Fostering Faust 3

by Randi Darren

  “We all have our gifts,” Eleanor said. “I find myself envious of you at times, Five. As I’m sure we all are of one another.

  “Do not think for a moment that she doesn’t envy you in some regard.”

  “What do we do now, Master?” Riley asked, taking Rebekah’s place behind him and latching on to his right arm.

  “Not much other than what we already discussed,” Alex said. “Though I think—”

  A pounding thud practically made the wall shake.

  Raising his eyebrows, Alex turned around in his chair.

  “I think that was the door,” Riley murmured, holding Alex’s arm. “One of my girls will get it.”

  A minute passed, with everyone staring toward the hallway.

  Eventually, a young woman in the House Brit uniform wandered into view.

  “Master, the regent has requested an audience with you immediately,” said the maid.

  “Uh huh,” Alex said, smiling at her. “Did he mention what it was about?”

  “He unfortunately didn’t. What… what should I do?” asked the girl.

  And that was what she was. She’d been hired by Riley, hadn’t been one of Anna’s deals, and couldn’t speak Alex’s native tongue.

  She was as temporary as a gust of wind, but she seemed to be eager to learn and please.

  “You should go tell him I’ll be happy to attend a meeting with him. Though the normal ambassadorial working hours won’t be in effect for another hour,” Alex said.

  “I can do that, Master. I’ll—”

  “Can’t go in there,” said a guard firmly from beyond the hallway. “Another step and I’ll stab you here and now.”

  “Count!” shouted what sounded like Farig. “Count! I must speak with you immediately!”

  Laughing aloud, Alex had a good guess about what this had to do with. That the kingdom was coming to call on him with cap in hand.

  “It’ll cost you!” Alex called back. “I’m not cheap. Thousands of gold an hour, in fact.”

  “I’ll pay it! Please!” Farig shouted, and it sounded like his house guards were actually pushing the man back out of the manse.

  “Fine,” Alex said, waving a hand at the maid. “I’ll see him in here. Bring him in.”

  There was a clatter behind him, causing Alex to glance back.

  Nannie was sweeping up all the jewelry into the hem of her blouse.

  She gave him a smirk and then proceeded to leave the room from a different exit.

  Smart girl.

  Turning his chair around, Alex faced the entryway.

  Aerin, Riley, Carla, and Eleanor shifted their positions around, taking up new spots around him. Saoirse didn’t get up, but she did put her book down in her lap.

  Sylvia had gathered up the notes and left just as Nannie had. Valeria remained, looking curious.

  Rushing into the room, Farig looked white as milk.

  “Count! Count, I have to… have…” The man paused, looking around the room. He realized that Alex had most of his inner court around him. “Could we perhaps be alone?”

  “No,” Alex said simply with a smile. “These are the people I trust most. Whatever you say would reach their ears eventually anyways.”

  To his right, he saw Aerin stiffen up, but she didn’t move beyond that.

  What are you expecting, Aerin? I bed you, your soul is mine, and you finally stopped taking Mother’s Bane.

  Might as well put a collar on you and call you Eight, but you haven’t earned it.

  Give her to me.

  Rike?

  Yes. Give her to me. Temporarily, at least. I could use her soul. It would help me immensely. I’ll return it to you once she dies.

  I’m working on Leah’s behalf, but I don’t have the power to do it very well.

  Consider it a loan to me, and I’ll repay it at another time.

  Fine. But you have to promise to act as if you don’t own her at all. I need her in my control. I have plans for her.

  She’s going to give me children. I need more of them, quite a few in fact, to take up titles. Lots and lots of titles.

  Brit shall inherit this empire through the bed and by blood.

  I understand. Thank you, Alex. My future husband.

  “I received news today,” Farig said, looking at Alex again. He seemed to be somewhere between a frightened rabbit and a pleading mouse.

  It was odd to Alex, but it just seemed t confirm his guess as to what this was about.

