As far as she understood, it was impossible for dragons to return from the Other. When they went there, it was because they were dead. So either he hadn't been truly dead, or he lied.
But going to the Other wasn't an option for the half-dead, or wanted-to-be-dead, was it?
Eventually, she dropped her knees, curiosity getting the better of her. Pouting like a child was not going to answer her questions. And in addition, Alexander relied on her, perhaps more often than he should, in order to be responsible and level headed around the palace. She didn't get caught up in emotion like this often. But then, it often didn't feel like her whole world was falling apart.
She slunk out of her room, only to run smack into Cole.
“Oh, my God,” she said. “If I run into one more of you boys, I'm going to lose it.”
“What are you going on about?” Cole asked, the mischievous grin on his face. “My big brother giving you trouble?”
“Technically true,” she replied. “Although not the brother you expect. If you haven't heard yet, you better come with me. Where's your wife?”
“She's lying down,” Cole replied. “If I haven't heard what?”
“If you've been diagnosed with a heart condition or something, you better let me know now.”
“What?” he asked, confused. Ariel shook her head, dragging him through the hallways. Cole was the troublemaker of the bunch, and a year ago, he had almost destroyed everything. He was actually half dragon, half witch – a fact his father had kept secret until he was of the age of majority. Cole had lashed out, nearly destroying Earth. It was only Enya's kindness that had saved him. Ariel knew he was dangerous; she knew all of them were, but she saw Cole more as a mischievous child than a dangerous war criminal. And luckily for him, his brothers eventually saw the same thing. “Did you buy me a present?”
“Well,” she said, as she rounded the corner to the ballroom. They were still there, which didn't surprise her. It was a shock, after all. “That depends on whether you like Peter or not.”
“My king!”
“Not you too,” Ariel rolled her eyes as she leaned against the door. Alexander looked less annoyed at her presence and lack of bowing. As she assumed, it was because he needed her to do things.
“Ariel, this palace needs to be on lock down. No one in or out until we work through this. Can you shut down the throne room and alert the guards?”
“I guess,” she replied. She wasn't thrilled about it, but she didn't see any other options before abandoning them, which isn't what she was prepared to do. They were still the closest thing she had to family.
“I will see you tonight,” he said, and she shrugged, trying to pretend it didn't matter.
There wasn't anyone who questioned her authority as she shut down the various rooms and departments. They respected her word as second only to the king. She didn't reveal to them that the fact had possibly changed.
When Alexander came into the room they shared that night, he looked pale and drawn. Collapsing on the bed beside her where she was reading, he turned towards her.
“What a day,” he said.
“No kidding,” she rolled over to face him. “Are you going to fill me in? Or just leave me in the dark?”
“I did not mean to,” he sighed. “I did not mean to snap at you, nor did I mean to disrespect you. You have to understand, Ariel, I didn't know what to do.” He grasped her hand and she let him. He looked so disheartened and exhausted, she couldn't help but offer him comfort. “I spent my whole rule...most of my life, if I admit it, hoping for him to return. I convinced myself it was impossible, illogical, and yet I wanted it. I wanted it more than I wanted my own life.”
“How is it possible?” she asked. “You told me that the Other was a mystical place, where dragons go to die. So, wasn't he dead?”
“There is…” Alexander took a breath, looking up to the ceiling
“You can do it in the dragon lore if it's easier,” she said. “I can take it. I'm smart.”
It may have been easier for him to say the words, but the explanation itself did not come any easier.
“Dragons have such control of their life force, and the life force of others. It is possible in very rare circumstances to close your eyes and simply slip away. Most of the time, they do die. The subconscious is very powerful. But it appears there is a part of Peter – a small part of Peter – that did want to live. And so, he has returned. Unfortunately, he doesn't know what part of that it is, because he is still as depressed as he ever was. He hates what we are, and he can't see through that black haze. In addition, he's missed a lot of what's happened. Bringing him up to speed will be a task upon itself.”
“But is that the intention?” she asked. “To bring him up to speed and then have him take over the throne?”
“I don't know,” Alexander replied. “I don't know. But for the moment, it's business as normal.”
“It still makes me a princess, not a queen,” she said, and he sighed.
“Can we put all discussions on hold for a few weeks? Until I sort things out?”
She sat up, watching him. “No,” she said. “But I won't push so hard for the next few days, at least.”
He looked up at her, his eyes half lidded. “Are you so unhappy, my dear?”
“I'm just not being true to myself, she said. “And don't you know what that is like? Lying to yourself? Being something you're not?”
“Yes,” he said, at last. “Yes, I do know what that is like.”
Chapter 4
“Something is wrong.” Ariel's head shot up sometime around dawn. She was upset, first and foremost, that she was awake for a second day at dawn. But she was more upset by the sudden blast of magic that she absorbed, enough to wake her from a deep sleep. “Alexander!”
“Mmm?” he grunted, rolling over. Sleeping shirtless, his smooth, muscular frame would be likened to a Greek god if they were in a story book. Ariel had thought he was gorgeous when they first met, and he hadn't aged a day. It wasn't a lack of physical attraction that had her changing her mind. “Darling?”
