Malicious King
Book Six in the Territorial Mates Series
By
Mary E. Twomey
Copyright © 2020 Mary E. Twomey
Cover Art by Emcat Designs
All rights reserved.
First Edition: March 2020
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
For information:
http://www.maryetwomey.com
DEDICATION
For Jason,
Who gets me out of tight spots
when I’m smart enough to call on him.
Chapter One
Corsets
Adeline
I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?
“Does the corset need to be that tight?” Lilya asks my sister, chewing on her nail.
Lilya, not Queen Lilya. I’m still not fully used to dropping her title and treating her as a friend. But tha’s exactly what she’s become. My best friend, some days.
To her credit, Maiseline doesn’t sigh as she loosens my stays.
Lilya’s eyes are fixed on my face. “Is that better? I honestly can’t tell. You’ve gone pale and you look a minute away from vomiting.”
As if on cue, Maisie jerks the stays, coaxing the bile further up my throat. I take a few breaths, gripping the dresser with determination. “This is how tight a corset should be worn. It’s a really nice one, too.”
While I’m grateful my sister has her mind back, her memory hasn’t given her back much more than her formative years, which included fine dresses and fancy lads. She remembers her life up until she was beaten by a group of our da’s friends for choosing a lad beneath her station. Finally she remembers me, but nothing beyond when she lost her mind tha fateful day.
It’s been slowly coming back to her, but in this moment, I wish her amnesia extended to fastening corsets. This stinks.
“A plague’s broken out in Drexdenberg. Tha should be the focus, not the spectacle of a shifter in a dress. I highly doubt anyone cares if I’m fancied up. They want answers as to why so many of their neighbors have fallen ill.”
Lilya pokes at a cup filled with pins. “Well, we don’t have answers, so they’re getting you in a dress.”
Maiseline is determined to make up for my crap childhood. “You’re just not used to the finer things, but ye deserve them, Addy.”
Maisie’s so sweet. I want to let her take care of me however she wishes, because it gives her a sense of importance. So I endure the jerks of the stays as she laces them into place.
Tha’s how much I love my sister.
The look I fix Lilya with tells her I want to say something sarcastic, but I’m too respectful to voice it. “Remind me why this is necessary?”
Lilya walks as she talks, circling me so she can inspect from every angle. She looks natural in a dress—her lavender curls flowing over the white gown tha makes her pale skin practically glow. I look like a wild animal who’s somehow been wrestled into a crimson gown tha belongs to someone fancy.
Lilya touches her chin. “I’ll tell you what they told me when I married a vampire royal: it’s necessary because the citizens of Drexdenberg need to accept you as one of theirs. They need to see you elevated, that the retired king of their territory values you enough to give you the finest. So from here on out, this is the deal. If you want to be with Ronin, he comes with the whole of Drexdenberg attached to his tailored sleeve.”
“Even though he’s not ruling anymore?” I grumble, though I already know the answer.
Lilya casts me a wry grin. “We both know that’s not true. Retirement is a label, and a useless one, at that.” A shadow flickers across her eyes. “Des and I lean on him too much. Especially this week.”
I risk toppling over to pry one hand from the dresser so I can rest it atop hers. “Ronin loves Drexdenberg and doesn’t mind helping. If he actually retired, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. And when this many illnesses are happening so quickly, there’s no way he would step back and not have a hand in making things better.”
“Benny’s worried it’s airborne,” Maisie says.
Every time she mentions my boss’ name, I grin. I can’t help it. He’s so sweet for her, but she’s too new to everything to see it.
Lilya inhales a long breath—a thing we’ve all had to do several times this week to bolster ourselves against the onslaught of bad news tha just keeps on coming. “Could be, but there’s been no evidence of that so far. I wish we could get to the root of what’s causing all these illnesses. The count is up to a thousand now.”
I blink at her. “Benny reported the count yesterday at eight hundred. How has it jumped this much in twenty-four hours?”
Lilya shrugs. “I wish I knew, but the healers have no idea. At least we’re starting to get the hang of the pattern, so we can get people quarantined who have it earlier on.” She ticks off the symptoms on her fingers. “Fever, then red splotchy patches all over. Then vomiting blood. Then unconsciousness. No matter what we do, those taken down by this illness aren’t bouncing back.”
I glance down at my red dress. “This hardly seems the time for a public address. I say we postpone the announcement until after we get to the bottom of the plague.”
The corner of Lilya’s mouth quirks. “Nice try. We have to show a brave front for the public. Let them know we’re working on curing their loved ones. Let them know about the new wave of shifters coming over to keep us safe while we’re taking this hit.”
“Right. If a bunch of shifters show up to replace the vampire guards and soldiers we let go because they weren’t loyal to the throne, it’ll need explanation.”
Her eyebrows dance in time with her swaying hips. “And, of course, it’s a good time to show off Ronin’s new girlfriend.”
I roll my eyes. “Aye. They’ll love to hear tha last part.”
Maiseline kisses my cheek. “I’m going to go check on Heidi. I’m rooting for ye.” Then she touches under my chin. “Remember, ye belong at the top.”