  “That’s nice. I would hope you receive news every day, considering you’re the regent,” Alex said. “I’m afraid I’m not getting any. All of my dispatches are intercepted and held indefinitely. I can’t even get a message out to the local baker that I’d love some bread loaves delivered to me.”

  Farig blinked at that and then grimaced, actually breaking eye contact with Alex.

  “Yes, well, I received news,” Farig said. “The most esteemed royal family is… They’ve…”

  Farig trailed off as if he couldn’t finish what he was saying.

  “They’ve…” Alex prompted, waiting, now absolutely positive of the news.

  “They’re all dead,” Farig said. “All of them. Every… every member of the royal family. Except his royal highness, and the… the princess.”

  “I see,” Alex said, folding his hands in his lap.

  “I’ve been tasked to… to ask you if there is any possibility of… of releasing the princess or… buying her freedom back,” Farig said, looking defeated even before he asked.

  “Is that so?” Alex said, looking over at Saoirse. “I wasn’t aware she was akin to livestock, purchased and sold with the winds and tides.”

  “I… no!” Farig said, shaking his head. “Of course not. It’s for the safety and security of the kingdom.”

  “And I’m somehow supposed to care about the kingdom,” Alex said, clicking his tongue and looking at Farig as if he were an idiot.

  “Well, that is… it’s the royal family! It’s been in charge for hundreds of years in a line unbroken,” Farig said. “This is the first time the line has ever been threatened.”

  “Oh,” Alex said deadpan. “That’s a real shame. Real, real shame. Hm. It’s almost as if the royal family is suffering some type of karmic retribution.

  “I’ll be sure to make sure my lovely wife is taken care of. Have no fear. Your only surviving heir to the throne will remain safe and sound, that I promise you.”

  Alex gestured to Saoirse, who now was wearing a shocked and openly disbelieving look on her face.

  “Since it sounds like she’s now the sole inheritor of the throne, I’ll be doubly sure to ensure her security,” Alex said. “Let’s hope she’s already pregnant with my child so there’s a clear and present continuation of the royal family. I look forward to being the king consort.”

  Saoirse and Farig were staring at Alex, the full scope of the situation slowly unwinding in their minds.

  He imagined there was no doubt in either of their heads that he was going to be anything but absolutely terrible to the kingdom.

  That it was likely Alex had actually had a hand in the deaths of the royal family. Perhaps even been a direct contributor in some way.

  Saoirse had no knowledge of Coffin, but he doubted that’d stay that way. Eventually he’d have to come clean with her about his involvement.

  Thankfully, this wasn’t that moment.

  “First, let’s clear the air,” Alex said, then pressed his fingers to the pin at his collar. “On my oath to my king, and therefore the emperor, I had nothing to do with the deaths of the royal family. In no way, shape, or form—whatsoever.”

  Farig and Saoirse both looked beyond shocked now. As if they couldn’t believe their very eyes.

  “Beyond that, what do you think, Princess?” Alex said, looking at Saoirse. “Think you’re pregnant yet? I’ve been doing my best to ‘plant a seed in the royal womb’ as it were. Should we try again? That’d be the third time today, right?”

&
nbsp; Much to her shame, Alex imagined, Saoirse had become quite energetic in the bedroom. Going so far as to even initiate several times. She’d clearly accepted her fate and life, and she was making the best of it.

  Farig opened his mouth and then closed it. Then he shook his head. As if he were just now realizing how futile his task would be and who he was dealing with.

  “You’re the devil,” Farig said, his tone sounding broken.

  “Am I? Hm. I’m the count of a kingdom being invaded for no reason other than greed and avarice,” Alex said. “By a king who supported a duke to do the same thing. To put thousands and thousands and thousands of men and women into an early grave. All to suit someone else’s views on what they should and shouldn’t have.

  “And you’re saying I’m the devil because I have no pity for the royal family? The same royal family responsible for all those losses? No, I’m not the devil, sir. I’m just a man who doesn’t care one whit for my enemies.

