by C. J. Pinard
The wizard’s eyes brightened. “Yes. Her plan is to take me out of the picture, leaving you and your family defenseless against her dark magic. Don’t listen to her lies and trickery.”
The king looked at Angelique.
“No,” she said, trying to hide her panic. She could tell by the look in the king’s eyes that he was falling for Gaylen’s lies once again. “You have to believe me.”
“Why should I?” he asked, tapping his fingers on the throne’s armrest. “Honestly, if I were standing in your shoes, I wouldn’t be back to help the man who banished me from Syracuse. Why should I believe that you would ever want to?”
“Because,” trying not to cry, she grabbed the stone from Marcus and closed her eyes. “Because even after all of this time, Edward, as furious as I am with you… my heart is still yours.”
***
Edward felt a tug at his heartstrings at such an emotional confession. But then he reminded himself that a woman who practiced black magic was also an expert at lies and deception. Gaylen himself had showed him that long ago.
He clapped his hands and smiled coldly. “Great performance. I must hand it to you, Angelique, the lengths you’ll go to get what you want are impressive. Fortunately, I’m not easily duped by your lies.”
Her eyes hardened. “You stubborn fool. You’re going to get your entire family killed because of your ignorance.”
“Did you hear that?” Gaylen said excitedly. “She’s threatening to destroy your family!”
“I’m trying to save it,” she replied angrily through gritted teeth.
As far as Edward could tell, Angelique was the only threat. An idea came to him. “If you truly love me, would you be willing to prove it?” he asked her.
“I think I already have by coming here,” she answered, raising her chin. “Willingly.”
“An honest woman would also honor the laws of Syracuse and its king. You’ve dishonored me by returning here, as you were banished,” he said in a grave voice. “If you want to prove your loyalty to me, then you’ll pay the penalty for breaking the law.”
Her face paled. “The penalty being?”
“Imprisonment,” he replied.
Angelique locked eyes with him. “If I prove my loyalty, you’ll take my warnings seriously?”
“I will definitely look into them,” he replied, surprised she was actually considering it.
“You can’t imprison a witch and she knows it.” Gaylen sneered. “Especially one who’s studied under Hecate. She could leave whenever she wanted. Even without the wand.”
“If staying will save innocent lives, I give you my word. I will not leave,” Angelique said.
“Her word? She should be hanged,” a voice called out.
Everyone turned to stare at the queen.
Lizbeth walked toward them, a look of anguish on her face. “She’s broken several laws—practicing black mgic. Returning to Syracuse after being banned. Terrorizing the kingdom by turning into a dragon. And now… trying to coerce you into ridding yourself of the one person who can truly protect you from her? When will it ever end, Edward? She’s toying with you still, and here you are, falling for it. Wake up.”
“The queen is right,” Gaylen said. “Your father would have had her executed just for practicing black magic. You know that.”
Edward was furious. Both Lizbeth and Gaylen were making him look like a fool and now he was the one being backed into a corner.
“I never practiced black magic!” Angelique screamed, now furious. “Gaylen planted those things in my home!”
“Why would he do that?” the queen asked, stepping up to her throne next to Edward’s. She turned around and sat down, a haughty expression on her face. “If what you say is true, you wouldn’t have been a threat to a powerful wizard like him. Why would he even bother?”
She lifted her chin. “He knew how much Edward and I loved each other and it didn’t fall into his plans,” Angelique said, narrowing her eyes at the queen.
Although Edward knew it would have been better to deny that he ever loved Angelique, he would have been lying and it would have shown in his voice. So, he remained silent.
“Loved you? A commoner? If my memory serves me correct, Edward and I were already set to be married during that time. A king would never marry a whore,” the queen replied.
Angelique’s face turned red. “I was not a whore. Edward was my first and only.”
The queen’s perfect ruby-red lips twitched. “Just like you never practiced black magic?”
“And to think I am only here to protect you and your children,” Angelique answered bitterly. “I feel I’ve just been wasting my time.”
Lizbeth laughed harshly. “I think the only protection we need… is from you.”
Edward lost his patience. He was tired of listening to the both of them and knew what he had to do, whether he liked it or not. “Enough,” he growled. “I have come to a decision. Angelique, you have dishonored me, the kingdom, and now… the queen with your lies. I hereby order that you turn yourself over to the sheriff to await execution.”
Chapter 12
The witch gasped. She couldn’t believe what was happening. Not only was the king ignoring her warnings about Gaylen, but he was actually sentencing her to death.
“You’re making a mistake. Your lives are all in danger,” she said, frustrated.
Ignoring the comment, the king asked again if she would give herself up to the sheriff peacefully.
At first she wanted to tell him off, but then reminded herself that Gaylen wouldn’t just kill him and his children, but take over the throne. She had to do something. “I will agree to this only if you test the Truth Stone on Gaylen.”
“That’s not going to happen,” King Edward said. “As he mentioned before, the stone could be cursed. After all, you were the one who brought it to us.”
“Okay, fine. Use a different one,” she said frantically. “The lives of your family depend on it!”
The king sighed.
