A King So Cold

by Ella Fields

  “So you kidnap my friend.”

  “Kidnap is a bit harsh.” He moved to the bed which sat in the center of the room, white linens rumpled and tossed around as though he’d had a fitful sleep or a tumble with a lover. “I did what was necessary to get your attention.”

  “Well,” I said, drifting into the room, “you have it. Hurry up.”

  Raiden watched me for an unnerving moment, green eyes bobbing over my face. “You seem… more irritated than usual.”

  “Insults are a waste of our time.”

  Crossing the room, he stopped a foot from me, his scent clouding my head. “No,” he said, eyes soft. “What happened? Word has it you were found riding alone toward the castle.”

  It shouldn’t surprise me that word of that reached him faster than I had, flying across the kingdom. Gossiping miscreants. “A queen can ride alone if she so wishes.”

  “Not in times like these,” he murmured, reaching out to skim his fingers over my cheek.

  I stepped back. “Truin.”

  He tutted. “All in good time.”

  “Now,” I said, throwing daggers at him with my eyes as he waded to the door.

  “Bathe, rest. A meal is being prepared as we speak.”

  I blinked when he left, tempted to run after him out the door in search of my friend and a way out.

  I looked at the arched hole in the wall, steam wafting from it, and sighed.

  The bathing room was a small but luxurious space, filled with musky aromas and an array of washcloths to choose from.

  I didn’t trust I’d remain alone for long, so I washed quickly, cursing when I realized I had nothing clean to wear. With a towel draped around me, I padded back into the room, only to discover a female sprawled over the bed.

  Golden hair draped over the gold, tasseled pillows, her white chiffon dress failing to hide much of the curving, ripe body beneath. “Majesty,” she purred, rolling to her stomach. The glint in her eye was unsettling, but not as much as her next words. “Our king has asked that I provide you with something to wear.”

  Perusing the barely there clothing she wore herself, I decided I’d rather wear my soiled dress. “And who might you be?”

  “Eline. Or…” She sat up, her eyes emerald jewels surrounded by brown lashes. “His majesty’s Little Lion.”

  My teeth clacked, and I blew out a shaken breath. “That explains the purring.”

  Her brows drew in. “I beg your pardon.”

  “No need to beg.” I saw the paltry excuse for a dress she’d brought with her and walked over to pick it up from the divan she’d tossed it on. It was lavender, quite beautiful, but I doubted it would cover much. I didn’t peg Raiden as the type to want his queen’s body on display.

  Looking back at the little lion, who was staring at me with an expression that screamed of her desire to rake those long, gold-painted nails down my face, I smiled. “Thank you.”

  Again, she frowned. “You are… quite odd.”

  “Odd?” I said, dropping the towel and forgoing the wrap that was provided for my breasts. “Cold, cruel bitch, wicked queen, horror child, monster… I would go on, but I’m sure you’ve undoubtedly heard them all.” I slipped the dress over my head, tugging it into place. “You, however, are the first to call me odd.”

  She was silent a moment, then said, “You’re supposed to wear the wrap underneath.”

  I pulled my damp tresses over my shoulders, feeling them soak into the light fabric, then gazed down at myself. You could see the outline of my nipples and the hint of my mound. I hated it. But I hated that I’d been tricked into coming here more, so I’d do what I had to.

  I feigned confusion. “Oh.” Then I hurried out of the room.

  The lioness was hot on my tail. “You cannot go down there dressed like that.”

  “Why not?” I brushed a hand against the rough sand-hewn wall as we circled down the steps.

  “You know why. Your tits are on display for the entire kingdom.”

  “You’re the one who supplied me with the dress.”

  To that, she said nothing, but I could feel the anxiety rolling off her like a rancid breeze as we wound through halls and eventually, found ourselves entering the dining hall.

  Raiden, his advisor, and at least several members from his guard were in the large but slim room.

  Eline stopped in the entryway, and I moved to the opposite end of the marble table, taking a seat.

