by C. A. Worley
He needed her. Needed to see with his own eyes she was alright. The pain he’d felt through the bond had been Eden’s. She must have been in agony to affect him on a physical level.
“You’ll not find out until you’re calm. It’s your fault for the state she is in, so you’ll need to prepare yourself before you speak with her.”
“My fault?”
“Your fault. Wedding dress,” Luka annunciated slowly, jabbing a charred finger towards Gorlind.
Then he turned to Bianca and pointed. “Fiancé.”
Then he moved over near the entry to the throne room where Eden had stood and motioned to the blackened ground.
“Scorch marks, where your little firestarter had the misfortune of putting it all together.”
Viktor’s claws dug into his palms. Breath refused to come for several heartbeats. Eden hadn’t been assaulted, not in the physical sense.
When he’d felt the pain through their bond, he was terrified she’d been attacked. The intensity of it now made sense. He could take physical pain. Her emotional anguish traveling along their link was the one thing strong enough to bring him to his knees.
“Luka, I need to see her,” he pleaded.
“This is what will happen if I port you to her right now.” Luka displayed his disfigured arms in front of him.
Mariana’s fist lifted to her lips.
“Take a minute, Viktor. Think. If you go to her now, I’m not sure we’ll get you back alive. I promise you she is someplace safe and there is no possible way she can leave. Trust me.”
Viktor’s hands went to his hips. “Your arms. Eden did this?”
“Not purposefully. She was a little, ah, shall we say emotional? Yes, apparently when she is very angry she turns into fire.”
“She is … she did not harm herself?” Viktor asked.
“No. It’s her own magic. It didn’t even singe her clothing.”
Viktor’s throat cleared. “Good. That is … good.”
“Yes, well, for me, not so much.”
Bianca whimpered and the wolf growled. Luka had the crazy impulse to free her from the wolf’s clutches. He must be losing his sanity.
“I was gone for less than fifteen minutes. So, I’ll ask again, Brother, what in the bloody hell did I miss?”
* * *
“Would you like one, wolf?” Viktor asked Bran.
“I could use a drink,” he replied.
Viktor poured three shots of whiskey and handed them out. The men clicked glasses and downed the spirits quickly.
He’d had several of the guards escort Bianca to the dungeons. He’d sent Mariana off to the bed with the promise to retrieve her husband as soon as he was able.
“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say Bianca is not a member of Sephtis Kenelm,” Luka broke the silence. “Her dresses are cut so low anyone could see if she was marked.”
“I would agree with that,” Viktor answered.
“Then why is she in the dungeon? Not that I’m opposed to your decision to lock her away. It does make your life easier, after all.”
Luka’s skin prickled and he cursed the burns upon his flesh. He hadn’t realized Eden was powerful enough to boil the ocean.
“Bran?” Viktor prompted.
“When we arrived at the guardhouse, we were told there was an issue outside the throne room. Viktor ported there and I had to be escorted by a guard. As we moved into the hall, I picked up on a scent, one I’d detected only once before. It was the scent we’d caught in the clearing where one of our wolves had been attacked by a demon. Viktor was a little preoccupied with Mariana and that heavyset fellow, so my wolf and I restrained her until told otherwise.”
Viktor rubbed his sideburns. “It’s circumstantial, but I can’t let her loose right now.”
“Did you find anything during your search?”
“We did. Yuri, Kellan, and a couple of his wolves are there now, searching where we believe Agatha had been holed up. I need to get back there, but first I need to question Bianca.”
“She’s not going anywhere. I would suggest prioritizing your sieva.”
Viktor’s eyes narrowed at his brother. “I thought you said I needed to leave her be for now.”
“No, I said you needed to calm yourself. You’re calm now.”
Luka was correct. Viktor had stuffed his emotions back behind his shields. The future of Prajna now hung in the balance. He wasn’t quite ready to share it with Luka, but, depending on Viktor’s chat with Bianca, his younger brother would be a big part of it.
“Last I checked, I was still King. I’m going to pay Bianca a visit while you feed. Afterwards, you can take me to Eden.”
Viktor rose and Bran did, as well.
“No, stay here,” he told the young male. “Someone will bring you a hot meal. I’ll come get you before heading back.”
“You’re sure?” Bran asked. “I’m good at interrogation.”
“I’m sure you are, but I prefer to do this alone.”
“Understood.”
Viktor gave a curt nod and ported into Bianca’s cell. She was in a standing position, arms over her head, and chained against wall. Though upright, her legs were spread wide and also secured to the stone.
It was the same position he’d put her in hundreds of times in his feeding room. From the way she pushed her chest out when she saw him, she was thinking the same.
His lip curled and his stomach turned. He’d thought she’d always been agreeable. Now he could see through the façade. Under her suggestive behaviors was nothing but desperation.
Viktor debated coming right out with the accusation of her involvement with the Sephtis Kenelm, just to see how she reacted. Unfortunately, unless she confessed, he had no real proof.
Luckily, there were other ways to get to her.
“Release me from the contract, Bianca.”
“This again?” she groaned. “Is this what you meant by drastic measures? Throwing me in a cell? The law is on my side Viktor. Even you—no, especially you, know that. You’re magically bound to it. You cannot keep me here indefinitely.”
