by Erin Hayes
“I don’t suppose it even really matters what you are,” he said, twirling the witch tester in his hand. “You’ve been hiding witches. You’ve put thousands of lives at risk with your reckless actions and traitorous ways. But,” he said, tipping his chin up, “I really must know.”
“Well, if you insist,” Miss Balek said, smiling beneath her cloudy gaze. Did she know what he planned to do next? Could she stop him?
Although the freezing spell had worn off, Adira kept her hand at her side to not draw attention from herself and reached out with just her fingertips to see if she could sense an energy. Nothing. Or rather, everything.
Positive energy and negative energy swirled together. Enchantments cast on top of enchantments, layers thick, redirecting and reflecting in a jumbled mess Adira would need hours to sort through.
Regent Dvorak lifted the needle to Miss Balek’s neck and took a sample. His eyes widened, then he scowled at the woman. “It appears I’ve missed out,” he said. “But, seeing as you’re too old now, I really can’t see any reason to keep you around.”
With that, he waved his hand dismissively, and one of the guards came forward to grab her wrists and tie them behind her back.
Adira couldn’t stand there doing nothing. If she couldn’t fight him with magic, she would fight him the old-fashioned way.
“No, Adira!” Miss Balek called.
But Adira didn’t stop. She sprang across the room, pouncing on the Regent’s back.
“Adira,” Miss Balek said, her voice farther off now. “It’s okay. This is what is meant to be. My time has come. You need to trust.”
Trust what? Trust that this was all her fault? Trust that she could kill this man if need be?
She knocked him down and clawed at his face, but when he pushed his hand out, he sent Adira flying across the room.
She slammed into the wall, and the Regent held her there with some invisible force around her neck.
“Is that really the best use of your magic, Regent,” she asked, glaring at him.
His invisible grasp tightened, making it harder to breathe, but not impossible.
“You are a foolish woman,” he said, shaking his head. “But that’s all right. I don’t need a wife with brains.”
The guard began to lead Miss Balek by her shoulder toward the back of the house, and Adira rasped, “Let her go. Now.”
“Let her go?” Dvorak’s eyes glinted. “You’re the one you should be worried about.” He pursed his lips, as if considering that. “I suppose that’s what got you here in the first place, though, isn’t it? The woman who ran from her destiny…now suddenly more concerned with everyone but herself. It’s a bit ironic, as all this could have been avoided if you hadn’t run in the first place.”
Yes, Adira had changed, but she couldn’t say the same about the Regent. The man still loved to go on his little tirades.
The guard and the old woman stepped out of sight, and a door slammed toward the back of the house.
When Adira tried to speak, the words came out choked and garbled. The Regent eased his grasp on her. “You were saying?”
“Where are you taking her?” Adira demanded.
Dvorak crossed the room, slowly lowering Adira until only her tip-toes grazed the floor beneath her. Then he placed his mouth to her ear and whispered, “Exile.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Alec grimaced as the Regent pressed his lips to Adira’s ear. This was getting out of control. He needed to go in there and do something. As much as he believed in Adira’s ability to fend for herself, he couldn’t just stand there and watch this go down.
But he still didn’t know where he stood with Regent Dvorak. How much did Dvorak know about Alec’s involvement, if anything?
Time to find out.
Alec burst through the door, trying to feign as though he’d just arrived. “I came as soon I heard, my Regent.”
Dvorak froze, slowly turning away from Adira and releasing her back to the ground. “Oh,” he said, his lips stretching into an unnatural grin. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”
Had he been looking for him? Or was he aware where Alec had been all along?
It took every bit of Alec’s self-control not to look at Adira. “I’m here now. Is everything all right?”
Dvorak’s smile widened, and he spread his hands. “All right? Everything is more than all right. We have found ourselves an entire nest of witches,” he said. He tilted his head and focused on Alec. “Whoever would have expected such a thing?”
Alec didn’t waver. “What’s the plan?”