  “Um,” Raiden said, clearing his throat and straightening. “My queen…”

  “Is that chicken? Or pigeon?” I pulled the tray of steaming meat closer to inspect it. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between the real thing and that which is fake.”

  Eline coughed to hide a curse behind me, and I grabbed a fork, stabbing the bird none too gently and dropping a huge breast onto my plate.

  Setting my fork down, I looked up into the narrowed eyes of the king, licking my fingers. “Chicken.”

  A tic jolted his hardened jaw. “Are you done?”

  “Whatever do you mean? I haven’t even started,” I said through a laugh, then yanked the bowl of roasted potatoes closer, selecting two. “I’m positively starving.”

  With a sigh, he looked at his guard. “Leave us.”

  “Majesty…” his advisor started.

  “You too.”

  I plucked some plump tomato and bright lettuce from the salad bowl and began to eat as everyone save for the king and Eline vacated the room. “Not bad,” I said, swallowing and sipping some wine from the golden goblet before me.

  “Raiden,” Eline said. “I offered the wrap, but she—”

  “She is seated right here and can inform him herself,” I said. “Thank you and goodbye.”

  Eline didn’t move. Raiden gave her a look that spoke of years of silent communication. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “Oh?” I said. “Are you siblings or something?”

  “I’m his consort.”

  I laughed, patting wine from my chin with a cloth napkin. “I understand the need to make yourself feel better, but there’s no such thing, little lion.”

  I felt her advance on my back and lifted a finger, ice encasing her feet to the ground.

  Raiden rested his chin upon his hand, unamused.

  I didn’t care. He could rot in the darkness for all eternity.

  “Unhand her,” he said.

  “I’m not touching her.” I speared some more chicken, chewing as he glared.

  “Raid,” she whined. “It’s starting to burn.”

  I wrinkled my nose but released her.

  Raid. So he had a lover after all. I’d heard he had more than one, but I was guessing she was the favorite.

  “Eline and I have been friends since childhood,” he explained.

  “We are more than friends,” she snapped, then he silenced her with a flick of his hand.

  “You’ll find I care not.” It was just another reminder of all the ways males could not be trusted.

  “No?” Raiden’s lip curled. “How intriguing.”

  I ignored him and ate my food, my growling stomach beginning to settle.

  He watched me for a time, ignoring the food upon his own plate, and sipping from a tankard. Ale, I guessed.

  “Leave,” he said at last to Eline.

  She did not.

  His eyes lifted to her, a fury I’d not yet seen saturating them. “Eline.”

  After a moment of tense staring between the two, her footsteps soon faded out in the hall.

  “I do hope you’re not too fond of her.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because,” I said. “When she tries to kill me in my sleep, it’s highly likely I’ll end her.” I waggled my fork. “Self-defense.”

  His laughter bounced off the walls and caused the food in my stomach to vibrate.

  How different he seemed, I mused, gazing at him. How unfiltered he was in his own home.

  I couldn’t say I liked it, b
ut old feelings do die hard.

  “She knows to stay away.”

  Tutting, I said, “She’s too far gone to care about what she knows.” I drained my wine. “And you…” I set the goblet down. “Lying to me about who she is to you is honestly not only a waste of time, but it does nothing for me.”

  His eyes drifted down my chest, staying planted on my half exposed breasts as he said, “She is no longer that same person to me.”

  “She doesn’t seem to agree.”

  He rubbed his chin, then sighed, his hands joining over his stomach. “We were to rule together.”

  I raised my brows, surprised he so freely gave that truth up. “Go on.”

  “Before I’d met you, the plan was to kill you and your father, so one day we’d rule Rosinthe.”

  “Together.”

  He nodded. “Together.”

  “You and your lover.”

  He huffed, smiling. “Correct.”

