Extol of Agnatic Dreams (The Extol Series Book 1)

by Jennifer R. Kenny

  Evangeline’s eyes were wide with understanding. “You knew?” Kyleigh nodded, awkwardly looking down at the ground. She wasn’t ashamed of her actions but disappointed that it needed to be exposed like this. “Do my parents know?” Evangeline demanded. The stabs of betrayal happened before Kyleigh could even answer her.

  “No. It isn’t something we discuss. It is very dangerous to talk about.” Kyleigh looked around for guards but it seemed they were safe. Of course, some were very aware of the Braykith curse while others could not be trusted. It was difficult but somehow they made it all work.

  For a brief second, Evangeline considered making another run for it. She could see that Kyleigh and Glais were more relaxed, believing that she was calming down and more submissive. If Evangeline could get to the stables, then she might have a chance of getting back to Crimah. Tempest was fast and brave. They wouldn’t need to stick to the roads.

  As if reading her thoughts, Glais’ hand clamped down on her shoulder. “You need a bath Evangeline, and then we can have a discussion.” Evangeline looked at him and Glais had never been treated with such venom in a single look. He lowered his hand but she simply turned to see him more fully than before. It was intimidating but he never expected her to do what she did next.

  Evangeline gathered her hair in her hands and pulled it away from her neck. Stretching it to show off the marks that adorned her throat in the slowly rising sun, Evangeline stood and dared him to witness what he had done. “What is the matter Glais? Do you not like admiring your own damages?” she sneered, dropping her hair back to where it belonged.

  “No.” Evangeline blinked at the sound of his voice. He seemed drained, tired and soulless. Of all the emotions he had given her since her arrival she had never heard him so defeated before. It made her sober up from her gloating, although it was still a long while before she could forgive him in any kind of meaningful way.

  It was fatigue that drew him back now. Glais had spent the night pacing his rooms and finally speaking at length with his parents. They knew about all of it, the way she had found him and that Luella had been denied her demand for Evangeline to be dismissed. He told his parents how he had come to her room and attacked her. Not just attacked but made sure it would hurt her when he did it. Glais was a flurry of pain and emotionally disfigured in her presence, and Evangeline had been the unlucky one.

  He had not made such a mistake since he was a young boy, and to do so now was not only embarrassing but very dangerous for all concerned. His father had made it very clear on his disappointment, and Glais could only begin to make it ok with both his parents and his fiancé. “Evangeline, please come inside.”

  Glais turned and returned to the castle. Kyleigh watched Evangeline, and the guards were tense waiting for orders from their Queen. It was obvious to Evangeline that it would take too long to get Tempest in her riding gear. Glais leaving was the confirmation she needed to know that she was not going to be leaving Braykith like this. She had very little choice in her movements now and defeat was evident.

  Doing the only real thing she could do, she followed behind Glais at a small distance. Kyleigh brought up the rear, the Queen holding her skirts up delicately as she ascended the stairs behind Evangeline. Kyleigh was sure that in time Evangeline would come to accept the things she could not change in her husband. Perhaps she could believe that there was some kind of understanding about Glais’ curse. The desire for blood was within them and there was nothing to be done except to accept and be supportive as they struggled.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Evangeline was taken to her room but when Glais attempted to follow her inside she slammed the door on him. She wasn’t ready to deal with him yet and she needed more time to actually digest what she did need. As if she summoned them Teagan and Viviana were waiting for her in the sitting room.

  “Oh my, Eva, what happened to you?” Teagan exclaimed as Viviana came over and grabbed her jaw in her hands. She tried to exam her neck but Evangeline pulled back from her grasp.

  “I can’t talk about it yet. Viv, can you run me a bath?” She asked her friend, who nodded and disappeared to get the water ready. “Is Wick here?” she asked Teagan, suddenly aware that she hadn’t seen her at all. Considering she seemed to be wrongfully attached to these rooms, it was suddenly eerie to find her missing.