“I’ll keep you here as long as necessary.”
“Fine. The ceremony won’t be planned expertly. It’s no bother. At the end of the day, we still end up married.”
Viktor approached Bianca, watching her squirm as he moved closer.
“Do you remember the wording of the contract?” he asked.
“Of course I do. It’s how I know you can’t get out of it.”
“On my name, I swore, as the King of Prajna, I would wed you and make you Queen, within a century of making the pact.”
He tugged on a lock of her hair. It had lost its luster.
“I put the ceremony off until the last possible date. Would you like to know why?”
Bianca held her tongue for once. She already knew why he had never been in a rush to get her to the altar. He’d desired her, but never truly wanted her as anything more than a warm body.
She’d accepted his lack of affection, believing it was better to feel safe than loved.
“I think, deep down, I knew I’d never follow through. I agreed to Dmitri’s ridiculous terms only because it had been him asking it of me. I could not deny my friend who had already lost his wife and who was willing to risk his own life for my cause. You were never a part of my decision.”
Bianca’s face grew pallid. She’d always been so good with her mask, showing Viktor what she thought he wanted to see. Never wanting him to know what she was thinking or feeling, she drove him to distraction with her body. It had always worked, until the witch came into his life.
“You know there are severe consequences for breaking an agreement, Viktor.”
Her voice was emotionless. She’d never show a male her fear again.
“I’m well aware that breaking an oath calls forth a curse, one that matches the severity of the promise broken.”
A vision of his father’s head rolling across the ground popped into his mind. As he
’d lowered his sword, when no pain or suffering afflicted Viktor, he knew the penalty wouldn’t be physical. It was years before the price had been revealed.
While speaking, he double checked the iron manacles at her wrists, ensuring she could not get loose. Iron was the one thing that could prevent a vampire from porting.
“I presumed I would suffer some crippling punishment if we did not marry. I used to think it meant I would die of some horrid disease or be maimed in an accident, disfigured and unable to put right all my father’s wrongs. That was my greatest fear.”
“Was?” she croaked, wetting her dry lips.
“Was. As in I no longer think that would be my curse.”
Bianca watched him warily. His tone was pleasant—confident, even. Her muscles flexed, bracing for whatever he was about to do to her. A calm Viktor was a dangerous Viktor.
“My curse for failing Dmitri would extract a payment I am no longer willing to pay.”
Bianca visibly relaxed. Silly female, he thought. A person like Bianca would never understand what he was about to do.
“It was imprudent of me to believe I could hold the throne, fulfill my obligation to Dmitri, and keep Eden.”
“Yes, it was,” she breathed, shaking with relief, thinking Viktor was choosing to give up Eden.
“Which is why I’ll be abdicating the throne. Luka will be crowned King of Prajna in three days’ time.”
Bianca hissed out a breath, her adrenaline surging, fueled by her panic. She shook her head profusely.
“You cannot! The contract—”
“The contract states that I, as King, will marry you. If I am not King, I can no longer be obligated. Dmitri, unknowingly, gave me an out, as well.”
Bianca’s body quaked, racked by the sobs tearing from her throat. What would become of her? She could never go back to her village. Never.
“Careful, Bianca, or I might actually think you have a heart.”
Her eyes flashed, the glow reflecting on the surface of her tear-stained cheeks. Unable to hold his stare, she dropped her head.
In a way, Viktor felt liberated, like he was shedding the weight of the past. Luka could be a handful, but Viktor had a newfound confidence in his brother.
He took one last look around the cell, unsure if Bianca would ever make it out alive. He found it didn’t bother him so much, despite her parentage. Dmitri and the pact were in his past, where they would stay.
All he needed to do now was go and repair the damage to his future.
Chapter 25
“Where is my mate?” Viktor snarled at his younger brother.
Luka had ported them to the tiny island where he’d left Eden. It was only a half-mile or so offshore, but it was surrounded in mist. No one would have known she was there.
Baffled, Luka shrugged.
“This is where I left her. When she lit herself on fire, I latched on and ported straight to the ocean. Once the fight in her tapered off, and I was sure the flames were out, I brought her here.”
“And left her. Alone.” Viktor’s tone was accusatory.
“You would prefer I ported her back to the castle? Maybe to finish the little chat she was having with the dressmaker or to have tea with Bianca?”
Viktor grumbled deep in his throat.
Luka rolled his eyes. “If she’d been with me when I landed next to you, it would have been you who needed saving. I think you’re in love with the most savage female I’ve ever met. She’s terrifying.”
Viktor snorted. “Yes, well, I’m not out of the woods yet.”
“Why aren’t you panicking?” Luka asked him suspiciously.
“I don’t really think she’ll try to kill me, Brother.”
“No, why aren’t you panicking that she’s not here?”
“I’d feel it through the bond if she was being harmed. Wherever she is, she’s not hurt.”
By his assessment, Eden was no longer grieving. It bothered him. He’d always been able to glean something of her feelings through the bond. When he checked it once he realized she wasn’t here, he could get a sense of her physical well-being, but her emotions were difficult to figure out.
