Reign (Last Princess Book 3)

by A. M. Hardin

  The guard laughs. “All in good time. All in good time,” he repeats, still chuckling.

  It doesn’t take long then we’re at a set of double doors. The guard opens the doors, revealing a large dining room with only one person sitting at the table eating and facing away from us. There are plenty of maids and guards stationed around the room, though. In case the King needs something at the drop of a hat?

  The King stiffens in his chair, though he doesn’t turn around to look our way, he just continues to eat.

  “My Lord,” the guard starts. “I’ve brought someone who claims to be the Queen Cherish.”

  The King’s arms move as he does something in front of him, but I can’t make it out past the guard standing in my way. Finally, the King stands and turns to face us but I still can’t see him clearly.

  “Oh, you have?” he asks, intrigue clear in his tone. His voice is vaguely familiar, but I can’t place it to save my life.

  “Yes, sire,” the guard says eagerly as he steps aside.

  I meet the King’s ice-cold gaze with a hard look of my own, not willing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me rattled.

  “Adam,” I grit out doing my best to keep my mouth from dropping to the floor.

  Adam smirks. “Actually, I go by Castien here,” he corrects me.

  “If you’re the Ikishri King, how come Kade, Xander, and Andrei didn’t recognize you?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

  Adam laughs. “Because my true body is dead. I chose this as my new body. It was just coincidence that while I was in the human realm I happened to be -what is the word? Oh, yes- dating you of all people.”

  “You played me?” I ask, wanting to be clear.

  He laughs, shaking his head. “That’s the thing. I actually didn’t know who the hell you were until your father’s guards started hanging around you like a bad smell.” He smirks. “It also helps that the original soul of this body didn’t die until we came back here.”

  “That’s why he -you- whatever, were acting so weird? There were literally two people inside you?” I ask, incredulous. That can’t be right. Can it?

  He smirks. “Oh, yes. See you were dating the real Adam, and I came out for some fun every now and then,” he grins. “I was very disappointed to hear that you decided to have a thing with your guards. I was thinking we could start our thing up again once we’re ruling this world together.”

  I gape at him. “What? That wouldn’t have happened whether I was with them anyways. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was done and fed up back at home.” I glare at him. “You helped kill my entire family.”

  He shrugs. “Collateral damage, my dear.”

  “Are you fucking serious?” I snap. I glare at him, my upper lip curled in disgust. “I will kill you, Adam, Castien, whoever the fuck you are.”

  He smirks. “That’s where you’re wrong, Cherish, dear. Don’t you want to know more about what you can do? Who you are?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He chuckles. “You really have no idea of the Mark you bear do you?”

  I stiffen. “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t bother trying to deny it, Cherish. I know you have been Marked. The first in centuries. Congratulations.” He pauses, eyebrow quirking. “But, don’t you want to know why they all had to be killed?”

  Chapter 19

  Cherish

  I narrow my eyes at Adam. “They were killed because they were too powerful.”

  Adam snorts. “Is that what you were told?” He tilts his head as he looks at me from head to toe. “I guess, in a way, that is true. What they didn’t tell you is that the main reason those elves that have been Marked? They tended to lose their minds because of all the power that the Mark provided.”

  “Power corrupts. You’re a prime example of that,” I say dryly.

  He laughs. “Yes, I suppose that is true. However, I don’t believe that you will suffer that fate.”

  I frown. “Why do you think that?”

  “Because you are half-human,” he explains, his tone suggesting that those few words explain everything. Not even fucking close.

  “How the hell does that make you think I won’t go insane, too?” I gape at him, incredulous.

  He taps my nose with his finger and I abruptly pull away, out of reach. “Because, my dear, there has never been a half-human that has been Marked before. And that makes you absolutely perfect.”

  I give him a look. “Perfect? For what? What exactly is it that you have planned, Adam?”

  He stares at me, a tic in his jaw and his eyebrow twitching. “My name is Castien. Not Adam.”

