“Things are not going to be ok.” Thomas summarised for her.
Evangeline shook her head, agreeing with him. “No. Crimah will never be ok again. My mother is dead, my brother is a hostage, and my father attempted to kill me.” Thomas looked at her stunned. “Is it that hard to believe?” she asked.
“Yes,” Thomas said instantly. “I can never imagine a father feeling so lost that he felt the need to kill his own offspring.”
“He planted a fire in a field that had a perfect view from my bedroom window.” She did not share the memories she had of that meadow. The letters passed from her father to her mother and the acts those letters alluded too seemed like lies now. She licked her dry lips and tried to wipe away the tears from her eyes, but the tears could not be stopped even as she spoke openly now. They seemed to be falling on their own accord. “Barret ensured that it would catch the attention of the men, Glais included, and then he came to my room. I suppose he hit me over the head.” Evangeline frowned as she tried to remember the details but they were ill-defined.
She could remember her father in the doorway, and Evangeline was explaining to him that Glais had gone to see what had happened in the meadow. She could not remember seeing his hand rise to strike, but she did feel fear and darkness clamp around her. She willed the images away, trying to remind herself that Barret could not touch her here. “I suppose I became unconscious. After coming to, I saw that he had carried my mother and myself to a clearing in the woods.”
Thomas was stunned but not speechless as she describes these events to him. “Did he kill your mother?” Thomas asked.
“No,” Evangeline said. “I believe she died during the early hours of the morning, and he acted quickly after that.”
“What happened next?” Thomas asked.
“I woke up.” She gestured to her face, knowing it was bruised, but she didn’t touch it. “He forced me to call the Dryads, and he begged for the exchange of my life for hers. I never believed my father meant me harm until that moment. I had never fully thought he hated me or wished I did not exist. From my birth, I was a bargaining chip for him, and I only came to disappoint him again when the dryads told him an exchange could not be done.”
“And that was when Glais found you?” Thomas asked, knowing Evangeline would be no match for Barret even if he had been in a pleasant mood. He dared not to think what he would have been like in this situation as she had described.
“I moved from one nightmare to another.” Evangeline made to rise, but Thomas made her sit.
“Whatever it is, I can fetch it for you.” He told her gently.
“Water.” And she stayed sitting on the ground of her rooms, feeling eyes on her back even though they were alone. Thomas returned with the water, and she sipped it but what should have been refreshing walloped her empty stomach. “Glais needed to feed. He had waited too long, and it was becoming impossible to ignore.” She drank more water and set the cup aside. Thomas moved it to a nearby table. “He was like a different man.”
Evangeline looked away, not meeting his eyes and Thomas knew what that look meant. It came over her whenever she was hoping to hide something about Glais from him, and it only made him think the worse was possible. “Eva, you can tell me these things. I know your relationship with Glais is complicated.”
“It was.” She admitted, still not looking at him. She barely seemed to move at all except her mouth as she spoke. While Thomas was the other man in her life, it had felt like betrayal against him when she talked about Glais. She wished to limit the pain, but there was no plausible way to end this tale without Thomas knowing the intimate details. “Sharing a bed with him, feeling him beside me…” She paused but did not apologise to Thomas even though she felt that she owed it to him. “I wondered if maybe there was something there between us. Hope had sparked, but it was never given the opportunity to bloom.”
Thomas just nodded, trying his best to be free of judgement. He had no right to lay any claim to Evangeline, and yet his heart had already done such things. His jealousy was useless, and Thomas did not want Evangeline to know about it, although she already suspected. He simply stayed where he was and allowed Evangeline to speak out her feelings.
“But seeing him poised over my father, preparing to drink from his neck is a sight I can not forget. The unexpected way he attacked me on his horse cemented in my heart the hate I have for him.” Evangeline reached for her water with a shaky hand. Thomas held it steady for her so she could drink from its rim.
“How did he attack you?” Thomas asked, knowing he had no right for those details but Evangeline was shaken, and he wanted to help.
Evangeline could still feel the monster’s claws in her thigh, pinching her skin as Glais had dragged her back against him with one hand and tried to ready her throat with the other. “It wasn’t Glais at all Thomas. It was like being trapped with the devil himself.” She doubted Thomas could ever understand the difference without being in her place. “I cannot love a man who can hurt me like that.” She struggled to trust Glais but knew now that she would need to make sacrifices.
“He will never touch you like that again,” Thomas said and was shocked when Evangeline laughed at him.
“Thomas, you are only a man. What can a man do against a demon?” She asked. “Glais has been given unique skills in an attempt to control what he has inside him, and he failed at that.” Evangeline reminded him. “You can not protect me.”
“Then what can I do?” he asked.
Evangeline considered so many answers to his simple question, but none of them was fair to say. So instead she rose from the floor, Thomas assisting her as best he could, and she finished her water. “You can fetch Wick and have her run me a bath.”