“What do you have to lose?” she said. “And… what if I’m right? Do you really want to gamble with the lives of your own children?”
He was silent for several seconds and then nodded. “If I agree to do this, you’ll turn yourself over?”
“Yes. Most definitely. As long as I have your word that you will test him with a Truth Stone,” she replied.
“You do,” he said.
Angelique glanced at Gaylen, who didn’t look happy at all.
“Sire, in all honesty, I’ve never even heard of a Truth Stone. Ever. How are you supposed to try and locate one?” he asked in a weary voice.
The queen cleared her throat. “Actually, I believe I could help. My father knows a wizard and I’ve met him before.”
“What of his character?” asked the king.
“He’s trustworthy. At least, my father thinks so. If anyone can get a Truth Stone, it will be him,” she replied.
Angelique didn’t like Lizbeth, but at least she was willing to help.
“What is this wizard’s name?” Gaylen asked.
“Don’t tell him,” Angelique warned before Lizbeth could answer. “Or the wizard you speak of might befall some kind of ‘accident’.”
Lizbeth remained quiet.
Gaylen grunted and looked away.
“Angelique, you’ll need to give up your wand,” the king reminded her.
There was no way she could ever give up the Wand of Aberdeen. It would surely go to Gaylen, and that couldn’t happen. Remembering the other retired wand in her satchel, she nodded. “Yes. But, if I’m going to give it up, the wand can’t go to him.”
Gaylen made a scoffing sound. “I don’t need your ridiculous wand. Mine already puts it to shame.”
“Marcus, take her wand,” the king ordered.
The Wand of Aberdeen was still in the pocket of her cloak. Ignoring it, she dropped her satchel to the ground and kicked it over toward Marcus. “It’s in there with everything else
I own. Just be careful with it. Please.”
He nodded.
With everyone’s attention on Marcus, she reached into her pocket, touched the Wand of Aberdeen, and whispered a spell that would make it invisible. She then carefully pulled it out, and, pretending to adjust her dress, managed to slide it down the front of her tunic.
When Marcus pulled out the wand from her satchel, holding it between the tips of two fingers, the frightened look on his face was almost comical.
“Don’t worry. It won’t bite,” Angelique said, swallowing down a smile.
“What shall I do with it?” he asked the king.
“Destroy it,” he replied.
Angelique’s heart sank. Although she’d stopped using it, the wand held sentimental value. She sighed dramatically before interjecting, “That would be such a… waste.”
“It means a lot to you, doesn’t it, Angelique?” Gaylen asked with a smirk.
She shot a disgusted look at the hated wizard and didn’t respond.
“Well, that’s unfortunate. You’re obviously very attached to it. In any case, you know why you can’t keep it,” he said, obviously enjoying her misery.
She ignored him and looked at the sheriff. “May I have my satchel back?”
“What’s in it?” the king asked Marcus.
“Just a few belongings. Nothing else that appears… dangerous,” he replied, digging around.
Edward looked at Angelique, his blue eyes piercing hers. “Yes, you may have it.”
“Thank you,” she replied, reluctantly breaking his stare to retrieve the satchel from where it lay at her feet.
“Now, bring her to the dungeon until we appoint an execution date,” the king said to his soldiers.
“Don’t I at least get a trial?” she asked, stunned that he was talking about her death as if meant nothing to him at all.
Because it doesn’t.
“You were found guilty twenty years ago,” King Edward said. “You disobeyed my orders and returned. You will not get another trial.”
“But you will wait until the Truth Stone trial is conducted, Your Magesty?” she reminded him.
He nodded. “I always keep my word, Angelique.”
The use of her name made her stomach summersault. He’d used it so often in the throes of passion, and the way he’d said it now sounded no different. Twenty years had squashed nothing. Her heart still squeezed painfully in her chest at his sight, his voice, his eyes. Edward had been Angelique’s one love for a lifetime, but it had not been meant to be. She had to remind herself that not only did Edward not belong to her, that he was ordering her death. That his betrayal cut deep and it cut lethal.
Love was a funny thing. It could make you feel so alive one minute, and then destroy you in the very next breath.
The court guards, with their stoic faces and strong arms, gripped her by her biceps and marched her out of the court. Angelique glanced backwards quickly to see King Edward staring at her, regret, sadness, and that familiar stubbornness present in the blue flame of his stubborn gaze. She held that gaze until they turned the corner, out of his chambers. It was only then that she let her tears fall, knowing that she knew he still held a torch for her too, but that there would never be anything for them—ever again.
***
Angelique was taken to the dungeon by the king’s soldiers and then handed over to a large, muscular guard who smelled like spoilt cheese and had a scar that ran from his left eyelid down the right side of his cheek, landing at his weak jawline. As he walked her to her cell, the other prisoners began heckling and shouting vulgar obscenities. One of them dropped his pants and began fisting his cock, calling her “red” and trying to get her attention as he worked it.
Shuddering, Angelique refused to give him any attention whatsoever.
The creepy guard unlocked the door and instructed her to step inside. Once he had locked it tight, he stepped back and regarded her, from the tips of her toes, to the top of her unruly red hair.
