by JL Madore
I pushed my chin out and straightened. “What do you care? You just finished saying we’re not friends.”
Rowan scrubbed his palm across the stubble of his five o’clock shadow. “You underestimate the lengths the Queen will go to ensure control over her city. If you flounce your independence, she will squash you.” The vehemence in his voice had me dumbfounded.
“What did I do to piss you off? I’ve been nothing but—”
He stepped away from the back bench and stalked forward. “You stood in a crowd of disgruntled citizens and declared opposition to the Queen. Attalos isn’t a democracy. Rumors fly to her like traitorous little birds.”
“And this is your business, how?”
Coming around the forge, with his shirt off and his lithe body moving in angry strides, his movement was better than a strip show. “Look,” he said, his voice lowered. “The Queen rules with fear and with violence. Your recklessness is going to get you, or those around you, killed.”
“I’m not reckless. I’m honest.” My thoughts stopped being logical the moment all that rippled, tawny flesh was close enough to touch, or nip, or lick. He smelled like sweated-out male and didn’t that make my heart beat faster. “Besides, as much as I appreciate you highlighting everything I’m doing wrong, I’ve had enough of that. Fingers pointing. Judgement. Disappointment. That dance card is full.”
I stepped back and opened my hand to the side. Coal slipped his little fingers against my palm and my pounding heart warmed. He might be tiny, but that gesture of trust was huge in this hostile world. Zale might think he owned me like he owned this boy, the Queen might think she owned this city, but neither of them knew me. “Thanks for the warning, Doc. I’ll take it under advisement. And just as an FYI . . . I don’t flounce. I fight.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
With my purple heels dangling from one hand and Coal clutching the other, the three of us strode through the gold-gilded hallways, past the sculptures and art, and eventually found ourselves outside the Queen’s private meeting chamber.
“Coal, stay in the hall with Terran, ‘kay? I promise, as soon as I’m done with the Queen we’ll find Zale and see if we can figure out some way to improve your situation.” With a look of mature resignation, Coal released my hand and went to stand next to Terran. It was bizarre how the mere loss of that fragile contact left me feeling bereft.
After slipping my feet back into my shoes and getting a reluctant nod from Terran, I signaled to the two soldiers standing guard. The double iron doors moved the air in silent warning as the room beyond opened to me. The Queen sat perched behind an antique, neo-classical-looking desk. The carvings and details of the Parthenon relic were repeated in the backrest of her throne and in the fireplace mantle. The room itself was refreshingly simple by comparison, with walls hung in ivory damask.
“Well,” said a male voice from the corner behind me. “Are you always this petulant or was that worthless little kopros too stupid to find you?”
I whirled to where Zale stood, arms crossed, in the corner and then glanced to the open doors. Coal blanched at his master’s words. “I was deep in the market shops. I’m sure Coal found me as quickly as possible.”
“Coal? You named the little chit?”
“Hey, don’t call him names!”
A cruel smile curled across his pretty face. “Why Princess, you’ve taken a liking to my pet.”
“He is a sweet boy and you are nothing but a bullying ass with a title.”
Zale moved faster than I gave him credit for. Dazzled by his fury, I almost didn’t duck his hand fast enough to avoid the slap to my face. Almost.
Straightening, I smiled at his confusion. What? Did my ‘sister wives’ just let him go slap-happy on them?
A moment after I righted myself, Coal raced to my rescue. Fast as I was, I wasn’t fast enough to stop the backhand which struck Coal and knocked him sliding across the polished floor.
“You stupid, worthless, scorch,” Zale growled, stalking toward the boy’s crumpled frame. “I am your master, not her—” As he hauled back to hoof a balled-up boy, I swung in a roundhouse and kicked his thigh with all my weight
The bastard spun off balance, but came back at me within seconds. His eyes grew as wide as gold-rimmed dinner plates when face-to-face with my Guardian blade. I leveled the tip of the knife at his sternum and stepped to block his path. “You and I need to straighten out a few things. First . . . I am soooo not yours. Second . . . you strike that boy again and you and I are going to have more than irreconcilable differences. You feel me?”
