I chuckled lightly. "Yes, of course. Silly me. I'm so terrible at history and geography."
Delilah chuckled too. "Understandable, dear, considering the whirlwind this journey has been for you."
"That's very true." I brought my teacup up to my lips and whispered, "I was wondering if I might ask you all a question. About your sons."
Their eyes darted around like rabbits, hopping this way and that to avoid my gaze, and making contact with each other. I had no idea what they were expecting me to ask: are your sons the bastard children of the gods? I mean, yeah, maybe I should have asked that question, but that wasn't what I was going for. Not just yet.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm going to take that as a yes." I inhaled another breath, hoping it would calm the stinging of nerves in my hands and chest. "I wonder what your thoughts are on harems. Or, reverse harems, as Ben likes to call it."
"Harems?" Bibi asked curiously. "You mean, do we enjoy being part of a harem? The answer is, undoubtedly, yes. We love each other and need each other like the air we breathe and the water we drink. We rely and depend on each other for emotional and physical strength."
I shook my head. "That's not exactly what I meant, but I'm glad to hear that you approve of them, at least."
"You mean," Francesca began, "do we approve of the king taking a harem? Because the answer is, we approve of everything our husband does."
Francesca—F equals "first wife." She was the Storm King's original companion, a barren woman who never produced a child of her own. She had a grudge against me from the moment we met, and I have no idea why. Okay, fine, I had a feeling it had something to do with my mom being added to the harem, but still.
Delilah stared at me with cunning sea green eyes. Eyes like Dan's. Eyes that could somehow ferret out the truth when others seemed to be confused. "I don't think that's what Princess Alexis meant."
"Well, do enlighten us," Francesca drawled sarcastically.
"Reverse means opposite," Bibi began, beginning to puzzle it out. "So, if a harem is a group of women for one man, then a reverse harem means..."
Ashlynn spoke up first. "You want to be with all of them."
"Out of the question!" Francesca shouted, slamming her teacup down on her saucer, chipping a triangular chuck off the bottom.
"Oh, please, Fran," my mother said with an eye roll. "You don't even have a stake in this."
"It doesn't matter," she said, thrusting her big nose into the air. "It's unheard of and inappropriate."
"If it's okay for a king," I began, feeling myself getting a bit heated, "then why not a queen?"
"You are not a queen," Francesca hissed vehemently.
"Yet." My voice was calm but lethal.
Everyone's eyes widened, but every mouth stayed shut. They were either stunned silent, or they dared not speak whatever thoughts were flitting about in their heads.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to continue talking. "I promised them that I would marry them all, and with or without your blessing, I am going to fulfill that promise. I'd just prefer to have it."
"Our husband will never approve," Delilah admitted nervously.
I simply shook my head. "I don't honestly care. I care about my guys—your sons. And I care about our kingdoms and uniting them—the right way."
"What you're talking about," Ashlynn whispered as she leaned forward, "is treason."
I leaned closer too. "Everyone knows the king is evil. What he does to you"—I glanced at each of them in turn—"is evil. He needs to be stopped. But we need a figurehead. Someone—or some group—to support instead of him. I think that your sons and I could be that group. But, when that time comes..."
I paused, questioning the sanity of this whole thing. This wasn’t exactly how I imagined the conversation going. I pictured me having a lot more inspirational shit floating out of my mouth beforehand. But, whatever. It was here now, so...
"Will you back us? When we make our move to secure the crown and unite the kingdoms fairly and justly, will you take our side?"
"Never," Francesca hissed.
She stood and scraped her chair across the cobblestones, preparing to storm off.
"Just one second, Fran," Caroline said, waving her back with a curl of her fingers. "It's time we cleaned out our closets."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" she huffed, standing firm right where she was.
"It means, we're telling the truth," Caroline replied. "About everything."
Well, my interest is piqued.
Francesca looked scared for the first time ever. "You wouldn't dare. You promised."
