by CY Jones
“The Queen, she had Tristan taken away for treason,” he replies, and my face immediately pales.
“What?” I screech.
I don’t need him to say anything more. Chaos is already tugging me towards the direction we need to go with Lucifer and the guards following close behind. I can feel my anger bubbling to the surface, barely able to control it at this point. If she’s harmed Tristan in any way, I don’t care if she’s Kaiden mother, I will end her.
Turning down a dark hall towards the back of the castle, we take a spiral concrete staircase that seems to go on forever. The further down we travel, the drafter it gets until goosebumps appear on my arms. With my Winter Fae heritage I’m not cold, but my skin does take note how cool it is down here. It’s also dark. Unlike above where the castle is lit with modern electricity, down here it’s total medieval with lit sconces flickering from the air that makes its way through the tiny cracks in the brick and mortar. The only sound I hear is our combined footsteps as we travel downwards, and sometimes scurrying feet in the walls which has me to believe there's rats also down here. Finally the staircase ends, and we all file through a wooden door.
The prison is huge, and goes on forever, probably the whole length and width of the castle itself. It’s dark, and gives off a musty smell from the damp mortar from the sea outside. If I concentrate and listen closely enough, I can hear the crashing waves outside. The ground is nothing more than crushed gravel and sand. I don’t think this prison has ever been updated, and this is probably the way it was when the prison was first built God knows how long ago. We bypass dark cells the further in the prison we travel. Some with an occupant, but most empty.
“Well, look how the mighty have fallen,” a sneering voice says from one of the cells.
“You say that like you’re not the one currently locked in a jail cell,” I tell Raven, looking down at her sitting crossed leg on a cot.
“My stay here is only temporary, but your little boytoy down there looks like he’ll be here for the long haul,” she taunts.
Ignoring her, I move on past her cell to the ones further in the back following the pull I feel in my heart. I don’t think it’s possible for my mates to be separated from me, and me to not know where they are. When I get to his cell, the bitch herself is here with Kaiden by her side like she’s been waiting on me, but I only have eyes for my dark angel chained to his cell like a dog. Like his brother, Tristan’s hair is disheveled with many strands of hair free from its bun. There's blood dripping from his lip from a cut, and his knuckles are raw, covered in blood that I suspect is not his.
“Let him go,” I growl, and his eyes snap up meeting mine.
“He has been reported for conspiring against the crown. I cannot just let him go,” Hera huffs like she’s talking to some village idiot.
“What proof do you have?” I ask, ripping my eyes away from Tristan, and narrowing them on her. This is all too convenient, like some big ploy to try to control me. More of her stupid games.
“I do not report to you. If I say there’s proof then there's proof,” she sneers at me.
“It sounds like you have nothing but hearsay. You will release Tristan from this cell this instance, or I will break him out myself and go home. My real home on the other side of the veil,” I threaten.
“You will do no such thing,” she replies. She sounds so smug and sure of herself. She has no clue who the fuck she’s dealing with.
“Try me,” I taunt. My eyes are blazing, and the ends of my hair rise from the electricity as it runs across my skin.
Taking a step back from me, Hera glares down at me like I’m some small child about to have a tantrum. “I don’t think you know your knight as well as you think you do. It's been reported back to me that he’s been conspiring in secret with many nobles of different houses,” she responds.
“That could be anything. He could have been talking about the weather, or having a recap of his stay when he left to find me. You don’t know for sure, or have any concrete evidence to lock him in here,” I tell her, taking a stand. I don’t care if what she says is true. I will not stand by while Tristan rots down here. If he was having conversations with the other nobles then I know he must have been doing it for me.
“Be that as it may, he’s still being charged, so he will remain here. I am Queen and this is what I decree.”
Shocked, I look over at Kaiden. How can he just stand by while his mother acts like a tyrant? Can’t he see now what everyone has been telling him? That his mother is nothing more than a power hungry cow?
