THE ROYAL TRIALS: HEIR

by James Tate

  Chapter 18

  After picking myself up off the floor—long after my tears had dried up—I made my way straight to Lee's bedroom. I knew he would already be dead asleep, but I couldn't handle the loneliness of my own room.

  He'd left the door unlocked for me, like I'd known he would, so I crept in silently and slipped beneath his covers without a word. His breathing was deep and even, but when my head touched down on his spare pillow, he rolled over and wrapped me in the warmest, most secure hug. He barely stirred, his breathing returning to the rhythmic pace of deep sleep in seconds, but it was exactly what I needed. When I drifted into sleep myself, it was in the warm glow of his love.

  Waking up some time later, I found myself snuggled up warm but with more hands resting on me than I'd fallen asleep with.

  Cracking my eyelids open I found the culprit. Ty was on his side, sharing my pillow face-to-face with me while Lee continued to sleep wrapped around my back.

  At first I thought Ty was asleep too, but a twitch in his cheek told me he was holding back a smile. Smiling, I poked him in the ribs.

  "Oh, good morning, my queen," he whispered, acting surprised but letting a teasing grin spread over his face. "Fancy finding you here."

  "Funny," I murmured back, not wanting to wake Lee. "When did you sneak in here?"

  Ty shifted his hand from where it had been resting on my hip and stroked a wild curl behind my ear. "About an hour ago. You two looked so peaceful I thought I'd join you."

  I wet my lips, knowing he meant it innocently but unable to stop my mind from whirling and my nipples from hardening. "Um." I cleared my throat. "What time is it?"

  "Just after lunch. I wanted to let you sleep, but also..." He wrinkled his nose and gave a small shrug.

  I nodded, yawning. "But also the fate of the world rests on my unworthy shoulders. I remember. We need to deal with Bloodeye today before he feels the need to hurt anyone else." Cane's threat flittered through my mind, and my stomach rolled. Would Bloodeye really let his men harm his own mother?

  The second the question crossed my mind, I dismissed it. More than likely, Cane had worked out my affections for Magda on his own and had no clue how she was connected to his boss. If Cane harmed her, it'd be his own death. But what good would that do? Magda would already be gone.

  "I think I can help you with that," Ty whispered, smacking a quick kiss on my lips before rolling out of bed.

  Lee groaned and raised a sleepy hand to rub at his eyes while Ty rummaged for something in the pocket of his jacket—which he'd removed, along with his shirt, before climbing into bed with us. He still wore creased, navy blue dress pants, and the formal cut of the shirt and jacket he'd left on Lee's armchair said he'd been out on official business this morning.

  "Why are you in my room?" Lee mumbled, opening just one eye to glare at his brother accusingly.

  Ty shot a smirk over his shoulder. "You left the door unlocked, bro. You were practically asking for visitors. Right, Zarina?" He winked at me, and I bit my lip to hold all my drool inside my mouth as he stood there in just a pair of wrinkled suit pants and white singlet undershirt. with all the smooth tanned skin on display over bulky arm muscles. Groan.

  Lee wrapped his arms back around me to bury his face in my hair and kiss my head. "Zarina is always welcome," he mumbled, sounding like he could happily go straight back to sleep while cuddling me like a favorite teddy bear.

  "No arguments here," Ty replied with a cocked brow. "But I found something this morning that our beauty might like." Finding what he was looking for in his pocket, he pulled his hand back out and revealed a large, square, deep emerald stone.

  That caught my attention enough that I sat slightly up. "Is that the stone Bloodeye was asking for?"

  Ty shrugged, coming back over to us, and handed the rock to me. "It must be. It was the only one that looked anything like it."

  "Where'd you find it?" Lee asked, holding out his hand to take it from me.

  Ty snorted a small laugh. "Mother's jewelry box."

  "What do you think Bloodeye wants it for?" I asked them, frowning. "Or more to the point, how did he even know about it? His description was really specific, which means he must have seen it at some point."

