by Ivy Clyde
“They could simply marry princesses of the lunar fae and their children could gain this power,” I said in reply. “Look at me. I possess the powers of both a solar fae and a lunar fae. I believe our creator meant for us to mingle together and become one. The world can’t survive with just the sun alone. It needs both a sun and a moon to stay in balance. We were always meant to be the lumina fae.”
“Your words are simple but there is great wisdom in them,” said Leon in a more relaxed tone. A light smile curved his luscious lips. “Our children would be truly powerful.”
I chuckled. “You are already thinking about our children?”
“You will have three husbands, Moira,” he said in a teasing tone. “Of course, there will be lots of children.”
My cheeks heated up immediately.
A knock on the door made me look away from my grinning mate. Leon straightened up and marched toward the door. Opening it, he allowed a maid to enter the room.
“My Lady,” said the strange woman with a low bow. “I am to accompany you to the Elder Statesman’s manor. Please follow me.”
I glanced at Leon before turning away to follow the maid. There was really nothing to be done at the moment but see what Vishen wanted.
The maid led me out of the harem complex and told me to sit in the carriage waiting for me at the gates. To my surprise, she came to sit with me inside it. Until now, I’d never had a maid accompany me inside the coach. I glanced at the strange woman and found her staring right back at me. It wasn’t hard to guess who she really answered to.
Everything was silent except for the sound of pouring rain drumming on the carriage’s roof. I glanced out of the small square window and watched people dancing and singing in the downpour. The streets of Cataria were filled with children, men, and women. Everyone seemed to be celebrating the rain. A smile rose on my lips. This was the only thing I’d been able to do for my father’s people. I will do more, I vowed.
The carriage soon neared the familiar castle-like manor. We were allowed to drive inside through the massive gates of the property.
Back then, Vishen hadn’t allowed me to step inside the main building. He’d flung me away into humble lodgings on the far side of the grounds. This time, the maid opened an umbrella for me and directly led me into the entrance hall of the palatial manor. She didn’t stop there though. Proceeding down another hallway, she led me into another room.
“Stay here,” said the woman. “My master will come to you.” She left the room and closed the door. From the sounds of it, she even locked it from the outside.
I didn’t understand why she or her master thought I was at flight risk. Moving toward the plush sofa arrangement in the corner, I sat down. The interiors of the room were humble with very basic furniture. It felt like this was the place where Vishen conducted his shady deals with others.
My host arrived about half an hour later. Dressed in his customary black and gold-trimmed robes, Vishen swept in with a cold expression on his face.
“My Lord,” I said, standing up from my seat. As if nothing had changed between us, I bowed to him.
Satisfaction spread through his face. “So, you haven’t forgotten where your loyalty lies.”
“No, My Lord.”
“The prince came rushing after you,” he said. “As soon as word reached him that you’re out of the palace, he got on a horse and charged my manor.”
“What?”
“Prince Eoghan is in my manor right now, demanding to know why I had you brought here.”
Panic spread through me at once. Did Lucia really come after me? Did Leon tell her as soon as I was taken out of the harem? I stared back at Vishen. “I didn’t tell him I was coming here.”
“No?”
I shook my head.
“Prince Eoghan thinks he can take the throne of Amaris without bending to my will,” he said in a venom-choked voice. His pale gray eyes were hard as ice. “He has manipulated everyone into believing he can revive the kingdom. Even those who were in my support have started changing tune after he made it rain today. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t even have been allowed to set foot in the palace.”
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. “He is a pompous, arrogant bastard with no legitimate right to the throne. I will not allow it.” He stepped toward me and hooked a finger under my chin. Making me stare up at him, he said, “It’s time you proved your loyalty to me.”
“How?” I whispered.
Letting me go, he rummaged inside his robe and took out a sheathed dagger. It looked oddly familiar. If I wasn’t mistaken, it was the same blade he used to slit Lucia’s wrist during the sacrificial ritual. “The last knife was absolutely useless,” he muttered under his breath. “This one will definitely injure his magical core.” Grasping my hand, he made me turn my palm flat. Putting the dagger on it, he said, “You will stab him with this dagger.”
I stared at him blankly. “Do what?”
“Stab him.”
Cold swirled in my chest as I stared into Vishen’s dark gaze. Was he seriously planning to make me kill Lucia? “I am no match for him, Uncle,” I said, struggling to keep up with my pretense.
“You don’t need strength,” he said. “The assassins I sent to kill him proved utterly useless. I need someone like you. A fragile little lady by his side who doesn’t threaten him in any way. Get close to him and stab him when he is least expecting it.”
“I am not close to the prince,” I said, trying to reason with Vishen’s madness. “Eithna is the one who is with him day and night.”
“The woman has proved to be worthless too,” said Vishen. “Now it’s your turn to prove yourself.”
I stared at him. Eithna was loyal to Vishen? Was Lucia aware of this fact and intentionally keeping Eithna by her side?
“Eoghan came after you,” said Vishen with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “This means he cares for you. After all, you saved his life during the hunt.” Slapping a hand on my back, he pushed me toward the door. “You will be taken to him now. Get it done. I will be watching you.” A cold smile turned the corner of his lips. “If you don’t do as I say, you and your family will be dead by tonight.”
