Guarding His Royal Bride

by C. J. Miller

  “If they know he’s my brother, they will use him and hurt him.”

  “They don’t know he’s your brother. I saw the eyes. His eyes are the same as yours. The rest is...not similar. Alexei is what this whole thing has been about, isn’t it? You want me to use my title to free your brother.”

  No point in lying. “Yes.”

  “Tell me what he did.”

  Alexei had done nothing. “Is it enough for you that I tell you he is innocent?”

  Given her fixation on the truth and finding information, he didn’t expect her to relent. She touched his knee. “Yes, it’s enough.”

  That was surprising. “Will you help me?”

  “I will help all of them.”

  “All of them?”

  “Every prisoner in that place.”

  That was taking on more than she may be able to handle. “How?”

  “I haven’t figured that part out yet. Is this why you didn’t want me to see the baron?”

  In part. The baron was a sadistic, crazy man. “Yes.”

  “You didn’t want me to know about the prisons.”

  He hedged. Could he tell her the truth? She had uncovered most of it on her own. But the truth was harsh and twisted. “Don’t you see the family resemblance?”

  “I told you I did. You and Alexei have the same eyes.”

  It was grueling for him to reveal this information to her. “Not Alexei and me. The resemblance between me and the baron.”

  Iliana’s eyes grew wide, and she brought her hands over her mouth. “He’s your father.”

  Demetrius nodded.

  Iliana brought her hands to her temples. “He put his son in prison?”

  “He’s a sick man.”

  Iliana shook her head and looked at him, her eyes deep pools of sadness and hurt. “You should have told me sooner.”

  “You couldn’t have done anything about it. I needed to know I could trust you. That you will tell no one. That you will discuss matters relating to Valencia with me for this very reason.”

  Her hands were in fists on her lap. “Can you trust me? Are you convinced that I’m worthy? Look at me, Demetrius. Do you see that I am hurting for you and your brother? That I wish I could have taken Alexei from that place?”

  Demetrius looked at her, at the emotion reflected in her eyes. “Yes, I think I can.” It wasn’t easy for him to trust anyone. He was used to being stabbed in the back.

  She looked at him intently. “You can trust me to do the right thing.”

  Demetrius didn’t know what the right thing was to her. But he would have to trust her. “Can I tell you what happened?”

  Iliana nodded. “Please. I want to know.”

  Demetrius had told this story to two people: his mother before she had died and Amon. Talking about it reminded him he was a failure. He shouldn’t have been so foolish. He should have planned more carefully. What had happened to Alexei was the reason he took each step carefully, thinking through every possible outcome. “My mother ran away from my father with Alexei and me when we were children. Our childhood was filled with poverty and struggles and never an explanation as to why my mother felt she had to flee and hide. Nineteen years ago, my brother, Alexei, and I approached our father, the baron. Our mother had told us disturbing stories about him, and we were consumed with anger and the need for revenge.” He had been hasty, believing they could strong-arm the baron for answers.

  “Our mother had warned us to stay away from the baron, but she was dying of cancer and we wanted to give her answers. We wanted to see for ourselves if he was a monster and find out if he had regrets about the past and his actions.”

  Iliana said nothing, but she reached and took his hand in hers.

  Demetrius had wanted to look into the face of the man who had hurt their mother and rejected them as children, to know if he had remorse. “We reached Valencia in the evening. We didn’t call first or announce our arrival. We knocked, and when the baron’s steward opened the door, we stormed inside and found the baron sipping Scotch by the fire.

  “He wasn’t blind yet, but his sight was failing. He recognized us.” Demetrius had seen only cold, hard bitterness inside the baron. He was an angry man, and being forced to face the past had only angered him more. “He refused to answer our questions. He refused to speak to us, and instead he called the police and claimed we were thieves and would-be murderers. He used his connections to the prison and to friends in the legal system to deprive us of a trial and have us thrown in jail. He chose Blackstone for us, the prison reserved for repeat offenders and the most dangerous and violent criminals.

  “We were given life sentences. Being inside the prison for a day, we knew if we didn’t escape, we wouldn’t survive. Hunger and torture and mind games are the warden’s specialties. He broke prisoners and he was proud of it. Because the baron took an interest in us, the warden was bent on tormenting us to win the baron’s favor.”

  The worst days of his life had been inside that prison. Hopelessness, fear and pain had dogged him every second.

  “I plotted our escape. Alexei and I were young and ill equipped to protect ourselves. I learned to barter. After taking a few beatings, I started giving them out and establishing myself as someone not to be messed with. It took me six months to establish my dominance in the prison hierarchy. I used that power to protect Alexei, as well.” His rage and need for revenge against his father had driven him hard.

  “I tripped the electricity in the main hallway and shorted it out in the bathroom. When the jail contacted an electrician to come make the repairs, I grabbed him and used his electrical tester and tools to open my jail cell. I took his clothes and left him locked in my cell.