  Teagan shook her head. “I haven’t seen her. We came looking for you. Glais’ mother said you weren’t feeling well but then I noticed you and Glais were both missing from the dinner. I was almost sure that you had disappeared together.” She looked guilty for every thinking such a thing when it was clear that Evangeline had not been doing the things that Teagan thought she was. “Did Glais do that to you?” she asked.

  Evangeline swallowed hard. “I’ll tell you all about it once the bath is done. I don’t want to say anything twice.”

  Teagan nodded. “Are you aware your dress is on backwards?”

  Evangeline looked down at herself and sighed. “No. I wasn’t really looking at what I was doing while getting dressed.” She started to undress but Teagan gently slapped her hands away and started doing it for her. Teagan had been dressing and undressing Evangeline since she was a child. She made faster work of the buttons then Evangeline could ever hope to manage on her own.

  The bath was assembled quickly and Evangeline slipped into the water and let her head sink under the water. The eerie quiet helped her. It wouldn’t last long and already she was feeling the familiar ache in her lungs for a new breath but she held out as long as she dared. As soon as she started speaking she knew that she never would stop. Not just while she sorted out her own feelings but Teagan and Viviana would have their own questions.

  Coming up, Evangeline got comfortable. It was almost like old times. She lifted her hand out of the water. Teagan took it and started cleaning her nails carefully. Viviana began working on her hair. She wanted to get it away from the wound so she could clean it properly. Untangling it had become such a chore since Evangeline was banned from piling it up on her head.

  Now she knew the reason for the rule. The girls keeping their hair long and out allowed them to hide the bite marks. It disgusted Evangeline that this was so deep in their everyday lives and yet remained mysterious to her. Part of her was tempted to cut all of her hair off, to display the puncture marks so Glais couldn’t hide but deep down she simply was not so vindictive to challenge him so openly.

  “Glais bit me.” Evangeline said it for the second time and it still felt as weird as the first.

  “Like a love bite?” Teagan asked, not looking up from cleaning under Evangeline’s nails.

  “This does not look like a love bite,” Viviana said slowly as she gently wiped at the side of her neck. Evangeline winced and Viviana apologised but she did not stop. “Eva, did you let him do this?”

  “I didn’t realise what was happening until it was done,” She assured her friend. Evangeline could never imagine allowing Glais to do this to her. Certainly not the way he had done it last night. “At the dinner, I saw him disappear with Luella.”

  “Who?” Teagan interrupted.

  Evangeline forgot that there was so much about Glais that she had never gotten a chance to speak with them about. Mainly she was too embarrassed to say just how many girls were active with her apparent betrothed. “Luella is one of the girls he has been with. She is the most vocal about who he prefers. When I found them together, she told me to leave but Glais dismissed her instead. I am sure she is making him pay for that still.” She would not feel sorry for whatever became of that relationship.

  “We fought of course.” Evangeline could see the hope Teagan had for better gossip but it simply did not exist. “It was impossible to find him in such a manner with anyone, and still be civil. I tried, and spectacularly failed by the way Teagan, to convince Glais to sleep with me.”

  “The man is a fool.” Teagan defended Evangeline, and even Viviana gave an affirmative grunt of response. Evangeline could not be sure if
she agreed with Teagan or if the whole thing was embarrassing but Evangeline knew she had both of their support. Spending time with Wick had made Evangeline realise what a chatterbox her friend Viviana could be. “So what happened?” Teagan dug for answers, while Evangeline was still uncertain if she wished to speak further on it.

  “We fought, he told me to leave and so I did. I was embarrassed and angry about the whole situation. I couldn’t understand what did these girls do for him that I couldn’t. I came to my room to be alone. Glais followed me, let himself in and came to the bed.” Evangeline felt Teagan move forward slightly in the gossip, clearly forgetting how this story ended. “The moments before he attacked me were kind of sweet,” Evangeline confessed.

