“Keep yourself under control. Do not give him any reason to suspect you. Let him believe you serve him as a brother.”
I glared at him. “Just hurry up and get back here. Roam’s going to lose her shit the moment we enter that castle, and I can’t see that again. I’ll fucking kill him.”
“She’s going to be okay. We’ve talked. She isn’t seventeen anymore. She isn’t afraid.”
“Then she’s crazy.”
He watched the sea quietly for a few more moments before going to check on Roam again.
Another vessel was already waiting when we docked. The soldiers explained that West was to present himself to Troy, rest for a few hours, and then embark on the voyage to retrieve the wedding gift.
I accompanied West to the great hall as Roam was escorted to a chamber. She was a mess, having puked for three days straight. I knew West was beside himself with worry, but all of that was forgotten the moment we walked into the hall.
Troy stood up from his throne, and West gave a low growl, dropping to his knees.
I quickly followed suit.
“Your majesty,” West managed.
“West, Leo… rise,” he ordered, grinning excitedly. Jesus, he was…
A kid.
Eighteen years old. Strong, lean, nowhere near the size of West and me. We could snap him in half without breaking a sweat.
But… something was wrong.
He was pulling West into a familiar hug, and when that shit went down, I truly felt like I was in another universe for the first time.
“Come! You must be exhausted. She is well? My princess is well?” He rambled, eager. “Balin tells me she was ill…,”
“She was sick for most of the voyage,” I answered, nodding. “But she is well.”
“Sick? Ill? The sea was unkind to her on her last journey here.” His ice blue eyes were creepy as fuck, and the cords in his neck stuck out as he rushed toward the doors.
“She is resting, your majesty. She will find her land legs soon enough,” West called, and Troy turned, nodding slowly.
“You’re right. Always right, my friend. Come, rest, your task awaits you. I’d trust no one else with this voyage but you. The sword has cost me a fortune… but Mina is my new fortune,” he was talking so fast, I could barely keep up with him.
He disappeared with West, and I lowered to a chair as servants appeared before me, seeing to my every need.
The castle was… the same. I felt like I’d entered a mausoleum of horrific memories. I’ve slain so many men in this very hall, nearly losing Roam, and Violet, and everything I’ve ever loved.
I hated.
Chapter Six
Troy
“Your majesty, she has arrived safely.”
I took to my feet like a child, ready to run to her. My father’s petulant voice resounded in the back of my mind. When you are king, Troy, they shall come to you. Freezing in midstride, I turned to my knight. Balin was first at my side when West was gone, too eager to move in the direction that my finger pointed.
“She is well?” I attempted indifference, but my impatient words were met with a grin.
“She is.” Balin agreed, nodding once. “His highness, the Prince Leo tells us that she has had a difficult journey and was plagued with seasickness.”
Back on my feet, I had already crossed the hall at the word ‘difficult.’ My Mina was so small, so fragile, and I had dreaded her making the journey again, no matter how short the distance between Icepond and Madreenon.
“The seas are unkind to her. I’ll see to her immediately,” I answered. Balin nodded, following next to me. His persistent obedience, coupled with his scraggly brown beard and lumbering stature, often reminded me of a slobbering mastiff.
West would suggest that I wait; decorum at all times.
I stopped, turning to Balin. “No, no… I shall wait for her. Her ladies will see that she is properly cared for and rested before she is presented to me again, and we are reunited.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“Leave me. Send in my brother and West.”
He bowed slowly, turning on his heel. I imagined him running the moment he was out of my sight.
Lowering to the throne again, I stared at the window. The sea beat against the rocks in the distance as snow scattered in the air.
West had served my father first, never leaving his side even in the battle that claimed his life. Tales of his unwavering loyalty during the fight were legendary. West had been only slightly older than I was now, in his twenty-first year, when he took an arrow for King Auden, continuing to beat away the enemy with his bare hands until he was outnumbered. My father was executed, and West left for dead.
When he was carried back to the castle with the other fallen soldiers, he was taken to his own father immediately. Rumors of Henry Asher and his powers were stifled under my father’s reign, as Asher often aided my father in magical dealings that I could not understand.
Asher cured his son of his inflictions. West was suddenly responsible for protecting me, the headstrong, twelve-year-old king, and serving me as he served my father.
I stood, staring out into the sea as though searching for answers.
“Your majesty.”
West’s voice prompted a smile from me, and I held my arms outward. “Brothers… rise.”
Smiling at my closest friend, I offered a welcoming embrace.
I stepped away and looked at Leo. He resembled my father much more than I ever did; dark, wavy hair, brown eyes, square jaw, and mischievous grin. I’d taken my mother’s appearance, her ice blue eyes and black hair running through my blood and dominating my features.
When Leo came to the castle, claiming to be my father’s bastard son, I couldn’t have been happier to have found family. West was the first one to halt my eager welcome, his candid words leading to our first disagreement.
“Troy, you should not acknowledge him as Auden’s son. Your throne-…,”
“He bears no legitimate claim to my throne, West!”
“There is malice in his eyes,” West warned, but backed down. “I serve his majesty, in all judgment.”