  I raise an eyebrow at that. “Really? Cuz you sure look like Adam, Cassy,” I say, not really trying to piss him off, just annoy him. All of the pain he’s caused. The blood that’s been shed. The least I can do is play with the fucker a little bit.

  “Don’t call me that,” he snaps. “What is your problem?” he asks, sounding genuinely confused. “You should be scared, or at the very least intimated. Maybe even pissed off. But here you stand, looking bored.”

  “Because you’re boring me,” I answer like it’s obvious. “You also disgust me.”

  His mouth drops open in shock. “E-excuse me?” He continues gaping at me as I hear a cough off to the side of the room, informing both of us that one of the maids or guards thought it was funny and had to cough to cover their laugh. Adam’s face turns a disturbing shade of red.

  “What kind of a person does the shit that you’ve done? There have been so many lives lost because of your own greed, and you don’t even give a shit,” I bite out.

  His mouth curves into an evil smirk. “I’m not the one who had my brother publicly executed.”

  “You know the difference between me and you?” I ask.

  “What’s that?”

  “You actually enjoy all the death you caused,” I accuse. “I can see it in your eyes. You don’t regret a single drop of spilled blood.”

  “Oh? And you do?”

  “Of course I do!” I snap. “I never wanted my brother to die. He forced my hand. Banishing him wouldn’t have been enough, he would have just kept coming.”

  He makes a contemplative noise. “Hmm, you have a point there. Your brother definitely wouldn’t have let the crown go. No matter what you did. The only option you had was to kill him.” He grins wickedly. “Tell me you didn’t enjoy that he was dead.”

  “I didn’t,” I answer honestly. “I never wanted to kill anyone. I still don’t.” I look him dead in the eye. “There is one person that I’ll enjoy killing, though.”

  His eyes twinkle with amusement. “Oh really? Who’s that?”

  “You,” I growl. “I don’t believe for one minute that Forrest was the one behind my family’s death. That was all you.”

  He chuckles, walking back to the table. He grabs a bottle of wine and a glass and pours it. “Very good, Cherish. You’re more astute than I gave you credit for.”

  “What I want to know is why?”

  “Why what? Why kill them?” he asks absentmindedly, taking a drink of his wine.

  “No, why kill the fucking Easter bunny. Yes, I mean, why kill my family? What’s in it for you?” I snap.

  He chuckles, making red hot rage burst through me. “I didn’t really care so much about your family being killed, Cherish. I was trying to kill you with that little spell I placed on your dad. Too bad you weren’t home.”

  I stalk toward him, his guards immediately jump into action and barely stop me from reaching him. “You goddamn son of a bitch!”

  He laughs as he turns to face me, amusement clear on his face even though his eyes remain cold. “Don’t tell me that shocks you.”

  I pull myself roughly out of the guards’ grips, glaring at him. “No, I’m not all that surprised. I am, however, surprised to hear that you canceled the kill order on me.” The guards back off, slowly moving back to the edges of the room when they see I’m not rearing to attack th
eir King again. “I’m assuming the reason behind that is because of the Mark on my wrist. What I can’t figure out is why the Mark changes things that dramatically for you.”

  He smirks and mutters under his breath, “Not as stupid as I thought.” He pulls his large chair out and waves his hand to the chair beside him, offering for me to sit. I don’t move. He shrugs, a smile playing at his lips. He sits in his chair, so I have to move further into the room to see him. “Another reason that those who bore Marks of their own were killed is because of how much power they wielded. One Marked elf could rule over this realm if they truly wanted to. No one wanted that to happen.

  “No one wanted one single elf ruling the entire realm. Every King and Queen alike were against that happening. Sure, most didn’t like the idea of killing the Marked elves, but they didn’t do anything to stop it, either.” He shrugs. “There were, of course, no guarantee’s that they would even attempt to gain that kind of power over this world, but no one was taking any chances. And so, the slaughter began.”

  “Fascinating story,” I retort dryly. “That doesn’t explain why things changed when you learned of my Mark. Or how you even learned of it to begin with.”

