by CY Jones
The woman seated next to Apollo clears her throat loudly, snapping me out our obvious stare down. “Hello, I’m Circe,” she says introducing herself. She does not smile, nor does she drop her intense gaze. It’s almost like her ice blue eyes are trying to drill a hole through my head. Her body language dripped with disdain for me. I have no doubt she’s not happy to see me here safe and alive. The last woman, the one with long red hair and green eyes seems the friendliest out the bunch, and she gives me a genuine smile.
“Hello, I’m Pandora,” she says in a friendly voice.
“Hello,” I reply, not being able to help answering her back.
“I heard you had quite the night. I’m sorry I missed it,” Arcus says, eyeing both my engagement rings on my ring finger.
He does seem to be genuinely surprised by the engagement. He might not even know that I’m bonded to Kaiden. I have a feeling that’s a card Hera’s saving for later, and with Raven and her family sitting here she knew I wouldn’t mention it either.
“Well, it’s not everyday you get called a fraud and challenged to a death match all in the same day,” I chuckle. It’s important to act like I’m not worried about the upcoming duel.
“Raven,” he says, turning his head in her direction. “Besides jealousy, what proof do you have for challenging Winter’s claims?" Arcus questions.
“I’m not jealous of her,” she spits out with a tone laced with hate. "I just do not like it when people try to steal things that are not theirs.”
I feel Kaiden stiffen next to me, clearly not liking Raven’s possiveness. I know damn sure I didn’t. It took all my restraint not to jump across the table and rip her throat out.
“I was not aware Kaiden was yours,” Apollo says smiling, pissing Raven off even more.
“He is mine,” she yells over the table like a lunatic.
“What my daughter means is, there was an agreement between the Queen and I stating Raven would marry Kaiden when they came of age. You can clearly see the distress our beloved Queen has caused Raven when she went back on her word.”
“Is this true?” Arcus asks, raising his brow surprised.
“It was,” Hera answers nonchalantly. “At the time Raven was an ideal match, but now with Winter’s return, she is no longer what’s best for the bloodline, or the throne, which is clearly seen by anyone with eyes from her current behavior and constant outbursts.”
“What makes you think you know what’s best for the throne?” Morgana asks disgusted. “You can’t even keep your word. As Queen, your word is bond. Now anything you say can’t even be trusted.”
Hera looks over at Morgana like she’s shit beneath her boot. Her eyes are cold, and her voice is like ice.
“Well, since I’m the Queen, I get to have the best choice. I do not have to take second best and chance soiling my pristine bloodline with your daughter when I have a purebred choice to pick from. The strongest line there is. Only a fool would pass up such an opportunity. You’ve only birthed one child with gifts. Your son is useless and no better than a human,” she sneers, waving her hand over in Cardinal’s direction. “Your bloodline is broken, and I rather give my future grandchild a better, stronger chance, and Raven is not it,” Hera says coldly as she picks up her glass of wine and takes a generous sip.
What the hell? I’m a person not some prized horse.
“That is a sound argument Morgana. I will have to side with Queen Hera on this. Winter is the more logical, more powerful choice. Your bloodline is flawed,” Roman tells her with a deep rumble.
“My family's bloodline is not flawed or weak,” Morgana spits out, her face turning red with anger.
“Really?” Roman says raising his brow. “What of your son? Am I missing something? Did he grow powers overnight. A late bloomer perhaps. Whether you want to admit it or not, you have a break in your bloodline. A weakness that can affect the future like a virus, and that’s not a chance we should take on the throne.”
Roman's words are cold and harsh, and now I can see why Tristan was so upset when he explained to me about his family, and what people thought of them, because he was the only one out of the three with abilities. Why does that mean so much here?
“Sadly that’s all they think about here,” Chaos says, answering my unsaid question.
“What of your other accusation, Raven?” Arcus asks her interrupting mine and Chaos’ silent conversation. “What proof do you have that Winter isn’t the Storm heir?”