Standing before me now, Leo bowed. I looked to him urgently. “Come! You must be exhausted. She is well? My Mina is well?” I needed to know. “Balin tells me she was ill…,”
“She was sick for most of the voyage,” he answered, nodding. “But she is well.”
I narrowed my eyes; his manner was off. “Sick? Ill? The sea was unkind to her on her last journey here.” I started for the door.
“She is resting, your majesty. She will find her land legs soon enough,” West assured me, and I turned, nodding slowly.
“You’re right. Always right, my friend. Come, rest, your task awaits you. I’d trust no one else with this voyage but you. The sword has cost me a fortune… but Mina is my new fortune,” I added.
The months that she’d been gone had been the longest months of my life. We wrote to each other, and with every letter that arrived, I savored her words as though it was her perfect body in my hands. Our love had been instant, true, and strong. I trusted in that love to withstand the few months we were apart, longing to hold her in my arms as I had in the garden.
The night in the gardens played over and over again in my memory. I’d fallen head first into her shy smile, her emerald eyes, and the taste of her supple lips on mine. Our rushed, breathless words danced on the late summer wind.
“Do not leave. Stay. Stay, Mina,” I begged, shoving both of my hands into her thick, lush hair. She smiled, turning her face into my cradling hold. Her lips pressed to my palm, and I fought my tortured need for her.
“Soon, my love. I must return and prepare for our wedding. I must say good-bye to my mother; she is not well enough to travel yet.”
Tracing her lips with my thumb, I memorized the heart-shape. “Return to me,” I breathed against her lips.
“Always,” she promised.
And she had; only footsteps away from her
, I could barely wait to touch her again.
I walked with West into my private chambers, moving to my desk. “You are a faithful servant, my friend.”
“My lord,” he bowed once, his voice tight with restraint. I narrowed my eyes.
“Something troubles you? What do you think of my betrothed? You have spoken with her, met her family, her kingdom… you are pleased with my match?”
I sought his approval. In all areas, in love, in politics, in personal matters, West’s wise counsel took precedence. I trusted him entirely.
“She is very innocent. Kind. She will need plenty of time to adjust.”
His clipped words were almost… angry. “More than one week’s time? When you return, our wedding shall commence. Surely, she would be prepared by then.”
I watched his face, taking in his stature as he loomed over me. He was… cleaner than usual. Groomed. Something about him was odd. “I shall return as quickly as possible.”
“Yes.” I nodded, a small smile pulling at my lips. “I would venture to guess you have another reason for returning quickly.”
He met my eyes. “My lord?”
“A lady has finally caught your eye,” I teased, smacking him on the back, grinning. “Look at you. You can barely control yourself. And, by God, West, you smell like you’ve bathed for the first time in a year,” I laughed. “Who is she?”
His face turned to granite. “You are… discerning, your majesty. She is just a maiden.”
“Tis a very powerful maiden to turn your attentions,” I added, shuffling through the parchment on my desk. “I cannot wait to meet her.”
He looked thoughtful. “You… care to meet her?”
“West.” I grinned, the excitement of the upcoming week filling me with more joy than I’d felt in years. “When my father died, I looked to you for counsel. You are my servant, but first, you are my friend. I wish for you to find a romance as powerful as the love I have with Mina.”
He exhaled, slow, watching me carefully. “Then I may speak freely?”
I scoffed, gathering the last of the documents needed for his voyage. “Haven’t you always?”
“I would trust no one but his highness, Prince Leo, with her highness’s guard.”
Lifting my eyes, I snapped my gaze to his face. “Why? Has she been threatened?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, nodding once. “The knights serve you, but are men above all else. She is very… alluring. It is best to keep her out of their eye. Do not provoke their lust.”
I listened to him. His manner was suddenly so polished, precise, and careful, not at all he brutish man I’d known for all of my life. I wondered who this woman was who’d finally managed to ensnare Sir West Henry. “You are wise. You now trust my brother? Then this voyage has indeed accomplished what I had hoped. I wished for you to find a kinship, and put away animosities.”
He nodded. “I trust his highness absolutely.”
“Excellent. Very well, he will guard her in your absence. When you return, you shall resume her guard when I cannot. West,” I nodded once. “Safe travels to you.”
“Thank you, your majesty.”
Chapter Seven
Eva
“Eva, are you sure?”
I nodded, pinching my eyes closed and focusing on that place in the middle of my mind. Concentrate. The sensation was like a pulley, a mechanical whirring, at the very base of my spine.
And then I was running for the toilet.
Will held my hair back just in time as I gagged, violently retching. The nausea was relentless, and worsened when I used magic.
“I can’t do this,” I heaved again, and he brushed slow circles over my back, sighing.
“It is a trigger. You vomit every time. Please wait, love. It is sure to pass in a matter of weeks.”
“Weeks? It’s already been a month! My parents and Logan are stuck somewhere in time, in the past, and with your father. They could be…,” I couldn’t say it. Instead, I backed against the wall of the elaborate bathroom, watching Will move to the sink to dampen a washcloth with cold water.
“Meredith and Eric are letting their guard down. They are content with the throne. They’ve allowed us to be together, finally, and-…,”
“…only because I tried to kill myself.”