Confusion warred inside me. Was this some kind of test for me? Was he trying to see if I would really do it? There was no way Lucia would be here. She wouldn’t give away the game so easily.
Taking a deep breath, I curled my fingers on the hilt of the dagger. If I could gain Vishen’s trust today, he might tell me what he was planning to do next. Steeling my back, I opened the door and walked out into the corridor.
The maid who brought me to the manor stood waiting there. She gestured for me to follow her.
I was taken to a different part of the manor. The luxurious beauty all around me seemed to fade as my gaze focused on the back of the woman leading me.
She opened the door to a vast, ornately-decorated room and gestured for me to go in.
I entered the room. Immediately, the door was closed behind me. A lean figure in the far distance turned around to face me.
Lucia…
I stood rooted to the spot, wondering what to do. Could the two of us escape together? Would there be an army waiting to subdue us? Would we become fugitives as soon as Vishen discovers our real identities? Should I have killed Vishen when I had the chance?
Thoughts churned inside my mind as Lucia’s disguised figure approached me.
“Violet, my darling consort,” said Lucia, reaching me. His hand took mine in his. Raising it to his lips, he placed a kiss there.
My gaze looked into every corner of the room. Besides us, there was no one else here. Then, why would she call me by that name? I wondered. Lucia gazed at me with a doting smile but there was something off about it. This wasn’t how she greeted me.
“What does Lord Vishen want with you?” she asked. “Did he hurt you? Does he want to take you away from me?” She looked awfully upset and worried. “I am here to save you. No one
can take you away from me without a fight. Not even the Elder Statesman!”
The person before me looked and sounded just like Lucia in her disguise as Prince Eoghan. But it’s not her, I realized with a start. This is not Lucia. I knew my mate more than anyone else. Even my magic could feel and detect her presence even if someone blinded my eyes.
This was the test Vishen designed for me. He had someone cast an illusion over me, making me think it’s Lucia. Relief spread through me at once. This wasn’t Lucia. My panic and fear disappeared at once. There was no way I would hesitate in driving the blade through the illusory figure’s heart.
“No one is taking me away from you, My Prince,” I said, attempting a smile. Putting my arms around the person, I pulled myself against him. His body seemed quite real but it could just be empty air I was hugging. No matter what, it wasn’t Lucia.
The person hugged me tightly, called me ‘Violet’, and whispered sweet nothings in my ear.
I didn’t need any more proof to know this wasn’t Lucia. Still hugging the man before me, I unsheathed the dagger I’d been hiding in my sleeves. Taking a deep breath, I stabbed his side with all the force I could muster. The blade sank into his flesh without any resistance.
The man let out a scream as he scrambled away from me. His shocked, wide eyes stared at the hilt of the dagger protruding from his side. “You fucking bitch!” he cried loudly. Stumbling forward, he came at me with raised hands. “I will fucking kill you!” Before he could reach me, he dropped to his knees. A few seconds later, he fell to his side. Dark crimson blood dribbled onto the spotless white marble floor.
I stood rooted to the spot, waiting for the illusion to disappear from before my eyes.
The door to the room was suddenly thrown open. Vishen strode in with a delighted smile on his face.
“You did it,” he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
I looked down at the unmoving figure on the floor.
“The prince is dead,” I said in an expressionless voice.
“No, child,” he said. “The prince isn’t dead yet. Look.”
I stared down at the body on the floor. The face of a stranger was revealed to me.
“This was a test for you, child,” he said. “This isn’t the real prince. But at least we both know you won’t hesitate to do the same a second time.”
“Who is this man?” I asked.
“Just a mercenary I hired for the job. He is of no consequence.”
“But I still killed a real person,” I whispered in a hollow voice.
“So what?” said Vishen. “You will kill a hundred more if I commanded you to do so.”
Tears streamed down my face. While I was happy I hadn’t killed Lucia, I hated the fact I was forced to kill someone innocent for Vishen. Why couldn’t he conjure up a real illusion to trick me like Cade used to? Why did he have to use the life of a real person for this stupid test?
My whole body shook with cold shivers.
“There, there,” he said in an offhand voice. “You’ll be fine. I will make you the queen of Amaris when you kill the real Prince Eoghan. No one deserves to rule this kingdom but me. You will stay loyal to me, won’t you, Violet?”
“Of course, My Lord,” I forced myself to say.
“I can see you’re in shock,” he said. “Come! I will let Edna take you back to the palace. A day’s rest will calm your mind again. I will send you some gifts too. You’ve done really well, my dear niece.”
I stayed quiet as he ushered me out of the room. The maid who brought me to his manor took hold of my hand and dragged me down the hallways until we reached the carriage outside. Rain fell all around me but I stayed dry because of the umbrella she held over me.
The purplish, black sky seemed to reflect my mood perfectly. Even though I was drowning in shock of having killed an innocent stranger, a cold part of my mind already knew of Vishen’s plans. He would be planting me beside Lucia and make me kill her before the coronation could be completed.
You won’t succeed in killing someone I love this time, I vowed silently.