“Okay,” I say without remembering to cover my disbelief.
Maisie bristles. “I am certain ye belong in this castle, looking after the vampires. You’re grand at taking care of people who can’t help themselves. Tha’s all this is.”
I brush my fingers to hers, and offer her a smile as she leaves the room, shutting the door behind her.
Lilya’s thumb drags over the heel of my palm. “I really like her.”
“She was born a queen without a crown. This place is a perfect fit for her.”
“For the both of you,” Lilya amends, and then sighs. “I was hoping we would be further along in erasing all the racist bigotry. How I hope the people love you more than they did me when I was first announced. Ronin deserves to have whatever makes him happy—so much the better that it’s you. I wasn’t counting on still needing him this much for the day-to-day decisions. It’s like the two of you can’t just enjoy your relationship. You’re elbow-deep in a territory-wide emergency, and then knee-deep in the scandal of having an interracial union.”
I frown at her, parsing my words so I don’t run out of air. Damn corset. “What you’re doing—uniting the territories—is more work than running Drexdenberg’
s ever been. Ronin knows tha. This was his dream, too, so he’s not put out tha he gets to be part of shaping it.”
She purses her lips, and then looks into my eyes with sheer sadness shining in hers. “I wanted you two to have time together, away from all of this. You’ve barely mated, and you’re doing formal addresses and putting yourself under a microscope before you’ve gotten used to all the change.”
I snort and smile at her. “Tha’s exactly how it went when ye and Salem mated. No one gave ye a break either.”
Maybe I’m imagining it, but I swear I can see her eyes glass over with unshed tears. “I know. I wanted more for you. More than the nothing I got at the time.” Then she blinks, and the sadness evaporates from visibility.
But I can still see it, no matter how well she tries to hide her sadness. I forego comfort and wrap my arms around her, holding her to my chest so we’re united in her sadness. I don’t want her to have to feel tha alone.
It’s partly because of her I’ve gotten so much better at hugging. I think she’s so relieved to have a woman in the castle tha she needs to wrap her arms around me at every turn to make sure I don’t evaporate and leave her alone with all these lads.
“Ye should have been given more time with Salem when ye first mated. Ye should be given more time to be a person now. Let me help. How can I make it not hurt so much?”
Lilya sags in my arms. “Just offering that is a help. Just acknowledging that this is harder than any of us thought it would be is more than I could ask for.”
“I’m not letting go until ye take something off your plate and put it on mine.”
Lilya chuckles. “You’re about to be busier than ever, but thank you for being you. Sometimes that’s the best thing a person can offer.” When I don’t let go, she sighs. “Alright, if you’re insisting on doing more than you’re already doing, I could use some help getting the soldiers in order downstairs. They’re not giving me problems or anything, but I’m no good at this sort of thing—at commanding military persons. I know they can tell I’m bad at it.”
I posture as I let go of her. “They’re showing my queen disrespect?”
Lilya shakes her head. “Nothing like that. It’s me. I have no idea what I’m doing, so I freeze up and get all awkward. Real impressive, I’m sure.”
“I’ll cut ye a deal: loosen my stays, and I’ll make it so ye don’t have to deal with the soldiers at all today, unless there’s an emergency.”
“Deal!” Lilya giggles as she turns me around and loosens them further so I can suck in more than half a breath.
“Tha’s loads better. Jays, the next time we want to interrogate someone, I’ll break out the collection of corsets. Once they get the feeling back in their lips, they’ll be singing whatever tune we demand.”
Lilya’s giggle is light and makes me believe things aren’t as bad as we both know they are out there. I wish I had tha ability—to make the world lighter. As it is, I’m about to throw the vampire people a ball of fire they’ll never be able to put out, while we tell them tha one day their grandkids will thank us for the burning.
It’s only been twenty minutes since Ronin checked in, and my animal’s tail is flicking against the wall of my ribs, letting me know she’s unhappy this much time has passed.
Is he okay? A lot can go wrong in twenty minutes.
My palms start to sweat, and I do what I can to talk myself through the adrenaline tha’s about to start spiking for no logical reason.
Unless he’s not okay, in which case, my encroaching unease is dead on.
“You’ve got that look about you again. Do you want me to send for Ronin?”
I offer a wan smile, pretending I’m not a basket case. “No, no. Twice in one morning is enough for me to go carrying on about.”
Lilya picks up a bracelet on the vanity and fiddles with the clasp. “Actually, you’re doing much better than Salem did this early on. He barely let me out of his sight that first week.”
Deep breaths are what Salem instructed me to do when Lalita starts clawing at my insides, panicking tha something is randomly wrong with Ronin.
This is the worst time to rely on nothing being wrong. After Lilya was kidnapped not two weeks ago, and three dozen shifter soldiers lining up at the remnants of the border to march through our land—peacefully, granted—it’s no use telling Lalita to calm down. Though she’s less of a menace than she’s ever been, I’m still not ready to let her come out to show her new form to Drexdenberg. Shifting in general is strange to them. Fiora, Lilya’s mammy, cast a charm tha made Lalita less terrifying, but she’s still a spectacle.