“There's magic.” She closed her eyes, trying to focus. “Someone is being super careless, it's dark magic.”
He sat up right away, shifting back so that she wouldn't be so distracted by his own magic.
“How dark? What kind?”
“I don't know?” she asked, turning back to him. “It makes me feel bad though.”
“Is it Other magic?” he asked her.
“Maybe?” she had only been around one dragon who had died, and that was his father. When Cole had lost his temper after finding out he was adopted, his killings had been far from the palace. He had spared them the horrors which might have caused her to feel Other magic so close. She tried to remember the feeling that she had when the old king had finally passed. “I think so.”
Alexander swore, throwing off the covers and grabbed her wrist.
“Ariel, come with me, now.”
“What? Why?” she asked. She hadn't been sleeping naked, but it was only because the palace was cold. She wasn't exactly decent as he tried to yank her out of the room. “What are you doing?”
“You need to stop Peter,” he said, as they headed down the hall. Peter had never moved into the king's chambers, so they didn't lose their room when he arrived. She had only been in the king's chamber twice, both when he was dying. It was grand, more grand than any of the princes' rooms.
In the center of the large canopy bed, dark magic swirled around Peter. His eyes were closed, his breathing regular, and to Ariel, it didn't even look like he was awake.
Alexander threw her forward, and she read his mind, mostly by habit. She placed her hand on his bicep, and Peter's eyes flew open.
“No!” he managed to yell as Alexander grabbed his other side, and Ariel gritted her teeth.
“Could you not?” she said. “Two princes in one go is a bit hard.”
“Peter, you have to stay with me,” Alexander begged his brother
, lifting his hands. “Please, please stay. Don't go again.”
Peter's eyes rolled towards his brother, and they were locked in a silent war. Ariel pushed harder, trying to force the black magic out of him.
“Please,” Alexander said. “Please. Don't leave me here to do this. I can't do this.”
Ariel pushed again, and it was enough. Peter grunted, rolling over and he half barked at her.
“Stop, you devil woman!” he bellowed at her. She raised her hands in the air as Cole and Nicholas rushed in.
“Hey, look, I don't care if you vanish forever,” she said. “It would benefit me if you just headed back where you came from. But Alexander has problems with that, so–”
“And you do his bidding, because you are his obedient wife.”
Ariel paled.
“I'm not–”
“Don't lie to me,” he said, with a sneer. “One of the benefits of the Other is that you can see the world you left behind, watch over your loved ones. And I saw my brother marry you, for reasons I cannot comprehend.”
Ariel was now stunned into silence. She looked up to Alexander, who looked equally shocked at the admission.
“I'm sorry?” Nicholas asked, taking a step forward. “Did I hear that right?”
“Oh, my apologies,” Peter said, although it was clear that he wasn't. “Did you want to keep that a secret? Why, exactly? Are you embarrassed by her? Or you didn't want her to know that by law, she would own half this kingdom if I didn't return?”
“What?” This was a shock to Ariel.
“That's the rights of the queen,” Peter replied. “Most queens are compliant and pass the whole kingdom to their children. But a carapace queen? She might want to take it over.”
“You're married?” Cole was quick to speak up. “We're siblings?”
“I own half the kingdom?” She turned to Alexander, shocked.
“As the highest-ranking female, you do, yes,” he admitted.
“Oh,” she said. They held each other’s gaze in silence. Her hands were off Peter, but she was quick enough to feel the magic swirl around him again. “Oh, no you don't.”
“Why don't you mind your own business?” Peter snarled at her, but she was not easily frightened.
“Apparently, it is my business, since I own half the kingdom, along with you,” she said, staring him down. “Quit it, or I'll remove your magic forever.”
“You can't do that!” he spat at her.
“Can’t I?” she raised an eyebrow. “I'm the most powerful carapace you've ever met, and I know that. Want to take your chances? You'll never even attempt to make it to the Other again.”
Peter eventually fell quiet, and Alexander removed her hands.
“He'll try again,” she said. “I've seen suicidal before. If he's determined, he'll find a way.”
Alexander sighed, turning to Nicholas. Nicholas was normally his muscle, his body guard, and the one that would wrestle out someone who wasn’t compliant. But this was their brother, and their king.
“The prison walls will block it out,” Nicholas said, softly. “Will you go willingly, Peter?”
Peter looked up, and he looked absolutely defeated.
“Alexander…”
“Please,” Alexander replied. “Please, do not leave me so soon.”
The two brothers spent a moment facing off. But eventually, Peter sighed.
“Fine,” he replied. Nicholas moved forward to escort him, but Peter shook him off.
“Cole,” Alexander said, “go with him.”
“But,” Cole grinned, “I want to know all about my new sister-in-law.”
“Go,” Alexander repeated, and Cole slunk off.
Once they were alone in the room, Ariel sighed.
“Why wouldn't you tell me?”
“Honestly?” he said. “Because I didn't think that you would care. I know you, Ariel, and you put on such a tough front. But inside, you're a good person. You aren't with me because you care about your share of this kingdom.”
