by Brandt, Eva
“And may they protect you on the path you have chosen,” the king politely replied.
Taking his final goodbye as a dismissal, I gestured for my soulmate to follow me out of the room. We didn’t touch, nor did we speak to each other. Lucienne simply followed me through the corridors of the Palasion and did not attempt to initiate the conversation she’d earlier pushed for.
It was only when we reached my car that she deigned to say something. “Well, that was about as pleasant as meeting your earlier scavenger friends. I think it would probably be a good idea for me to avoid coming here in the future.”
Despite myself, I couldn’t help but smile. “Probably, yes. Come on. Let’s get you home. It’s late and you must be exhausted after everything that’s happened.”
“Oh, exhaustion is the least of my problems right now,” Lucienne answered as we slid into the vehicle. “But we can discuss that later. Onward, my noble steed.”
Steed? Okay, then. It looked like whatever time I would have with my soulmate would be interesting. It would certainly not be much since regardless of what Lucienne might think, some things simply needed to happen to prevent worse consequences. I was okay with that.
Now, I’d just have to convince Lucienne to accept it too. I had a feeling it would be as impossible as getting an Alarian to feel emotion.
Eleven
Deal
Darius
“Darius, you said she had absolutely no idea that our world existed! How could you have been so wrong?”
“I’m afraid I’m just as surprised as you, Father,” I answered, “but you must remember that mind blurs aren’t exactly reliable sources of information. The knowledge of her true nature must have been hidden in a different part of her mind, so I naturally missed it.”
Despite all the things I was keeping from my family, that much was true. I had been completely unprepared for the revelations Lucienne had made. She was not human, she knew far more about the Accursed than she should have and she possessed mind magic that surpassed my own. If I had known about it, I would’ve done things very differently, but it was too late for that. I suspected all of this might not end well, for any of us.
“It is not that unusual,” Cardinal Vaughn mused. “I believe she might be a recently awakened latent. For all we know, it is precisely meeting with the scavengers and Prince Darius’s forces that caused her abilities to trigger.”
That was a pretty plausible theory. If Cardinal Vaughn was right, it could explain why the Alarian Vow had failed to kill me on the spot. The magic intrinsic to the enchantment might have gotten confused upon touching her latent one. It was only a matter of time until the spell on me ran its course, but her unexpected latent nature might be the answer to most of my questions.
“I see,” my father said. “That makes sense, and it does explain why she hedged on the topic of her clan. She might not know much about her origins at all, although that does seem strange, considering that she seemed aware of at least a couple of things regarding our legal system.”
“Guardian Whelan might have told her or if not, Guardian Braun,” my mother suggested. “Vampires are good at sniffing out such things, and he was at the club and not incapacitated like Guardian Whelan.”
She had a point. I had gotten distracted before the trial, so I had neglected to speak to Malachai, mostly because I hadn’t thought he could provide me with any new information on Lucienne. I was losing my touch. Normally, I wouldn’t have made that mistake.
“I will speak to him and see if he can provide any insight.”
“Do so at once, Darius,” my father ordered. “This situation remains very unclear, and between Guardian Whelan’s latent soulmate and the escalating activity of the scavengers, we have to take steps to make sure we don’t lose control over the city.”
“Yes, Father. I will see to it promptly. Praised be the High King.”
He waved me off, and with one final salute, I left the throne room and headed toward the cell block. As far as I knew, Malachai Braun was still there and still in captivity, as we had not gotten the chance to instruct anyone to let him out. Technically, the accusations on him had been separate, but since Guardian Whelan’s trial had been dismissed, it would have been futile to pursue the secondary matter of his vampire partner. The delay in his release might have been only an oversight, but it was one I could use.
As it turned out, Bjorn had taken it upon himself to relocate Malachai Braun from his uncomfortable cell to an interrogation room. “I hope you do not find my initiative insulting, Your Highness,” he said when I found him in the Pure Inquisition wing of the Palasion. “I simply deemed it unnecessary for him to have to stay in a location that is more suitable for scavengers than for a loyal member of the Guardian Corps.”
Considering our previous exchange and the kiss we had shared, the words were somewhat hypocritical. I arched a brow at him but didn’t call him out on it. “That’s fine. I needed to speak with him anyway, and an interrogation room is far more appropriate for my purposes than our detention facilities.”
“Of course, Your Highness. Right this way.”
Bjorn guided me deeper into the Pure Inquisition wing, past several security checks and through stark corridors guarded by blank-faced inquisitors. None of them were Banished-born, as Cardinal Vaughn was of the firm opinion Alarians were far better at the tasks involved in this field than other types of Accursed would ever be. Bjorn was the sole exception. He had originally been a guardian, but I’d felt his skills were more suited to a position as an inquisitor, and the cardinal had not been able to deny me. I’d yet to be proven wrong.
“Did you get the chance to speak to the prisoners we captured?” I asked him as we walked.
“No, Your Highness. They’ve been assigned to a different inquisitor.”
Of course they had been. That always happened when we captured an incubus scavenger. Cardinal Vaughn started throwing around words like “conflict of interest” and “incompatibility”, and pushed Bjorn away even if he was more than capable to deal with anyone from his race.
