The Deadly Alliance (The Deadly Alliance Series Book 1)

by Megan Bradish

“Elias? You wanted to see me?” I ask warily.

  His eyes are glazed over drunk. As he stumbles over to me, he lets out a small laugh. “My queen. How are you this evening?”

  I look over at the clock on the mantel. It’s midnight. Well past evening. “I’m good. I was just sleeping. I was afraid something was urgent when the guards woke me.”

  Elias is looking me over now, that same hunger from our wedding night was shining through his eyes. I forgot that I had just been in my robe as I instinctively tighten it around me. I’m feeling vulnerable, on display. I didn’t feel like that with Lucien. No, I wanted him to see me. When Elias looked at me like this, it made my stomach churn and my heart pound into my throat. He didn’t look at me in a loving way. He looked at me like he wanted to devour me whole.

  “I’m sorry I woke you, my love. I just wanted to have a drink with you,” he says in the sweetest tone he could muster.

  “I…well…I really should be getting back to sleep. I have a big day tomorrow. I’m helping the homeless children again,” I say. Please just let me leave. I don’t like this. Something was wrong.

  “Those goddamn kids,” Elias spits under his breath.

  My eyes widen at him as he lets out a frustrated huff. This was the anger I’ve been waiting for. The anger I knew would come to the surface eventually.

  “I’m sorry?” I ask.

  “I said, those goddamn kids,” he says slowly this time, as if I was too stupid to understand it the first time. “They take up too much of your time, Blair.”

  I look at him shocked. “They are part of my duty as queen. If we don’t take care of the people of Cryptshiere, what kind of rulers are we?”

  “We’re supposed to be the kind of rulers people fear!” He spits. “The kind of rulers that make people fall to their knees at the sight of us!”

  I take a step back. I expected to see an angry side of him, but not quite like this. But why not? I mean I saw him kill his wife. This shouldn’t be surprising to me.

  “Elias…”

  He holds up his hand to stop me. “Never mind my love. You wouldn’t understand what it means to be a good ruler anyway.”

  My step back turns into two steps forward. “Are you suggesting-?”

  “That your father is a terrible king? Why yes, my dear. I am.” A smirk plays at the corner of his lips, and I’ve never wanted to punch someone so badly in my life.

  “How dare you,” I threaten.

  “Let’s forget all that for now,” he says, walking closer to me. I put my hand on my side, feeling for my dagger. And…I don’t have it. How could I have been so stupid to leave without it? Especially knowing I was going to be alone with him, in his room. I was too distracted by Lucien, and I let my feelings for him get in the way of my ability to protect myself. The dagger never even crossed my mind once as I was flirting with a man who wasn’t mine.

  Maybe Elias was right. Maybe I wasn’t a good queen. A good queen wouldn’t be distracted by matters of the heart. A good queen would put her safety, and the safety of others before her love life. Maybe I should request a new guard.

  Elias puts his arm around me, and I stiffen. “Don’t be afraid, darling,” he whispers in my ear.

  I’m feeling dizzy, and my flesh is burning hot.

  “Elias, what are you doing?” I ask.

  He grasps my hair in his fists and kisses me harshly. His breath stinks of alcohol, and he tastes even worse. I push him back as hard as I can, making him stumble into the sofa.

  “You’re a feisty one I see,” he growls.

  “I really think this should wait,” I say as I back away.

  Elias lets out a loud huff. “You’ve been saying this for weeks. You’re my wife now, Blair. It’s time you start playing the part.”

  “What happened to you waiting until I felt ready?” I ask.

  “It’s been long enough. When I told you I’d wait, I didn’t mean for this long. God, Blair. A man has needs. A man needs to feel a woman’s warm flesh beneath his body. He needs to feel her curves, and her supple breasts positioned just…so, in his hands.” He holds up a hand, demonstrating what he means.

  Bile rises to my throat. What was wrong with this man? The way I’m seeing him now, is exactly the way I saw him in the dream of Marjorie’s death. I let myself believe for so long now, that it was just a dream. But now I know, without a shadow of a doubt, it was no dream.

  “I…I’ve been thinking too that we need to…um…produce an heir for the people of our countries.”