“How long do I have to stay here?” she asked, suppressing a shudder at the way he stared at her. Thankfully, her cell was down the hallway from the others.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” he rumbled in a gruff voice.
She sighed.
“Careful for the rats. Some of them bite,” he added, pointing down as one raced across the hallway floor, just outside the cell.
Angelique hated rodents, but she was used to them. The cave where she’d been staying had been infested with them until she’d used her wand to clear them out. She didn’t dare try the spell in the dungeon, however. The entire place would light up, and she needed to keep her wand a secret for as long as she could.
The guard’s bloodshot creepy gaze roamed over her body. “If you want to make your stay here more bearable,” he said with a lecherous grin, “I can help with that.”
“For a price, right?” she deadpanned.
He winked. “Just a small one.”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” she snorted, turning away from him with her arms folded over her chest.
“Your loss.”
Angelique glanced around the dank, disgusting cell, wondering how she’d make it through the upcoming days. Reminding herself it would be worth it in the end, she walked to the far wall and sat down. She closed her eyes and prayed that the king’s promise to find a Truth Stone wasn’t a lie. Especially since she had learned that his ethics were almost as questionable as his wizard’s.
Chapter 13
The queen was absolutely livid. She’d seen the longing in the witch’s eyes and had witnessed her pathetic proclamation of love. That had been irritating enough. What infuriated her, however, was that she’d noticed something in her husband’s eyes. A look of yearning that shouldn’t have been there. He was obviously spellbound by the sorceress, which meant trouble… and in more ways than one. She knew how men’s minds and bodies worked.
He was such a fool…
She loved Edward, though. He was the father of her five children. Her husband. Her king. But, she wasn’t blind or stupid. He’d had his share of whores throughout their marriage, as did his father before him, and his grandfather before that. He was a good king, but far from being a perfect husband. She tolerated it, because she had to.
This thing with Angelique, however, was dangerous because she knew there was more than just a physical attraction involved; some female to get him off like the other whores. No, this one was different. Lizbeth knew her husband had once had strong feelings for the peasant witch.
Lizbeth pictured the two of them together intimately, their sweaty bodies entwined, writhing together on the royal bed—the very one he had shared with her so many times—and it made her queasy and enraged with jealousy. Somehow, she just knew the witch was plotting to take him away from her, and that her stay in the dungeon was all part of a greater plan. After all, what kind of a fool would give herself up to be executed? Especially after being banned over a decade ago from Syracuse… by the man she claimed to want to help.
It didn’t make sense, and Lizbeth was no fool.
As far as Angelique’s accusations in regards to Gaylen, she couldn’t deny those. There was something about the wizard that left a bad taste in her pretty mouth. Lizbeth would definitely send a message to her father and his wizard, and if there really was a so-called Truth Stone, Lizbeth would make sure it was used. What worried her was that if Angelique’s accusations turned out to be true, Edward might pardon her.
That couldn’t happen.
Angelique had to go. This time… for good.
A smile twisted up on Lizbeth’s perfectly full lips as a plan began to swirl and take shape in her mind.
***
A gruff noise woke Angelique. Groggy, she opened her eyes and gasped.
“Hello, Angelique,” said Hecate, staring down at her, amused. “I am regretfully sorry. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
She blinked. “Am I dreaming?”
“No. I’m really here,
” the goddess said, walking around the cell, her long gown trailing behind her. “Although, nobody else can see me. Just you.”
Sniffing the air, Angelique recognized the scent of jasmine, which had always accompanied Hecate wherever she went. As usual, the goddess was a vision of beauty, with her large amethyst eyes, radiant complexion, and cheekbones some said rivaled Aphrodite’s. Tonight, though, she looked exceptionally pretty, especially with the white flowers laced through her flowing black hair.
“I’m honored,” Angelique replied, standing up and curtsying. “How may I serve you, goddess?”
“I’m not here for me. I’m here for you.”
“Oh?” Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. Being in Hecate’s presence was both frightening and exciting at the same time. The woman was powerful enough to take out a small city with a simple hand gesture.
“There’s not a lot of time, so let me get right to the point,” she said, her eyes full of concern. “I fear the queen will be visiting you soon, and that she means you great harm.”
Angelique’s eyes widened. “How certain are you?”
Hecate’s countenance turned grave. “Very. I had a vision.” Hecate could sometimes see into the future. She complained that it was both a gift and a curse.
“What will happen?”
“I saw death. Yours, to be exact.”
The blood rushed to her ears. Die?
She wasn’t ready to die.
I’ve barely lived…
She couldn’t breathe, the room was beginning to spin.
I have got to calm down…
Hecate put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax, child. As I’ve said before, the future isn’t written in stone. You can change it.”
“Who are you talking to?” the scarred guard asked gruffly, appearing in front of her cell.
Angelique looked at him. “Myself.”
“If it’s a conversation you want, I’d be happy to give you some company,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.
Hecate made a scoffing noise. “Disgusting swine. He smells as if he’s been wading in orc dung.”
