by K. Lyn Hill
“Oh dear. I didn’t know that was how the game was played.” She met the leader’s eyes with an arrogant smirk.
A wicked smile slowly tilted his lips right before they hardened again. Without leaving eye contact, the man spoke to one of the brutes standing guard by him. “Please show this gentleman how I feel about being cheated.” His voice was velvety soft, rolling from his tongue like sin. His body illuminated a dangerous aura as his eyes swept down her body and back up again. The cloak she wore covered most of her body but at the moment, it had swept back revealing the curve of her hips.
Standing up, he moved closer to her, his breath fanned out across her neck. “I give my deepest thanks to you, Ms....?” He
waited a beat for her name and she ignored him.
“No need to thank me. I don’t like cheaters.” She turned to leave when a hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against a chiseled, rock hard body. Her heart sped up as she sucked in a breath and was rewarded with a whiff of his scent. Spearmint and evergreen intoxicated her senses. She could feel his heartbeat against hers.
“Won’t you let me give you a proper thank you?” A soft seductive whisper caressed her neck as he bent in.
A tremor slipped down her back. “Nope. Releasing me will suffice.” She tried to sound unaffected but dang it, he smelled good. His sexy chuckle sounded effortless as the vibration rolled through her chest.
Surprisingly, he took a step back, simultaneously letting her go. “Please join me for a drink, will you?”
“As fun as this all has been, I think I’ve had enough adventure for one night.” She began to step away when two other men blocked her way. “I’ll tell you right now that spotting cheaters isn’t my only talent and I assure you, your men will be face down on the ground if they continue to block my way.”
A warm chuckle sounded behind her. “I simply want to talk, that’s all. One drink and you may go back to your eye stalking from across the room.”
She glanced over her shoulder to his disarming smile. Crossing her arm over her chest, she glared.
He must have taken that as a go ahead. “I think that you and I can help each other...yes?” Signaling the table his people just vacated, he slipped into a chair expecting her to join.
Intrigued, she took a seat facing him. “And how exactly is that?”
Pleased she took his bait, he leaned back in his chair and his stare intensified. “I like to see who I’m speaking to. Let down your hood.” Not liking his commanding tone, she crossed her arms over her chest again and narrowed her eyes, keeping her hood in place.
He chuckled again. “Stubborn I see.”
Scowling, she said, “I don’t like being told what to do.”
The grin he sent her had the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. “Yes. I don’t suppose someone like you does.”
“What do you mean by someone like me?” She asked.
His grin spread even wider, ignoring her question. “I’ve never seen you before.”
“You would have only seen me if I wanted to be seen.” She retorted.
Amusement twinkled in his eyes. “Do you like hearing the latest gossip?” She couldn’t tell what game he was playing but every cell in her body knew it wasn’t a good one.
Pretending not to care she shrugged. “For the most part I try to stay out of peoples business.”
His smirk made a reappearance. “And yet you interfered with mine.”
Crossing her legs over the other, she raised an eyebrow.
“Would you have preferred I let him swindle your money instead?”
Noting the challenge issued, his amusement grew. “I’ve heard rumors.”
Warning signs were flashing in her head, but she pretended not to notice. “Oh yeah?” She casually asked.
He saw right through her. “Yes, I must admit that I’m quite the royal junky myself. I’m intrigued by the goings on at court.” He leaned forward an inch as if sharing a secret with her. “They are saying that the princess made a complete 360 in her personality. Almost as if she were a different person. Rumors say she invited villagers to balls, ran through burning buildings to save an orphan, that she even dove in front of the prince’s attack and took a knife to the gut.”
She tried to temper down her shaking hand. A familiar ache began throbbing at her side at the mention of her stab wound. “Huh. I can’t say I could offer any validation to that. Unless I ask the princess when we get together for our weekly tea and crumpets gathering.” Aerity hoped sarcasm would distract. No such luck.
“Yes, I do hope you do because I’m quite curious. You see, they say that a few weeks ago, the princess that did all those heroic things did another flip and reverted back to the wicked witch she was before.”
Desperately forming a calm smile, she nervously spewed word vomit. “Well you know how New Year’s resolutions go. They last a month before they break.” As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she inwardly cursed. They wouldn’t know what that was.
He smiled wider, noticing her slip. “I’ve even heard rumors of a woman who lives in the woods.” Her pulse spiked as she released a harsh breath. He knew something. How did he question who she was? For months no one would believe she was as from another world and yet here this man was, hinting around. He didn’t even wait for her to respond. “They say she can travel between worlds. Tell me...do you think it’s possible for there to be another world with a different version of yourself there?” His eyes glistened as the intensity of his stare grew.
“Seems pretty crazy to me.”
The man gripped his bottom lip between his fingers before taking a calculated swig of his drink. “Yes. I suppose it does.”
Why didn’t he sound convinced? Who was he?
“Aren’t you a little bit curious as to what my name is?” He asked.