“How can you just stand by and let her do this? Isn’t Tristan one of your best friends?” I ask, turning my anger on Kaiden. At least, he does have the nerve to look contrite, and I start to hope he’ll do the right thing this time, but he quickly dashes my hope with his next words.
“Tristan will get a fair trial. If he’s innocent he will be let go.”
“Yeah the fuck right. I can’t believe you Kaiden,” I spit out, dismissing him. “Let him go,” I order, turning back to his mother.
“Let's make a deal, you and me, Winter,” she says, and I know I have walked face first into her trap, but I do not care if it means that Tristan will be set free.
"What do you want?” I question, raising my brow.
Smiling like the cat who ate the canary, she moves from the safety of Kaiden’s side and her guards and stands right in front of me. “You will make him,” she says, looking over my shoulder at Chaos, “take back his proposal, and marry my son the day after the Queen Trial is over.”
“No,” Chaos and I both answer at the same time.
“Then I’m afraid we’ll have to go forward with Tristan’s trial,” she replies nonchalantly, blowing at her nails. She knows as well as I do the trial will not be fair, and Tristan will be found guilty whether he did the crime or not. I can’t let that happen.
“You will let Tristan out now, or I swear to the Gods, I’ll bring this whole castle down on top of us,” I say reaching for my power, and the walls start to shake.
“You will do no such thing, silly girl. You will kill us all, including your mates.”
“Do you really want to try me?” I ask, making the walls shake harder. Dirt from above starts to rain down on top of our heads, and Hera looks over at me, trying to decide if I’m crazy enough to kill us all or not.
“You nor Winter can make me go back on my proposal. I will marry her, so you might want to demand something else before the very kingdom you want to keep so badly ends up on top of you burying you alive,” Chaos says to the witch with a lack of emotion. It really does seem like he doesn’t care if I kill us all or not, and I know she can see it too.
“Fine,” she relents. “You will fight Raven in the Queen Trial, and the very next day you will marry my son and Chaos.”
“What’s the hurry? Why do you want me to marry Kaiden so badly that you’ll resort to this?” I question, letting go of my power so that the walls will stop shaking.
“I only want what’s best for my son, and your bloodline is the best,” she answers.
“Bullshit, you only want what’s best for yourself, and my marriage to Kaiden will ensure you’ll keep that crown on your head. Something has happened to make you want to rush our marriage, and I will not stop looking until I find out what,” I reply, seeing straight through her.
“The why doesn’t matter right now. Do we have a deal or not?”
“Fine,” I huff, “now release him.”
“No, I think not. Tristan will stay here until you have fulfilled your part of the deal and have married and consummated the marriage, and only then will I let him go free,” she counters.
Grinding my teeth, I know I don’t have a choice. I think the only thing that will have her relent is this castle toppling on her head, and even then she’ll probably still hold on, but still I can’t let her run over me like this.
“You will let Tristan go after the Queen’s Trial or I will break him out myself and tel
l everyone what I am afterwards,” I threaten, and to prove my point I make a ball of snow, floating it above my hand.
“You wouldn’t,” she says, narrowing her eyes at me.
“Wouldn’t I?” I challenge, raising my brow.
“Fine,” she relents, not happy things didn’t go exactly the way she wanted, but I could care less how she feels.
“You have a deal,” I say through clenched teeth. The words barely leave my mouth before the magic in the air binds me to my vow. A burning sensation starts to circle my ankle and I know I have yet another marking.
“Good,” the bitch says, clapping her hands together.
“Why is he chained up like some animal?” I question, looking back over at Tristan. He has been quiet this whole exchange, and I was starting to worry even more.
“He took out fifty of my guards bringing him here. We had to take precautions,” she answers.
“Take them off,” I demand.
Giving me a look of pure hate, she slightly nods her head, and one of her guards steps into the cell and removes his chain. As soon as he’s free, Tristan punches the guard in the temple laying him out flat before spitting on his body. Another guard steps in the cell, and takes the feet of the fallen guard, and drags him out before Tristan can do anymore damage.