Coal shuffled behind me and buried his face into my lower back. With his little arms wrapped tight around my waist, I was torn. My mobility with him and the floor-length dress was compromised, but having a solid hold on him ensured Zale didn’t have an opening.
“Enough,” the Queen said. She waved her hand, her eyes glossed over as if the whole scene bored her to napping. I hadn’t noticed the dark circles under her eyes at lunch, but she looked exhausted. I looked closer. The emerald green of her eyes was now closer to the moss green of Terran’s.
“Lir-Zale,” she said, her voice quiet as a whisper, her finger stroking the handle of a letter opener on her desk. “As a token of goodwill for your nuptials, I suggest you allow your boy servant to become the property of your betrothed. They have formed a union and Princess Grace needs people she cares for in this time of transition. This would demonstrate your willingness to compromise in order to gain her trust.”
Compliance was more likely, but I didn’t argue.
Zale’s Mc’dreamy charm evaporated completely at the proposition of letting me have my way. I held my breath, waiting for either his answer or his head to explode. With white knuckled fists, Zale backed himself into the corner he had been standing in earlier. “Of course, Majesty, thy will be done, my lady.”
After adjusting my position to include Zale in my periphery, I turned to the Queen and slid Coal around to my front. I didn’t look down. Busting into a Cheshire grin wouldn’t be prudent, and despite what my siblings thought, I did think before I spoke. Sometimes.
The elephant in the room was the fact that she thought there would be a wedding. Teaching strategic thinking for the past five years had the hairs on my nape up. For her to still believe that, she must be delusional or planning something.
And I didn’t peg her for delusional.
“Thank you, Majesty.” I filled my voice with as much gratitude as I could muster. “I apologize if I kept you waiting. Coal must have searched half the city by the time he found me. I was exploring, getting to know where I came from.”
“Yes, I heard all about that. Which brings us to my nuptial gift.” Her eyes cleared considerably, lit with a sudden satisfaction. “Take your new-found pet and return to your suite. I have arranged a delivery—an incentive, shall we say—toward a new attitude on your marriage.”
With a hesitant nod, I tightened my grip on Coal and the two of us turned on our heels. We hit the hallway and Terran took up my left flank. Walking as quickly as I could through the maze of opulent corridors, I fought the urge to break into a trot. When we’d put some distance between us and the Queen’s private study, I couldn’t stand the silence any longer.
“That was too easy,” I whispered, releasing Coal from my side to take his hand.
“She is a formidable woman, Lexi. You did well not to challenge her.”
“I am not marrying that smarmy dick. I’ll take Coal and run first.”
“You’d leave us?” Hurt laced his voice. “You’ve seen the discord and rising conflict. Would leave your people and go?”
“I wouldn’t abandon you. As a Talon Enforcer, I can do more with my fellow warriors standing with me than I can alone. Coal could be safely tucked away at Haven while we did something to improve the situation here.”
Terran shook his head. “May I speak frankly without incurring your wrath again?”
I stopped outside the carved door of my suite an
d turned to face him. Attalosean men would be short in other realms, but even so they stood a solid foot taller than the females. At my four-foot-six I had to look up to meet his cautious gaze. “Yes. You can. I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier. It’s been a mind-fuck of a day.” My words still hung in the air when I thought of Coal and my tendency to follow Reign’s vernacular. “Sorry, hon. I’ll work on the swearing. My bad.”
Coal’s smile grew wider. I doubted anything would have bothered him at that moment. Gods he was adorable. I kissed his little hand and turned back to Terran. “Let me have it.”
He leaned down to whisper directly in my ear. “I realize you are far more experienced in these matters than I, but I think you’re grossly oversimplifying. The Queen gets what she wants . . . at any cost. Always.”
With Coal looking at me like I’d just hung the moon, I had to disagree. Whatever the reason for her giving me custody of the boy, I had come out on top on this one. “Try not to worry, Terran. We’ll all keep our eyes open. We won’t get cocky and we’ll see what the winds blow our way. Okay?”
Terran sighed and offered me a reluctant nod. “Okay.”
“Now,” I said, wrapping my arm around Coal’s fragile little shoulder and continuing to the door. “Let’s celebrate.”