Aerity didn’t want him keeping the upper hand so she played it off. “Am I going to see you again for it to be necessary for me to have it?”
His knowing smirk promised a yes to that question. “Oh, I would plan on it.” Assuming that signaled the end to the conversation, she stood and started making her way to the door.
“Hey, Aerity?” She turned as he spoke his next words that were dripping in glee. “My name is Kayden.”
It wasn’t until she shoved open the door that she realized not only had he called her by her name that she never gave him but also that she had responded to it.
∞∞∞
Damien
Damien strolled through the gardens and tried to keep his mind off his father. The flowers had faded long ago, the air chilled as the cold came close to taking the reins. Although there were simply bushes and evergreens surrounding him, he still felt an odd sense of peace. He wondered where Aerity was and what she was doing. Did she reach the other island safely?
The wind blew through the branches, whistling a dark tune. It was useless wishing he handled things better with her when he had the chance. He just hoped that she led a good life now.
The princess was nowhere to be seen. He shook his head, still confused by the semantics of the situation. It didn’t matter now though. As long as Aerity was safe. He planned on searching out ways to get her home and he would. As soon as he could. But now he also had the king to contend with.
He had a feeling things were about to blow up in his face and he had no idea how to block the explosion.
“You’ve been avoiding me.” A demanding voice sounded from behind him. His body froze and just as suddenly he forced himself to relax. Small hands began to roam up his arm and onto his chest, causing the common gag reflex he seemed to experience whenever she was around.
She smiled sweetly but it nothing but plastic and fake. Her hand continued to run down his stomach towards his naval and he thanked the gods that he had tightly belted pants on. “Do you remember when we first met, Damien?”
“Of course. You were the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on.” As much as he hated to admit it, it w
as the truth.
“And you were the most monstrous creature that I had laid my eyes on. Funny how life works out, isn’t it?” Her voice instantly grew dark and her eyelashes fluttered with frustration. His body froze, trying desperately to compose itself yet again. Her words seeped into his bones and poisoned them with venom.
Monstrous. As much as Damien was used to hearing it, he hated that word. It’s what his father manipulated him into becoming. There was yet someone to see past his well needed mask.
“Did you not approve of my scars?” He asked calmly. She
clearly wanted a rise out of him. He refused to give one to her. Her other hand joined in caressing his body, slowly turning to face him directly. Just another cruel tempt of fate. Finally having the girl he wanted all along touch him but for all the wrong reasons.
“I had heard rumors about you. How cruel and evil you were and then I looked upon your face for the first time and I hated you even more.”
“Why is that?” He couldn’t help but ask.
“Because you were so empty, so pathetic, and you were looking at me like I could be your salvation. I was torn between wanting to laugh in your face and feel pity.” Her words felt like a slap, but he had a feeling that was her aim. Then her next words surprised him. “What made me the most furious of all, was that I recognized that gaze.” She looked up to meet his eyes and they were covered in a sheen. Was she crying? “It was the one that stared at my face in the mirror everyday leading up to the wedding. And then I discovered that I was my own salvation. No one else would destroy me or break me down. I wasn’t going to become a victim to a monster when I had the power to run.” She began to play with the buttons on his tunic. He had always wondered why she had run but to hear the words out loud shocked him. Why was she giving him closure as if she wasn’t going to get the chance later on? “So I ran. But what I found wasn’t freedom. It wasn’t strength or salvation. No. What I found Damien, was that there are far worse monsters out there than you.”
“Who are you talking about?”
She smirked and turned her face away. “The answer will come in time but that isn’t the question you should be asking right now.” She began. After a minute she continued but he had a feeling there was more she wasn’t saying. “It’s only a matter of time before your father finds her.”
He jerked his eyes to hers as she peeked up and leveled him with a psychotic stare. Was she going to tell his father about Aerity? If she did, the king would stop at nothing to see Aerity dead.
“Are you going to tell him?”
There was an emptiness that stared back at him when she lifted her chin high into the air. “I know you care about her. So maybe the question you should be asking isn’t how he will find out but what are you willing to do and sacrifice so that he doesn’t?”
Chapter Forty-Four
Aerity
“Care to tell me why you’ve been following me?” She felt his presence for the past mile. Someone lingering just beyond her sight, but she knew he was out there just as surely as she knew the sun would rise the next day. At first, she assumed it was just some drunk out on a stumbling walk back to their home. But then the steps came closer and deliberate. These were steady steps. Steps that made it apparent the pursuer wanted her to hear.
Out of the shadows, she saw an image emerge. Kayden casually strolled into the light with his hands perched in the front pockets of his pants. She knew it was him simply by his scent on the wind. The smell would always grip her in a mental choke hold. If she wasn’t so curious as to why he was following her, she could have easily lost his trail.
Maybe curiosity really did kill the cat.