  “Fuck the people!” He yells. “This is about us. It’s about me having you.”

  I turn and head for the door. “We’ll have to finish this discussion in the morning,” I say with my back to him. I need to get to the door as fast as I can. I need to get the hell out of here as fast as I can.

  I just reach the door, turning the handle, when he turns me around and slams me against the wall. My head bounces off its concrete interior, pain radiating down my neck and spine. Everything goes black for a few moments, and when I can focus again, Elias is staring at me with wild eyes. His face his only a few inches from mine.

  “I’m having you tonight, Blair,” he whispers in my ear.

  “No, please,” I cry.

  This only excites him more as he lets out a low growl. He lifts my dress, trailing his hand up my leg the whole time. I try pushing him away, but he’s too strong for me. He holds me in place like I’m stuck in glue. I can’t move.

  He reaches up, feeling me now as he begins rubbing me with force. He moans again, and I can feel his rock hard penis pressing against me. I let out another cry, for I know what’s about to happen.

  “Please stop,” I cry.

  “Shut up,” he whispers.

  I let out a gasp as he shoves his fingers hard inside of me. “There you go, baby. Get wet for me, now,” he growls.

  I let out a small scream as he grabs me by my neck, shoving me harder into the wall. His fingers sliding in and out of me, my body jolting with each thrust. The pain is unbearable and it feels like I’m being torn apart from the outside in.

  I can’t take this anymore. I have to do something. If only I had my dagger.

  “Get the hell off of me!” I scream. I’m sure the guards have heard me by now, so why aren’t they doing anything? They can hear that someone is being hurt, yet they’re just standing outside letting it happen. What did the king bribe them with to not do anything?

  Elias says nothing as he drags me by my hair to the bed. He lifts me up, as I kick and scream, hoping that with enough force I could break free. But it’s no use. He throws me down to the bed, quickly reaching me so I don’t get away. “You want this just as bad as I do. Admit it,” he growls.

  Anger rises in him as I turn my head away, letting tears streak my face. “Admit it!” He screams. His hand comes down on my face hard, blood fills my mouth. My vision blurs, as blood drips from my forehead into my eyes.

  “Admit it,” he says again.

  “I admit it,” I say, so low, even I could hardly hear it.

  Elias’ expression softens as he caresses my face. “I knew it. I’m just as excited about this as you are,” he whispers.

  He rips the robe from my body and then my night gown, leaving me completely exposed to him. I begin to tremble and try covering my breasts with my arms. He grabs my wrists, throwing my arms over my head. Even as he holds my wrists together with one hand, I still can’t break free. I struggle and kick underneath him as he unzips his pants.

  “Are you ready, sweetheart?” He asks.

  “Stop! Don’t do this, please!” I scream.

  But it’s too late. I let out a loud, painful gasp as he thrusts himself deep inside of me. I try kicking him and wiggling myself free, but it only makes him thrust faster and deeper. He enjoys the struggle of it too much.

  So I do nothing. I let my body go completely limp as I turn my face away from him. I hold my breath, hoping maybe I’ll pass out and not have to be awake for this any l
onger. The pain is unbearable everywhere. My head is pounding and swimming in a fog. My wrists and hands have gone numb now as he still has them pinned tightly over my head. And each thrust hurts worse than the last.

  I close my eyes, and try to picture something, anything to take me away from this nightmare I call my life. But it doesn’t work. I’m forced back to reality as he grabs my throat again, squeezing so hard I’m afraid he might be killing me. I gasp frantically for air, feeling myself fade into unconsciousness.

  Chapter 15

  I wake, gasping again as I jolt upright. I wince, as every inch of my body aches as I move. I look down at myself to see that I’m still naked, my body bloody and bruised. I stumble from the bed, looking over at Elias. He’s passed out now, his pants still undone as if he just rolled off of me when he was finished and passed out.

  I try to walk to the door, but my body gives out. I fall to the floor hard and stay there for a moment on my hands and knees as I regain my composure. I take a deep breath, and let out a small cry. I reach up to feel my throat, and begin to tremble. It’s so swollen. Each breath I take brings tears to my eyes.