As Terran opened the door for us and I hit the lights, my moment of happiness transformed into slow-motion horror.
I couldn’t grasp it. The blood was unreal. It spattered the alabaster cream of my entrance wall. Pooled thick over the perfectly polished floor. Like a disjointed sound bite, I heard Terran curse and the hiss of my breath.
“THAM! Oh gods, Tham!”
My mind fritzed. I knelt next to the bloody heap on the floor. The metallic tang of blood slammed me. I gagged. Shards of icy sliced through my muscles, tore through my sinew and bones and shredded my insides.
Unfolding his mangled body, I pressed slick fingers against his throat and wrist. Too much blood. I couldn’t tell if there was a pulse. I smeared my hand across my dress and tried again. Tears stung my eyes. His body was twisted and broken. He can’t possibly be alive.
“She killed you . . . because of me.”
Terran said something and vanished into the hall.
My mind fritzed again. Without feeling my limbs, I tore away Tham’s shirt. There was so much blood. He was shredded, leaking life from a hundred holes . . . impossible to stop. “Jade. I need Jade.”
I stumbled to my feet, slipped on the floor and cracked down on my knee. I ripped my shoes off and scrambled for the sofa. “My phone . . . where . . .” The bag with my clothes had been rifled. My battle vest was there, but my weapons were gone. I grabbed it and searched the pockets as I sank back to Tham.
“It’s gone.” Tears spilled like hot rivers down my icy skin. “They took my phone.” The scream that pealed from deep in my chest was inhuman. I fell across Tham’s chest sobbing, the grief closing my lungs.
With my cheek on Tham’s chest, I stared down his mutilated body. I laced his icy, trembling fingers with mine. Trembling? I reared up.
“Tham? Are you with me? Come on, Hotness, show me you’re alive.”
I searched his sallow expression. There was the slightest movement of his eyes behind his purple, swollen lids. My heart pumped triple time and the thrum of blood thundered in my ears. “Tham, baby, wake up.” I gathered his cheeks in my hands and leaned close. “Tham.”
His eyes flickered, opening behind the swelling in contorted angles. I cried out, brushing back his beautiful flaxen hair, matted and soaked with blood. “Thank the gods.”
Rowan dropped to Tham’s other side.
“What? How are you . . .”
Tham didn’t even glance at Rowan, his clear blue stare stuck on me.
“You’ll be fine now,” I choked. “Rowan’s a fabulous surgeon. Just hold on.”
Tham tightened his fingers and clenched his teeth. “Liar.”
His face blurred before me. “No. You will be fine. You’re way too important to die like this. Rowan, tell him.”
Rowan pressed Tham’s neck for his pulse again, his hands dripping scarlet. Why wasn’t he sewing him up or wrapping the cuts . . . or something. I searched Rowan’s face, waiting to catch some glint of hope shining in his eyes. There was none.
He pursed his lips tight and caught Tham’s gaze. His voice was soothing and steady. “Is there anything I can do for you . . . to make this easier for you?”
Tham blinked fast but his tears brimmed and flowed. “Take care of her. She seems tough . . . but . . . she’s far too tenderhearted.” Tham’s voice cracked and his eyes shut.
Rowan stepped away.
I caught the warmth of Tham’s tears on my finger and eased down beside him. “Tham, don’t go. Don’t leave me. Please. There’s so much happening here. I need you. You’re the only one who loves me unconditionally.”
Tham fought to swallow and coughed blood. “Promise me, neelan.”
“Anything.” I raised our joined hands and kissed his knuckles. “Anything you want.”
He choked again and I wiped the bloody spittle from his mouth. “Treat life as an occasion. Rise to it . . . no matter what anyone thinks.”
My tears broke my dam of restraint and streamed from my cheeks onto his. “I love you, Hotness.”
“You too, my little one . . . you too.”
And then, he died.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I barely noticed when Rowan and Terran joined me in the bathroom of my suite. Drawing the thick cloth down the ridges of Tham’s ribs, I watched scarlet streams swirl in the bathwater and strengthen the pink sea around him. “Tham wouldn’t want to pass unto the Fade all battered and bloody.”