Caroline nodded. "But the time has come. Zacharias is getting more violent by the day. Who knows how much longer we'll be around to tell the secret?"
Fran glanced at me. "I don't trust her."
"She doesn't trust you either," Mom said. "But still she came here, trying to help."
All was silent for a few heartbeats. No one moved or even blinked. Tension was thick as butter in the air, practically smothering me, but I knew better than to speak.
"The rumors you may or may not have heard," Caroline began, "about the origin of our sons' birth—"
"Caroline," Francesca warned under her breath.
But Caroline didn't heed her warning. "They're true. Our sons are the product of intense pleading to the gods to save our lives."
Forget etiquette. My fucking mouth fell right open.
"We prayed for help," Delilah continued. "We knew if we didn't fall pregnant, we'd be killed. We wanted out of the situation, obviously, but we didn't just want to die."
"Right," Bibi added, "because this man had just crushed our kingdoms, killed our husbands and children, and taken us hostage. We wanted more than a silent death. We wanted revenge."
"And so, miraculously," Ashlynn said with a small smile, "the gods heard our plea and took pity on us."
"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia," Caroline said, naming them one by one, "all six original gods, showed up to help us."
I held up a hand to stop them as I tried to regain the function of my tongue and lips. "You mean to tell me... the Greek gods are, in fact, real? And that, they're the parents of your children?"
"I knew she couldn't be trusted," Francesca muttered.
"Oh, because she's hesitant?" Mom retorted defensively. "Because the truth is mildly insane and a little difficult to believe?"
"Peace, Katelynn," Ashlynn cooed, patting my mother's shoulder.
Caroline waited to make sure Mom, Francesca, and I were finished before continuing. "None of the deities had any sort of sexual contact with us. They simply touched our stomachs and magically put a baby in each of our wombs. Honest to gods, immaculate conception."
Wait. Each of them? I glanced at Francesca who refused to meet my gaze. She was supposed to be barren, unable to conceive children. But there were six wives and six deities who'd appeared... that couldn't have been a coincidence.
"Zeus blessed me with Calvin," Caroline said.
Delilah smiled. "And Poseidon blessed me with Daniel."
"Hades blessed me with Robert," Rosemary added.
Bibi giggled happily. "And Demeter blessed me with Benson."
I turned to the other two, waiting with bated breath.
"Hera blessed me with Asher," Ashlynn said. "She is a rather prideful goddess, though, so rather than giving him her complete power, she limited him to the ability to shift form and nothing more."
Then I turned to Francesca.
Moment of truth. Was there going to be another Storm that somehow freaking got added into our fucked-up group?
Francesca sighed and a tear slid down her cheek. "Hestia is a goddess of kindness and understanding." Her voice quivered as she spoke. "I was barren, so Zacharias was not expecting any children out of me, but she knew how much I wanted a child of my own. She blessed me with a baby too—one I didn’t carry in my womb, but in my arms—a girl that I named Tia in her honor. I didn't
dare give her the Storm surname, but instead, gave her my own: Everleigh.
“I wasn't able to keep her, though,” Francesca said in a whisper. “Zacharias would have accused me of betraying him. He would have killed her. So, I sent her away with my most trusted handmaiden. I visited them in Blackhaven a few times before my handmaid and I decided it was simply too risky for her; my Tia would be safer if she never saw me again. As much as it killed me, I said goodbye to my only child. At least that way I knew she would be safe.”
Against all odds, my heart ached for her. Though, I did take a moment to thank the gods that there wouldn't be another addition to our bond.
Tia Everleigh, a lost princess with the power of the gods. In other words, a potential ally in helping us bring the Storm King down. I had a feeling I'd need to find her. If not for her help, then at least on behalf of Francesca. I didn't owe the old bitch any favors, but I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do. They deserved to be reunited.
"Thank you for sharing the truth with me," I said, touching each of their hands as I smiled. "But my question still remains: will you back us when the time comes?"