Lalita needs to be near Ronin to make sure he’s safe. It’s like appeasing an adolescent, which is an improvement, because before Fiora drew out the fae magic tha mutated her to the monster she was, Lalita’s temper was on par with the loudest toddler.
I take four steps toward the exit, but stop before my hand touches on the knob.
I have to control my animal and my mating bond; I cannot let them control me.
“No. I’m being silly. Ronin’s fine. He’s with Benny.”
“He is,” Lilya nods.
I cover my face with my hands. “This is so stressful!” I’m stating the obvious, but it is what it is. “I know ye mated with Salem, and you’re two different species, but tha’s the two of ye and your epic love. It was supposed to be an anomaly. I didn’t think it would happen to us. I never gave much thought to mating in general. Heidi’s been my life for so long.”
Lilya’s arms around me are a comfort I don’t push away. Since she’s fae, she doesn’t feel the manic swings of protecting her mate, but she’s attached to Prince Salem, who, even after a year, still hasn’t fully mastered the possessive nature of his beast.
“Salem said you did great when he took you away from Ronin for that day when we were in Neutral Territory to help Lalita get used to the occasional bit of space that might have to happen.”
I snort my disbelief. “He’s a grand liar, then. On our trip through Neutral Territory, Lalita lost her mind an hour into the trek. I was too far from Ronin too soon after we mated.”
Lilya pulls back and plucks a pin from the box on the desk, fastening one of her lavender curls back. “But you made it through. It was never going to be easy, but you did it!”
I don’t want to say more on the subject. Salem was supposed to take me away from Ronin for two days, but we only made it through one.
The first hour had been hard. The second was when my adrenaline spiked. On the third hour, Lalita took over.
To his credit, Salem wrestled Lalita without hurting her. And we found out by accident tha Lalita doesn’t turn people mad with eye contact anymore, which was a stroke of luck.
Stupid fae magic.
Salem told me her glare made him nearly pee himself, but his brains are firmly intact, which is a relief.
Neither of us were sure what she would look like, since Fiora had striped her of the fae magic tha turned her into a monster. She used to be bigger than a house, but now she’s about the size of a horse. A great lizard with olive scales, long claws, fiery breath and a temper.
After tha, Salem started calling me a wee kitten just to make me laugh. We bonded a lot during tha trip, but it was a bust. I’m still a wreck being apart from Ronin for very long. Given all tha’s going on in the territory, I’m not up for pushing myself on tha again any time soon.
“Remember what Salem told you: breathe through it. Breathe through the panic.” She takes a matching pin and fixes my hair to match hers, the sweetie. “This isn’t fair. You mated with Ronin, which is an intense adjustment a person should have some space for. Then you’re also being announced in front of the territory as Ronin’s mate? It’s too much. This is a bad plan. You’ve had no space to deal with any of it. On top of the territory already being on the verge of panic.”
I want to shrug and tell her “what else is new?” but I hold in my melodrama. “Just having ye understand how stressful this is he
lps.”
“Breathe,” she reminds me.
And finally, I do.
“It’s going to be alright,” she lies. “This formal address isn’t going to be nearly as bad as you’re thinking.”
Well, I was shot with an arrow laced with midnight acid during the last one, so hopefully it’s a step up from tha.
I stretch my arms above my head and my breast nearly pops out of the top. I shrink and shuffle back into my dress, hating the thing all the more.
Suddenly, this red satin getup is all the things wrong in the world. I harrumph dramatically. “I look ridiculous. This isn’t going to help matters. Ever since the first wave of a hundred shifters came over to Drexdenberg, hatred between the races hasn’t exactly gotten better. I’m scum to the vampires.” I look down at the blood-red gown. “I’m trash trussed up in satin.”
Lilya’s chin lifts in defiance of all the insults tha are about to be thrown my way. She holds my hand as if I’m fragile, which is the first time it’s occurred to me tha’s exactly what I’ve become. “My best friend isn’t trash.”
My heart warms. While I know I’m her only female friend, I take the mantle of best friend with humility and vow to live up to the hype. We’re in similarly precarious positions, sharing a unique life experience no one else truly understands.
When a knock interrupts our moment, Lilya lets Des inside, who bows to us both, even though he’s the proper king of Drexdenberg. “Ladies,” he greets us. “The queendom won’t know what hit them when they get a good look at you two. Simply ravishing.”
He’s dapper, and though I know his compliment is meant for Lilya alone, he includes me in the kindness, because tha’s just the top-drawer kind of lad he is.
Lilya kisses him lightly, her hand running up the lapel of his black fitted suit. He’s wearing a gold tie to set off the white of her dress, and I can’t help thinking how grand the two of them look together.
“Shall we?” he says to us both, wrapping Lilya’s hand around his arm and proffering his elbow to me.
Malicious King: A Paranormal Royal Romance (Territorial Mates Book 6) Page 1