The Regent motioned to the rest of the room cowering in the corner. “They’ll come back to the castle. I have a plan for the men here, and the girls can wait out their time under our care. Until they’re…ready.”
Alec’s skin crawled. How had he been so blind to this man for so many years? He pressed his lips together, trying not to scowl. He needed to play along until he came up with the plan.
None of the witches so much as looked at Alec. Did they think he was a traitor, or did they trust he would still try to help them?
The Regent strolled back over toward Adira. “But first, we need to make sure this one is a suitable match to go first. Care to do the honors?”
Dvorak held out the witch tester to Alec. He forced himself past his inward pause and walked over purposefully, taking the device from the Regent’s hand.
“Of course,” Alec mumbled.
As he lifted the witch tester to Adira’s neck, he was careful not to hurt her while also refraining from showing any kindness for the Regent to read into. He kept his gaze locked on her eyes, though. That the Regent couldn’t see. Not with Alec’s back to him.
Please stay hidden.
He wished Adira could hear thoughts the way Miss Balek had been able to. At the thought of her name, he wondered if there was even still time to save the old woman.
“Any day now,” the Regent chided.
Alec glared at Adira harder. Stay hidden.
He didn’t like the look of resolve in her eyes. But he couldn’t wait another moment. He couldn’t say anything, and if he didn’t test her, the Regent would…and it would be a lot worse when he did.
Adira stood stock still as the needle pieced into her neck. She let out a long, slow breath that cascaded against Alec’s chest. Normally that was a sensation that would spark arousal for him, but this time it just made his heart sink to his stomach.
He swallowed around the lump in his throat as the grooves on the device filled with her blood. The runic symbols filled next. And then, the whole things glowed blue so bright the color radiated from the device.
She’d gotten stronger since the last time he’d tested her. A lot stronger.
The Regent pushed Alec out of the way. “I knew it!” he said, pointing his finger in Adira’s face. “I knew you were a witch! Tell me at once: how did you redirect that dial?”
Adira rolled her eyes. “I’m a witch, remember?”
Dvorak grabbed her arm and threw her toward one of the guards; Alec didn’t miss that he’d thrown her to someone else, not to him. That said a lot.
“You’re a smart ass who knows a few parlor tricks,” the Regent said, “but you’ll do fine for what is required of you.”
Regent Dvorak turned to Alec and handed him some rope from a small pouch at his waist. “Tie her up. I won’t have her running off again.” He nodded to the rest of the guards. “Stay here with the rest of them. I will send a cart for their transport. They’re to be placed in separate cells.”
Alec glanced over to the witches and immediately wished he hadn’t. There was Anastazie, staring at him with the saddest, most questioning gaze. He wanted to scoop her up and tell her it would be okay. That he and Adira were going to find a way to save her. To save all of them.
But he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t break character, and he couldn’t make a promise he wasn’t sure how to keep.
Alec tied Adira up and led
her out the door, the Regent on his tail the whole way. Normally he would meet Alec back at the castle. If he wanted to keep an eye on him, he was at the very least suspicious of something.
The Regent strolled beside Alec. “She’s prettier than the last few, don’t you think?”
“She’s perfect for you,” Alec answered, biting the inside of his cheek.
“But that’s not what I asked. I asked if you thought she was prettier.” The Regent reached out and jiggled one of Adira’s breasts, but she twisted away from his touch, cringing beneath Alec’s grasp on her shoulder. “I’m asking if you find her tempting.”
Alec’s insides twisted. Any man who said no would be lying. But yes didn’t seem like the right answer, either.
“She has all the traits any man would desire, if that is what you mean, Sir.”
Dvorak stepped in front of Adira and Alec, facing them and blocking their path. “Don’t play dumb, Alec. You didn’t get where you are today by the grace of stupidity.”
He slid his hand along Adira’s thigh and started moving his hand up, but she pulled up her knee and kicked him hard.