Swallowing hard, Raven answers, “since Winter has gotten here, she has not shown she has the ability to control lightning, she would rather dress in someone else’s House colors than wear her own, and my mother tells me she doesn’t even resemble Prince Lucas.”
Before she can get any more hateful words out, I jump out of my seat ready to take the bitch down. Both Kaiden and Chaos reach out to grab my arms, holding me down in my seat preventing me from doing so, and possibly killing the bitch.
“Don’t you dare mention my father’s name you hateful cunt,” I spit out at her. Turning on Kaiden and Chaos I shout, “let me go.” Orian who was quiet up until now starts to growl in Raven’s direction, ready to jump over the table and snap her pretty neck at my command. This whole meal is a clusterfuck, and I wish, more than ever, tonight was a new moon so I could destroy the bitch.
“Calm your beast,” Hera yells, trying to take back control of the room. I give her a look that says go fuck yourself before I turn my attention back to Raven. With both Kaiden’s and Chaos’s grip, I’m sure there will be bruises on my arms tomorrow, but I’m too far gone to care. How dare she say those hateful things? All I can see is red, my beast very close to slipping out.
“How dare you?” I yell out loud. “You do not know my father. None of you do,” I yell louder. “This is bullshit. Until a week ago I didn’t even know I was a vampire. I damn sure didn’t know jack about stupid house colors, and if it weren’t for these two holding me down you wouldn’t be breathing, you hateful bitch.”
”Winter calm down, love,” Kaiden says, going to his knees in front of me, and holding my face with both his hands.
I stared deep into his emerald depths breathing hard, ready to let my beast free, but slowly I start to calm down, and the plea in his eyes helps me push the beast back in his cage.
“What are you doing Kaiden? Don’t get on your knees for that fraud,” Raven shrieks.
“Shut. Up. Raven. Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble with your delusions and outrageous lies?” Kaiden shouts, his own voice filled with anger.
Raven snaps her neck back like she’s been slapped, watching as Kaiden slowly sits back in his chair, never taking his eyes off mine. Orian lays his big head in my lap, and I comb my fingers through his coarse hair in an effort to calm him, and myself, down.
“Prince Kaiden, did you not testify you saw Winter use her lightning ability while you were in the human lands?" Pandora asks him in a calm voice.
“Yes,” he answers confidently.
“Are you trying to accuse the crown prince of lying Raven?” Pandora questions, turning to her. I could tell Pandora was the logical Council member. Ready to form decisions on facts, and not hearsay. Maybe she has a little Athena in her bloodline too.
“He doesn’t know what he saw. He’s been bewitched by a pretty face, and years of allowing his mother to control him,” Raven answers carefully. It would be flat out treason if she accused Kaiden of lying.
“The girl is obviously distraught over being passed over for someone else, but not stupid. Raven will do and say anything at this point. She should not be taken seriously,” Hera says, lifting her wine glass and taking another deep sip. Looks like this dinner was as trying on her as it was on me by the amount of alcohol she’s consuming.
“What’s done is done. The Fates have granted a trial, and we will all see if Winter,” Morgana says, sneering my name, “is whom she says she is.”
“Princess Winter,” Chaos corrects her, grinding his teeth.<
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“What?” Morgana asks.
“You keep calling Winter by her given name, and not giving her the respect of her title. She was given the title of princess last night by the Queen, and as a royal in a lower station you will address her as such, or face the consequences,” he lectures with no room for debate.
Having being thoroughly chastised, Morgana closes her mouth, and shoots me a dirty glare over the table. “My apologies, Princess Winter.”
I glare back at her with equal disdain. How dare she say I look nothing like my father? Looking between her own kids, Raven may look more like her mother with their shared dark hair and eyes, but that’s where the similarities stop. Morgana is all sharp angels where Raven has curves. Raven’s hair is straight Morgana’s is curly, and currently piled on top of her head confined by a headband of, get this, live slithering snakes. I guess I know where the legend of Medusa came from. This bitch is horrible enough to turn men to stone. Where those two are a little similar, Cardinal looks flat out adopted, not Raven’s twin. He’s all light to their dark with his light blonde hair and grey eyes. Saying I look nothing like my father was a tasteless jab to anger me, and I played right into their hands.