  I look over at Elias again, afraid that he heard me. But he’s still passed out cold on the bed. I need to get out of here. I need to go back to my room and lock myself away to recover. I grab my robe from the floor, leaving my night gown behind, for it’s completely torn to shreds. I slowly wrap the robe around me, attempting to cover myself the best I can. But there isn’t much left to that either. I reach for the door with a shaky hand and stumble down the hallway. I use the hallway to lean on, I’m too dizzy to stand up straight. I move as fast as I can, afraid that Elias will wake up any moment and come after me again.

  Finally, I’m almost to my room. I round the corner and am unable to go any farther. I collapse to the floor, looking up to see the guards running towards me.

  “Your majesty! Oh my God,” Lucien says frantically.

  “Help me,” I say in a raspy whisper.

  “Jake, go get a blanket from her room, quick!” He says to the other guard. Lucien looks back to me, anger flashing in his eyes. “Who did this to you, your majesty?”

  I try to speak, but the words are no longer coming out. I reach up for him and he clasps my hand. “Don’t try to speak, your majesty. I’m taking you to the physician.” His eyes are soft when he looks at me, but his jaw is clenching tightly. He looks as though he’s ready to kill someone.

  I wish he would.

  “Jake, damn it! Where are you? We need to get her covered up!” Lucien yells.

  I look down, realizing my breasts are almost completely exposed, for there is nothing left to my robe. It’s torn and mangled, blood smeared all across it. I would normally care about being exposed in public, especially in front of my guards. Especially in front of Lucien. But I didn’t care. I didn’t know how to care. I was in too much pain. My head was in too much of a fog.

  “I’m sorry,” Jake says and he runs up to us. He turns his head, when he approaches me, as to not see my bare skin.

  Lucien quickly wraps me in the blanket, lifting me as delicately as he can. I walk with him for a few steps, until I eventually collapse once again. He catches me, and lifts me in his arms, carrying me the rest of the way. I rest my head on his shoulder, his face only mere inches from my own. He looks at me, and rests his forehead on mine. “I’m sorry this happened. Please be alright. Please,” he whispers.

  I want to respond. I want to look into his eyes. I try opening them, so he knows I can hear him, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t. They feel like lead, along with the rest of my body. The only thing helping me right now is the feel of Lucien’s arms wrapped protectively around me, and the smell of his sweet scent. I prayed I would get to see him again. The whole time Elias was having me, I prayed I would live through it to see the man I so longed for, even if it was just one more time. And here I am. Maybe not in exactly the way I hoped I’d see him.

  I give his shoulder a light squeeze, so he knows I’m listening and that I can hear him. And then he does something unexpected. He rests his lips on my forehead, kissing me softly. I let out a satisfied sigh as I fall back to unconsciousness.

  What feels like a lifetime later, we finally arrive to the physician’s quarters. I open my eyes, and groan in pain as the light sears through them and makes my head pound.

  “We’re here now, sweetheart,” Lucien says in soft voice.

  “My God!” Tobias exclaims. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. She was heading back to her room like this. She’s been in and out of consciousness,” Lucien says frantically.

  “Put her over here on the cot, quickly!”

  “Your majesty, can you hear me?” Tobias says as Lucien lays me down on the cot.

  I try to respond, but only a groan comes out. My throat feels like its being closed off and I begin to silently panic.

  “Can you open your eyes?” He asks.

  I open them the best I can, staring up at him, feeling pitiful and not at all like a queen.

  “Can you tell me what happened? Who did this to you?” Tobias was frantic now.

  I open my mouth, desperately wanting to tell them what had just happened. Another groan croaks out, but that’s all I can do. A tear slips down my cheek, and I make no effort to wipe it off. I wouldn’t be able to anyway. Lucien saves the day again as he quickly wipes the tear away with his thumb. He leaves his hand cupped around my cheek as he looks down at me with sad eyes.

  “There is something you should see,” Lucien says to Tobias. He looks back to me “May I remove the blanket, your majesty?”