The Regent deflected, then grabbed her hair and yanked, throwing her to the floor.
“It appears she doesn’t understand what is expected of her.”
When he started to pull at his belt, Alec placed his hand on Dvorak’s arm before he could think the better of it.
He covered with, “Don’t you think that should wait until we return to the castle?”
Dvorak nodded, licking his lips as he smiled. “Be honest, Alec. You just can’t stand to see a beautiful girl get punished.”
Alec went for a wry grin. “You caught me, Sir!”
The Regent’s expression turned thoughtful. “Perhaps you’re right, though. I don’t want to damage the goods before I make use of them. I ought to fuck her first, don’t you think?”
Dvorak’s words hit Alec like a punch to a gut. The Regent was never this crude. He was testing Alec. And if Alec failed, Adira would be alone through this. He couldn’t let that happen. But he couldn’t bring himself to say “yes” either.
Alec pressed his lips together and nodded. “We’d better get back to the castle before the others arrive.”
“Now there’s the wise boy I’ve grown to know so well,” Dvorak said.
He pulled Adira up by her hair and shoved her back toward Alec. For her part, she didn’t so much as whimper throughout any of it. But if Alec knew Dvorak at all, the man would not stop until she broke down. Alec needed to think of something, fast.
But she was the one with the magic. She was the one who had to defeat him.
What if she didn’t want to?
If Alec had succeeded in convincing her to acquiesce to this fate, then he failed in his success. He needed to talk to her. He needed to get her alone.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Adira was thankful when the Regent was called away by his guards upon arrival. Although she was under the watchful eye of Dvorak’s other trusted guardsmen, it allowed her a moment to process her thoughts.
Unfortunately, most of what swam through her mind was drowning in regret. Why hadn’t she turned herself in sooner? Why didn’t she just let the Regent discover her first? Would any of that have saved Miss Balek?
Maybe if she’d turned herself in sooner, but then she wouldn’t have been ready. Letting the Regent discover her first wouldn’t have stopped him from exiling Miss Balek for hiding her, though, and it probably wouldn’t have stopped him from testing the others there, either.
She pressed her fingertips to her temple. This kind of thinking wasn’t helping anyone. She didn’t have time to mourn for Miss Balek, but hell if that kind woman’s death would be in vain. Adira needed to find a way to appease the Regent enough to release the other witches. Or, at the very least, to allow Adira to walk around as his wife and not a prisoner; at least then she could check on her friends and make sure they were okay.
The sooner she got pregnant, the sooner they would be released.
But every time she thought of that, her stomach surged and vomit burned in the back of throat. She couldn’t even let that man touch her, let alone…let alone that.
A knock at the door pulled her from her inner torment.
“Miss?” A woman’s head peeked in the door. “I’m here to dress you for dinner.”
“I am dressed,” Adira said, but seeing the panic in the woman’s eyes, she added, “Come in.”
The last thing she needed was this woman getting in trouble for not doing her job.
As the door swung the rest of the way open, Adira spied the two guards standing at either side of the entrance. As if she needed the reminder. “You can close the door behind you.”
The woman did as she was asked, shutting the large men from Adira’s view. A gown was draped over the crook of her arm. “This looks like it would fit?”
Adira sighed and held out her arm. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ll dress myself, though, if that’s okay.”
The woman nodded and handed the dress over.
Adira glanced around for a place to get changed. There was none.
“Is this the Regent’s room?” Adira asked, starting to slip out of her clothes.
The woman turned away, affording Adira some privacy. “It’s the…well, it’s the room for the Queen.”
Adira laughed bitterly. “Oh. It’s a mating room. How very—”
“Do you need help with the dress, Miss?”
Adira bit her tongue. Of course. The woman couldn’t engage Adira in bad-talking the Regent. “I think I’ve got it,” she said, pulling the dress over her head. Through the sheer fabric, she added, “I didn’t catch your name, sorry.”
