It was quiet for long, tense moments as all of us continued to read the articles online. Lots and lots of articles. All on gossip sites and in forums. Plenty of speculative chatter was already starting in the comments.
Lord Cato stood slowly from his chair and placed his phone in his pocket. He turned and stared at the other man. His voice was quiet. . . Oh, so quiet. “You had a relationship with my daughter?”
Lord Otto snorted, still scrolling and reading on his screen. He mumbled, “For seven years, it looks like. If these are all correct.”
Lord Pippin stopped walking and turned to face my father. His jaw clenched again. He didn’t speak, only glared death daggers at my father.
Lord Cato’s lips curved up at the edges. It wasn’t a pleasant smile. “Ah. I think you did.” His head tipped to the side. “And you think I’m the reason she’s the Black Widow.”
What the hell was the Black Widow?
Didn’t matter right now. We had an issue. The articles stated Lord Pippin had given me special treatment during my Challenges because of a past relationship we’d had—many, many correct facts given on our time as a couple. Including him leaving me for the crown and my unplanned need for a Rest afterward.
But apparently, it did matter to Lord Pippin. He growled, “Who the fuck else would kill every single one of her previous lovers? You’re the only family she has left. And Adelie was too much of a marshmallow to order killings as brutal as that.”
All right. Now I cared about the Black Widow.
I tossed Harmony’s phone onto her lap and held up a hand. “Hold on a moment. Are you telling me I have a moniker? The Black Widow? And are you saying all the men I’ve had sex with didn’t die from natural accidents?”
Lord Xenon turned his dark eyes in my direction. “You cannot be that naïve.”
I sat back and yanked the crown off my head, and placed it on my desk, thinking. “Some of their deaths were untimely, but they didn’t happen right after a breakup. Some of their deaths didn’t occur for hundreds of years afterward.”
“A true predator is patient,” Lord Xenon expounded.
Lord Pippin started pacing again.
With a sip of blood from his glass, Lord Belshazzar stated, “The articles are hearsay, at best. Neither one of you has admitted to the relationship yet.” Black brows rose, his gaze uninterested. “Did it actually occur?”
I glanced at Lord Pippin, my mouth shut tight.
His brown eyes met mine under thick lashes.
Neither one of us spoke up.
“Well?” Lord Otto asked. “We’re waiting.”
Lord Cato snorted. “Just look at them. They look guilty as sin.” My father pointed a finger straight at me. “How the hell did you manage to keep this a secret?”
“Not really a secret anymore,” Lord Otto grumbled.
“Not helping,” Lord Cato hissed. Then he marched straight up to my desk and leaned his hands on it, ignoring my silent assistant sitting next to him. His brown eyes peered hard into mine. “Are the articles true?”
“I gave her no special treatment during her Challenges,” Lord Pippin rumbled instantly behind him, his shiny shoes still tearing up the carpet. “As you didn’t either.”
My father glanced over his shoulder, watching him walk back and forth. “I wasn’t talking to you. And that is not what I’m asking about.”
“Who I’ve had relationships with is none of your business,” I snapped. I stood and faced the man who had created me. I slashed a furious hand through the air. “Quit acting like my father. You never have been, and you never will be.”
Silence. Complete silence.
Lord Cato’s mouth quirked up on one side. His voice was quiet. Patient. “You’re wrong on all those accounts, darling.” Then he pushed off the desk, and his tone changed. All business-like. “But what we need to know is if the articles are true about your relationship with Lord Pippin. If they are, we have PR and security issues to handle. Do you understand, your majesty?”
Lord Pippin’s eyes caught mine.
Reluctantly, he gave a slight nod.
I sighed and sat back down, leaning on my chair with a heavy body. I rubbed at my forehead, muttering quietly, “Yes, Lord Pippin and I were in a relationship before he was crowned king.”
Lord Xenon asked for clarification. “A sexual relationship?”
“Yes.” My teeth clenched.
“Was it serious?” Lord Belshazzar asked.
