks some eggs off of my plate and pops them into her mouth.

  “I saw her death, Milly.”

  Milly chokes down the food as her eyes widen. “You…saw her death? Was it like Charolette said?”

  “You mean the so called accident? Oh yeah, it was like she said alright. He killed her, Milly. He shot an arrow through her chest and all I could do was sit there and watch. Watch as she slowly faded away.”

  Milly is quiet for a moment, looking as though she might faint. “Do you think it was real? I mean this one could have just been a dream, right?”

  I had to admit, this one really could have just been a dream. I’ve had it in my head that it was no accident, and that Elias really did kill her. So it wouldn’t be unusual for me to come up with something like that in a dream.

  “Yes, it could have been. But it felt so real. I could feel the air, and smell the trees. I followed them around, heard their entire conversation. What kind of dream would do that? Where you can remember everything? I even went back to the castle with him, as he had Marjorie slung over his shoulder like a fresh kill. I think the late king covered it all up,” I say, knowing I sound ridiculous. It was all just speculation on my part. I again, had no proof any of this happened.

  “Blair, I wouldn’t be so sure. He seems off to me,” she says.

  “Off?” I ask.

  “Yes. The way he looks at you. It’s almost like a craving. I mean, that should be a good thing, right? But, I don’t know. It’s some how different. Like he’s craving you in a bad way, if that makes any sense. There’s an evil in his eyes, Blair,” she says. And I know exactly what she’s talking about. I saw it last night as I was dancing. He looked angry, yet lustful. He wanted me, that much I knew. But in what sort of way?

  “I saw it too. Last night when we were dancing?”

  “Yes. That and basically any other time he looks at you.”

  I nod. “He isn’t right, is he?”

  “No, I don’t think he is. Blair, please be careful. I have a really bad feeling about all of this. I wanted to say something more yesterday, but it isn’t my place.”

  “It is your place. I migh
t be your queen now, Milly. But I’m your friend first. You have every right to talk to me and give me advice as if I were just your average person.”

  Milly smiles now and gives me a hug. I hug her back tightly, thankful I have her and Adelina. I would never get through this without them. They were what held me together.

  “Oh, guess what?” I say.

  “What?” She asks excitedly.

  “You know the knight from the courtyard? Well he’s my guard,” I say, bragging.

  Milly’s jaw drops. “You have got to be kidding me! Why can’t he be my guard!”

  I shrug my shoulders. “And, he held me last night after my nightmare.”

  “No! Oh my, God!” She says, hysterical now.

  I smile, loving every moment of this. “Yup.”

  Milly swoons. “He is so delicious. Did he feel as good as he looks?”

  “Even better,” I say.

  “See, I knew he liked you! What do you think of him?”

  “I can’t answer that. It wouldn’t be right,” I say, as I look away. What do I think of him? God. Everything. Everything good. He captured my attention from the very second I laid eyes on him. And from that moment on, I knew I was doomed. I was right. Each time I saw him, I began to feel more and more for him. And when his arms were wrapped tightly around me, as he calmed me from my dream, my desire for him grew even stronger.

  Milly gave me a sad look. “I know. I’m sorry, Blair.”

  “Don’t be,” I say, forcing a smile. “I’m the one who brought it up.”

  “To tease me!” She giggles.

  “Oh, definitely.” I give her a devilish grin.

  I quickly wash up and dress. Father will be leaving soon and I need to see him off. I didn’t know when he’d be back, or when I’d be back to Myrkdovia. We would both be busy now, and I had a feeling there wouldn’t be much time to get away.

  I walk down the hall, admiring the bright morning sun as it shines elegantly through the window. It feels chipper and happy, as if it were telling me not to worry, everything would be okay.