The Deadly Alliance (The Deadly Alliance Series Book 1)

by Megan Bradish

  “Yeah, he’s really admiring his new queen,” Adelina said with a giggle.

  “Don’t be ridiculous!” I scoffed. “He’s just curious, is all.” I try not to glance up at him again, but I can’t help it.

  “Uh-huh,” Milly said with a devilish smile.

  I roll my eyes and playfully swat Milly on the arm. “Besides, I’m basically taken, remember?”

  “Too bad. The king has nothing on this man,” Milly said.

  “Milly, shut up! Someone might hear you!” Adelina scolded.

  “What? It’s the truth!” Was Milly’s only defense.

  “Alright, children. Settle down,” I tease. Milly was right. King Elias was nowhere near as good looking as the knight. Sure, Elias was gorgeous. But this man, here, was to die for. But none of that mattered, of course. No matter how I felt, I was still stuck here, forced to marry for ‘the greater good’, as my father called it.

  “But do you see how big his sword is?” Milly asked in a seductive tone.

  I can’t help but let out a loud laugh. “Millicent! You just can’t help yourself can you?”

  “No, I cannot,” she laughed.

  I stood up, refusing to let the thought of the knight with his big sword slip into my thoughts. Though I must admit, it’s an enticing thought, I couldn’t let myself think anything of it. I had to focus on my duties. My new home, my almost husband. My soon-to-be country. I didn’t have the luxury of fantasizing over a man I could never have. Besides, it wasn’t right. I’d be a married woman soon.

  “I’m going to go settle in now,” I say. “I’ll see you soon?” They both nod and I walk off, without looking back at the adorable knight.

  Chapter 4

  “So what do you think of King Elias so far?” Father asks as he walks me to the dining hall. The rest of the day flew by, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for supper with the king just yet. But I knew I had to be.

  “He seems nice. But I’ve only just met him today.”

  “You’re still skeptical,” he points out.

  It’s hard not to be when I have no idea if my future husband will kill me in my sleep or not. I’ve tried not to give it much thought. People talk. And a lot of times, as a story is being told over and over, fact eventually turns to fiction. But I still couldn’t help but wonder. How did his last wife die? No one has ever talked about it. Only hushed whispers from the servants back home. Either way, I’m skeptical. My guard will remain up until I know that I can trust him absolutely.

  “Not really,” I lie.

  “He really seems to be trying to make an effort here, Blair. You need to do the same.”

  “Why else would I be having supper with him tonight?” I snap, immediately regretting my tone.

  Father gives me a sideways glance, as if to say “watch your tone with the king”.

  “Sorry. I’m just tired,” I lie, again.

  We arrive at the dining hall just before eight and father kisses me on the cheek, wishing me luck before scurrying off to spend some time alone. Lucky bastard. Though, I am curious about this man I’m going to marry. I want to really get a feel for what kind of a person he is. What kind of a king I’m going to be spending the rest of my life with. I usually have pretty good instincts when it comes to the kind of person they are. Spending this time alone with him would be good.

  Here goes nothing.

  King Elias spots me standing outside the door, and his eyes light up. “Blair, join me,” he says, as he holds out his hand. I stride over to him and place my hand in his. The warmth of his flesh against mine is soothing. And terrifying. What was it about this man? I was having so many mixed feelings, it was making my head spin.

  “Forgive me for being a little late,” I say as we walk toward the table. A vase with pretty red and yellow flowers are positioned around tall white candles. The flames flicker and dance, creating a soothing orange glow against the place mats, which I can’t help but notice how close together they are. I’d say there’s no more than a couple inches between them. Am I supposed to sit on his lap or something? I suddenly feel sick again.

  He must notice how uncomfortable I feel, because he clears his throat and moves his plate further away. Not much, but enough to make me feel not so crowded. “It’s perfectly fine,” he says as we both sit.