  Lee nodded slightly, then sighed and handed the stone back to me. "I don't know. But it doesn't feel magical, like all the stones down in Ophelia's vault. Maybe he saw Mother wearing it at some function and decided it would make a good test of your loyalty."

  "Maybe," I agreed, but I didn't fully believe that explanation. "I guess I can ask when I take it to him."

  Ty cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to him. "Uh, about that. We don't think it's a good idea for you to go back into the Pond. Not now."

  My mood soured, and I arched a brow at him. "Excuse me?"

  Ty sighed and shot a look over my head at Lee, like he was asking for backup, but he got none. "Look," he finally continued when Lee said nothing, "there's so much resting on you right now. What if Bloodeye decides you're no longer useful or loyal enough to him? What if someone, somewhere found out who you really are and told him? What about Jules? What if Zan’s magic was too light, and she’s blurted everything out in exchange for a bag of coins?"

  I scowled but tried to hold my temper. He was just trying to protect me, and if the roles were reversed, I'd do the same. But... "Ty, I appreciate your concern, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, but go to hell. You can't try to shelter me or lock me in a cage. Best understand that now or we are in for a whole world of disagreements if we do manage to dethrone your father."

  Ty looked like I'd just poked him with a sharp stick, but Lee's gentle hand stroking down my side calmed my rising temper.

  "Ty would never try to lock you in a cage, love," Lee assured me. "None of us would. We're just concerned for your safety, is all. You've already been poisoned and stabbed since we met you, remember?"

  I shifted slightly so I could look Lee in the eye, then returned my attention back to Ty. He was scowling down at me, absentmindedly rubbing the black scar on his chest with the heel of his hand.

  "Let's compromise," I offered. "I can't suggest bringing a phalanx of soldiers into the Pond, but maybe if you came with me? I don’t foresee any trouble so long as I'm delivering what he requested, but if it makes you feel better, you can come as, like... a bodyguard." I paused, giving him a teasing smile. "Just remember to take your royal signet ring off this time, okay? It's a dead giveaway."

  Lee snickered, and Ty's scowl deepened.

  "Fine," the darker haired prince agreed. "But we should go soon; I don't want us to be in the Pond after dark."

  I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

  When I made no move to get out of bed and Lee made no move to release me, Ty let out an exasperated sigh. "Half an hour. I'll meet you in the courtyard."

  He snatched up his shirt and jacket, then slammed the door on his way out. Meanwhile, Lee rolled me back over to face him for a lingering kiss.

  A stab of nervous guilt ran through me, worried what Ty must be thinking, but the intoxicating presence of Lee and his mouth on mine soon pushed that anxiety aside.

  "So," he said when we parted, slightly breathless. "Tell me what happened."

  "What makes you think something happened?" I evaded.

  "Because," he replied, "I know you on an almost spiritual level. When you came in here this morning, you were upset."

  "Hmm." I gave a small nod, dotting little kisses along his jawline and enjoying the warm, safe, fuzzy feeling I got from being close to him. "Yes, something happened."

  Lee propped his head up on his hand, looking down at me with a lazy, contented expression. "So tell me. A problem shared is a problem halved."

  I smiled at his turn of phrase—one of Magda's favorites—and told him everything that had happened from the moment he'd left.

  "So, you think Bloodeye lied about finding you in the streets as a child?" he asked when I finally finished recounting the odd vision Ophelia
had somehow captured in the golden owl.

  I shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe Magda asked him to look after me when she felt her mind slipping away. I don't know. I don't even know what happened to her—how she went from the woman in Ophelia's vision to the frail old woman I know. And how is Bloodeye connected to all of this? Did he know my mother? Does he know who I really am?"

  So. Many. Questions.

  As far as I knew it, Bloodeye had gained his position of power sometime during the Darkness. But he must have been involved in criminal activity long before that, to have become so powerful. He was roughly the same age as Ophelia would have been, had she lived.

  "It's possible," Lee commented, looking thoughtful. "But there's not really any way to ask without showing our cards, is there?"

  I grimaced. "Which I'm not willing to do—not while he still thinks he can control me. Whatever his connection to all this, he's working his own agenda."

  Lee fell silent for a bit.