“And here I thought I was being stealthy.” Humor shone through his voice as he approached her. As dangerous as he seemed, Aerity felt a strange easiness with him now. He knew her secret and yet kept silent. Whatever reasons he had she didn’t really care as long as he kept his mouth sealed.
“You were particularly stealthy when you kicked that can in the alleyway.” She knew he wanted to speak to her. He intentionally made noise and left a trail. Men like him didn’t get where they were with such shoddy skills.
“What can I say? Maybe I wanted to be seen.” He threw the words back at her from the night they met in the tavern. He had been trailing her ever since. “Your men have been following me. Why?” There was no question to it. She knew he wanted her for something, she just didn’t know what.
He scowled. The torch by the street casted a dark shadow across his face. “I must need new men if you caught onto them as well. I was trying to get caught. They weren’t.”
She ignored him. “What do you want from me?”
He didn’t bother beating around the bush. “Your services.” He responded bluntly.
She wasn’t quite sure what she expected but that certainly wasn’t it. “What kind of services?” He quirked a suggestive eyebrow and opened his mouth but Aerity cut him off before he could continue. “I do suggest you consider carefully before you speak your next words.”
His mouth formed a splitting grin. “You take the fun out of everything.”
“So sorry to ruin your amusement. What services?”
“Impatient, are we?”
“I don’t have time for this Kayden. Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
He chuckled. “You know we use those same wedding vows in this world as well.” She didn’t even bother disagreeing with him. It would be of no use. She simply rolled her eyes and he chuckled again. “You need money and I want your lie detecting skills.”
Her eyebrows scrunched. “What do you mean?”
“When we met in that tavern, you knew the man was cheating and how. I want your services weeding out other cheaters in my gaming ring.”
She crossed her arms over her chest which only encouraged his eyes to travel to the crease forming in between her breasts. She scowled and he smirked. Clearly, he was looking for a reaction.
Ignoring him, she thought of what he said. They needed the money. They wouldn’t be able to last much longer without it. Winter was coming which meant something fierce.
“So, I stand guard and pick out cheaters while you play? That’s it?”
He laughed again. Rich and chocolatey. Delicious. “It’s part of it. There is a... stipulation though.”
She didn’t like the way that sounded. “And that would be?”
“You are my eyes and ears; however, I get the credit for your observations. No slinking in the shadows covered in a hood. I want to show you off. An ornament on my arm so to speak.”
She didn’t even need to think about it. “No.”
He seemed to know that would be her answer. “No?” He cocked his eyebrow. “You have a better offer waiting around? Last I heard you were betrayed by the prince and left deserted in the middle of a field.”
God, she wanted to punch that smug look off his face. “I was taken to a lovely farm to heal. That is vastly different from being dropped in the middle of a field.”
He shrugged. “Farm. Field. Same thing. That changes nothing.”
“It changes everything. If my run in with the prince has told me anything it is not to trust anyone.”
His smirk got on every last one of her nerves. “Oh darling, I never told you to trust me. I am simply offering you a job.”
“Yes, a job where I am paraded around, dressed like a whore.”
“You would be a cute whore though.”
Yeah not gonna happen.
One look at her expression and he rolled his eyes. “I treat those in my employ very well. There are worst people to belong to.
“I belong to no one.”
He must have noticed her knuckles whiten and her teeth clench. It only made his grin spread and her anger blaze brighter. “You need money for the winter. You’re running out of options.” She wanted to scream that he was wrong but deep down she knew it was quite the opposite. Lifting her chin in the air, she sniffed her nose. It didn’t deter him. “I’
ll give you 20 marks per game, no matter if I win or lose and I’ll give you a place to stay.”
20 marks?! Just that alone would keep them afloat for close to a month. Even if he had them sleep in a cardboard box, it would still be better than what they were doing now.
Put aside your pride, she thought. Reluctantly she drawled, “What do you mean by ornament?”
If the answering twinkle in his eye had anything to say about this decision, then it said this was a very very bad idea.
Chapter Forty-Five
Siel
It should have felt as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders but instead, he felt something even heavier pressing down on his chest. Was it a mistake to tell his father? The only reactions he expressed were the ones written all over his face. Siel could have sworn there was some fear mixed in with all the anger. Anger that Siel didn’t quite understand. But although there was initial shock, Siel wondered if it was more from the fact that he was telling his father what had happened or if it had to do with the story itself. Because nothing about the story seemed to surprise the king. Almost as if he already knew there was another world.
When he was finished, he continued to stare at his father, waiting for a response. Any kind of response.
None came.
“Why don’t you seem surprised?” Siel asked calmly, folding his hands behind his back. It felt as if he was about to lose control. The king was too calm and still for his liking and it was making his nerves jittery.
The king examined him demurely, again without saying a word. Siel shifted on his feet. The king parted his lips to speak when the doors to the throne room crashed open with a bang. The steward stood at the door breathing heavily, resting his hands on his knees.
“What is the meaning of this?!” The king demanded.