“What happens if we divorce?” she asked.
“I would not be allowed to marry again, nor shift that power elsewhere. Any power of a queen would have to wait until I died.”
“Even in Peter got married? Or if Cole and Enya took the throne?”
“Correct” he said and she sighed, rubbing her face.
“God damn it, Alexander, why did you marry me then? Was it just your addiction to feeling human?”
“To not feeling alone,” he said, and she sank onto the bed. “There are no ramifications to you. You can still go.”
“I'm not feeling wronged,” she answered. “It just changes things. Especially if your brother is king, not you. He's about to go off the deep end, so technically, I am the sane voice of this kingdom, aren't I?”
“Yes,” he answered. “We have always recognized our female monarchs.”
“I wish you didn't,” she said. “It just makes the whole world a thousand times worse. Why can't you be
a patriarchal society like everyone else?”
He smirked.
“You don't like our...what do they call it on Earth?”
“Feminism,” she said. “Which normally, I subscribe to. But in this case, I really wish that you were more archaic.”
“This is a mess,” he said, covering his face. “I spent so long wishing he was back. But now that I see how unhappy he is, I'm not sure that my needs outweigh his.”
“Also not the way you deal with it on Earth,” Ariel said. “If someone is suicidal, you get them proper help. I mean, throwing them in lock down, that's temporary but–”
“Wait,” he said. “What do you do on Earth?”
“For depression?” She asked. “Proper drugs, therapy, and getting them away from the thing that bothers them.”
“The thing that causes the depression?” he asked, and she shrugged.
“Sure, you could put it that way.”
“Such as this palace. The magic. These memories. Being a dragon.”
“Sure,” she said hesitantly, not liking where he was going with this.
“You have to be back on Wednesday, right?” he asked.
“Oh, my God, Alexander,” she buried her face in her hands. “We are not bringing Peter with us to Earth. No. No way.”
“What if I went with you?” he asked.
“How would that make it better?” she asked. “We certainly wouldn't live the wild life we normally do if he was with us.”
“But we would get to live a normal life,” he said. “Which you talk about from time to time. How can we know if this marriage works? We're never together to just be.”
“I can't believe you,” she said. “What do you mean, ‘works?’ We weren't married for love, Alexander!”
“Please,” he said. “If for no other reason than to save my brother.”
He looked so dejected, so exhausted, and her heart went out to him. He was right. She wasn't a bad person, and she did care about him. They had been together most of her adult life; she didn't know a life without him in the background, and she didn't have any reason to want him to suffer.
“What's your plan?” she asked. “I don't even have an apartment, Alexander. I've been living out of hotels when we're on tour.”
“I assume said hotel has more than one room to be rented?” he said. “Or perhaps a suite where Peter will not be alone?”
“He'll stick out like a sore thumb,” she said “He doesn't have any English.”
“We can work around that,” Alexander said, and she sighed.
“Fine. He can't access much magic on Earth, and I can take care of the rest. But he's not to interfere with my performance. I'm not going to lose my job on top of the kingdom.”
“Why would you lose the…right,” he said, standing up. “Thank you, Ariel. You must think me a weak-hearted fool.”
“I don't think you're weak,” she said, giving him a hug. She was surprised to find that he was trembling under her grasp. “I do
n't judge you. Remember that,” she said, looking into his eyes. “It’s time to get some food soon, hmm?”
“When this is over,” he said, leaning his head against her shoulder for a moment. “I'm going to go talk to him.”
“I'll be in our room,” she said. “It's not as if I can leave on my own.”
“No,” he said. “But you might want to explain to your brothers-in-law that you'll love them all the same, no matter what happens.”
“Them,” Ariel gave him a grin. “I will always love. They're my family. You're my family, too, Alexander. Even if–”
“I know,” he squeezed her hand once more before leaving. His head was spinning, and his heart felt heavy. Heavy lies the head that wears the crown, his thoughts screamed at him. The person who wrote that quote had no idea how hard it really was.
Chapter 5
“Go where?” Peter looked up at his brother in confusion. They were still standing outside of the cells. It turned out that Alexander could not take the sight of Peter standing there, looking at him as if he was a criminal.
“We're going with Ariel to Earth for awhile. This is not the environment you need to ease your way back into the world.”
“Am I your prisoner, then?” Peter asked, with a raised eyebrow.
“No, of course not,” Alexander said. “Give us two weeks. If you are still unhappy with the world, then I will let you do as you wish.”
“You'll let me return to the Other?” Peter asked.
“If that's what you want,” Alexander replied. “But Brother, you returned. It couldn't have been because you didn't want to. Something in you kept you alive enough to return.”
Peter had no answer to that, but he didn't disagree.
“Good,” Alexander said. “Ariel needs to return soon anyways, so we were thinking of leaving as soon as you were ready.”
“No time like the present,” Peter said, although he said it without enthusiasm. “What about the issues here at the palace that should be dealt with?”
“Nicholas has been in charge before while I've been away. It will be nothing new. Earth will be calm, relaxing, and you can focus on yourself.”
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