by Zoey Ellis
“I do know this,” Ana insisted. “But I thought it was a joint, amiable effort. I didn’t realize it was combative until recently.”
“Well, it is,” Ryden said bluntly. “Very combative. It has been that way for generations.” He paused. “Haven’t you noticed the tension in court?”
“I noticed that the houses hardly ever agree,” Ana said. “And I noticed it can get very heated between them”—in truth it had even become physically violent on rare occasions—“but I didn’t realize it extended beyond that.”
Ryden gave her a wry look. “What you see in court is the mildest expression of the true tension between us.”
Ana’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
“Disputes run deep and some have existed for decades. Have you noticed that some houses are always in agreement and others are not?”
Ana nodded. “Sterling and Redcrest never agree.”
“Right,” Ryden said. “But Goldfrost and Sterling always do.”
“They have an alliance?”
“Not exactly. Sterling owns a lot of land Goldfrost has built on.”
Ana lifted her head in understanding. “So they are always under threat if they provoke Sterling.”
“Yes.” Ryden leaned forward, bracing his hands on the bed. “So Goldfrost agreeing to side with us in court today, against Sterling and the crown, will put them at great risk.”
Ana thought back to Theodore and Everard’s agitation and insistence the night before.
“But they will take that risk if it is guaranteed that two of our Beta children will marry into Goldfrost and Thorneshaw.”
Ana examined his face. “You think it’s worth it to offer our children for their support?”
“I do.” Ryden’s expression and tone was firm. “It is not unusual. Almost all Betas in the royal assembly marry through arrangement across the houses. You may not have noticed because there is never a need for the details to be announced, and your own pairing hasn’t happened that way, but it is extremely common.”
Ana exhaled slowly as she thought. So this was the true barter system used among the royal assembly. She’d simply been lucky to be born an Omega with the guarantee of being paired with her fated mate.
“When we visit the houses on our announcement tour today,” Ryden said, slow and steady, “you will locate a representative of Goldfrost and Thorneshaw and tell them you are in agreement with the terms.”
Ana met his gaze. “And if I don’t?”
“Then you will be left to the mercy of your father, or more likely, the outlaw, because I won’t be able to rid you of the Royal Promise without the assistance of the other houses.” Ryden reached out and brushed her cheek with his fingers. “I told you to trust me, Ana, and you can. I wouldn’t agree to something like this unless it was necessary. And it’s not as though we will lose our children, they will still be ours—they will only be married when they are of age. And we can help them through it.”
Ana’s heart sunk as she realized there was no way to get out of agreeing to this. She had, in fact, already unwittingly consented to it when she agreed to leave the palace with him. She hadn’t insisted on knowing the full terms before she left, so now her only options were to continue with the path she set herself on, or suffer the path others wanted to choose for her—Maddoc’s and his wrath, or her parents’ and their lies.
Ryden’s touch turned firmer, and his hand curled around her jaw. “I want to hear you say you are in agreement, Ana.”
Ana battled with the gloom that crept into her. “And there is no way to amend the agreement later or change it?”
“No.”
Her voice came out as a whisper. “I agree.”
“Good.” Ryden stroked her cheek again, and Ana forced herself not to pull away from his touch. He pushed off the bed as he straightened. “Be ready to leave within the hour.”
Ana watched him as he walked into the washroom, trying to process what had just happened. The conversation had revealed much about the true nature of the royal houses and the part she would now play among them. Offering her children up wasn’t comfortable, but she had to trust Ryden. If the houses regularly traded marriages between them, she couldn’t blame him for thinking she would be fine with it. She had to accept that she still had things to learn, and this was another piece of information she had never known.
She stared at the washroom where Ryden was. The biggest concern for her was her lack of physical connection to Ryden. If even significant hardship arose, she should be able to handle it as long as her fated mate was with her, but the attraction between them was nonexistent, while at the same time, the forlorn longing at the memories of Maddoc lingered.
Sighing, she got up from the bed and tried to shake off the unease. She had one more day until her wedding, and she had to get rid of these feelings by then.
2
MADDOC
Maddoc stared at Duke Ryden’s mansion as the sky brightened. He’d stood at the window all night watching the house, a vicious fury pulsing throughout his body, urging him to move—to do something about the fact that his Omega was in another man’s possession. But if he moved, even just one inch, the fury would overcome him and no doubt spoil the plans that were being put into place to get her back. He couldn’t risk that. Nothing was more important than getting Analisa back to him. And yet, his fury could not be quelled by such logic or reason. Especially not when this fucking duke had touched her while escorting her into his mansion.
“Maddoc.” Raine’s voice was annoyingly matter-of-fact. “You should eat something.”
He didn’t need to glance down to know she was holding a bowl of food. “I need nothing but a report on my Omega, Raine. If you cannot provide that, find someone who can.”
“We have servants in the mansion, but we won’t get a report from them for the next few days. You know that.”