  “I broke Alexei out in much the same manner. My brother and I ran for freedom. When we hit the yard, the prison was on full lockdown.” Snipers had shot at them. The dogs had been turned loose. “Using a pair of wire cutters, we cut the gate and ran. The only way to escape the dogs was to hit the swamps, swim and pray that whatever lurked in the swamps didn’t eat us.” He and Alexei had stood on the shoreline, listening to the dogs’ barking. Alexei had turned to him, huffing with exhaustion.

  “Something had gone wrong. Alexei was hit in the calf. He was bleeding, and the fact that he was still standing was a testament to how strong he was and how much we thirsted for freedom.”

  Iliana’s eyes filled with tears, and she wiped at them.

  “Alexei told me to go. But I couldn’t. Not without him.” Alexei had warned him that the dogs were close and they would be caught. “I grabbed Alexei and forced him into the water. I swam with him, trying to get to land.” His lungs had burned, his muscles had screamed and he’d felt things brushing his legs. He had been hunted, aware they had miles to go.

  “Then I heard the helicopters overhead.” The thought of leaving his brother behind had been unbearable. But if they had been recaptured, beatings or death would have been waiting for them. With Demetrius free, if he could start his life over, he could return and save Alexei.

  “I knew we couldn’t make it with Alexei’s injury. I swore to Alexei I would come back for him.”

  Emotion choked him. He had gone over that moment a million times, wondering if he could have survived with Alexei. “I hid him beneath some logs and leaves and I ran. I ran like a coward.”

  Iliana shook her head. “No, Demetrius. You did what you could.”

  For four days, he had waded through swamp water, eating whatever he could find, half starved and dehydrated. When he had managed to sleep, terrible nightmares haunted him, nightmares of Alexei’s death and the beatings and the hell that was Blackstone Prison. He had thought he could hear his brother’s screams echoing through the marsh.

  “A boy found me curled up in a small, shallow cave.” Demetrius had thought he had died. The
boy had appeared so clean and innocent and happy, like sunshine after a hurricane. “He asked if I was the criminal from Blackstone. I tried to lie to him, but he told me that he knew the truth, but he would protect me.”

  The boy had run away and returned with provisions. For two days, the boy had come faithfully, even bringing a small blanket and a book for him to read, The Red Badge of Courage by American author Stephen Crane. He hadn’t read the book until years later and wondered if the boy had known how fitting it was to his situation. Demetrius had been a coward. He had left Alexei behind.

  The boy had given him food and water and hidden him in a cave he had used for play. “The boy was true to his word. He took care of me, and when I was strong enough, I ran. Being close made me a danger to him and his mother.”

  Demetrius had kept tabs on the boy as well, manipulating his situation and putting him in a position that would allow Demetrius to one day return the favor. That man was now the king of Rizari.

  Demetrius hadn’t told his old friend that story. What had happened with Alexei was a source of deep shame for him. “I’ve tried, Iliana. Many times I’ve tried to get my brother. Political maneuvering, black ops missions, bribery. Anything and everything except war.”

  Iliana hugged Demetrius. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. You did what you could. You are still doing what you can. But now you have a partner. You don’t have to do this alone. You have me, and I promise you, Demetrius, I will help you and Alexei.”

  Some of the crushing weight lifted from his shoulders, and for the first time in years, he had real hope of rescuing Alexei.

  * * *

  Iliana’s phone rang early the next morning. Maria’s number was on the display. It took Iliana a few seconds to clear her head. She had been dreaming and thinking of Demetrius and Alexei since Demetrius had confided in her the night before. The emotions were too hard to shake off, but she tried to inject some warmth into her voice. “How are you feeling?”

  “Pissed off,” Maria said.

  “Oh, no. What happened?” Iliana asked, walking out into the garden. This was a private conversation, and while Demetrius’s guards had their eyes on her and nowhere in her home was truly private, she wanted to talk freely.

  “Stella has been visiting with the dukes, duchesses, barons and other high-ranking officials to win them over. She’s been giving away gifts and treasures from the royal vault in return for their support.”

  “She’s bribing people?” Iliana asked.

  “Not being secretive about it, either. When I asked her about it, she told me it wasn’t too late for me to join her side.”

  The woman had no scruples. “What did you tell her?”

  “To screw off. I don’t care if she bribes her way into being queen of Valencia. I won’t stab my family in the back. More than that, why does she want to be queen so much?”

  “Money. Power. Influence,” Iliana said.

  Maria made a sound of disgust. “How did it go with the baron of Aetos?”

  “He’s an interesting character,” Iliana said. She checked every word to be careful that she wasn’t giving anything away about Demetrius or Blackstone.

  “Yes, he is. When I met him the first time, he sniffed me as if I was a dog. He said he remembered people by their scent. If I remember him by his scent, I would call it eau de wet dog and sweaty crotch.”

  Iliana laughed. “You’re hilarious.”

  “Just being honest. But what are you doing about the Stella problem? I tried to talk to Emmanuel and Theodore about it. Emmanuel told me to have faith in the law, which is crap. Theodore said he was looking into the matter.”