I wished I had the time to speak to the cardinal about his prejudice, but unfortunately, I did not. Besides, both Bjorn and I had other, more important concerns than Cardinal Vaughn’s pettiness.
When we finally reached the room Malachai Braun was in, I dismissed the guards posted outside and gestured for Bjorn to take their place. Interrogation facilities were all sound-proof, but that wouldn’t help me if the cardinal or my mother decided to join me. I couldn’t risk being overheard.
As I walked into the interrogation chamber, Malachai greeted me with a nod. “Your Highness, thank you for doing me the honor of coming to speak to me in person.”
He was bound to his seat, so he could not get up to acknowledge or accommodate me in any way. As such, I dragged one of the other chairs in front of him and sat down. “Let’s skip the pleasantries, Guardian Braun. I find that I am not willing to dwell on formalities today. Do you know why I am here?”
“To interrogate me about Declan’s case,” Malachai answered with a frown. He seemed to find it strange that I had even asked. Perhaps it was.
“Yes and no,” I replied. “Guardian Whelan’s trial had been dismissed. So has yours.”
Malachai’s mouth dropped open and he stared in me in shock. “Dismissed? But why?”
“I’m afraid I can’t claim any of the credit. It turns out that Ms. Hastings isn’t human after all, and she put up quite a show to point it out in front of the whole Pure Council of Nobles.”
“Not human?” Malachai asked. I hoped he would eventually be able to say something that went beyond parroting my own words at me. “I don’t understand.”
“Don’t you? You weren’t aware of her abilities then?”
Malachai shook his head. “Not in the slightest, Your Highness. Like everyone else, I believed that she was a regular human. Although...”
When he trailed off, it was my turn to fall into repeating his words. “Although what?”
/> “She was the one who initiated the transference ritual that allowed Declan to survive, back at the club. I deemed it something she did naturally, a soulmate instinct of some kind, but maybe I was wrong.”
I’d already known that, but Malachai’s perspective was interesting. It would be even more interesting to find out what he actually thought about all this. “I see. Well, Guardian Braun, perhaps you can show me exactly what you mean.”
All the color drained out of the guardian’s face. It should have been impossible since he was practically an albino, but I could distinguish a very clear difference. Malachai Braun was hiding something, and it was important.
“Do you have any objections?” I asked calmly.
It would not have mattered if he had decided to say “no”. I was Prince Darius, the heir to the Alarian throne, and his leader. By Alarian law, I owned his life, and I could do whatever I pleased to him. In truth, he was lucky that I was the one he would have to accept in his mindscape. I was less likely to tear a guardian’s mind apart than others of my kind, who did not care so much about the damage they left behind.
Malachai must’ve been aware of this as well because he straightened his back and met my eyes without flinching. “I have no objections, Your Highness.”
Reading a vampire’s mind was quite different from doing the same to a werewolf or a human. Vampires were not mind mages per se, but their skills were almost as varied as those Alarians could have. Most Accursed could only use one type of paranormal ability or two, at most, but vampires were a little more versatile. Their inability to feed made it impossible for them to access their shape-shifting, but their hypnotizing skill was still something they could use, and often came in handy in confrontations with scavengers.
I specialized in mind magic, so he was no match for me, but a part of me did feel relieved when he granted me entrance without protest. He didn’t flail around like Guardian Whelan had, which made things easier for both of us. It also made it easier for me to find out the second reason for his change in behavior, one that was far more shocking than his desire to help his longtime partner.
I withdrew from his mind so quickly he let out a hiss of discomfort. I could empathize, although for reasons different than his own.“You’re her soulmate?” I asked, feeling like I’d taken a blow to the solar plexus. “Lucienne Hastings’ soulmate?”
“Yes,” Malachai answered. His voice didn’t waver and his stance remained as impeccable as before, but his crimson eyes radiated a mix of misery and hope. “Not that it will make much of a difference in the big picture. It never does.”
He wasn’t wrong, but at the same time... At the same time, I’d never heard of anyone having three soulmates. Some species were more inclined to polyamory than others, but even those who were naturally free-spirited often ended up falling for a single person alone. As far as I knew, fae fell into that category.
Besides, this wasn’t just about regular sexual and romantic relationships. This involved soulmates. The whole concept had been based on having one single match for each individual. Two matches had been strange enough, but three?
If I hadn’t known any better, I would have deemed it all a huge lie, but I could not deny what I felt even now, after Bjorn’s intervention. As for an elaborate deception orchestrated by Declan Whelan and Malachai Braun... What could they have possibly hoped to gain by making such an outrageous claim?
No, it was not possible. Besides, I’d looked into both their minds, and I knew they could not have deceived me. Malachai was not even aware that we’d met up with Lucienne during the second confrontation with the scavengers, and both he and Declan had always been utterly dedicated to their soulmate. They would have never lied about something so important.
And if Lucienne already had three soulmates... Could there be more out there, waiting to find her and hurt her?
“I realize that it is strange, Your Highness, and that, considering this information, you have no reason to trust me,” Malachai said, oblivious to my thoughts. “But if there is anything at all that I can do, anything I can help Declan and Lucienne with, I beg you to—”
“You don’t need to beg,” I cut him off. “I understand you better than you think.”