Unfortunately, the extensive land that surrounded Duke Ryden’s mansion made it difficult to monitor and observe the building without alerting his sentries. The closest they could get was the servant homes on the edge of the grounds, and luckily more than one of the families supported Maddoc and his cause. As soon as he’d left the palace, Maddoc had sent instructions to his guild to set up central operations in the nearest servant house so he could monitor Ana’s movements while they made their plans. But once he saw her and the duke, he hadn’t moved from the window.
“We may be able to get a message from Elizabeth when she goes in tomorrow,” Raine continued, gesturing to the next room where one of the residents were, “but not sooner than that.”
“It’s not good enough.” Maddoc’s low growl burned the back of his throat. “I want to know what the fuck she was doing all night. And I want to know today!” The fury in him roiled at the thought she might have been anywhere near the duke last night. Thankfully, her heat wasn’t due for weeks. If there were any chance of it arriving while she was in the duke’s possession, he would have stormed in and collected her, regardless of the consequences—though those consequences would likely include the opportunity to kill the duke.
“We’ve always been very careful not to betray those who provide us with information,” Raine said carefully. “We’ve never asked them to do anything that will reveal their allegiance with us. It may be they are unable or unwilling to give us that information—”
The harsh growl in Maddoc’s throat cut off her words. There was no point explaining that none of that mattered now. He was on the edge of a cliff of sanity, ready to descend into the most mindless, violent rage if anyone breathed the wrong way.
Raine must have read something in his silence because she changed the subject. “I heard from Walrick. The king has called on his royal court to meet after the public court hearing opens today. They will be planning how to get the princess.”
Maddoc nodded slightly without taking his eyes off the mansion. He’d initially said he wanted to be at the palace, learning the king’s plan to do to get Ana back in order to ensure
he got to her first. But realistically, he couldn’t go anywhere until his rage subsided.
Although he knew Ana was betrothed, he’d never once considered that he’d have to see her with a man other than her guards or her father. His plan had worked well—there was no reason to believe that things would fall apart on the third night and this would be a possible outcome. But he hadn’t accounted for Ana being so beautifully willful. He knew the duke wasn’t forcing her to do this—she would never have left her parents unless she wanted to; it had given him hope that her eyes were finally opening. But she was supposed to be with him when that happened. Her being with the duke made this about more than just the deal he made with the king about who would get her first. The need to get Ana back swirled throughout his body like a bitter, brutal whirlwind battering his insides, and it muted everything else.
Quiet footsteps behind them drew Raine’s attention, and she moved away, leaving him to sink back into the dark tension of his fury. At the same time, a flurry of movement sprung up in the courtyard.
Lifting his magnifying lens, Maddoc watched in the dreary morning light as a carriage came to a stop in the courtyard. Footmen and other staff flurried around it, checking the wheels and the horses, installing cushions, blankets, and a hamper. It wasn’t the kind of carriage used for a quick trip or to transport goods; it was a carriage fit for royalty. Analisa was going somewhere.
Maddoc’s mood shifted a little. Maybe he could capture her while she traveled. When he turned, he caught the end of the conversation between Raine and the servant who had arrived.
“—and so they intend to do that all day.”
“Do what?” Maddoc shot at him.
The man started, suddenly tense with Maddoc’s eyes on him. “Visit all the royal houses. They’re announcing their wedding and doing the tour.”
Maddoc turned back to look at the house, his mind in deep thought. Taking Ana while she toured the houses would be extremely difficult. The chances of escaping cleanly would be low.
The good thing was, if they were traveling, it was unlikely Ryden would have much opportunity to be too inappropriate with her. Of course, if it had been Maddoc, he would be between her legs for every moment on the journey between each house, but Ryden was the type of Alpha who wouldn't turn up to any royal house with a woman who looked well fucked. Not even a beautiful, irresistible Omega. Still, he had to know if he’d dared to touch her.
Lifting his lens again, he watched for them. The sun was bright in the sky by the time Ana stepped out of the mansion, and what a sight she was. Her sleek red hair spilled over her shoulders, and her satiny blue gown clung to her incredible figure. Duke Ryden stepped out after her, and Maddoc’s fury flared, his grip on his lens tightening. But as he watched them walk to the carriage and Ryden help her inside, his anger melted down to a smoldering irritation. They didn't fuck. It was clear for anyone to see. They weren’t comfortable with each other the way they should be if they’d been intimate. Hell, Ana shouldn’t even be able to walk properly if the Alpha who’d been betrothed to her for years had finally gotten to her last night. As the carriage began to move, he saw she was even angled away from the duke, a significant distance between them on the bench.
Maddoc lowered his lens and exhaled heavily. The duke hadn’t touched her yet, but that wouldn’t last. There was no Alpha who could resist an Omega in his possession for very long. It was likely that he would wait until their wedding night, but he would have her by then.
He put down his lens and moved away from the window. If Ana and Ryden were in the public eye, traveling for most of the day, he didn’t need to keep an eye on her so closely. "I want their full route," he said to Raine, pointing at Ana’s carriage. "And a note of any stops or deviations they make in between the houses." He headed to the door. "I’m going to the palace."
