Jill started to have panic attacks during the day, needing to be held tight and rocked.
Elizabeth’s happy torment persisted. The dream ending that she could never have mocked her mind instead of horrors.
A world of hope and love, risen from the ashes of her burned past. There was no monster chasing after her, no threat for her to stab and fight and defeat.
Terrifying memories of her childhood were replaced with a boy possessing too serious eyes that clashed with his dimpled laugh.
A handsome, loyal prince who played the hero to save her from the hellish fate dogging her heels. The irony was poetic.
She refused to let herself cry for the loss of something she’d never possessed, wiping away any wetness from her dreams, like grit from her eyes, with a hardened resolve.
Daemon’s heart had been lost to an insatiable hunger for power even before he was born. It had been a mistake to ever think he would care for her more than he lusted over Maeren’s crown.
The dreams couldn’t come true, not a single one. Elizabeth’s fake happiness was as cruelly dangerous as the nightmares of the others.
None of them acknowledged—out loud—the fear that haunted their thoughts or the broken sleep that couldn’t hide their memories.
It was their penance for the betrayal and the failure they left behind in Maeren.
The cost was higher than only their freedom.
It had been an entire kingdom they let fall to the demons.
What would Elizabeth do when the new king of hell came to collect the souls of the witches who had escaped him?
Poker Face
Maeren
Philip
What a mess!
Phillip looked around at the rest of his siblings, who he’d called to this meeting.
None of them were paying him any attention.
He honestly preferred someone else be in charge, but that was usually Daemon, and well, his eldest brother was excluded from this family meeting.
Nobody wanted to face Daemon, especially in the dangerous mood he’d been left in after the escape of the Norwood witches and Victoria from the castle.
If Phillip was going to have to risk his head rolling next, then the rest of his siblings could at least stick together, until it was obvious which way Daemon’s sword was going to swing.
One would think five dragon heads would have been enough to satisfy Daemon’s bloodlust for violence and revenge.
Apparently, it had only been the appetizer.
“Don’t slouch, Victor. You look like a common soldier,” George barked out in a commanding voice.
Phillip sighed. George wasn’t about to take over this meeting. He was only being his prickly, bossy self.
Besides, George was needling Victor on purpose.
“Piss off, George. I don’t have to follow your orders any longer!” Victor snapped back.
“Do get them feeders,” William said to Phillip.
As if Phillip ought to be responsible for managing their younger siblings since he was the eldest in the room?
Not likely. Phillip couldn’t civilize those two after the blood contract between them had been dissolved on Daemon’s whim.
The chains were off and nobody wore padded gloves in this family.
“Feeders? It was Willy thinking with his fangs, and no balls to back up his claim, that started this mess,” Victor mocked.
Icy witch tits.
That was something Victor’s twin would be more likely to snark, but Victoria was missing.
The support of Phillip’s siblings, right now, was underwhelming. Working together wasn’t their strong suit.
Each of them had a clan that bound their loyalty greater than the blood ties through their shared sire.
Phillip was probably the freest of them all, but his mother expected that he would inherit the crown, without having to do anything to earn it.
He was the golden prince, charming, and gifted with strong fire, as well as air. That earned him more leeway than the rest of his siblings.
William was third born, but without fire, he was a prince in name only. Earth magic would never be strong enough for their father.
Phillip may be able to share his harem witches with William, but the crown would forever be out of his younger brother’s reach. The best William could hope for was to continue on being the court’s official healer.
George was the strongest contender for ruling, besides Phillip, born with fire that was perhaps even hotter than Phillip’s own and a black-hearted mother that pushed George harder to overcome the disappointment of his birth, so late in the line of inheritance.
George stuck to the shadows, along with the Dogs, vampire soldiers, and spies he controlled.
The question wasn’t if George could pull a coup, but rather, would he fight the natural order?
George’s earth was only a middling strength, and one that was more physical than William’s healing, seeming to put the two of them at odds, instead of binding them together.
Victor was the youngest and twin to Victoria. Although his fire was sufficient for rule, his birth rank made such a dream impossible. The water taint was a whispered concern, too.
Luckily, Victor had never showed much interest in the crown.
Phillip wasn’t that close to him, the distance further ever since Victoria’s costly trip to the human realm and the blood contract Victor had formed with George’s family to try to save her.
The hefty price had bled both twins in the end, even if it was finally over.
All of his siblings looked like they would rather be anywhere than meeting here to discuss their mutual problems.
“They’re not little lordlings anymore, Will,” Phillip said, injecting an opinion before Willy took offence and poisoned Victor more permanently. “I’m sure they can make it through the meeting without needing a snack,” Phillip added, straightening a little from his own slump in his chair.
He was seated beside William and across from Victor and George. None of them had been brave enough to claim the head of the table.
Somebody’s stomach growled, or maybe one of them just made a rumbly disagreement.