Thomas knew the time for sharing was over. Evangeline did her best to hide whatever still lurked behind her eyes, but he knew it would take time to come to terms with all she had witnessed in the few hours she had been home. Thomas could only help for as long as she would let him, and since she was clearly dismissing him, Thomas did as she had asked.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Glais did not go to his father immediately when he returned to the castle. Instead, the future king of Braykith retreated to the library. He was pacing, feeling pent up energy turning angry and further developing towards destruction than he would like. It was welcomed compared to the emotions he had shown to Evangeline. If she had known the things, he had been thinking… Glais stopped himself slamming his palm into the brick by the window. Evangeline had been right all along. He was a monster. She had been the only person brave enough to admit it to him.
He had been in deep denial; his parents had fed him the lie that he was cursed, but deep down he was not just a good man who had this burden to deal with. He presented an image of a strained young man. Silent, and beautiful. Glais always stood firm on the hard issues and showed a united front from the Crown on all matters. Inside he was scared, and Glais had believed that was his real personality. A restless and powerless boy who used his own face as a social shield.
Today he had witnessed the truth while under circumstances he had never imagined he would be forced into. Under the façade, and under the loss, there lived a monster who only wished to survive at all costs. The truth was apparent, and Glais knew for the rest of his days he would see that look in Evangeline’s eyes. The emptiness he had witnessed was like nothing he had seen before and it chilled Glais to his core. She had shut down in such a way that Glais had no words to express what he had seen.
He heard the door open but knew from the shoes hitting the stone that it was not Evangeline. Resting his forehead against the wall he took a breath and turned to see his mother standing there. She was the last person he wanted to speak with, but he would not do her dishonour in sending her away.
“Mother,” He addressed her and hated how she smiled sweetly at him, clearly not understanding the loathing he was suffering at this moment. “I need to speak with father.” He told her.
&nb
sp; “I was sure that you do, but Glais before you can lead a Kingdom you need to tend to yourself.” Kyleigh leant back and knocked quickly on the door. A girl came into the library, one that Glais only barely recognised. “This is Victoria, and usually, she tends to your father however you seem to need her more.” Kyleigh subconsciously touched her own neck, and Glais did not want to know what his mother was thinking. Glais knew how feeding worked, and he was not in the mood for it. Glais had never felt this way before, but suddenly he was not sure if this girl could survive him. Glais was beginning to seriously consider the reality that perhaps no one would ever be safe with him again.
“I should speak to Father.” Glais tried to insist again but Kyleigh held up her hand, and Glais fell silent immediately. Regardless of his age and station, Glais would always listen to his mother.
“Your father will be waiting for you.” Kyleigh gave her son a final determined look, one he could not ignore. She had seen him arrive and instantly knew the signs. Glais was starving, and if he did not tend to his own blood lust, he would attack the closest body at a moment where Glais would cease to have control, and whoever he took would not survive the ordeal. They were walking a fine line, but Kyleigh had that faith that Glais could not believe in himself. It was harder to hide a murder than most people assumed. Kyleigh would try and intervene before that became a real problem. “Victoria will take care of you now.”
Glais stayed where he was, waiting for his mother to leave before he actually looked at the girl. She seemed so young at first glance, but as he studied her face, there were subtle signs of age and maturity. Her body was lean, and her clothes fit her well. All of the donations were treated with more care than their usual servants, but there was nothing to mark Victoria as a favourite of his father's. For some reason that made Glais feel better.
“How long have you been serving my father like this?” Glais asked.
“About five years,” Victoria replied, keeping her eyes downcast. “Shall I undress?”
Glais shook his head. “No. There is no time for such tenderness.” Victoria nodded, clearly surrendering to his demands and Glais felt the heat of self-hatred rise at the back of his throat like bile. Before he could come to his senses and dismiss her, Glais had Victoria tight against him. He had not been aware of his own movement, or hers. Glais simply realised her neck was bared to him, and his mouth was upon her.
She did not have the elegance that Evangeline naturally summoned. Victoria was willing but when his hand gripped her, his fingers did not fit smoothly as they had done with Evangeline. His thumb dug into the pocket where the jaw bones met her neck, but there was no comfortable dip to greet him. Growling with frustration, he bit her. His teeth were paused by her skin for a fraction of a second before the flesh gave way and he tasted her blood. Glais groaned, his eyes closed as the first spurt of her blood hit the roof of his mouth before sliding down his throat to warm his stomach. He heard Victoria moan against him, but it did not matter much to him if she enjoyed the experience. There was nothing to this exchange for Glais beyond feeding the beast. He retreated from his own consciousness. His body became primal and rough with its meal, teasing her like a cat plays with a mouse.
He took what he needed, shoving her roughly into the wall and lifting her skirts as Victoria rushed to undress Glais. He took her raw, his teeth clamped around her wounded throat and strangled every breath from her.
Victoria did not cry out; she couldn’t find the strength to waste her breath on noise as she struggled to handle the young Prince Glais was nothing like his father and Victoria realised too late just how unprepared for their union she was. Victoria was not accustomed to being used like this. For Glais, she was little more than a body, and only too late did she realise that was all Glais saw her as. A doll that gave the beast blood and a body that gave him no complaints or struggled.