  "What about Magda?" he asked after a while. "Could you ask her?"

  "No," I shook my head. "Her mind is totally gone. She hasn't spoken in at least five years; it's a miracle she's still alive at all." I smiled at memories of brighter times with her, when I was younger and her mind was a fraction clearer. "I think I'm the only one who knows she's Bloodeye's mother, and even that was a mistake. He made me swear never to tell anyone, I imagine so she couldn't be used against him."

  "Or because she was the only one who knew where Ophelia's missing heir was?" Lee suggested, and I nodded.

  "Or that."

  "Okay. I'll fill Zan in with all of this while you're gone with Ty. Nothing changes with our plans, though. You still need to beat the third trial, then we can strike out against Titus during the Golden Ball when all our allies are in place." Lee released me from his hold then, and I needed to bite my tongue to keep from protesting.

  "Keep Sagen in the loop, too," I told him as I climbed out of his warm bed and wrapped my thin robe back around me.

  He gave me a curious look as he pulled pants on. "You trust her?" He asked, then stretched his arms over his head in a way that almost made me lose my train of thought.

  "I do." I nodded. "Weirdly. Also, she's in a crappy place right now with her brother and her ex. I want her to know we're here for her."

  Lee tilted his head to the side, giving me an unreadable look before nodding his understanding.

  "You've got it, my love."

  Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach at his endearment, and I tried not to blush like an idiot.

  Damn charming princes.

  Chapter 19

  The clink of metal on metal sounded yet again, and I stifled a laugh.

  "Do you think you brought enough weapons?" I teased Ty as we made our way into the Pond. "I think I see at least three inches of you that isn't armed."

  The glare he leveled at me was less than amused, but it only entertained me further. "When it comes to your safety, little one, there are never enough weapons."

  I grinned back at him, but I was preening on the inside. I could only hope the truce between the three princes would continue after the threat to the kingdom had been dealt with.

  "Well, just try and look less like a royal soldier, big guy. This is the Pond, remember? Only criminals and vagrants come here." I gave him a pointed look, indicating to the group of men farther down the street standing on a platform outside the only functioning tavern inside the Pond—The Warty Toad.

  All of them were armed, but the lazy way they held themselves, the holes in their clothes, and the hardened looks on their faces made it clear they were not in the king’s employment.

  Both Ty and I were dressed down. Or as dressed down as we could manage from the clothes available within the palace on short notice. Even with the faded trousers and stained shirts we wore—borrowed from stable boys—Ty wasn't passing as anything other than a noble.

  I sighed at his wretched attempt to slouch and dragged him faster along the raised walkway that kept our feet out of the water. Not that I expected any trouble—my face was well known enough around the Pond that no one would hassle us—but I also didn't want to explain what Rybet Waise, orphan and thief, was doing wandering around with a royal guard.

  On the upside, thanks to the archaic mask policy, no one would suspect my royal guard was actually a royal prince.

  "Come on," I muttered, tugging on his elbow, "in here."

  The building I directed him into was one I knew like the back of my hand. Not only was it Jules's official place of business—Madam Lizburn's Whorehouse—it had also been Bloodeye's base of operations for the last ten years.

  Ignoring the half-dressed beauties lounging around the plush red velvet sitting room, all waiting on their next clients, I led Ty up the stairs to the third floor, then down the long corridor.

  A scarred man missing several teeth stopped us before we got to the end and eyed Ty with clear suspicion.

  "You boys must be lost," he sneered, not even giving me a second glance as he glared at Ty. "Girls are all downstairs."

  "Some girls are upstairs too, Simmonds," I remarked in a dry tone, folding my arms and raising a brow at the man. "Bloodeye is expecting me."

  "Oy," he remarked, squinting at me. "That you, pet? Shit. Rumor was you'd shacked up with some rich fella and ducked out on your debt to the boss." He shifted his gaze back to Ty. "This him, is it? You got a lot of balls turning up here."

  I ground my teeth to keep from calling Simmonds on his gossipy bullshit. "I've been on a job for the boss," I replied, keeping my words clipped and cold. "A job I need to report on. Now." I gave him a pointed look. "Like I said, we're expected."