  I see my cup is full of wine and I immediately take a few sips to ease my nerves. I don’t know what to say. Should we start making arrangements for the ceremony? No, that would seem too desperate. Trust me, I am not desperate. Not for a man that I don’t know anyway. Desperate to marry someone that I have fallen in love with first, yes. But not this. This was nothing more than part of a job. A duty. There was nothing personal or sentimental about this. It was strictly business.

  God, I need more wine.

  “May I please have more wine?” I ask the cup bearer. He pours a generous amount back into my cup, and I take a few more sips and a few bites of the potatoes on my plate. I figure, if my mouth is full, I can’t talk. Right?

  “You have no need to be nervous with me Blair,” King Elias says as he watches my pathetic attempt to avoid him.

  “I’m not nervous, your majesty. I’m just not sure what to say.” What am I talking about? I’m a nervous wreck. Should I be concerned that I’ve managed to let lies slip from my lips so many times to two different kings in one day?

  “Please call me Elias,” he says as he takes a sip from his own cup. “Shall we discuss our alliance?”

  Right down to business. Alright. I didn’t want to know anything about you anyway.

  “Of course,” I smile.

  Elias clears his throat, “Well as you know, Cryptshiere has a substantial amount of money and man power. With both of our countries combined, you and I can accomplish great things during our reign.” He stops to see if I plan on saying anything. I don’t. So he continues, “I know this is all new territory to you, and it’s probably not your ideal situation. But, I will do everything I can to make you happy, if you’ll let me,” he says with soft, pleading eyes.

  His proposal. Not the proposal I went over a thousand times in my head as a child. You know the one. A candle lit dinner under a starry sky, with the man of your dreams, as he pops the question, promising to love you for the rest of your lives.

  But as far as proposals go, this one wasn’t bad. At least he made a sweet gesture. He’s trying. So I should try too.

  “Thank you for saying so. Of course I’ll let you.” I know I really didn’t have much of a choice. But it was nice of him to make me feel like I did, and to let me hold on to the freedom of making my own decisions for a little while longer. A queen consort really had no pull or decision making luxuries. All I would really be is a public display for the king. I’d be nothing more than a guest.

  Elias smiled and leaned in close to me, snapping me from my thoughts. My heart began to hammer in my chest. His face is only inches from mine now, and I can feel his breath teasing my lips as he reaches up, burying his hand in my hair. What the hell is happening? I should stop this. This was too soon. We have only just met. We know nothing about each other.

  But what am I supposed to do? Deny the king as he proposes to me? Of course not.

  Before I can think too much about it, he presses his lips to mine. They’re soft and sweet, something I wasn’t expecting. I let myself relax a little as he moves his lips across mine, his hand wrapped around the back of my neck, pulling me in tighter. I knew this is what was required of me, and honestly, this wasn’t so bad. My body tingles in anticipation, a feeling I’m not entirely familiar with. And I suddenly become nervous.

  Of course I never thought of our wedding night. How could that have slipped my mind of all things? How did I think our marriage would be consummated, if not with sex?

  I slowly back away, hoping he doesn’t see the fear residing in me once again. I hold his hand in mine as I smile up at him. “Thank you for supper, Elias. I enjoyed our time together.” Not a total lie.

  “I did,
too,” he says with a boyish grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow,” I nod, as we both stand. He still has that grin smeared across his face. If I am to be his wife, I should start playing the part of his fiancé now. I reach up to him on my tip toes and give him one more goodnight kiss before leaving him standing in the dining hall.

  Who am I kidding? I wasn’t just playing a part. I wanted to kiss that man again. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed him, despite the nagging feeling in my gut that something wasn’t right.

  I don’t know what I was expecting to find out tonight. I was hoping for information from him that might tell me what kind of man he was. Something along the lines of “hey, I killed my first wife. Hope that won’t interfere with our plans”. But all I really found, was that he seemed to be a well put together king. He cared about his country, and mine. He seemed to be a loving and sweet man, who would do anything for anyone. And he was a damn good kisser. So why did I still feel like I had a weight in my stomach? There was something not right about all of this, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

  “Well! How did it go?” Adelina asked as I made it back to my chambers. Her and Millicent were sitting on the bed eagerly waiting for me to reply.