  Adam chuckles as he swirls the liquid in his glass. “You are an impatient one, aren’t you?”

  I narrow my eyes at him, keeping my mouth shut. I’m not saying shit until he fucking starts talking.

  “Things changed when your brother had a messenger bring me news of the Mark you bear on your wrist. A butterfly. Fitting. Beautiful. Flighty.” He trails off as if lost in thought for a few moments before he shakes his head and clears his throat. “Anyway, what changed is that I realized that I don’t need to kill you. We could work together.”

  He turns to face me, his expression calculating, his eyes glinting with victory. “You and I could get-“ he cuts off as the sound of shouts, swords clashing, and screams seem to come from just outside the castle. We aren’t that far inside, so it’s apparently easy to hear the battle raging.

  “You were saying?” I ask, fighting to keep my voice and expression even.

  His gaze flicks to one of the guards. “Go see what the fuck is going on!” he orders. His attention comes back to me and he smiles. “Anyway, what I was saying was that you and I could get married, Cherish,” he announces, excitement all over his face, although, weirdly enough his eyes are still as cold as they have been since the moment I walked into this room.

  And- wait. What? Marry? Him? Please tell me I just hallucinated that sentence coming out of his mouth.

  I open my mouth to tell him not a chance in hell, but he interrupts me. “Think of the power we would have. You’d be the Queen to my King. We would be the sole rulers of this realm.”

  I purse my lips and shake my head when he opens his mouth to say more. He looks at me, anger sparking in his gaze. “I’m going to have to stop you right there, Adam.”

  “Castien,” he grinds out from behind gritted teeth, interrupting me.

  “Whatever. You’re wearing the face of my old boyfriend. I’m calling you Adam. Don’t give a shit.” I clap my hands together. “Anyway,” I stress the word, “see, I can’t marry you. Well, even if I could, I wouldn’t.”

  “You... can’t?” he asks, incredulously before that spark of anger is back and he chucks the glass in his hand at the wall, narrowly missing a maid’s face. “Why the hell not?”

  “Because, genius, I’m already married.”

  His mouth drops and so does everyone else’s mouth that is standing around the room. “What?” he hisses. “Who? Who the fuck are you married to? When the fuck did this even happen?” He shouts, stomping to me and getting in my face.

  I place my hand on his chest and push him back so I didn’t have to breathe in his nasty ass breath. “I got married last night. It was a private ceremony.”

  “Who are you married to Cherish?” he demands. “I want to know so I know who the fuck to kill.”

  I bark out a laugh. “You won’t be killing them, Adam. I won’t let it happen.”

  “’THEM?!’” He roars. His hand suddenly connects with my face, sending me sprawling to the ground. Mainly out of shock, because, really, it didn’t hurt as much as I expected it to. “You fucking whore,” he spits out. “It’s those fucking guards of yours, isn’t it?”

  I don’t answer, I just laugh. I can’t believe one little announcement made him lose his shit so completely.

  He reaches down, grabbing my arm and pulling me up into an awkward sitting position. “Answer me!”

  “Yes. Andrei, Xander, and Kade are my husbands,” I answer, proud.

  I look around the room at the stunned faces of the maids and guards. “What are you looking at?” Adam barks.

  I sigh heavily before turning back to him. “Let them leave.” I wave my hands to the people around us, awkwardly since he still hasn’t let me go. “They’ve got nothing to do with anything.” He grins, a sick and twisted grin that makes my stomach churn.

  “Now, why would I do that?”

  “At least let the maids go,” I plead. “I don’t care what you have planned, but they can go somewhere else for a while can’t they?”

  He eyes me suspiciously for a while before nodding. “Maids. Leave. Now. Guards. You stay.”

  What a dick.

  The maids quickly scurry out of the room, their heads down and shoulders slumped as if trying to make themselves invisible. With the door open as they escape out of the room, I can hear fighting has moved into the halls and even a few of the guards from in here run out there to see what’s going on.