25
Lucia
“Your Highness…Oh yes…oh yes…yes…yes…” Eithna’s voice rose in pitch and then shuddered into complete silence. I glanced at her, sitting on top of the bed in the corner as she eyed me with a saucy look in her doe-eyes. Grinning at her, I went back to peruse the report on the available amount of grains in the granaries across the kingdom.
A minute later, I felt a foreign touch on my knees. Looking down, I glimpsed long-taloned fingers, painted a rich crimson, slowly inching toward my crotch.
“You don’t need to do that, Eithna,” I said. “The sun is already up. Go back to bed and sleep.”
Her blue eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before her irritated expression cleared away. “Why won’t you let me pleasure you, My Prince? Why do you keep making me pretend to have sex with you? If you’re having trouble feeling aroused, I can help you get there. My healer can concoct amazing lust potions with drops of gancanaugh venom. You will last for hours, Your Highness.” She took the thick scroll away from my hand and promptly sat on my knee.
Turning my head toward her, I gazed at her face. She was pretty with a knack for applying makeup that further exaggerated her features. Eithna would make an excellent partner in bed with all the skills she had but her traitorous heart was only fit to be stabbed.
“I have no interest in touching you, Eithna,” I said in a calm voice. “Get off me.”
She stood up and frowned down at me. “Why, Your Highness? You chose me from the rest of the other women. Why not get someone else who can truly please you?”
I stood up as well and towered over her. With lightning-fast speed, I unsheathed a dagger and placed it under her chin. Her blue eyes widened as she felt the cold edge of the blade.
“Do you think I don’t know you’ve been stealing the information from all the reports that get delivered to my quarters?” I asked in a soft, barely audible voice. My feet moved closer, driving the edge of the blade against her neck.
Eithna cautiously took a step back.
“Do you think I don’t know you’ve been secretly reporting my every move to Lord Vishen and your father?” I asked, keeping a steady hold on the hilt of the dagger.
“Y-Your Highness…”
“Sshh,” I whispered, putting a finger to my lips. “There is nothing you can say to these accusations, darling. I know what you’ve been up to behind my back.”
Eithna dropped to her knees at my feet immediately. “Your Highness! I am sorry.” Sobs escaped her trembling lips as she gripped my ankles. “My father made me do it. I couldn’t disobey him. I am truly sorry.”
I held onto the hilt of the naked blade as Eithna broke into tears.
Kneeling down before her, I placed the tip of the dagger under her chin and forced her to look at me. “I understand your need to obey and please your father but you’re my woman now. Where does your loyalty lie now?”
Eithna looked up at me with tear-filled eyes. “You, My Prince.”
“But you realize you’ve already committed treason,” I said. “You will have to be punished.”
“Please, no,” she wailed, coiling around my legs. “I had no choice but to follow my father’s commands.”
“The sins of a father should not burden the child,” I said thoughtfully.
“Yes, My Prince,” she said, nodding her head vigorously. “Please spare me.”
“Then, prove your loyalty to me,” I said, digging the blade deeper against her neck. Just a sliver of pressure would break her skin open now.
“How, My Prince?”
“Have you heard from your father over the past three days?”
Her eyes widened. For a moment, she seemed to freeze completely. Then, she shook her head.
“He was supposed to have come close to the borders of Cataria with his entire army,” I said. “You’ve been waiting for a word from him, haven’t you?”
“How did you know?” she whispered. Her wide blue eyes finally displayed true fear.
Taking the dagger away, I sheathed it. There was no need to threaten her any more. Straightening up, I walked away from her.
“Your Highness,” she called out in a wavering voice. “Why hasn’t my father gotten in touch with me yet? I sent my servant to gather news but he hasn’t been back yet. It’s been more than a day since he is gone. What has happened?”
“His army was ambushed when they were traveling through the Ailech passes,” I said in a soft voice. “Those passes don’t allow more than a few men walking side by side to pass through. A battalion of men is forced to form a line. You won’t believe how easy it is to make them all line through the narrow passageways and then kill them off with arrows. A small army can easily take on a larger one in such a formation.”
“Are you saying my father’s men are dead?” asked Eithna in a grim tone.
“Yes. They are all gone. Their bodies have already perished.”
Sobs escaped Eithna. She stayed on the ground, weeping. This time, however, her cries sounded real.
“Don’t cry, my darling,” I said, going back to sit on the throne-like plush couch. “I am not going to kill you. Wipe those tears away. You’re going to be the queen of Amaris.”
Tears streamed down her pretty face as she stared up at me. “What do you mean?”
“I have decided to pardon you,” I said, smiling down at her. “You will stand by me during the coronation ceremony and be crowned as the queen of the kingdom.”
It took effort for her to stand up. Her heavy gown and the number of jewelry gracing her body made it difficult for her to pull herself together. She stared at me, her gaze heavy with curiosity and confusion. “Who exactly are you?” she whispered. “You were never this decisive. The nobles laughed behind your back and thought you were a pushover. Back then, you didn’t have the powers you have now.”
I chuckled, thinking of the way everyone thought Moira’s powers were mine.
“I am a wandering prince,” I said. “Everyone knows this.”