One by one, the yeses filtered in, until all that was left was Mom and Fran.
"Of course I'll support you, baby girl," Mom said, wrapping me up in her arms.
Then, there was only one.
"Before you decide," I said, pulling out of Mom's hug and turning to Francesca. "I want you to know that I'm going to find Tia, and I'm going to make sure she knows you're her mother and that you love her. I'm going to bring her back."
More tears welled in Francesca's eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "It's unsafe for her."
"Not if the Storm King is gone." I smiled, assuring her.
She shook her head. "I can't make any promises. If you amass enough followers to win, then I’ll join you. But if you don’t get enough allies, or if Zacharias finds out your plan, I’ll have no choice but to stay at his side."
That response was actually better than I was hoping for.
"Fair enough. I'll take it."
I finally relaxed enough to take a sip of my tea, only find myself interrupted by Rochelle.
"Excuse me, Your Highnesses," she said, bowing low, "but Miss Alexis has a history lesson with Professor Samson now."
"Of course, of course!" Caroline said, smiling wide and brushing me away with her hands. "It was lovely to see you again, dear."
Mom stood and pulled me into one last hug. "I don't know if I'll see you again before you leave," she whispered. "Just know that I love you."
I swear I heard: I don’t know if I'll ever see you again. Period.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tightened my hold on our embrace, never wanting to let her go. "I love you too, Mom. Stay strong for me. I'm going to fix all this, I swear."
"I'll be praying for your safety." She kissed my hair and let me go.
I considered making some snide remark about how the gods didn't give a fuck. But now that I knew that they sometimes listened to prayers and that the guys were actually demigods, not just some remnant of an age-old bloodline—like what I'd inherited—it got me thinking.
If the king didn't have powers of his own, how the hell was he so much stronger than they were? And why couldn't they kill him?
Chapter 6
As Professor Samson droned on and on about Eristan, Rubio, Valinor, and Werewood, I damn near died of boredom.
It made me think of an old Greek myth, the one where Hermes literally bored the guy covered in eyeballs to his death. I suddenly wondered if Samson was one of Hermes's descendants.
I forced my eyes to stay ajar and fought off a yawn. I'd just been asleep for half a month, how the hell could I possibly be so listless just by listening to his dull-ass voice?
"And that's how Valinor and Werewood successfully avoided the Sohsol Apocalypse," Professor Samson declared blandly.
I glanced up at the old man and noticed he looked seriously annoyed. His lips were set in a thin line, and his wrinkled eyes were narrowed. "Did you hear a single word I said this entire lecture, Princess Alexis?"
I turned to Criss and shot him an "I'm in trouble" expression.
Apparently, the Storm King felt it'd do his newest son some good to have the same training as me. While we had different etiquette teachers, we shared the rest of our classes. Criss had taken notes on every word the old professor uttered, a look of concentration and eagerness on his handsome face.
Chrissen chuckled and lifted his notebook. "Don't worry, Professor. I took notes. I'll make sure she studies with me."
Samson shook his head and muttered, "I don't get paid enough for this shit."
That earned a giggle from me. "I'm sorry, Professor. I've just had a lot on my mind since I woke up."
He took a deep breath and nodded. "Understandably so, Your Highness. Why don't you two cut out early? It's almost lunch time, anyway."
He didn't have to tell me twice. I was up and scurrying off before Chrissen even completely registered his words. The newest prince had to jog to catch up to me.
"Hades, you're in a hurry," he commented. "Where are you going?"
I shrugged as I held up my skirts. "I don't know. The stables? I just didn't want to stay and get sucked into another gods-awful lecture. I'm not sure I could survive it."
"Are you always this dramatic?" he asked with a grin.
"No. I just hate history. It's so freaking boring."
A twinkle lit up his hazel eyes with mirth. "History is fascinating."
"I have a feeling you and Prince Benson would get along great."