  “I think it went alright,” I say.

  “What do you mean ‘you think’?” Millicent asks.

  I sigh, frustrated. “I don’t know. I guess I was hoping to find out a little more about him. But I got nothing.”

  “More as in, did he kill his wife?” Milly asked.

  “Precisely.”

  “What did he talk about?” Adelina asked.

  “We really didn’t talk much. I mostly sat there awkwardly and drank wine. But he did talk about our reign together and how he would do his best to make me happy, if I’d let him.”

  “If you let him? A proposal?” Adelina asked excitedly.

  “Yes, I suppose it was,” I say.

  “What’d you say to him?” Milly asked.

  “I said of course I’d let him and then…” I trailed off. I don’t think I want to go into detail about the kiss. I don’t know if I should have even encouraged it. I didn’t want him to think I was interested. It’s not that I was uninterested per se, I was more uncertain than anything.

  “And then…?” They asked in unison.

  “And then, I uh…may or may not have kissed him,” I say, instantly regretting it. They both squeal happily.

  “Tell us everything!” Adelina said.

  “I bet he was good. Did you get a feel for how he’ll be in bed?” Milly asked excitedly.

  I roll my eyes and laugh. “Is that all you can think about, Milly?”

  She shrugs. “Mostly.”

  I sit on the bed with them, and for a moment, it feels like we’re right back in my old room in Myrkdovia, sipping wine and gossiping about everyone in the castle. The last time we did it was only a few days ago, but I miss it already. Will we have this time once I’m married and become queen?

  “It was really good,” I sigh.

  “So what’s wrong?” Adelina asked.

  “What makes you think something is wrong?”

  “Blair, we know you. We can always tell when something is bothering you,” Milly said.

  Milly picks up the hair brush from my bag and begins brushing my hair with long, soft strokes. It always soothes me, and she knows it.

  “I’m just…so afraid. What if he really did kill his wife? Will he kill me too? Will I be a good queen? What if we go our entire lives without loving each other?” I let a tear roll down my cheek now and wipe it away quickly.

  “Blair,” Milly says as she hugs me. “You will be the best queen. They’re going to write books about your reign. You’ll go down in history, I just know it.”

  “As for King Elias killing his first wife, there really isn’t any proof. Trust him until he gives you a reason not to,” Adelina said as she touched her hand to mine.

  Milly shook her head in agreement.

  My two best friends. How would I get through any of this without them? And Elias brought them here for me. They were right of course, I needed to trust him for now. That would be the only way to start a marriage off right. If I was constantly doubting him, our marriage would likely fail before it even had a chance to begin.

  “You’re right. I need to just calm down about it all. And you always help with that.” I smile, looking between the two of them.

  “Now, why don’t you try to sleep? We’ve all had an exhausting day,” Milly said.

  I agreed and saw them out before lying down.

  I begin to wonder what tomorrow will bring. If more wedding planning will be in order, or if we would be engaged for awhile before being married. I hoped it was right away so father could be here for the ceremony. And so my nerves might finally calm and I could finally breathe again.

  I begin to feel tired. Really tired, like something is forcing me to sleep. I try to fight it at first, I am not sure what is happening. I move my limbs slightly, as to tell myself I’m still awake and in control of my body. They don’t want to work the way I’d like, they’re heavy and buzzing. My heart begins to pound and I’m about to call out for help, but then, a calm feeling washes over me in waves. Like something is telling me “everything is alright. Let this happen.”

  And I succumb to a deep slumber.

  Chapter 5

  “Blair.” I hear my name far away, like someone is calling to me in a dream. It’s a girl’s voice. She sounds young, but she isn’t a child. I ignore it, as my body melts to the bed. I’m too tired to respond anyway.

  “Blair, I need you to open your eyes.”