”Morgana is right about one thing. There will be a trial, and Winter will have the chance to prove who she says she is. With that said, once in the arena, no one is allowed to kill the other. It will be a waste of life which cannot be afforded,” Arcus says.
Both Raven and I look over at the man like he lost his ever loving mind. There's no way I’m not going to try to kill the bitch, especially after all the shit she just said about me at dinner. It will take a miracle to allow me to let her leave that arena alive, and judging by her face she was thinking along the same lines. No, that’s not happening. If given the chance, I will kill Raven.
I would have loved for the rest of dinner to go by smoothly. Hell, at this point I wouldn’t object to downing a bottle of wine with Hera, but of course someone has to ruin the peace, and of course, it would be the False Queen. She’s drunk enough now to not care what comes out of her mouth.
“Whether Winter uses her House abilities or not during the trial, she will still be the one to marry my son, victory or not,” she states as she cuts into her steak.
“What?” Raven yells, dropping her utensils onto her plate with a loud clink. “That’s not fair. If I win, I should get Kaiden,” she whines.
“As I said before, I’m not soiling my bloodlines with your inferior one. I’m not judging Winter’s abilities on one fight. Her powers have been stifled for years. It will take time for them to develop, which they will. I can feel the power coming off her, unlike your waste of space brother over there.”
“Bullshit, you’re not doing this for the bloodlines. You’re just trying to keep that crown on top of your head,” Raven yells, too deep in her anger to focus on her words directed at Hera.
The whole time I’ve been here so far I have yet to see Hera show her strength. Usually she had one of her soldiers do her dirty work for her, so imagine my surprise when I see her rise from her seat like she’s about to take a Sunday stroll, and quicker than I ever seen anyone move in my life, grab Raven by the neck and throw her against the wall, holding her there.
“Now listen, you insolent child. If you don’t start speaking to me, my son, and his betrothed with some respect, I will cut out your tongue and feed it to Winter’s beast. Do you understand?” Hera threatens, slightly releasing her grip so Raven can respond.
“Yes,” Raven gasps as her face turns blue from the lack of air.
Satisfied, Hera releases her, and I smile as I watch Raven drop to the floor unceremoniously with a loud thud. Not caring, Hera just steps over her slumped body, and takes her seat like nothing ever happened.
Rushing to her daughter’s side, Morgana helps Raven back into her seat, and I can’t help but smile at the handprint shaped bruise forming on Raven’s skinny neck.
“Wicked girl, You enjoyed that,” Chaos whispers in my head making me smile even wider.
“Prince Kaiden, do you not care about seeing your old childhood friend hurt? That your betrothed finds all this amusing,” Morgana asks, glaring over at me.
“Raven has brought this all on herself, so no I do not feel sorry for her being hurt. What I do feel sorry for is even after I’ve told her a million times that I do not care for her, she is still insist on fighting for my affection. I love Winter. I’ve never loved Raven, and never will, because Winter is my mate. My soul bound mate. We're destined to be with each other until the end of time.”
A hush takes over the room, and Raven's face falls right before my eyes. All her precious plans destroyed with his words.
“Are you certain?” Cercie asks as her cold ice blue eyes size me up. “Saying someone is your soul bound mate is a big thing,” she adds.
“Yes,” Kaiden answers confidently with no doubt in his mind.
“And you,” Cercie says pointing at Chaos. “What role do you play in all this after hearing Winter is soul bound to the prince?”
Shrugging in his casual manner Chaos answers, “Winter is also my soul bound mate. I will marry her as well. I do not care that I will have to share her, since that is what The Fates have asked of us. Who am I to argue with them?”
In a way, I’m glad to hear Chaos say that. I had no clue how all this was going to work out, or if I could ever choose between him and Kaiden. I can’t say it’s not a relief that I don’t have to and they’re fine with that, well at least he is, Kaiden, I still don’t know.
A cackling laughter fills the room, and when I look over at Raven, she’s bent over in a fit of giggles.