Rowan had done what he could with stitches and then he and Terran had helped me get him into the bath. The spa treatment hadn’t hidden the bruises that blotched his usually smooth, Highborne skin, but at least he looked a little like Tham again.
“Highborne Elves have rituals,” I mumbled to whoever was listening. “I need a mourning band. A wide black choker embroidered with Castian’s symbols for love, hope and strength. Could we ask someone to make one for me?”
“Of course,” Terran whispered and moved toward the door.
“Have him make a few,” Rowan said, kneeling across the tub from me. “We’ll mourn with you, if that’s permitted?”
I tried to draw breath. “It’s a shame you didn’t get to meet Coal, Hotness.” I whispered against the tip of his perfectly peaked ear. I raised the small pitcher of warm water and rinsed his hair. “He’s a great little guy and I know how excited you were about being an uncle.”
My heart felt like it shattered inside my chest. Jade’s twins would never know their uncle. The tears started again in earnest. “Oh, gods, what are we going to do without you?”
I clutched the cloth and wiped his cheek with slow, gentle stokes. “Galan will be lost . . . What can I . . . How do I tell him you were killed because of me?”
Rowan took the cloth from my hand. “You never meant for this to happen.” He lifted my chin to look at him. “Take a minute and step into the shower. I’ll finish here. When Terran gets back, we’ll all take your friend to the second ring.”
“Second ring?”
“The Earth ring. It’s the only place with forested areas in Attalos. You want his pyre in a wooded area, right?”
I nodded, my chest too tight to speak. Tham’s pyre . . . I couldn’t think about that. “How did she know to hurt Tham?”
“She likely had spies tracking you long before Love was sent to bring you home.”
He pulled three puffy towels from the cabinet beside the tub and laid them on the marble floor. “Rumor of a missing Eligible started circulating a week or more before you got here. Knowing the Queen, she had somebody watching you before she made her move.”
I tried to recall the past two weeks. Tham and I had taken morning runs together with the wolves. He’d walked me to and from my classes at the castle a few time
s. We’d gotten completely shit-faced at the Hearthstone on Valentine’s Day. My chest tightened. Tham had dressed up like a cheesy Cupid and carried around a bow and a quiver full of long-stemmed roses giving them to all the females. Jade and Galan had been there too. Who else? Aust and Bree . . . Iadon, Nyssa, Ella . . .
Oh gods. They’re all in danger.
“Lexi?” Rowan’s voice brought me back to the palace bathroom. He was sliding his metal tablet thing back into his front pocket. I hadn’t even heard it buzz. “Take a moment to yourself. Master Constable Estes has arranged a launch.”
Life from that point tumbled forward, blurred like the haze of thick, cold fog. It buzzed in my mind, chilled my bones and pressed on my chest until I thought I would suffocate.
After standing numb under the falling water for who knows how long, that young servant girl came in to help me dress. I refused to wear anything from the palace and instead, pulled on my leathers, my Under Armour and my empty battle vest. Funny, for the first time in two days I looked like myself but had never felt less like myself in my life.
Who the hell was I?
Rowan and Terran dressed Tham in a silver tunic and ivory pants, and after I fixed his hair the way he wore it, we laid his body on a hovering gurney. Rowan pressed a series of buttons at the foot of the gurney and two clear walls arced out of the side rails. With Tham sealed under a glass dome, we transported him to the launch waiting for us at the back of the residences.
I realized during the trip to the second ring that, at some point, Rowan, Terran and Coal had changed their clothing. Rowan wore a beautiful peacock blue coat with silver rope details and Terran was in a formal warrior’s uniform. They’d even washed Coal up and found him a clean shirt. It hung loose on him, but made him look very grown up. In the pre-dawn light of what promised to be a long, horrible day, I pulled Coal into my lap and kissed the top of his freshly washed hair.
After who knows how long, Estes steered the launch beside the dock and two Strati stepped onto the lush treed shoreline and secured the boat. This area of Attalos was nothing like the metallic glamour of the inner ring. The Earth ring reminded me of the Highborne valley. The ground was covered in a blanket of pale green moss and the multitude of bushes and trees bore huge yields of red, gold and green fruit.