Phillip arched a dark-gold brow and made sure everyone saw the beast he was keeping on a short leash, while they bickered.
Possibly, it had been his own stomach. Phillip should have fed himself before he attempted to discuss anything this contentious.
“I’m leaving in the morning,” Victor announced, still slouching.
He looked pale and his cheeks were thinner, the effects of his recent illness prominent on the usually healthy prince.
Victor had finally been able to get through his normal workout, albeit with a lot more swearing and sweating than usual today.
He had been poisoned with the same potion as his twin, which should have left them both paralyzed for days and weakened for even longer.
It could have easily been fatal if there hadn’t been an earthly tweak to the spell, when it had been cast, to spare his cardiac and respiratory muscles.
If it had been shorter-acting, then Victor probably would have dragged himself out of here, even if he had to be tied to his saddle, but the worst of its effects had been prolonged enough to make an immediate rescue of Victoria impossible.
How Victor’s twin had walked out of the castle, on her own, was still a mystery.
One that George had promised them he could explain.
Hopefully, George wouldn’t use the opportunity to needle Victor further. Phillip was tired of putting out fires.
“Do you think Daemon is just going to let you leave the castle, too?” William asked. “In case you missed the royal decree, the court is on lockdown.”
William wouldn’t have gone, anyway. He just didn’t want to look bad if someone else took the initiative.
Jill had been William’s witch—technically claimed—who had poisoned the lot of them. He ought to take more responsibility.
Phillip had never properly fed from J
ill, only taking her into his harem for William, and then keeping his nips to the barest tastes necessary for appearances.
She had been much too sweet to hold Phillip’s attention.
Of course, he had been proven wrong about the shy witch. Phillip never would have thought Jill had it in her to poison them all so boldly. She was as full of surprises as her older sister.
Elizabeth had a spark in her that she hadn’t been able to hide from Phillip. That had been a taste that left him craving a bigger bite.
“Daemon will want the traitors delivered to him,” George said, not bothering to even look at William. George knew Victor wouldn’t abandon his twin. “The King will see those witches beheaded before he lets their poisonous brew finish its work.”
Dirty earth hole.
George was talking about parting witches from their heads, when he had just been chasing after Jill weeks ago.
Although Phillip had known Jill was another witch using him for his royal status and protection, instead of a real want of him, he refused to believe she was a murderer.
There was a misunderstanding here.
The mystery of the kiss Phillip had stolen from Elizabeth screamed of her naivety and a flicker of danger. Too much for an air witch to risk refusing the safety provided in a royal harem, unless something else equally dangerous threatened the Norwoods into running away.
It aroused Phillip’s protective instincts, not anger.
“Victor,” Phillip said, keeping his tone indifferent. It would be perceived as a weakness, otherwise. “You will bring back all of them, alive. Our sister swore a blood oath to protect Elizabeth Norwood and it wouldn’t do for you to tempt the fates by playing lightly with that kind of magic.”
It was a bit of a low blow to use Victoria against her twin, but Phillip had to ensure the safety of the Norwoods, until the real reason for their actions was revealed.
He couldn’t leave the castle, himself, with the current state of affairs at court to chase after them, but the rest of his younger siblings had fewer obligations.
“He can’t do it alone,” George said before Victor could respond to Phillip’s suggestion.
“I don’t need the castle spymaster to find the trail of a few untrained witches. Stick to the castle walls. Your mother would never forgive me if you got hurt,” Victor said, clearly patronizing his elder brother.
That was unwise in Victor’s deconditioned state. Even if George had one arm tied behind his back, he might still be able to take Victor, if he went all out with his deadly, combat trained duality of earth and fire.
It was lucky for Victor that George rarely exerted himself fully, but that luck may not last.
George didn’t lose at anything he set his mind on, until the Norwood sisters had both skipped out on him, and that was after they poisoned everyone under his watch.
George needed to patch this security breach before his reputation went up in smoke.
“So, we are to stay home and trust that the same vampire who was following after the witches like a lovesick puppy will bring them to justice?” George asked, leaning back in his chair and relaxing as if he hadn’t just lobbed a direct hit at Victor.
Great fiery balls.
Couldn’t George see Victor was worried? Inflaming an already panicked fire prince wasn’t going to cool matters.
“I don’t know if Jill has a sword, and we all saw how well that was going for you, before Phillip saved your ass,” Victor said, pulling out a smaller water-core dagger to trim his nails at the table.
There were now weapons in view.
Phillip sighed and said three more fire curses under his breath. Nobody paid attention.
George eyed the nail trimming with disgust.
“You did arm the witches before they attacked us, Victor,” George complained. “You and your twin are probably knee deep in this plot to overthrow the kingdom. When has Victoria ever taken one step, without you behind her, since that human?”
Dusty, wrinkled jugs.
Phillip cleared his throat, rather loudly. First George’s mother and now Victor’s sister. He had a headache coming on.
“Victoria is no traitor,” Victor said, continuing to trim his nails calmly.