He chuckled and rubbed his buzzed head. I wondered if he used to play with his longer hair a lot when he was nervous. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I shook my head. "Just that he enjoys stuff like that too."
"Boring stuff?"
"You said it, not me," I said, smiling wide.
"You seriously hate history that much?"
I glanced at him and decided to reply with sarcasm. "No way! It's my favorite class of all, even beating out etiquette and magic training."
His face paled a bit. "Don't remind me."
I raised a brow. "About the etiquette or the magic training?"
"The training." He shook his head. "How am I supposed to practice with something I don't have?"
"I wouldn't worry about it," I assured him. "I couldn't access any of my powers for the first few weeks, and no one thought I was faking it."
"Yeah, but I am kind of faking this whole thing, you know? I'm never going to be able to wield the healing magic everyone thinks I have."
I shrugged. "Then all you can do is survive the training for a day. We'll be gone by tomorrow, anyway, and it won't even matter."
He scratched his buzzed hair and sighed. "I suppose that's true."
"I like your haircut, by the way," I said, being honest.
I'd never been one to salivate over long locks on men. I preferred the well-kept look with the perfectly trimmed stubble. My princes had me so deliciously spoiled.
His cheeks flushed a gentle pink as his hand skimmed over the fuzz. "Yeah? Well, thank you. I appreciate the compliment."
"No problem."
There was silence for a moment as we rounded a corner and started down a smaller hallway toward one of the side doors.
"So..." Chrissen began timidly, as if he were struggling to find things to talk about. "What do you think about this quest we have to go on? Or these dignitaries showing up this evening?"
I shot Criss a knowing glance and whispered, "I think we need to complete the quest as quickly as possible and that we need to impress the dignitaries as best we can. Pretend we're the ones making the allies, not the Storm King, because... we kind of are."
He lowered his voice even further. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, it's time somebody took a stand against my beloved father-in-law. And those somebodies are us."
"What?" he hissed. "Are you crazy? Do you want to get our mothers
killed?"
I jabbed him in the ribs, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
"No, you idiot," I grumbled. "But we're all going to end up dead if he remains on the throne for much longer. Something has to be done, and we're the ones with the power to evoke change. We just need to make a stand and give the people something to get behind, something to believe in."
He pursed his lips and furrowed his brows. "When?"
"Not, like, now." I shook my head, realizing he must have thought I was in a damned hurry or something. "Maybe after we find the Eye of the Sea—whatever the hell that is. I don't know. I haven't even had a chance to talk to the guys about this yet. It's something I thought about in etiquette lessons."
He snickered. "Of course you'd be daydreaming about overthrowing a monarch instead of learning a proper curtsey."
I scoffed. "As if you know me. Besides, I had my daydreams and I still learned my curtsies, thank you very fucking much."
I didn’t know why, but he was a lot like Cal in that way: he had no trouble bringing out the feisty side of me. It instantly made me think of Rob and how mean he'd been, though, which then made me feel guilty as hell for being rude.
I sighed. "I'm sorry, Criss. I didn't mean to tell you off just then."
He shrugged. "I didn't think you said anything wrong."
"Yeah, but you've been taking a lot of shit from the guys lately. You don't need it from me too. So, I apologize."
He shot me a lopsided grin that highlighted his dimpled chin and cheek. "I insist, there's nothing to forgive. I was actually having fun bantering with you."
"Oh. Well, good." I smiled. At least he wasn't overly sensitive.
"As for me not knowing you, though" he continued, striding beside me as we pushed through a side door and onto the lawn, "we should probably fix that. I mean, since we're stuck together, we should probably get to know one another. Right?"
"Right," I agreed. "But not just me. You need to get to know the guys too."
Criss groaned and somehow made it sound graceful, almost as if he'd been a prince all his life. "They hate me, Alexis. Getting to know them is going to be difficult and probably painful."
I couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll try to help keep them... open minded."
Storm Chaser (Storms of Blackwood Book 3) Page 4