  “Sorry to have botched your plans.” I forced a smile, flashing all my teeth. “No, wait. I’m not.” I pushed my plate forward to lean my arms on the table, and sneered, “You’re still a traitor. End this marriage. Rule the Sun Kingdom with your little lion. You can keep your stupid waste of life, just give me my witch.”

  His expression slackened into nothing. “You truly want to end it?”

  He’d asked as if he were surprised. “You know I do.”

  His chair legs screeched over the rough floor. He stood, pacing the length of the long table. “Let me get this straight,” he said. “You steal me away from my betrothed in The Edges, lock me in your dungeon, then retell our most intimate encounters in hopes I’d remember.” He dragged a finger across his brow, then pointed it at me. “You succeeded…” He stopped, tilting his head. “Now, you’ve gotten what you want, and you no longer want it?”

  It was hanging there, dangling like tempting, poisonous fruit before me, to tell him who exactly it was he’d been about to marry in The Edges. Instead, I said, “I never wanted you back.”

  “Liar,” he said, in front of me now.

  I refused to crane my neck back to look at him.

  His fingers reached under my chin, and my teeth snapped together as he lifted it. “A female such as yourself does not go to such extremes for someone she cares nothing for.”

  “I did care.” I wrapped my hand around his wrist, removing it from my chin, and knocked it away. “Things change.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  I pushed my chair back. “I don’t care about what you believe.” Rising, I said, “Now, where is my friend?”

  “In my dungeon.” My eyes widened, and he chuckled. “A little tit for tat never hurt anyone.”

  “Let her out, immediately.”

  He hummed, pursing his lips. “We both know that’s not how a good bargain works, silk.”

  The nickname caressed and suffocated. “Raiden,” I said, my voice gentle, earnest. “Please.”

  He shifted to face me. “Oh, how I love it when you change color for me.” He retook his seat, lifting his leg to lay it over the other. “But until I get what I want, the answer will forever be no.”

  Cold heat burned through every vein as I realized what he was referring to. “I will not fuck you in exchange for my friend.”

  He laughed but sobered quickly. “I do not take. You will ride my cock of your own volition.” He plucked a grape from the table, popping it into his mouth. “It’s now my turn to make you remember.”

  I’d slept for all of an hour before I was woken by the unfamiliarity of my surroundings and then the sound of screaming.

  A harsh crack echoed through the air, followed by another scream.

  I sat up, wondering what in the darkness was going on, when a garbled moan sounded.

  With a horror I hadn’t realized I was still capable of feeling, I discovered the noise was coming from the room below mine.

  From below Raiden’s.

  Eline’s screams and cries of pleasure drifted through the windows to sail through the ones surrounding me. His name a hoarse plea driving another stake into my chest.

  The fabric curtaining the windows swayed violently, the room seeming both too large and too small as I dropped back down to the bed.

  With dry eyes and a pounding heart, I stared up at the ceiling until the noise abated shortly before the sun rose, wishing it were a different one.

  “Sleep well?” Raiden asked, taking a seat at the other end of the table. He was at least wearing a shirt today, loose and gold with red thread.

  My hands clenched my mug of tea. I said through a practiced smile, “Like a babe.”

  After draping a napkin over his pants, he glanced at me, reaching for some toast. “You look as though you didn’t.”

  “You’re too kind,” I drawled.

  He chuckled. “You’re well aware of your beauty, tired or no.”

  “Whips?” I couldn’t help but finally blurt. “How… brutish of you.”

  Aloof, he bit into his toast, watching me as he chewed. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of allowing my feelings, whatever they might be, to grace my face.

  Finally, he spoke. “You both needed punishing.”

  “Oh?”

  “It needs no explaining, really,” he said. “Why I had to punish you. But Eline disobeyed me. She wasn’t supposed to enter my rooms. She’s not allowed in there unless invited, especially while you’re visiting.”

  “And when I return home?”

  His teeth gnashed into a serpentine smile. “If you return home, then I suppose what happens then is up to you.”

  “I will not remain here.”

  He leaned forward to pour coffee from the carafe. “You might find you like it here, after some time.”