  Bloodeye's guard dog looked like he didn't believe a word out of me, but he was invested in saving his own ass. Just in case I was telling the truth, he reluctantly stepped out of our way. "Your funeral, pet. He's been in a rare mood lately."

  I rolled my eyes at the vague warning and pushed open the door to Bloodeye's office, letting Ty enter ahead of me like I knew he would want to—to assess threats. Then I closed the door behind me.

  "You took your time," my former boss commented, sounding bored when the door clicked closed. He was sitting behind his huge desk writing in one of his many ledgers and didn't even bother to look up at us as we stood there. "Did you have a temporary lapse in judgment, Rybet?"

  My fists tightened at my sides, and I took a calming breath before replying. "You asked me to steal a jewel from Queen Filamina herself. It wasn't exactly an easy task. I couldn't very well just ask one of the princes to fetch it for me, could I?"

  Okay, so that's pretty much exactly what had happened. But Bloodeye didn’t need to know that.

  Whether it was from my words or the sass in my voice, Bloodeye's pen paused over the page he'd been writing on. Carefully, he placed it down on his desk, then looked up at me with a serious "don't fuck with me" look on his face. The sort of look that used to fill me with fear and leave me shaking in my beaten-up boots.

  Now, though...

  "Leave Jules alone," I demanded, meeting his one-eyed stare without flinching. "She didn't deserve that visit from Cane."

  Bloodeye's brow rose, and he sat back in his chair, considering me. I'd always been his loyal subject. His pet. I'd never, ever spoken to him like this.

  "No," he replied, delivering that single word with such casual disregard it was like a slap. "Jules still has a debt to pay, as so many others do, and she needed a heavy-handed reminder of that obligation. Do you require the same, Rybet?"

  My fury boiled, and Ty quivered with anger beside me. Yet he didn't make any moves to speak. We'd discussed it at length, and he understood the importance of letting me handle Bloodeye myself.

  "You're despicable," I spat, unable to keep my cool in the face of such a blatant threat. "These are real people with free will. You can't push them around and force servitude over some vague, undisclosed debt you've decided they owe you."

  A small smile pulled at one
side of his mouth, like my temper was cute. "Did I not take you in as a small child? Clothe you, feed you, keep a roof over your head? You survived the Darkness because of me. You avoided the plague because of me. You didn't die, starving on the streets because of the rations I provided. Like it or not, child, you owe me a debt. So does Juliana, and I will see it repaid." He paused, watching me with his one good eye like he expected... something. A temper tantrum? Tears? Denial? Whatever he wanted, he wouldn't get it from me.

  "To what end?" I asked, forcing some calm into my tone. "You want to rule Teich? King Bloodeye? I don't believe that for a second. You're more than happy being the local crime lord. All of the power with none of the responsibility, right?"

  I wasn't talking shit; this was something he'd joked about many times over the years. Of course, it had always been in context with King Titus's failings and the growing rebellion plotting to overthrow his tyrannical rule.

  Bloodeye's grin spread wider, and his gaze flickered over Ty—my silent companion.

  "Did you bring me what I asked for, Rybet?"

  My jaw clenched with anger that he'd just ignored my question, but I was unsurprised. Bloodeye had never been the idiotic sort of bad guy. Not like Taipanus, waxing lyrical about all his diabolical plans before ultimately meeting his end. No, Bloodeye was cunning and dangerous. If he didn't see any personal benefit in answering me, he simply wouldn't.

  Reaching into my pocket, I withdrew the green jewel and held it up for him to see.

  For a brief glimmer, I thought I actually saw some deeper emotion cross his face—sadness or longing—but it was gone so fast I could have imagined it.

  "Bring it here," he ordered me with a carefully neutral voice. He tapped the front of his desk, indicating that I put it down in front of him, which I did with only a slight hesitation.

  I waited in silence while he picked it up and turned it side to side in the light, inspecting it for authenticity. As if I would ever try and palm off a fake to the king of thieves.