  Why?....I can’t.

  “Yes Blair, you can. Open your eyes.”

  Did this person just read my mind? I don’t think I said it out loud, but I must have. I try to open my eyes, but nothing happens. It’s like they’re sewed shut.

  “Blair, now!” The girl yells.

  My eyes pop open as I sit up frantically. My heart is pounding fiercely and I take quick shallow breaths, trying to understand what just happened. I must have been dreaming, but her voice sounded so real, like she was right next to me…

  I turn to my left side, and a girl, maybe a few years younger than me is standing there, staring at me. I let out a small scream as I jump from the bed.

  “Who are you? What do you want?” I ask as I back away from her. She looked strange. White. Really white. Her hair was long and blonde, and her face small and round. She had the innocence of a child shining through her eyes. Her very dead looking eyes.

  “You cannot marry him.”

  This takes me by surprise. How does she even know…?

  “Why?” I ask, my heart pounding again.

  “He’s evil. He’s wicked. Don’t let his charming demeanor fool you.”

  “How do you know this? Who are you?” I demand.

  “Who I am doesn’t matter, Blair. You mustn’t marry the king.”

  I rub my eyes, praying this is just a dream and when I open them again, she’ll be gone.

  But she’s still here. Why does she look dead? I couldn’t stop staring at her pasty white face, the slight glow of her long dress.

  “I…I have to,” I say.

  The girl looks sad, as she looks down at the floor. “I can’t stop you. I wish I could. I can tell you’re a good person and I don’t want him to kill you.”

  I swear my heart stops as she says those last few words. I don’t want him to kill you. Was she listening to my conversation earlier with Milly and Adelina? Was she just taunting me?

  “Why would you say that?” I ask.

  “The better question to ask would be, if the feelings you’ve been having in your gut about him are, in fact true. Have you noticed the small flicker of anger flash through his eyes as he looks at a woman? Especially one he knows he’s going to have? It’s barely noticeable unless you’re really looking, so you might not have.”

  I never did look into his eyes too often. But the ti
mes I did, they seemed happy.

  “You listened to the conversation I was having earlier,” I accuse.

  She shakes her head. “No. I just know you, Blair. And I know him, too.” She turns to walk to the far corner of the room. Once she reaches the wall she turns around. “Heed my warning, Blair. Marry him, and he will surely kill you.”

  I wake with a scream. I’m laying in bed, not standing like I thought I just was. I quickly scan the room, looking for the girl, but she’s not there. I get out of bed and run to the corner where I last saw her and feel the wall. I wasn’t sure what I was hoping to find. Maybe a secret passageway or a hidden door of some sort. Why would she go to this corner to leave, and not out the door? I feel every crevice of the wall, knocking to see if there are any hollow spots. But there’s nothing. Just thick concrete walls.

  I slide down to the floor and hold my head in my hands. I take a few deep breaths to calm myself. I have been under a lot of stress lately. And I have been worried about marrying a man I didn’t know. This was nothing more than my mind playing tricks on me.

  So why did this girl seem so real? She was standing right next to me. I could feel her presence, and I could hear the rustle of her dress every time she moved. I could vividly hear her small, cracked voice as she spoke to me. And I could see the fear in her eyes. It was all just as clear as if it really happened. If she was real, she was someone I’d never seen before. I didn’t see her at all as we arrived here, or as my ladies and I walked the castle grounds. It was as though she appeared out of nowhere.

  Please don’t be losing your mind. Please.

  I hear a slight tap on my door, and stand quickly. “Yes, come in.” I glance out the window and see the morning sun is peaking through the trees. Didn’t I just go to bed?

  Milly and Adelina walk through the door and see me standing in the corner of the room. “Blair, what are you doing?” Adelina asks.

  “I…uh…I lost my bracelet last night. I was just scanning the room for it.” More lies. But the truth would make me sound mad. A ghost came to me in the night. She left through this wall. Just checking to see if there were any secret passageways.