“Did the Queen knock all the sense out your head foolish child?” Arcus questions Raven harshly.
“This is too funny. The Queen’s son and her little fucktoy share the same soul bound mate. Oh this is too good,” she says laughing again until she’s almost falling out of her chair.
“Guards, escort Raven to the dungeons,” Hera orders.
What she’s talking about?” I ask Chaos in his head.
“I will explain later,” he responds. His face is pale as a ghost, and it did not give me a good feeling.
“No, tell me now,” I say stubbornly.
Glaring at me, Chaos answers, “Hera has been blackmailing me to fuck her.”
“What? How?” I ask, my heart dropping with his words.
“I will explain later Winter, now is really not the right time.”
I know he’s right, but it was just a shock to hear it like that from that lunatics lips. I was blindsided, and it hurt my heart to hear Hera would take advantage of Chaos like that. Placing my feelings aside, I watch as the guards drag Raven away. Morgana also watched on, with tears forming in her dark eyes, knowing she was powerless to do anything about it. Turning my head to Cardinal, I couldn’t help my frown. Through this whole crazy dinner he has not said one word, or lifted a finger to help his sister. I thought twins were suppose to be close. I would hope that if I ever have a brother, he would care for me more than Cardinal did for Raven. If anything he seemed bored. Sensing my gaze, he looks up at me and gives me a lascivious smile, his grey eyes twinkling with mischief. Ok, that whole family is seriously whacked. I wonder what is it about me that brings out the crazy in people? I can’t even sit down at a simple dinner without something happening.
“I guess you were right when you said we could get into trouble at dinner,” I tell Chaos. Instead of smiling, he just gives me a wry look, making me worry about what he was going to explain to me later.
“You traitorous snake. How is my daughter suppose to train behind bars?” Morgan shrieks.
“Would you like to join her Morgana? There's more than enough room for you,” Hera replies unapologetically.
Morgana shuts up after that. She has no power here, and she knows it. She strikes me as the type that’s comfortable to bide her time, and strike when you least expect it, just like the snakes slithering on top of her head. T
he rest of dinner is silent, and I couldn’t wait to escape. As soon as Hera rises from the table to signal the end of the meal, I ready myself and bolt as soon as she leaves the room. I did not want to stay back and answer questions, or waste anymore time with those vile people. Besides Kaiden and Chaos, I’d be happy if I never see any of them again.
It didn’t take long for my mistake of bolting after dinner to make itself known. This place is a maze, and it didn’t take long for me to get lost. I had no clue where I was, and I was starting to regret sending Orian off earlier at dinner when Hera was throwing people in the dungeon. Plus, the temptation of sending him after Raven was too great. Making the best out of a fucked up situation, I take in all the details of my family’s home. Where the front of the castle is decorated in an old medieval design, towards the back of the castle is more modern. The walls are still covered in old antique paintings that were probably worth more than a small country, but the furniture looked straight out of the latest issue of a design magazine. Turning left, I step into a room with a huge fireplace surrounded by comfy leather couches that remind me of Tristan’s townhouse back in Highland Park. I missed him. I haven’t seen him as much as I want since he’s been busy training with our army and visiting his family.
My cheeks burn when I think about how I fed on him the first time, and how his yummy muscled, body felt beneath my hands. His chest, those abs, and his blonde happy trail that make me want to lick down to its destination.
“I hope you’re thinking about me with that heated look you have on your face,” an unfamiliar voice says behind me.
Turning around, I’m shocked to see Cardinal as he enters the room and steps far too close for comfort in my personal space.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be seeing how your sister is doing in the dungeons?” I ask him, narrowing my eyes.
Waving my question away, he says, “I’m sure she’s fine.”
“You’re not the caring brother you should be,” I tell him, turning away as I pretend to be interested in a painting hanging on the opposite wall, hoping he will get the hint and go away. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t stand for Cardinal to be close to me. I always get an uneasy feeling deep in my bones when he’s around. Not taking the hint, Cardinal decides to follow me, and before I know it, he quickly grabs my arm, pulling me to him.