Before I could explain further, the door opened, and Bjorn walked into the room, his sharp gaze zeroing in on the vampire with a fierceness that made me grateful he wasn’t holding any weapon. “Your Highness, is the bloodsucker giving you trouble? I could assist you in loosening his tongue if you so wish it.”
I would have chastised him for monitoring the surges of my emotions, but like so many other things, the volatility of his temper was my fault. Before he had “indulged” in our little feeding session, he had been perfectly capable of maintaining the same impeccable facade of calm that came naturally to Alarians. That would be very difficult, if not completely impossible, now.
Malachai narrowed his eyes at Bjorn, perhaps finding his behavior suspicious. I decided to intervene and keep the episode from escalating. “That won’t be necessary, Bjorn. Remove his cuffs.”
In hindsight, I should have perhaps asked Bjorn to do this before I’d even started my interrogation. Better late than never, I supposed.
Bjorn didn’t question me, although I suspected he wasn’t happy with the command. He’d probably be even less happy once he realized what I intended to do.
It was much too dangerous to discuss such a delicate matter in the middle of the Inquisition wing, so I turned on my heel and gestured for both my subordinates to follow. They did, and together, we made our way out of the interrogation chamber and toward my office.
It was only when we were safely behind closed doors that I addressed the matter that lingered over us like an ominous cloud. “Listen to me very closely, Guardian Braun. There is more going on than you know. A lot of mysteries seem to surround Lucienne Hastings, and that puts her in grave danger. For that reason, I will put my faith in you. I will trust you to protect her, to protect the soulmate you, Declan Whelan and I share.”
* * *
Malachai
This was a joke. No, this was a hallucination. I’d gotten silver poisoning from my cuffs and I was lying in my cold cell, imagining Prince Darius Alarisson confessing that Lucienne was his soulmate too.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, half in a daze, “what?”
“You heard me the first time,” Prince Darius replied, his voice just as cool and level as always. “I won’t repeat myself.”
There was nothing on his face that indicated that he’d suddenly gained the ability to feel. His eyes remained unreadable pools of liquid silver, and every inch of him was as impeccably Alarian as always.
Not only that, but I also knew that Alarian royals were just as harsh on themselves as they were on their subordinates. The day a child was born in their family, another spell was cast on them, the Alarian Vow. It was designed to kill the individual in question the moment he or she became capable of feeling due to touching his or her soulmate.
Rumor had it that it had happened once or twice in the past, although never since I’d joined the Guardian Corps, and perhaps not in this generation.
My skepticism must’ve been pretty obvious because the prince decided to elaborate on how he had circumvented the curse his own mother had placed upon him. “You are wondering how I am still alive, despite the consequences of the Alarian Vow. I cannot claim any merit. The only explanation I have right now involves Lucienne herself. Cardinal Vaughn tells me she is a recently awakened latent, and might be some kind of fae. I hypothesize that her magic might have interacted with the Vow and kept it from manifesting in its entirety.”
In its entirety. So the prince wasn’t nearly as healthy as he was trying to appear. “In any case,” Darius continued, “I fear that she might have drawn too much attention due to her earlier display. Not only did she exhibit abilities of powerful mental magic, but she also attempted to blackmail my parents in order to gain unrestricted access to Guardian Whelan. For the momen
t, they have allowed it, and they do not intend to hurt her, but things seem to be escalating very quickly. Guardian Whelan has currently left to take Lucienne to her place of residence. I need you to go there and keep an eye on her.”
If that was the only thing the prince required of me, I was more than happy to comply. “Of course, Your Highness. Thank you for trusting me with this task. What troubles you in particular?”
“Lucienne is against us going through with our duties and protecting her life by ending ours. I fear that she may do something reckless in an attempt to find a solution. We only came to know about your situation because we ran into her when we caught up with the larger group of scavengers we were pursuing.”
“W-What?” I stammered. “But how? How could she have possibly known? Was it her mind magic?”
“Maybe. That doesn’t mean she is safe.” Prince Darius pursed his lips, and for the first time ever, I saw a distant emotion flash in his eyes. “We cannot make any assumptions, not anymore. I have no idea how it is possible for her to have three soulmates, but even assuming the three of us are gone, she might still run into more later. And I believe I don’t have to tell you how much of a disaster it would be if the curse manifested on her in more than one way. One disease is bad enough, but three or more? She would never survive it, especially not considering the lethal combination between you and Guardian Whelan.”
He didn’t have to tell me that. I already knew. I had known it ever since I’d realized the truth, back at the club.
“She’d likely fall ill sooner than expected,” I croaked out, “although her supernatural background might give her some protection.”
“We can’t rely on that. Her stubbornness and insistence to keep in contact with Guardian Whelan might place her in jeopardy much sooner. For all we know, something entirely different might happen before the disease can become a problem.”
I’d have liked to believe that Prince Darius was just being paranoid, but I knew he was right. The Accursed Syndrome was usually the cause of death for most soulmates, but sometimes, the Anomaly kicked in, and when that happened, all bets were off.