“Monika Petranek,” she said, “but you can call me Nika.”
Now dressed in the form-fitting wine-colored silk gown, Adira spun toward her. “Thank you, Nika. The dress is lovely.”
“Regent Dvorak selected it for you,” she said.
Adira cringed. Couldn’t she have said anything but that? It was as if she wanted to trick Adira into complimenting the Regent. She should have known. Why had she thought this woman was on her side? Not everyone was like Miss Balek. Perhaps it stood to reason that those who were didn’t work inside this castle.
“I’ll have to thank him then,” Adira said, ignoring the chalky bitterness of the lie on her tongue. “Are we to join them now?”
The woman nodded. “Right this way.”
Once out in the hall, the guards fell into line behind the two women, and Nika led Adira down the grand staircase. The opulence only disgusted her more, as if diamond chandeliers and gold vases could disguise what went on here behind closed doors.
Adira whispered to Nika, “I thought the Doomed Queens were held in cells until they faced the Ravager in a Display?”
Nika bustled onward. “I don’t know about any Doomed Queen,” she bit out, “but yes, for whatever reason, the Regent has awarded you this privilege of dinner. You’d think you might be a bit more thankful instead of questioning his generosity.”
As they crossed the castle to the dining quarters, Adira pressed her lips together. Nothing about this was right, but Nika certainly wasn’t going to be the one to give her any answers.
When they arrived at the table, The Regent was sitting to one far end, with Alec as his right side, and a guard pulled out a chair to seat Adira on the other far end.
Dvorak raised his wine glass to her. “Kind of you to join us, Miss Chovanek.
Judging by the Regent’s knowledge of her name and Alec’s placement at the table, Alec had convinced Dvorak he had not betrayed his duty. Which was a good thing, because he was perhaps the only one in this castle on her side.
Several servants came out all at once to place the meals on the table. They lifted the lids from each plate to reveal perfect cuts of meat lathered in thick brown sauce, bright yellow and green vegetables, and the fluffiest, flakiest rolls Adira had ever seen.
She si
pped from her wine glass and sampled the food, begrudgingly admitting to herself it was the freshest, most delicious meal she had ever tasted.
Dvorak simply watched her from the other side of the table while Adira made an effort to not look at Alec.
The Regent leaned back in his chair, still holding his wine glass and swirling around its contents. “Well, far be it from me to ignore the elephant in the room. Let’s lay it all out on the table, shall we?”
Adira rolled her eyes. Oh, God. Here he goes. Maybe if she was chewing on a piece of meat it would drown out his forthcoming soliloquy.
He continued, “It’s not secret why you are here, or rather, why it is I wanted you here. Or really any witch worthy of being Queen. Our Sector needs an heir, and unfortunately, I cannot produce one alone. But I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner; I like to think we could have a good relationship one day. It wasn’t uncommon in the old days for arranged marriages to be enjoyable experiences for everyone involved. So long as you behave, you will be given the same rights any of my other wives before you had been given.” He tilted his head. “Of course, should you misbehave, you will be punished as they had been as well. But I do believe in fresh starts, so let us put the past behind us, shall we?”
Adira pushed the vegetables around on her plate. If she said yes, he would shut up. Hopefully. “That sounds lovely.”
“Fantastic. Then we should also clear the air of my own missteps. You see, I don’t feel it would be right for us to enter into such a sacred union as marriage on false pretenses. Any wife of mine deserves the complete and unshrouded truth.” He stood and indicated Alec with his hand. “You know this man.”
She opened her mouth to deny it, but the Regent waved her off before she could speak.
“It’s fine. I already know. After all, I sent him for you. He is the lead of my Guard, and as such, has of course told me everything. He spent nearly two weeks assessing you on my behalf. On behalf of the Sector. And from what I gather, he’s done quite well.”
Adira scowled, narrowing her eyes at the Regent. There was no way that was true, but it was the best thing for the Regent to believe. If he even really believed it.