He gave me a stern look. “We shall never speak of that again.”
“It worked, though,” I gave him a weak smile, holding out my arm. The serrated scars were no longer visible. When Eric had found me, he’d used the feather to heal me, but I’d lost a ton of blood. Somehow I’d survived…
And so did my baby.
I covered my stomach, groaning. I’d heard of pregnant women having an aversion to certain things, but I never thought my body would betray me with intolerance to magic.
“I want to go see Violet.”
He knelt at my side, pressing the cold washcloth to my brow. The guards at the door watched us intently. “I am sorry, love. You must see to your own wellness. Violet is… unchanging.”
“I don’t want her to be alone.”
I’d enclosed her in a glass coffin, like Snow White, and Eric had placed a preservation spell on her. “A peace offering,” he’d said, too close to my face. “To encourage you to work harder.”
I needed no magic to spit in his fucking face.
He had slapped me, but left Violet as she was.
I’d spend hours a day sitting next to my sister, thinking, praying, and wishing I could organize my powers.
And I was trying to find my grandfather.
When Will was brought up from the dungeons, he told me he hadn’t come in contact with Asher at all. I searched for him in my dreams, never seeing him once. I refused to believe he was truly dead. He was a tough old wizard; he had managed to survive for centuries. I couldn’t believe that Meredith and Eric would be his undoing.
“She is not sleeping, like your fairy tales, Eva. She has passed. Her heart will no longer beat. Prolonging her funeral will only prolong your mourning. It kills me to see you grieve, my love.”
“I’m not grieving, because I will bring her back.” I shifted into his arms. “How’s Chris?”
Will wrapped his fingers around a long, red curl. “I am not permitted to see him.”
“Well, I’m going to see him, and now,” I stood, shakily, smoothing the long, ivory gown. “Take me to the dungeon, assholes.”
The guards remained still, and I rolled my eyes.
“Please request an audience with Eric,” Will ordered the guards, and one nodded, pressing the earpiece in his ear.
I closed my eyes, tuning into their frequency.
The guard grunted into the radio. “They request your audience, Eric. The queen wishes to see her brother.”
Eric’s voice. “She is not the fucking queen, and you will address me as you would address your king.”
His words traveled through my mind, crackling and fuzzy but there. Will and the second guard could hear nothing, but I listened intently, watching the speaking guard’s reaction.
His body stiffened, and his jaw tightened.
He’s resisting. I memorized that guards face before letting go of the frequency and turning back to the toilet.
“Stop listening,” Will chided, groaning as I dry heaved into the porcelain bowl.
“I need to know what’s going on,” I wiped at the tears on my cheeks, irritated that I cried every time I puked.
“His majesty agrees that William may see the boy. Eva, you must remain here.”
Will held his arms out for me, and I sighed, pressing my face to his chest. “I will see that she is comfortably resting first. Excuse me,” he snapped, forcing them to move out of the bathroom doorway as he carried me to the bed.
“Get as much information as you can. See if he’s eating. Make sure-…,”
“Eva,” he hushed, pressing his lips to my forehead. “I’ll do all that I can. Rest, love.”
I nodded, gripping his fingers in mine. He
ran a hand over my hip, settling at my waist, and I cringed at the irresistible desire burning a path from my stomach to the moisture between my thighs.
“Will. I’m hornier than hell. You touching me just makes it worse.”
He breathed a laugh, dropping his forehead to mine. “The vomit on your breath is very enticing.”
“I won’t breathe on you. Just turn me around.”
“For God’s sake, Eva.” He groaned, his grip on my fingers tightening. “I’ll convince Eric to let me sleep here with you tonight. I will think of something.”
“You’d better.” I closed my eyes, warming to his lips as they fluttered over my forehead again.
I stared out the window, watching the suns setting over the sea. My fingers settled over my stomach, and I began thinking about my mother.
Annie, my mother in the 1950s, had given me her blood… her DNA, her grandmother’s red hair. But it was my other mother, Roam, who had given birth to me, and raised me.
Closing my eyes, I remembered a sketch I’d done of implantation for my senior project. I knew that it took about seven days for an embryo to form, and yet Vadoma had known I was carrying Will’s child only hours after I’d made love with him.
Prophecies. Magic.
Possibilities. Were there really parameters? Grandfather had given me a brief lesson on the elements, but I’d learned to control my magic through music. What if magic was… personal? Individual? My music had always given me power, whereas Grandfather called upon the elements.
Slowly, I began piecing my thoughts together as I drifted off to sleep. DNA. Features, qualities, heredity, cells and blood…
Inheritance.
I sat up too quickly, nausea heavy in my throat.
I possessed magic. Why didn’t Christopher?
Or… my father?
If I’d been given powers from my Grandfather, and I had the same blood in my body as my father, then were they also capable of magic?
Will was already turning the doorknob as I climbed to my feet. He tried to close the door behind him, but the guards blocked his attempt.
“Will-…,”
“Christopher is safe,” he answered, before I could speak. I read the urgency in his clear, blue eyes. I need to talk to you alone.
Reign (Roam Series, Book Six) Page 4