To anyone in the room, Lord Belshazzar appeared bored. Unaffected. Even I couldn’t tell if he gave a damn.
Lord Pippin tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling. Finally, he answered for both of us. “Yes, it was.”
My father’s brows scrunched. “How serious?”
Lord Pippin and I glanced at one another again.
So many memories flashed through my mind.
So many loving moments. So much happiness.
All brushed aside for the crown.
“It was just serious,” I whispered, my heart hammering inside my chest. “That’s really all you need to know.”
Lord Xenon waved his hand between the two of us. “Are you two back in this relationship now?”
Lord Otto tapped his phone on his knee. “They were both late this morning and came in together.”
Lord Belshazzar grunted, with his eyes on his glass. He gently continued to swirl the remaining blood in the flute around and around, staring down into the crimson liquid.
Lord Pippin shook his head. “We are not in a relationship right now, nor have we had any sexual relations since she woke from her Rest.”
“But you’ve had private moments.” It wasn’t a question. Lord Belshazzar glanced up at him. His ice blue eyes didn’t waver from the other Overlord. “Were any of these caught on camera and could they be used against her?”
I shook my head instantly, drawing his attention. “We only spoke privately when I first arrived at the stronghold. And once during a Challenge—but that was actually part of the Challenge, I guess. And none were outside of the royal floor.” I cleared my throat, keeping my expression blank. “Anything else after that was behind closed doors.”
Lord Belshazzar nodded his head. Slowly. “So no cameras?”
“No cameras.”
He went back to spinning the liquid in his glass.
I dropped my head into my hands, my elbows digging into the wood as I leaned heavily on them. I closed my eyes and muttered, “Harmony, who did this?”
My assistant stated calmly, “I’m one hundred percent positive it was Athena Insteia. After you killed her mother at the Blood Rite, she started private inquiries about you. She even tried to track me down. I know for a fact that she managed to find the two-hundred-year-old paper trail to your and Lord Pippin’s home. After that, it would have been just a matter of finding a vampire who lived in the same area at that time and paying them enough money to talk.”
I kept my eyes closed. “We used false names.”
We’d wanted privacy. Our privacy.
Anonymity was precious.
She chuckled quietly and patted the top of my head. “You disappeared for seven years, your majesty. Back then, it would have been near impossible to track your whereabouts, but now we live in the digital age. And you’re the daughter of an Overlord. Did you think no one would notice?”
“False. Names.” I ground my teeth together.
She snorted. “Perhaps try names that aren’t so obvious next time?”
I peeked up at her. “They were fine names.”
Lord Pippin glared right at me. “I told you we should have changed our last names too.”
“Why?” My attention turned to him. The old argument…still old. But now with a new twist. “Did either one of us foresee this happening? Oh, that’s right. You did. You knew I was nicknamed Black Widow. Maybe you should have said something about that.”
His red eyebrows lifted and his tone was droll. “I’m sure that conversation would h
ave gone over great.”
“Coward,” I muttered.
“Do you have any idea what you’re like when you’re mad at someone? When you were pissed at me, you made me sleep outside. Outside, Gwen. Even if it was fucking raining.”
“You could have found a hovel to sleep in,” I argued. I lifted a finger. “And that only happened once. Don’t bring that shit up. Or did you forget about the time you thought I’d left our chickens out—”
Lord Xenon threw his hands up into the air, cutting off my righteous tirade. “Enough. Just…enough.”
Lord Otto snorted, sneering right at me. “Actually, let’s allow them to continue. We should all hear about the great chicken debacle while our people are going crazy believing their new Queen was crowned because she spread her legs for our resident ginger playboy.”
My mouth snapped shut. Asshole.
Harmony snickered softly, utterly tickled.
I cast a glance at her. She shut up.
Lord Pippin stiffened. “I really don’t appreciate the way you’re talking about us. Our relationship was not like that. We’ve already said as much.”