  “And by the way, my going rate is ten thousand gold an hour. That’s what I make just sitting around doing nothing from my accounts across all my businesses. I’ll send you an invoice for a single hour if you leave now, along with a two-thousand-gold emergency fee. As you can see, I was clearly occupied.”

  Alex turned away from the ambassador and looked back to his desk.

  He had nothing to do or work on, but he didn’t want to look at Farig right now. It wouldn’t have given the same dramatic impact if he hadn’t looked away.

  Deciding to make a point of how little he cared, Alex folded his arms on his desk and put his head down as if to take a nap.

  There was a huff, and then the sound of someone walking away.

  “He’s gone, Master,” said the same maid from earlier. “He’s left the manse.”

  “Oh good,” Alex said with a sigh. “Stupid, insufferable fool. What’d he expect coming here with that news? That I’d just… turn over the princess back to her country now that she was the sole living heir? Ignorant fool.”

  “Did you have my aunts and uncles killed?” Saoirse asked. “My cousins?”

  “Do you really want to know?” Alex asked.

  “I do. Yes. Even… even if you did, I do need to know. Because if you can defy an oath like that, I think… I think I need to know,” Saoirse said.

  “Then yes. I did, Princess. I did indeed. Had them all wiped out. Every single person in line for the throne. You’re the last, other than your father. If I can have him killed, I will, though it’s very unlikely. My assassin reported that he’s very well guarded,” Alex said, lifting and turning his head to look at Saoirse. “And you know what? I’d do it again. It’s a personal fight to the death between me and your father. This is exactly what I promised your father I’d do. He had my wife killed. Had another maimed.

  “Flesh for flesh, blood for blood. And if an eye for an eye makes the world blind, I’ll be the first damned motherfucker to learn braille and then cut the fingers off of everyone else.”

  Saoirse minutely shook her head, but she didn’t break eye contact with him. In the end, she said nothing.

  Chapter 31

  Shaking his head, Alex decided that he was already done with the day. And he wasn’t going to sit around waiting for Saoirse to figure out how to berate him for having her family killed.

  No, this was a situation he really didn’t want to deal with right now.

  Getting up out of his chair, he stretched his back out and then sighed.

  “Post a notice that the ambassador of Harold is done for the day,” Alex said. “Send an invoice over to Farig, and we’ll prep for tomorrow instead. I imagine he’ll come back with some stupid offer on how to regain the princess. Because I doubt King Glint will let that one go.”

  Waving a hand over his shoulder, Alex left the room and headed off for his bedroom.

  He didn’t invite anyone, and neither did he expect anyone. He wasn’t really in the mood for lovemaking right now.

  Truth be told, he was feeling decidedly against being kind. He’d just told a woman her family had been murdered at his command. Setting himself up for the distinct possibility of having someone in his bed who wanted little more than his death.

  But that was how it went.

  Saoirse had been a move on the chess board, and to Alex, she had little significance to him other than a way he could spite Glint.

  Spite him with maximum force and hostility. Enough to make his teeth fall out of his asshole with how hard Alex wanted to ram his boot down the man’s throat.

  Shaking his head, Alex entered his bedroom and closed the door behind him.

  He moved over to the easy chair and sank into it. Putting his elbow on the arm of the chair, Alex rested his chin in his hand and blew out a breath.

  The door clicked open, and Alex moved his eyes over.

  Carla walked in, looked around the room, and then closed the door behind her.

  Slipping her fingers into a pocket of her leather armor, she pulled out a key.

  She pushed it into the keyway and spun it, locking the door, then pulled it back out.

  “I thought perhaps you could use a little time to yourself,” Carla murmured, putting the key back in her pocket. “And that if I didn’t move quickly enough, One or Seven would be in here faster than a crossbow bolt. Or maybe Three.”

  “Think so?” Alex asked, smiling at her.

  “I do, yes. And I believe I’m right,” Carla said. “You’re not in the right place to care for any of them. Even Seven has her own needs, and those tire you in their own way.”