  “If last night was anything to go by, then I can assure you, I will never acclimate.”

  Stirring a sugar cube into his cup, he yawned. “You’re jealous.” He dropped the spoon with a clatter to the saucer, sitting back. His eyes swirled. “You needn’t worry. I did not fuck her.”

  An incredulous laugh burst free. “Do you take me for a fool?”

  “That is the last thing I’d ever take you for.” He smirked. “All I did was make her come, over and over again.” His shoulder tilted. “She likes pain.”

  Unbelievable. “And that’s better than fucking her, how?”

  “My cock never entered her body.” He lifted his coffee to his curled lips. “It stayed in my hand.”

  My stomach dipped and churned at the same time, as images of him holding it, and images I’d rather never imagine, infiltrated. “For a male with the sun running through his very veins, you truly are a cold-blooded creature.”

  “Says the cruelest queen this land has ever seen.”

  “Quit with the flattery already, you might just make me blush.”

  He barked out a loud laugh. “I’d pay good coin to see that.”

  A queen does not blush.

  Mine does, and I fucking love it.

  A tightening sensation wracked my chest and closed my throat. I cleared it.

  “Save your coin.” I peered around the drab dining room. “This place needs it.”

  Again with a smug smile I wanted to cut from his face. “You can redecorate however you’d like.”

  “This will go nowhere,” I said, frustrated. “I want this marriage ended. Until you admit that you want the same, we’re stuck.”

  Placing his cup down, he shook his head, his thick brows lowering. “I am still in love with you, and I fail to see a future where that will change.”

  My heart liquefied. “I cannot say the same.” But my voice was meek. It was true; I wasn’t sure what I felt for the sly king seated across from me, but I knew it was no longer what it once was.

  “The lord.” Two biting words.

  I hid what they did to me, stomped on any thoughts of the yellow-eyed devil who’d kicked me out of his home like a stolen toy he could no longer keep.

  Humming
, I murmured nonchalantly, “He’s at his estate.”

  “Oh, I’ve heard.” Raiden twisted his lips. “With his long-thought-dead wife.”

  The way he’d said it… nausea attacked. “Casilla is Nova.”

  “I know.” Pulling his shoulders back, he prepared a steaming bowl of oats, sprinkling raspberries and raisins over top. “There is much you don’t know, which is another reason you’re here. I thought it best you find out from me this time.”

  “This time,” I said with a huff, and then it crystalized. “Wait.” Back straightening, I looked at the few guards in the room, then at Raiden. “You knew, all along, that she was Zadicus’s wife?”

  “Not at first.” He spooned some oats into his mouth and kept me waiting while he swallowed. “I thought her just another woman trying to weasel her way out of The Edges.”

  Air moved swiftly out of my lungs, causing my head to spin. “What?” I backtracked. “So you…”

  His eyes said it all, and I stood so fast, my chair fell behind me, clattering to the floor.

  He caught me in the hall, an arm around my waist. “Do not run from me. Not after all I’ve done to return to you.”

  I pushed at his chest, but then I stopped.

  I feared I was going to faint. The lack of sleep, the lack of honesty, all the lies undoing themselves in too quick a succession to keep up. “You remembered,” I said, breathless with disbelief. “All that time I was telling you stupid stories, and you had already remembered.”

  “Your witch fucked up,” he said, cruel and soft at the same time. “It didn’t work, but I knew I had to pretend it did if I stood a chance at fixing all the wrongs I’d made and making it home.”

  “She wouldn’t have,” I hissed.

  “I didn’t swallow enough. Just enough to wander around like a headless chicken for a few days, trying to figure out who I was and where I was, and then she found me.”

  “Nova.”

  He nodded, brushing hair from my face and holding it still for his eyes to bore down into mine. “She allowed me to stay with her and filled in the gaps enough for them to eventually refill themselves. She’s a changer, but changers can only stay in a changed form for so long before they need to become their true selves.”