“This is going to be a PR nightmare and undermine the Queen’s authority until it’s handled—if we can even handle it,” Lord Otto shot back. “And really, do you expect me to believe you, of all people, were actually committed to someone? You’d fuck any hole if it were lubricated properly.”
My eyebrows snapped together. “You. Are. An. Asshole.”
Lord Pippin charged him, his fangs bared.
Lord Xenon slid between them, pressing his hands against Lord Pippin’s chest and shoving him back. “Not the time. Control yourself.”
I picked up a book on my desk and chucked it right at the back of Lord Otto’s head. Lord Pippin might be detained but I sure as hell wasn’t. The projectile smacked Lord Otto’s head with a satisfying thump.
The room went mute.
Oh. Oh…
Shit.
I had struck an Overlord.
It might not have been exactly legal.
Lord Otto deliberately swiveled around and bent at the knees, picking up my book from the floor. He straightened and lifted the volume in front of his face. He grunted. “It’s a lot heavier than it looks.”
The Overlord tossed it onto my desk.
I stared down at it and cleared my throat. I pushed the book back into place where it had been. “I think we need to focus.”
With a smirk gracing his lips, Lord Otto questioned, “And not throw shit like a child?”
I cleared my throat again. “Yes, that too.”
He snorted. “Apology accepted, your majesty.”
Lord Belshazzar typed on his phone, yawning as he spoke. “I’m scheduling a press conference for tonight. We’ll all need to be there backing the two ex-love bunnies, but Lord Pippin and the Queen need to speak on the facts. We want to face this head on before it gets out of control.”
“Good plan,” Lord Cato stated.
“Harmony, you need to draft a speech for me,” I stated, already pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil. “I’ll give you the details of where we lived and how long we were together.”
“And why you two ended things,” she added quietly, keeping her tone respectful, yet kind. “The press will want to know that too.”
My lips thinned, but I nodded. I tossed her my phone, muttering, “Put your contact info in there. I have other assignments I want to give you.”
She nodded, doing as I’d ordered.
I started writing the pertinent facts down.
Lord Otto coughed loudly, gaining everyone’s attention. “I know I’m the dick of the group, but I’d like to keep everyone alive. The Queen is known as the Black Widow, and, if whoever is killing off her ex-lovers doesn’t handle this news well, it would be better to be in a location where they can’t immediately reach Lord Pippin.”
The Overlord in question started pacing again.
“You want to move up the trip to Cape Argent, don’t you?” I queried. “That makes sense.”
No vampires could even enter the stronghold without an invitation from Master Niallan. The Original druid amulet wouldn’t allow it thanks to a spell he put on it years ago.
Lord Otto shrugged his shoulders. “It’s only a day early, but it would work to keep him safe.”
“Master Niallan won’t like the change of plans,” Lord Belshazzar mumbled, still working on his phone, his gaze on his screen. “So my vote is for it.”
Lord Xenon snorted. “Who’s going to tell him the news?”
I blinked. “Harmony will.”
“What?” she hissed.
I held her gaze, unflinching in my intensity. “Call it your punishment, instead of me firing you on your first day. If you had contacted us as soon as you knew about Athena’s plans, this situation could have been averted. I know you’re used to working on your own, but you fucked up. You need to know when you’re beaten and when to call in reinforcements.”
Harmony’s eyes were large behind her glasses.
“Do you understand?” I asked patiently.
The killer-spy nodded her head. Stunned.
I pointed a finger at my door. “You can go. Take care of business with Master Niallan. I’ll send you a scan of my notes as soon as I’m done with them.”
Harmony left much quieter than she’d arrived.
Absently, Lord Pippin muttered, “You handled that well.” His feet kept moving as he paced and stared down at his shoes. Though, he detoured and sat down on my desk, his back to everyone else. His troubled brown eyes captured mine. He rumbled, “This is a damn mess.”
I patted his knee. “You obviously knew what you were getting yourself into.” I wiggled my fingers at him. “Black Widow and all.”