  “Well, you thought right, my lovely bad girl,” Alex said, watching her curiously. He wasn’t really sure what she wanted, but he had an inkling. Carla had her own way of doing things.

  Smirking at him, Carla walked over to him, her battle mace clinking lightly in its ring at her hip.

  “Sometimes I wonder if no one else sees you as the soft-hearted man I know you for,” she said.

  “Probably not,” Alex said. “Pretty sure most of them just see me as a devil or demon.”

  “And yet you’re decidedly not,” Carla said. “You’re ruthless, and completely without mercy to those who are your enemies, that’s for certain. But to those who aren’t, either neutral or allies, you’re quite harmless.”

  Alex grunted at that.

  “Look no further than the… what was their name? Breft family?”

  “That was their family name, yes,” Alex said, a wolfish smile appearing on his face immediately. The very thought of how that had gone down made him rather happy.

  “And what’d the baron do to them, in the end?” Carla asked, coming to stand in front of him.

  “Ran every business they had into the ground. Hook or crook, there was nothing left of them. Then he bought up all the rights to everything they owned, their debt, and anything else he could get.

  “Last I heard, all three of those… gentlemen… were working in the stores they used to own for almost nothing at all.”

  Carla nodded her head and began to unfasten the latches to her armor. With soft clinks and the hiss of leather on skin, she worked her way out of her equipment.

  “Maybe I’m just being a little selfish myself, though,” she said, dropping her clothing to the ground.

  Taking in a slow breath, Alex let his eyes run the length of the lovely and athletic murder-machine known as Two, who was now quite naked.

  “I think I can handle a bit of your selfishness right now,” Alex said, leaning further back in his chair.

  Carla was never stingy with care for him when it came to sex. It was also always very direct, without any games.

  “I honestly thought you might,” Carla said. “Mind getting up on the bed for me?

  “I think… the traditional routine would be rather lovely right about now. Wouldn’t you?”

  “I could definitely go for traditional,” Alex said, his mood rapidly improving. He got up and walked over to the bed, shedding his clothes as he went.


  Dropping them into a pile at the side of his bed, Alex got on top of it and lay down right in the center of it.

  Without another word or giving Alex a chance to do anything, Carla was atop him.

  She cupped his rapidly hardening length in one hand and slipped him fully into her mouth.

  Closing her eyes, she sucked on him gently, her head moving down as she took him.

  Alex felt himself go from semi-hard to rock-like in the matter of a breath. His tip edged down Carla’s throat as she pushed him between her lips and turned her head to one side.

  Letting him slip from her lips, Carla lifted her head up and then moved back down once more. She was working in a slow and steady rhythm from the tip to the base and back again, her head smoothly bobbing along.

  Coming off the head, Carla rested it on her lips and opened her eyes slowly to look up at him.

  “Are you ready for your bad girl?” she asked.

  “Always have been and will be,” Alex said.

  “Good,” Carla said with a grin, kissing his tip.

  Then she moved up over the top of him, reached down between her legs, and fit him up into herself.

  “Ready?” she asked, putting her hands down on either side of his head.

  Alex nodded, his hands coming up to rest on her hips.

  Carla leaned down and kissed him hard, even as she pushed her hips down into his. He felt the warm and wet swish of her entry surround him.

  Kissing her back, Alex took hold of her hips and held on to her as she began to grind herself against him, raising and lowering her hips as she did so. Her whole body rocked to and fro as she did it.

  Leaning her shoulders back while pulling away from the kiss, Carla let out soft little moans as she rode Alex into the bed.

  Her head tilted back and she closed her eyes, her breasts dangling in front of him.

  Knowing she liked to have one hand on her chest and one on her hips, Alex reached up with his left hand. Fondling her, he squeezed at her even as she worked at her first climax.

  They’d found that Carla could be multi-orgasmic given certain situations and circumstances.

  Taking in a sharp hiss of air, she turned her head slightly to one side, her eyes slowly opening.