  She didn’t want Teagan or Viviana to get the wrong idea, however. “Confusing as well because I didn’t know what to do or what he meant to do to me. I had never been alone with anyone in such a way before. But it didn’t stay that way. He was one way and then entirely different the next. Pinning me down and fighting my head to the side. He…” Evangeline stopped, emotion blocking her throat and silencing her story. “I felt him sucking on my neck.” She struggled to speak, reliving the moment. “I started to pass out. I woke up with aches all over and blood.”

  “Did you tell anyone?” Viviana asked.

  “I burnt the dress I had been wearing.” It seemed like Teagan was going to interrupt so Evangeline offered an answer before she could. “It was ruined and I needed it to be gone.” Teagan nodded, seeming to understand. “I had attempted to get dressed. I just wanted to go home but I barely made it out the main doors to the castle before Glais was upon me.”

  “There is a guard at your door,” Viviana said.

  “There is?” Evangeline couldn’t remember seeing one. She couldn’t recall if there was one there now.

  Viviana nodded even though Evangeline couldn’t see her. “When we arrived he told us that you were not here and we said we would wait. He didn’t argue with us but we found it odd since there hadn’t been anyone stationed outside your rooms when we first got here.”

  “Glais must have done it after he attacked me.” Evangeline could only guess but it seemed plausible. It was no mere coincidence that Glais would attack her like this and suddenly guards were watching her every move. He was keeping spies on her to monitor her movements, to ensure she didn’t tell anyone anything she shouldn’t. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

  “What makes you so sure?” Teagan asked, finally moving to her next hand on the other side of the bath.

  “This is a secret kept from the general public. Kyleigh knows of it, and the way she speaks of it I have to guess that Quintus is also cursed. These women Glais has been letting me see, I believed he was sleeping with them but now I think they feed him.”

  Teagan dropped her hand and it slid back into the water. “Feed him?” She grabbed up Evangeline’s hand from the bathtub and resumed her work. “I thought he bit you.”

  “He bit me and drained me of my blood.” Evangeline turned to look at Viviana, looking for her support.

  “I agree with Evangeline. Apparently he is feeding. Suckling on her blood as a baby would suckle their mothers breast. He gains something from it, although I will not begin to guess what that is.” Evangeline returned to her original position, glad that someone saw this as she did.

  “I do not know if Baxter is the same way. Glais wants to discuss it but I am not ready for such conversations about this with him. It is not a new occurrence. The rules concerning the women and their hair make it clear this has been around in Braykith for a long time.” Teagan yawned, and soon Viviana echoed her. “How much have you slept?” Evangeline asked.

  “I slept some. Teagan was…” Viviana’s explanation trailed off and Evangeline sat up straighter. “Teagan stayed at dinner after I left for bed.”

  Teagan was studiously looking down at Evangeline’s nails but she couldn’t stay that way. Finally, she sighed and rolled her eyes as Viviana an Evangeline both continued to study her. “I was with Baxter. We took a walk around the garden and that is all.”

  “That is all?” Evangeline asked, prodding for more information. She knew her friend Teagan well and knew what she considered friendly behaviour if the man was willing.

  “That is all. He speaks about you heavily, Evangeline. Keeping his mind on other topics was tough. Seems everything in Braykith leads back to you Eva.” Teagan did not sound pleased as she spoke to Evangeline’s hand. She was avoiding making eye contact with either of her friends. H”e clearly loves you.”

  “And he clearly is not my husband.” It frustrated Evangeline to hear about Baxter speaking about her like this. It would also take some time before Teagan realised that Baxter was only using her to find out more about Evangeline. Until that happened Teagan would answer everything and anything about her in an effort to keep his attention.

  Feeling better after the bath, Evangeline rose out of it with their assistance and they started the drying process on her hair. She didn’t tell Viviana about the hair drying technique Wick used. She didn’t feel like sitting there while they fussed with the heated stones. She could see that Teagan and Viviana were heavy on their feet and it seemed cruel to keep them awake longer than she should be.