  “I could talk to Demetrius about it.” Now that she knew the reason behind his interest in her inheritance and how important it was, she knew he’d move mountains to ensure she inherited the title of marchioness of Agot. Iliana guessed Demetrius had safeguards in place to make it so.

  “Do you think he has time to trifle with this?”

  Demetrius would make time. She wouldn’t let Maria know how much it mattered to Demetrius. “I’ll ask him about it. He’s my husband and he supports me.”

  After chatting for a few more minutes, she hung up with Maria and went in search of Demetrius.

  She found him in his library. He had a dozen books open in front of him, and his hair was mussed as if he’d been plowing his hands through it.

  “What are those?” she asked.

  He looked up from the books. “Legal texts from Valencia.”

  “Anything of use?”

  “I’ve scoured these books before. Your title is the key. Stella could sway the courts to authenticate another will if she had the right documentation to prove it was written by the king when he was of sound mind.”

  “Maria says that Stella is gathering support in her fight to be named queen.”

  Demetrius leaned back in his chair. “I’ve heard.”

  “Any chance of stopping her?”

  “You mean counterbribing? In some cases, it’s possible. But it wouldn’t be a sure thing with Stella involved. She has more connections and has had more time to plan her coup.”

  He seemed tired, as evidenced by the dark circles under his eyes. “Can I make you some tea?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

  Iliana rubbed a hand across his shoulders. He wasn’t fine. She could feel his stress and tension. “You know that I have a law degree. I didn’t pass the bar, but I could take a look at these and see if anything pops.”

  “Why didn’t you take the test to become a lawyer?”

  “I did take it. Three times.”

  “Take it again.”

  She shivered. “One day. Maybe I’ll study for the bar in Icarus, too. I went to law school because I loved this stuff. Let me help.”

  He slid a few books toward her. “Please. I welcome your thoughts. Maybe you’ll see this in a way I haven’t considered. I feel as though I’m running out of time. If Alexei dies in prison, I won’t forgive myself.”

  “You’ve done everything you can to help him,” she said.

  “That’s not true. I must be able to do more. But I know you didn’t come here to talk about my brother. What can I do for you?”

  “I came to tell you about Maria’s suspicions about Stella.”

  “I don’t trust Stella,” Demetrius said. “But I don’t know how big of a threat she is yet.”

  “Have you found anything else on the Ghost?”

  He nodded. “Some. Whispers. Rumors. Nothing concrete.”

  “Will you tell me what you’ve heard?”

  “Those matters don’t concern you.”

  She took offense. “How do they not concern me? The Ghost was hired to assassinate me.”

  “Iliana, I can’t share state secrets with you.”

  “I am not asking for state secrets. I am asking you to talk to me about a situation that directly involves me.”

  Demetrius rose to his feet so suddenly, she jumped. “Stop asking me to be someone I am not.” His voice was cold and angry.

  He was on edge because of Alexei, but why couldn’t he see that in this matter, she was on his side? She wanted to help him. How could she prove it to him?

  “You talk to your secret spies and your advisers all day. Why can’t you talk to me, your wife?”

  “Because you are my wife. That’s the circular answer. I am supposed to protect you. Not shove you out in the middle of a mess. I already feel terrible for putting the burden of Alexei’s imprisonment on your shoulders.”

  “You didn’t put anything on my shoulders. I want to help you.”

  He said nothing and stared at her, his expression unreadable. “I will not change because you demand it. I need to protect you. I didn’t protect Alexei, and look w
hat happened.”

  “Nothing bad will happen to me.”

  “You can’t know that!” he shouted.

  Was this their life? Demetrius pushing her away and then pulling her close when the situation called for it? Demetrius deciding what she knew and what she was allowed to be involved in and keeping secrets from her? She wanted to be equals. “I swear to you that I will free Alexei as soon as I am able. But I want something in return.”

  She wondered if she had the courage to throw down the gauntlet. To give herself the freedom to start over if she chose to.

  “What do you want in return?” His voice was icy.

  “You must grant me a divorce.”

  Demetrius went still. He blinked at her. Iliana felt the words to retract her statement bubble up in her chest.

  Demetrius turned sharply and left the room. He closed the door behind him.

  Iliana gathered the books in her hands. She would read them, and she would help Demetrius. He would see that he had married a strong and capable woman, and maybe then he would finally respect her as an equal.

  * * *

  His wife wanted to divorce him. His wife of less than a month wanted out. Demetrius couldn’t blame her, except he had convinced himself that she cared for him and that despite some initial problems, they would find the right footing and remain married. She had said she would at least give him until the reading of the will, but now she was finished.

  Demetrius had everything: money and power. He had his way more often than not. Except the most important and crucial parts of his life—those intangibles were out of reach.

  His mother had died a broken and bitter woman.

  His brother was in jail.

  His father was a monster.

  His wife wanted to leave him.

  Night had fallen, but Demetrius couldn’t go to bed. Not when he knew Iliana was upstairs. If she was in his bed, it was laughable that she would pretend now that she wanted to sleep beside him, after she had clarified her intentions. If she had moved to the guest bedroom, he wasn’t ready to face that, either.