Victor and George were well matched, both capable of the hottest blue fire, but they tried to be in complete control of their emotions, or at least what they revealed.
The opposite of the stereotypical, hot-tempered fire lord.
They also knew just how to prick at each other’s tempers, usually finding little things to needle each other within their ongoing standoff. Every insult was delivered in precise, even terms.
“Victoria will have to convince the judge of her innocence when we track her and the Norwoods down together,” George said.
Phillip hadn’t wanted Victor to go alone, so he kept silent.
William would have been a better choice, given his earth was stronger and the witches they were chasing were clearly well versed in such power.
Dragging William out of the castle and its comforts would take more than a witch he had already given up on, after the first challenge of his weak claim.
Phillip would have kept Jill for himself, if he had known William didn’t really want her.
Maybe if he had, then he would have seen some sign before this all had gone down. He usually kept a closer eye on new additions to his harem.
Elizabeth might have been more willing to join his harem with her sister. He doubted that Jill had kept secret her true claim from her older sister, explaining some of Elizabeth’s reluctance to join his harem.
Witches never turned Phillip down. It had burned more than he liked to admit.
"Jill and Victoria are mine,” Victor responded in what sounded like a compromise, although the possessive undertone was unmistakable as well.
Victor finally finished trimming his nails and secreted the dagger somewhere on his body. The twins always had a knife hidden on them.
“I already told you that Elizabeth is mine. Should have listened the first time,” George said, keeping his tone more indifferent.
He looked so relaxed in his chair that Phillip wouldn’t have been surprised if George closed his eyes to rest. Even half-lidded, Phillip was sure George wouldn’t miss anything.
The rumours were true, then. George had really wanted Elizabeth in his harem, not Jill.
It could be decided once the witches were back at court.
“Excellent,” Phillip said, jumping in before anyone could get another word in to break the tense compromise. “George will go after Elizabeth and Victor will bring back our sister and Jill.”
William wouldn’t let it be.
“Don’t forget their mother. Kaila Norwood was clearly the mastermind behind this poisoning,” William insisted.
William had disliked Kaila on sight and had barely been able to hide it in her presence, but Phillip had heard plenty about her dirty earth origins when Jill left them.
William wasn’t done vilifying Kaila yet.
“She is another social schemer, an earth witch who thinks she can climb back into the noble ranks, through her daughter's power. She wasn’t satisfied with Jill becoming a princess, had to try to make her queen, by killing our father.”
“The king isn’t dead,” Phillip reminded them.
It bothered him to hear anyone refer to his father in past terms. Phillip wasn’t ready yet, not now. He truly wished his father a long and prosperous rule.
William curled his lip. He didn’t like getting interrupted or corrected.
Phillip was used to his younger brother’s idiosyncrasies after sharing his harem with him for so long.
Even the witches knew to feed them in a different way when William joined him, scrubbing their wrists with harsh lye soap to meet William’s strict preferences.
Phillip had spent many nights rubbing expensive lotion onto sore wrists and drying tears after William coldly discarded his harem feeders.
“Although I am sure Victo
r can handle a mere three witches on his own, perhaps, it would be easier to let Kaila Norwood chase after her daughters and then capture her, too,” George proposed. “It might be a tad difficult to drag that many reluctant witches home. Victor only has two hands.”
William huffed at that excuse. “What difficulty? He can just tie them to his horse and let them walk or fall. Traitors don’t deserve any comfort.”
Even George looked shocked at William’s cruel suggestion, but it was Victor that spoke.
“That is our sister you are—”
“Oh, Victoria can sit on the horse with you, if you trust her not to run away, again,” William offered as if he could just brush off Victor’s objection.
The reminder of Victoria’s previous infraction silenced Victor. The look he shot William spoke volumes.
“If everyone is in agreement, then I believe we should call for Daemon,” Phillip said.
He had to end this before a bloodbath erupted.
William got up. “I don’t think I’m needed here any longer.”
“Sit down!” Phillip ordered.
He rarely told William what to do, preferring to cajole his way around his closest sibling.
Nobody really took Phillip seriously, but that was okay. He knew how to get his way when it counted.
“Yes, do sit down, William,” repeated Daemon, opening the door to the room.
So much for their secret meeting!
Philip hated it when Daemon snuck up on them. The thick oak door should have muffled their conversation, but Daemon acted like he’d heard everything they’d said and his timing was impeccable.
William had already been in the process of sitting when Phillip commanded it.
Daemon almost sent their third brother to the floor, his entrance startling William into nearly missing his seat.
George wasn’t similarly afflicted. He stood up, and not to greet Daemon.
“I’m going after Elizabeth Norwood. Victor will come along and fetch Jill Norwood and Victoria,” George said, making sure it wasn’t a question.
He would never ask permission first, but this insolence bordered on suicidal.
No Witch Way Out (Maeren Series Book 2) Page 2