She’d somehow managed to block him. Either that, or she’d anaesthetized herself. It was something Viktor had done towards the end of Nikolai’s reign. Feeling too much had been debilitating, so he’d learned to lock that part of him away.
He’d gotten so good at it, he hadn’t felt much of anything until the day he found Eden eavesdropping at the door of Theron’s study. She’d managed to get a death grip around Viktor’s heart and he’d die before he allowed her to let it go.
Viktor wished he could go back in time and change the decisions he’d made. If he’d only been a better brother to Luka, he would have trusted him when he originally thought the way out of the contract was to give up the throne.
His sense of self-importance and drive to pay for the sins of his father had clouded his judgement. He had duped himself, thinking he could fulfill every obligation.
Eden was right to be upset with him. If he could only find his little witch and tell her as much, his life might turn out okay.
“Well, would you look at that,” Luka spoke, his voice filled with awe.
Viktor looked where Luka was pointing. Some distance away was a break in the ocean. It looked like a small hole was cutting through the shallows, towards the beach.
“It seems there’s more to my mate than meets the eye,” Viktor remarked.
“Oh, definitely,” Luka agreed. “Should we go get her?”
“No. If we startle her she’ll probably lose her hold on … whatever she’s doing to part the water.”
“True. Race you to the shore,” Luka challenged, porting away.
“Kings do not race to the shore.”
Viktor’s words dissolved as they were carried off by the wind. He’d yet to inform Luka what he had planned. First, he’d deal with Eden. Then, he’d tell Luka he was about to hand him the crown. He only prayed Luka would not refuse.
* * *
Eden nearly wept with joy as the sand started to slope upwards. She was exhausted after expending so much energy, first with the fire and now with her power over water. Holding the ocean apart was tough.
As she trudged up and onto the beach, she could see the outline of two large bodies standing in front of the dunes. One was smiling, one was fixed on her with an intensity she could feel down to her bones.
Eden let the parted waters close behind her. Her fingers itched, but she didn’t know if she had enough power to call forth a single flame. An hour ago, she would have gladly set Viktor on fire. Now, she wasn’t sure he was worth the effort.
“Luka,” she bobbed her head in deference, noticing his arms were already healing. He must have gotten blood. She angled slightly towards Viktor and curtsied.
“Your majesty,” she greeted, her cold eyes turning down as she genuflected on unsteady legs.
Viktor nearly reached for Eden. She was close to toppling over. Her body language warned him to stay away.
Her address rankled him. His Eden was warm, loving. He wanted that back. He may have put her in this position, but he would once again have what he wanted from her.
“Since when do you address me so formally?”
“I’ve long been remiss in my duties as a visiting dignitary. I’m merely rectifying my mistake.”
Viktor recoiled at Eden’s implication her stay in Prajna was temporary. She was no visitor here. He reviled her distant manner.
“Leave us, Luka. I need to speak to my sieva alone.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Luka asked, looking between the two.
“Go. I’ll find you later.”
Luka’s questioning eyes found Eden’s. She gave no indication she was about to pounce, so he ported back to Castra Nocte.
“You’re soaked,” Viktor observed. Eden’s multi-colored hair was darkened from being wet. Her dress clung to her curves, tempting him to tear it off he
r body.
“Yes, Luka thought to take me on an evening swim.”
Viktor held out his hand. “Come, I’ll take you to our chambers and you can have a warm bath. Then we’ll talk.”
“No, thank you.”
“Eden, be reasonable.”
A fissure cracked in her mental shields. A small flame tried to sputter from her right hand and she snuffed it out immediately, before Viktor could see it. She pushed everything out, focusing on remaining calm.
“Considering what I’ve been through today, I’d say I’m acting quite reasonably.”
Eden’s voice was too detached. He’d expected tears, anger, some sign she was affected. Her apathy scared him. It clouded his judgement and he poked at her, needing a reaction.
“No, you’re acting cold. You’ve never been cold with me.”
“You’re right. I haven’t. It was unwise of me to become so enamored, counting every look, every touch, wanting them so badly I would give you anything you wanted just to have a piece of you. I’ll never make that mistake again.”
Viktor’s chest rumbled and he took a step towards her. Eden stepped backwards.
“Keep your distance, Viktor. You are, after all, exceptionally good at it.”
“I have never hidden my feelings for you, Eden. I may not have said the words, but our souls are bonded. You can feel my affections for you.”
“Yes, how inconvenient that must be for your wife,” Eden mocked.
“I’m not married. I have no intention of marrying her.”
“Do not lie to me!” Eden’s pretense of calm withered and died before him. She could only take so much.
“I will not be misled by you again, Viktor. I saw, with my very own eyes, one very frantic dressmaker trying to get in the final fitting with the future Queen for the wedding ceremony in two weeks. How much longer had you planned to hide the truth from me? Or was I to live eternity in your room, locked away like some dirty little secret?”
Her voice shook. She wrapped her arms around herself, needing warmth and comfort.
Viktor ported directly in front of Eden, grasping her arms, afraid she was about to collapse. Then he ported them up to their rooms and held on until she was steady.