  “Braid my hair Viviana.” Evangeline directed her while Teagan found something less formal for Evangeline to wear. It was a hard thing to find in her current wardrobe.

  “Are you sure that is a good idea?” Viviana was not a fan of breaking the rules for any cause even this one.

  “You should sleep and we all know how long it takes to dry. I am sure I am safe here and Wick will return soon.” Evangeline could not believe that Wick was somehow being detained somewhere against her will. It seemed that from whatever shared past Wick had with Glais that she was given some special treatment that no others were given. She now suspected that it was because she knew about the curse.

  “I am unusually tired,” Teagan said, presenting Evangeline with clothes. They started the process of layering the undergarments and then the dresses that belonged over the top to pull the look together. Even though she didn’t expect to be leaving her rooms for the rest of the day, Evangeline knew that she would be forced to dress formally regardless of her plans. There simply was nothing more to offer.

  “I know that Kyleigh serves breakfast in about an hour but I cannot stomach it. I will come to your rooms with lunch.” Evangeline decided and both girls agreed with her. Dressed, a bow tied around her waist to force shapes that did not belong, Evangeline supposed this was the best she would be able to do today.

  “I did your hair like this for a distinct reason Evangeline,” Viviana said, securing the ends with a length of leather which was kept for just this purpose. She laid her hair over her shoulder and it did hide the marks on her neck quite well. “If someone should come to the door, pull it forward. Do not cause more harm than good.”

  Evangeline thanked her quietly. “I will, I promise.” She smiled because from the look of Viviana’s face it really did seem like she didn’t believe her when Evangeline made this promise. “You should go. I will come when the sun is high. I am sure Glais will force me to have a discussion with him before then and I shall update you correctly on the castle’s various rumours.” Before Teagan could beg to hear them now, Viviana showed her out the door and left Evangeline to ponder her own thoughts.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Evangeline should have needed her friends but she still required time to digest this sudden development and she couldn’t do that with Teagan and Viviana around. Worse still, she needed to collect up the nerves so she would be able to speak with Glais. She sat and pulled the plate over and started tearing up the bread with her fingers, eating pieces but barely tasting it. Clearly this was not an isolated incident. If she were to check the necks of the girls who he paraded around her, Evangeline was certain that she would find scars and new cuts on their flesh. This would not change. There was no end in sight, and sh
e should decide on her stance now before they shared a bed as married man and wife.

  Would he demand her blood and her body? Did he routinely mix the two, or was that individually decided by the girl he was with? Clearly from what she had seen of him with Luella, there was passion between them. There had almost been passion between herself and Glais before he decided the horror would be better serving over physical love. She had so many questions and yet Evangeline was afraid to hear the answers. She did not dare risk making him mad, and yet who could she speak with about this?

  The answer was obvious and Evangeline felt foolish for not realising sooner. Wick knew Glais from when he was a child. She would know more of this strange behaviour then almost anyone in the castle. For all their tensions, Evangeline believed she could coax the girl into speaking should she ask about this. It was just too important for Wick to remember to stay silent.

  Going to her door, she opened it just enough to see the guard stationed outside her rooms. She was sure that her hair was covering her neck as Viviana suggested: “I wish to see Wick.”

  The guard rose his eyebrow at her. “I answer to the King and his son. Not to a woman.”

  The sneer was evident; however, Evangeline ignored it. It was the first thing she had become accustomed to here at Braykith. Being a woman gave her microscopic power and here even the lowest of men outranked her needs. “Then I shall leave it to you then to explain to the King why my hair is in such a design and against his explicit rules.” Suddenly she was inspired, Viviana’s hair design was the perfect excuse.

  The guard seemed to consider what was the best way to move forward in this and ultimately he knew the King would indeed be upset if he knew that Evangeline was without the resources she needed. Finally, he sighed and shuffled off. He hated taking orders from a woman but he really did not see how else he could argue her point.