Lord Pippin snorted. “Yeah. Yeah, I did know what I was getting in to.” He ran his fingers through his red hair. “Didn’t stop me though, did it?”
“You didn’t stand a chance.” I waved a hand up and down my body, fluttering my lashes at him like a minx. “No one can resist my charm.”
His lips trembled. “You forget I’ve seen you knee deep in shit before. You reeked for a week.”
I laughed outright, my amusement booming inside the room. “Oh, my god! I’d forgotten about that. That wanderer can come into town—”
“Are you two positive you’re not starting your relationship back up?” Lord Xenon cut me off, his voice raised. I peeked around Lord Pippin’s body to look at our questioner. His black eyes didn’t blink. “This is something we need to know.”
“No, we aren’t,” I stated immediately.
“She’s correct. We aren’t,” Lord Pippen remarked, still keeping his back to their group. His brown eyes lowered to mine, and he spoke softly, “But we’ll eventually be friends again. It’ll take time.”
I stared, my smile small. “Yes, it will.”
Lord Belshazzar flicked a finger between the two of us, his eyes still on his screen. “You two should probably cut that shit out then. It could be construed as flirting. If you do that in front of the media, they’ll eat you alive, and the press conference will be for nothing.”
I scratched my nose. “All right.”
Lord Belshazzar’s ice blue eyes peeked up from his phone, hard and cold. He lifted a black brow. He tossed his gaze to the Overlord’s back, then back at me. “Practice makes perfect.”
My eyelashes hooded my gaze. I spoke sweetly, “Of course, my lord.” I turned my attention away from him and placed my hand on Lord Pippin’s knee again. “Go on and sit in your chair. Or keep pacing. I think we’re done walking down memory lane right now.”
The Overlord was upset.
He was just an expert at hiding it.
Lord Belshazzar sighed heavily. “For fuck’s sake, do not touch him during the press conference either.”
I snatched my hand back from Lord Pippin’s heated knee. I hadn’t even noticed I’d done that.
Lord Pippin snorted, humor lig
hting his gaze. “Maybe I should do the talking with the media. We’ll put you in the back.”
I shooed my right hand at him. “Hush. Off with you now, my lord.” I picked up my pencil and twirled it in my fingers to keep my hand from wandering where it shouldn’t. I stared down at the paper before me. “I have to fix this shit. In a hurry.”
Chapter Eleven
~ Gwynnore ~
“You two are not sitting next to each other ever again,” Lord Cato snipped. He snapped his fingers at Lord Pippin and me and stood over us inside the private jet. “One of you, vacate your seat. I’m taking it.”
My chuckle was soft. “The press conference wasn’t that bad.”
Lord Xenon dropped onto the leather seat directly across from me. “You have to be jesting. The thing ran over by an hour. Neither one of you would shut up.”
Lord Pippin’s lips trembled, and his eyes danced with delighted humor. “We can’t help they liked our jokes.”
Lord Cato ground his teeth together. “The simple fact that you two made any jokes during that media frenzy still astounds me.” His eyes narrowed. “I swear, the world now wants you together. You’re the please-Lord-let-it-happen ‘it’ couple. They’re already shouting for royal babies. It’s fucking ridiculous.”
I kept laughing, enjoying his dismay. “Stay up all night reading blogs?”
My father peered down his nose at me. “No.”
Liar.
“The Queen’s reputation is now even better than before. They handled it very well. No one can say they didn’t. Crisis averted.” Lord Belshazzar strolled down the aisle of the plane, heading in our direction. He stopped next to my father and stared into his eyes. He lifted an expectant black brow. “Even if some of us are sleep deprived.”
Lord Cato snapped his mouth shut, and his black brows creased. “Perhaps I am tired.” He stopped hovering and took a seat next to Lord Xenon. He groused quietly, “I may be grumpier than I’d thought.”
“We hadn’t noticed.” I snickered quietly behind my right fist.
My father’s brown eyes narrowed.
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