“Well, since everything is settled I’ll take my leave now,” Hera says, turning on her heel and walking away. One day, I swear I will kill her. I don’t know when or how, but it will happen.
“Winter,” Kaiden starts to say, and I hold my hand up, stopping him.
“You just sat back and watched while your friend was beaten, chained, and dragged down to the dungeon like some kind of animal. A man who I’m sure has saved your life more than once. You saw firsthand why your mother did it, and yet I’m sure you’re still on her side. When will it be enough for you to see what kind of woman your mother is? How many more friends do you need to lose out of your life to see reason?” I question, staring him down. “I may have no say in marrying you now, but I will tell you this. I might wear your ring and say the vows, but I will never be your wife. Not as long as you choose to stand by your backstabbing mother.” With that said I turn my back to him, and he leaves without another word.
“Can I be alone with Tristan?” I ask softly, pressing my forehead to the bars.
“Of course, beautiful. I’ll be by the entrance when you’re ready to leave,” Chaos answers, cupping my cheek.
When he walks away, I dismiss the guard right after ordering him to let me in Tristan’s cell. As soon as the door opens I run straight into his arms, and he holds me tight like I’m the most precious thing in the world.
We don’t speak. Both content to sit in the dark, lonely cell holding each other.
“The chains bind my magic, and also steal my voice,” he says gruffly, like he’s been smoking a whole pack of cigarettes. “If I could speak, I would have told you not to make a deal for me. I know how much you hate being forced into things, especially marriage.”
“And I would have told you to shut up. You may be my knight, but I’m just as responsible for you as much as you are for me. I love you Tristan. I would have given up anything for you.”
“You have. You gave her power over you, and now she knows that I am a weakness. She will prey on that, on you, and I cannot let that happen.”
"What’s done is done,” I sigh. “If not you, she would have found another way. Chaos, my familiars, anything. I’ve learned quickly that she’s a horrible person, and there isn’t much she wouldn’t do to get her way,” I tell him, thinking about Kaiden’s real dad holed up in here somewhere. After sitting in silence for a while I ask in a small voice, “did you do it?” I don’t need to explain. He already knows what I’m talking about.
“Yes, princess,” he answers without hesitation.
“Why?” I ask, snuggling in closer to him.
“I found out some things about your father’s disappearance, and I knew that if she was wicked enough to get a man like Lucas DelaCorte out the way, then you will need all the help you can get, so I’ve been trying to assemble you an army.
“What?” I ask shocked. “What about my father?”
Looking around to make sure no one is within hearing distance he replies softly, “Hera is behind your father’s accident. I’m pretty sure she’s the one who paid the humans to make sure he was out the way when Kaiden came for you.”
“That’s impossible. Kaiden didn't even know he was going to come. He’s been fighting the pull for so long,” I reply, trying to avoid the truth in his words.
“Hera knew Kaiden was fighting an uphill battle. It would have been only a matter of time before he finally broke down. Whatever went on to bring Lucas to flee with you would not have been an ideal situation for her to send Kaiden into, so she made sure Lucas wouldn’t be there. I’m quite sure it was her intent to kill Lucas.”
I want to say he got it all wrong, but I know he’s right. Hera is that fucking evil. Look at what she’s done to the father to her child. She’s stolen years of his life, and kept his child from him. Of course she’ll attempt to kill my dad. The one person she cannot kill on her own. She went out and found men with as much of a selfish desire as her own to do her dirty work for her.
“So, you got caught trying to assemble an army?” I ask, trying to understand.
“No, I got caught trying to assemble my men into looking for your father. I know where he is, and I was going to send a team after him to bring him here. With the rightful heir here, Hera’s claim over the throne would have been finished.”
“That’s when she lied, and had the guards arrest you. There is no proof. No one coming forward saying you have made threats against the crown.”
“No. Everyone who has made a deal to fight for you has made it in blood. They cannot betray you, or me as your knight,” he answers solemnly.