  Once the door is shut behind them, his eyebrow quirks up, mockingly. “Is that better?”

  I smirk. “Much better.”

  Without warning, I kick my foot out, connect with his chest, forcing him backwards. My arm stings from his hand practically being ripped off but it was necessary.

  The guards spring into action, a few shouting for their King, a couple shouting at me, but I’m faster. I close my eyes, focusing on the control I have over vines and pull that magic to the front. Grunts, groans, and growls coming from the guards is the first clue I have that it worked.

  I open my eyes and look around the room, pleased to see that my vines even tied Adam up so he can’t move. Focusing, I glance at the guards surrounding us. I know that one of the guards here should be our informant. Andrei told me that he was higher up on Adam’s royal guard and was almost constantly with him. “Which one of you is Ralnor?” I ask.

  “That would be me,” one of the guards nearest me says, waving his hand as much as he can while trapped in my vines. I chuckle and force the vines to retreat off him alone, letting him go.

  He drops to his feet and rubs at his wrists a wry smile on his face. He bows low. “It’s a pleasure, My Queen.”

  I smirk. “The pleasure’s all mine. I told Andrei that I would send word to him when I could. The army is already here and fighting. I need you to find Andrei and tell him that I’m fine.” My eyes move to Adam. “The guards here will be going to sleep in a moment, but he will die tonight.”

  “My Lady?” Ralnor asks, sounding shocked.

  “He killed my family. I warned them that when I had him, he was mine to kill, and I’m holding to that.”

  I watch as my vines wrap around the necks of the guards, only squeezing long enough to knock them out, not with the intent to kill.

  “Go, Ralnor. Tell them that I’m alright and not to worry about me.”

  “Of course,” he murmurs, bowing to me again before stalking out of the dining room.

  I meet Adam’s furious gaze and can’t help but laugh. “Aww? What’s wrong?” I ask, a smirk firmly in place.

  “I underestimated you, it would seem,” Adam muses. “I hadn’t expected you to have really any control over your magic. I was wrong.” He tilts his head in acknowledgment. “Well played. Now, let me go, Cherish.”

  I snort a laugh. “You’re kidding right?”

  “You know I can j
ust burn these vines right off,” he states smugly.

  I give him a mocking smile. “Oh? Can you?”

  Flames appear in Adam’s hands and he maneuvers enough to hold the flames to the vines. Instead of burning like normal vines do, they stay perfectly untouched.

  “You were saying?” I taunt when the fire extinguishes from his palms and he glares at me.

  “Let me go.”

  “Now, why would I do that?” I ask as I bend over and reach under my pant leg, pulling my dagger that Andrei had given me out of the sheathe. Standing straight, I twirl the blade in my hand before pressing the tip to my index finger, holding the hilt gently.

  “You won’t kill me,” he gloats. “You don’t have the guts to do it. You’re too human.”

  “Why don’t we test that theory, huh?”

  “Incoming!” Ella appears beside me a split second before the doors burst open and a guard rushes in, sword drawn.

  Oh, come on. I glare at the guard as he stalks toward me. “You aren’t going to get in my way,” I grind out as I dodge the sword the guard swings at me, bending low. I cut the back of the guard’s knees while I’m low enough and -ignoring the surprised cry of pain- I kick out my foot, sweeping it underneath him and knocking him on his ass.

  “Damn,” Ella says, surprised. “That was pretty good. I’ve never seen you move that fast before.”

  I grin up at her. “Courtesy of Andrei’s training,” I explain before standing over the guard whose hands are holding the backs of his knees in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. “Yeah, uh, sorry about that. A healer should be able to heal that easily.”

  The guard stares at me in shock. “Y-you’re... Why not kill me?”

  I give him a nasty look. “Because I’m not your fucking King. I don’t believe that I should kill you for defending your piece of shit ruler. I’m not like the other King’s or Queen’s around here apparently.”

  I turn back to Adam who’s grown pale. “Now, you,” I growl. “You’re a whole other fucking story, you sorry piece of shit.”