“They are out of their fucking minds!” Orick stormed into his throne room, followed by the queen and the rest of his court.
Maddoc remained still, careful not to draw any attention to the wall of decorative lattice that ran along the very top of the room. The secret corridor behind it was one of the few places that allowed him to remain hidden with no disguise, even though his view was partially obscured. The most important thing was being able to listen in on one of the most important rooms in the palace.
“What are they trying to prove by this?” Orick thundered, pacing in front of his throne, as his court took their usual positions. “They are harming her more than they are helping her!”
“The commoners will never look at her the same again,” the queen murmured as though in pain. “After everything we have done to try to keep this from them… it was all in vain."
Maddoc allowed himself a grim smile. The rumors that had been circulating since his visit to the court had been confirmed by three of the houses announcing it to the commoners today and accusing the king of allowing it to happen. It had been a lively hearing, one that painted him as the ultimate villain and Ana as a pure, virginal innocent victim whom the king had not protected.
"Her reputation may be marked to some degree," one of the king’s courtiers said. "But if you recall, when we were discussing the repercussions of the outlaw’s hearing, we did suggest that Duke Ryden still marrying her would curb some of that damage to her reputation. If they are announcing their wedding, even though they claim she was harmed by you, it absolves her reputation further. The commoners may be concerned at the beginning of all this, but as long as Ana and Ryden wed successfully, no one will even remember the slight on her reputation within a year or two."
“Yes,” another older courtier said. “This hearing was orchestrated to damage you, Your Majesty, not her.”
Orick slowed to a stop. “To blame me for Ana’s virginity being given to the outlaw?”
The queen inhaled sharply. “To take the throne.” Her strangled voice echoed across the large room.
Orick remained still for a moment, as did the whole room. “That is why three of the houses were in agreement.”
“Yes. They want to claim you are incompetent so you can be removed,” she said.
A moment of silence hung in the air.
“Ana is not ready to rule, and neither is Ryden," Orick said, his voice tight. He made his way to his throne and sat down. "If they try to and I resist, what will be the consequences of that? Will they attempt to violently usurp me? What manpower could they possibly use against the crown?"
"Not necessarily, Your Majesty." The king’s formal adviser finally spoke up. "It is likely they will simply claim that you are an unfit king, and that Ana needs to step in now."
“On what basis?" Orick thundered. "I have been an exemplary king, almost every single king from my line has ruled this kingdom, and have maintained a peaceful existence for all. By what reasoning could they have that I am unfit?"
"The outlaw," the queen said through gritted teeth, bitterness strong in her tone. "You owe a Royal Promise to him. That is the one thing attributed to you and none of your royal line."
“It is still risky for them to pin everything on you honoring the Royal Promise, Your Majesty,” the formal adviser said. “You didn’t go against Allandis Law or the expectations of the people. It is the wedding that is going to be the problem. Once she is married, they have an immediate claim to the throne without any of the other houses having a chance to interfere. They just need to find a way to remove you.”
“They?” The queen’s voice was sharp. “Are you suggesting my Ana has anything to do with this plan? Because she has no desire to be queen right now.”
“No, of course not,” the adviser said. “But we do know Duke Ryden is very ambitious, Your Majesty.”
Orick nodded gravely. “And if they have the support of two other houses, it is likely they have a hand in it as well.”
Maddoc ground his teeth. They were all using Analisa for their own purposes, just like her parents had done.
“So what do we do?” the queen asked, her voice stern. “Ho
w do we stop the wedding and get Ana back home with us.”
"I’m not sure you can, Your Majesty," the adviser said apologetically. "She is officially an adult and she has been betrothed to a royal house for years, which means they have a small amount of claim over her. Unfortunately, the situation does not lend itself easily to your favor with regards to Allandis law.”
"I don’t give a fuck about Allandis law. She is my daughter!"
Maddoc grinned at the queen’s outburst. She may act virtuously regal in public, but in the privacy of her court, she was just as coarse and corrupt as the rest of them.
"Atara." Although the king spoke sternly, there was a gentleness in his tone that calmed the queen. She placed her hands in her lap and leaned back on her throne.
The king addressed the adviser. "Maddoc is going after Ana. Regardless of what the houses are trying to do with the throne, the only way to save Ana from him, and the Royal Promise, is for us to get to her first. The houses should be told about the deal I made with him—it will keep Ana safe if we can all protect her.”
“I don’t think the houses will care about that now, Your Majesty,” another courtier said. “Goldfrost and Thorneshaw have already made their allegiances known. They cannot back down from targeting the crown.”
“Then we just have to take her,” the king growled, rising from his throne. “At the wedding.”
The general of the king's guard stepped forward. “We can plan that right now, Your Majesty. We know where and when it will be, and we can prepare for Maddoc and his men.”
“Do it.” The king looked back at the adviser. “I want the houses punished for attempting this. Find a way to do it.”
The adviser nodded, but his face was grim. “Will Ana still be marrying into Redcrest?”
Orick was quiet for a moment. “What are the repercussions if she doesn’t?”