“That lying bitch,” I screech, not caring who hears. I want to go find her, and end her existence now. Especially knowing she’s behind the attack on my father, but why try to kill me? She had to know she could have ended her own son. “What about the attack on me? She would have killed Kaiden too.”
“I don’t think she was behind the attack on you, or even knew about it before Kaiden told her. The humans she trusted to get rid of Lucas were working for themselves when they went after you,” he answers.
“What a big mess this all is,” I say, blowing the loose strands of hair out my eyes.
“Don’t worry about me, or your dad right now. In a week, you will fight Raven. It’s best to just focus on one thing at a time.”
“You know she’s down her too. Just a couple of cells over. Hera had her sent down here after dinner last night.”
“I saw her when they dragged me in here. Hera probably thinks keeping her locked up will weaken her. I doubt she’ll give her the chance to train before the week is done, plus it keeps her mother on a leash while she’s locked up.”
“I think Hera’s plan will backfire on me and her. Keeping Raven here will only piss her off more, giving her even more reason to hate me. I don’t know them well, or what the history is between Hera and Raven’s mother, but I know hate when I see it. Morgana will do whatever she can to see Hera’s head on a pike.”
“I agree, but you can’t worry about that. You need to train and focus on yourself. Chaos is a great teacher.”
"True, but he’s also a hard one. Do you know how many times I landed on my ass today?”
Laughing, he replies, “I can imagine.”
For the next hour we sit in silence before Chaos comes back and lets me out the cell. Kissing Tristan hard on the lips, I promise to come back to see him tomorrow. I will also be making sure he’s not treated like a regular prisoner. He’ll get fed decent meals, and be allowed to bathe and change. I also set it up so that my own soldiers are the ones on duty guarding the prison and not just Hera’s men. Just in case one of them has an itchy finger or fist. Not that I’m worried they’l
l hurt Tristan, I just don’t want Hera to have any more ammunition over him if he beats up her men.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Winter
For the next week, Chaos trained me hard. To my own dismay, I haven’t been able to replicate my lightning powers, no matter how mad he gets me, but I have learned to handle his, and some of Kaiden’s power just fine. True to my word, I have not spoken to Kaiden since the dungeon incident, and he has kept his distance, not once apologizing in the part he played, which is just fine with me. He’s an asshole. The typical spoiled prince that you read about in tabloids about royals going wild. He refuses to separate right from wrong when it deals with his mother, choosing to believe everything is blurred grey. He’s the crack in an otherwise perfect shell, and I refuse to enable him, or let him think he’s right when I know he’s wrong. If he wants to be a selfish prick, he can be it by himself. I said everything I needed to him in the dungeons.
Hera also has yet to release Raven. It’s the night before the Trials, and she is still rotting in her cell, simmering in her anger. Just like Tristan, I’ve made sure she’s being fed regularly with decent meals, and able to bathe, not that the brat has thanked me. Everytime I go down there, she has nothing but cruel things to say as I pass by her cell to Tristans. Her mother, much to Hera’s dismay, has brought the issue up to the Council many times, as well as the rest of the nobles currently staying in the palace, that it’s not fair Raven has not gotten the chance to train, and has been left to rot in a prison cell. Not that it’s helped her any. The Council barely listens to her. Her pleas have fallen on deaf ears as the Council doesn’t seem to care that Raven is down there. I thought they hated me, but it seems as if their curiosity of me has overruled their hate. They want to know what I can do. Despite my Fae heritage, I’m as close to a pure breed they have. Besides my father’s indegression, our family line has never mixed the bloodlines. They were the type of royal family who married their cousins. So gross in my opinion. Apparently, my grandmother was married to her brother before he was killed in the war. That is one tradition I won’t be continuing, not that I have a brother, and my cousin is definitely off limits. It’s already bad enough that only one of the men I have to marry after the trials I actually want to be with me right now. As if he knows I’m thinking about him, Chaos strolls into my room like he owns it.