Glais hit a sexual climax, the shock, and shiver of the act making him aware of what had come to pass. Victoria’s neck and shoulder were a mess of bites and bruises. Blood smeared over her skin and stained her dress as the tattered fabric struggled to conceal her body. Glais could not look at her and found it hard to admit that he had been the one to inflict such damages. Victoria was breathing hard, but she was breathing and for that Glais was thankful. “I apologise.” He muttered, his lips slick with her blood and making it hard to talk.
Victoria shook her head, now using the wall for support. She did not need to look at herself to know that she needed tending to. Victoria had been under Quintus’ service for years and even at his worst times he never managed to abuse her like this. She said nothing, knowing it was not the place for judgement. Glais still looked ill, even after feeding so completely that Victoria felt weak. She was aware enough of their situation to know better than to ask Prince Glais of any favours. Victoria would not tempt fate when it was obvious that Glais was in shock, and she assumed would not take her comments in stride. “Your father is waiting.” She said in an attempt to have him leave.
Glais struggled between duty and honour. Eventually, he picked up Victoria gently and laid her on the chair. “I will send for someone.” He said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Victoria reached out to stop him. Glais did not flinch when she came in contact with his now bloodied hand and used her dress skirts to clean them of any visible signs. She offered him a tired smile. “It would not look well for the Prince to be seen with a bloodied hand.” She said, and in those words, Glais knew he was forgiven. After being tormented by Evangeline, Glais had forgotten what it meant to be surrounded by women who understood the plight of his affliction.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead and left the library. Darting down the hallways towards into his father’s study, he came upon his mother waiting just outside the doors. He stopped suddenly, mentally assessing his own appearance. He would never want to embarrass her or bring her reason to fear him.
Kyleigh could never feel such things for her own son. She only nodded to him and motioned for him to enter. Quintus sat at the desk, and it was as if no one would speak of the acts Glais had done. Like all of the evil he had witnessed and performed while cursed, he was not to be blamed in his parent’s eyes and Glais would be forgiven for all things. Kyleigh excused herself, and Glais thought it was safe to pretend that Kyleigh would tend to Victoria.
“What has brought you back so soon my son?” Quintus asked, and Glais had only moments to reassess his thinking and consider what exactly had come to pass while in Crimah. “Lady Thea is dead. Killed by what is believed to be poison.”
“Poison?” Quintus asked, stroking his beard but staying in his seat. “Who says this?”
“Benedict is undoubtedly certain of it.” Glais felt better to be speaking of facts instead of considering his own moral dilemmas. This was a conversation he had been well rehearsed in. Reports and understanding had been part of his vital education as upcoming King. “And the priest warned Evangeline of the suspicion before we escaped,” Glais told his father, staying standing with his hands firmly clamped behind his back.
Quintus frowned. “Escaped? Was Crimah attacked?”
Glais sighed. “Not exactly. I am uncertain what came to pass…” Glais paused when he saw his father raise an eyebrow in response to his evasive answer. “I will do my best, however, to explain what I saw. It appears to me that a trap was set to remove as many obstacles from the manor as possible so Barret could take the corpse of Thea and a bound Evangeline out to the woods.”
Quintus leant forward in his chair. “And what did Barrett plan to do with Eva?”
“He summoned the dryads and demand they take her life and return Thea to this realm of the living.” Quintus stood with such force that his chair slid back and threatened to fall but somehow stayed standing. “He was in pain Father. I doubt very much that Barret would have followed through.” Glais knew that was a lie, but the look on his father’s face was a dangerous one, and one he knew would bring about the end of the Crimah leader.
He might not be completely sold on Evangeline as a fitting partner for Glais, but she was his son’s wife. Quintus would defend her against other threats if they should arise. “What else happened?” Quintus asked.
“Evangeline and I escaped on my horse. That is all I can confirm. It might still be some time before our own men return to Braykith. Evangeline drove the party hard to arrive on record time.” Glais told his father, who was nodding but did not relax. He paused, but there was only tension to greet him. His father has an uncanny ability to know when the truth was being spoken, and when someone had more to say. Glais pressed his lips together, the copper tang of Victoria’s blood still in his mouth but did not give him any courage for his next request. “There is one thing that Evangeline has asked of me.”
Quintus said nothing and so Glais had to assume that he had permission to speak freely. “She wishes to rescue her brother Darius from Crimah. She fears her father’s temper, and in the brief times I had met him, I am afraid how much Barret can handle now that his wife has been so cruelly taken from this realm.”
“Crimah is in such peril? You are willing to risk your men’s lives on it?” Quintus asked.
The question was a heavy one, but the answer was simple for Glais to give. “I did tell Evangeline myself that Darius will not be forgotten, but we will be smart. I do not want to take war to the gates of Crimah. However, with a well laid out plan, I believe he can be rescued without conflict.”
Quintus grunted. “You are trying far too hard to impress her,” Quintus said, but Glais said nothing. He knew that his father as right, but to admit that out loud would be too much for Glais to handle right now. Quintus looked his son over and shook his head. His disappointment was evident, but Glais did not try and change that opinion. Glais was quite embarrassed due to his recent actions and could not think of a way to redeem himself in his own eyes. All thoughts failed before they could form, and none of them would be adequate for Quintus.
Delusions of Loyalty (The Braykith Series Book 2) Page 13