  I nod. I’ve already been naked in front of a few men tonight, one more wouldn’t make much of a difference. Lucien carefully peels the blanket back, revealing my many bruises, starting from my neck, and traveling down to my stomach and inner thighs. Tobias’ eyes widen in horror, quickly turning to anger.

  “Your majesty, were you…?” Tobias trails off. He wants to ask me if I’d been raped, but he has too much respect for me, for women in general to ask flat out.

  I nod my head the best I can, indicating to them that I had, in fact been raped.

  I begin to shiver, from the cold, from the shock, and Lucien quickly covers me again. I need to tell them that Elias did this to me. I needed my voice back, and I try over and over to get my words out, becoming frantic that I can’t speak.

  “Don’t try to speak now, your majesty. You need rest. You’ll be okay, I’ll see to that,” Tobias assures.

  I close my eyes again, my head spinning in fast circles. I clutch on to Lucien’s hand, trying to steady myself. He grabs my hand in both of his and stays that way for a long while. He doesn’t move, not once as Tobias checks me over. He sits next to me, holding me and protecting me from the danger I call my husband. But how much could he really protect me if Elias decided to storm in here right now? He could easily make Lucien and Tobias leave. He was the king. He could do what he wanted. But there had to be at least one person in this world who could stop him. There had to be.

  I decided once I’ve recovered, I’d head back to Myrkdovia, get our marriage annulled, and try to start over. But I needed to make a fast and quiet exit. Elias would never just let me leave, not now. Not after what he had done. He was delusional and dangerous. He’d stop at nothing to keep me with him.

  And then there’s Lucien. The thought of leaving, and never seeing him again hurt more than anything Elias has done to me. But I needed to do this. I needed to leave, for it was only a matter of time before Elias killed me too.

  “Tobias, do you think he did this to her?” Lucien asks.

  “Do you?” Tobias asks.

  They must think I’m asleep, otherwise they wouldn’t be talking so freely about what happened. Did they expect Elias as well? Why would they unless they knew more than I did?

  “A few hours before this, the king requested to see her in his chambers. She came back like this.” Lucien’s voice was rigid, angry.
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br />   Tobias stays silent for a long moment. “We need to be careful where we talk about this,” is all he says.

  He knows something. He just isn’t telling Lucien. I could tell by the tone of his voice. What was he hiding? Did he really help cover up Marjorie’s death?

  Lucien is still holding my hand, rubbing his thumb back and forth across my fingers. I can feel him watching me, and I want nothing more than to open my eyes to look up at him. But I can’t let them know I’m awake and heard their conversation, for I’m hoping Tobias comes out with what he wants to say.

  “You should go now, my boy. You need your rest too,” Tobias says.

  Lucien instinctively grips my hand a little tighter. “You’re right. I just want to be sure she’s safe.”

  “She’s safe here. I won’t let anything happen to her. I’ll be up the night caring for her,” Tobias assured.

  Lucien stands, still not taking his hand away from mine. “I’ll be back in the morning to check on her,” he says, letting go of my hand and walking away.

  “Lucien,” Tobias says once he’s to the door. “I know you care a great deal for her. Anyone can see that. But that’s precisely the problem. You can’t let anyone see it. If it ever got back to the king…” He trails off.

  “I know…” Lucien says. “I know. I’ll try.”

  So he does care for me. I knew he did, but actually hearing it from him, made my heart soar. It also made things very complicated. Now that I knew for a fact, that he cared for me, it would be that much harder for me to try to ignore him and stay away from him. I feel the same way, and I have since the first day we met. Every time our eyes meet, a fire sparks between us. It’s not fading with time, even now that I’m married to the king. It’s only growing stronger, and I don’t think there’s anything stopping it now.

  Tobias is right. It will be a problem if anyone sees the spark between us. Can you imagine if anyone found out that their queen fell for a knight?

  Fell for…? Did I just admit to myself that I fell for Lucien? I couldn’t admit that, even to myself. If I did, it would make it all too real. And we’d both be in mortal danger. Elias would most definitely kill us both, destroying anyone and anything in his path. I had to keep my feelings under wraps if I were to protect us. I needed never to admit to myself again that I fell for this man, even if it destroyed my heart in the process.