“Say my name again.” He was kissing her shoulder now.
“Jo—” Riley let out a loud moan when she felt the sting hit her shoulder. His teeth sunk in there leaving a red mark that would later turn purple.
“You make me go mad.”
Riley turned around meeting his lips with hers. With his powerful presence, his beauty, his lips, his touch, she could only remember one name, Jonathan… not even her own.
Jonathan’s lips were warm, his tongue moving against hers with low pleads for more friction. His hands were gripping her back tightly, afraid to let her go.
She was the only stable thing in his life at that moment, and he was afraid she would disappear. Every time he felt he was about to get attached to something or someone, he would disconnect himself instantly for fear she would leave him first. If Riley disappeared, he would have to find someone else to fill the void. And he was not sure he wanted to. It was her, only her. He wanted to let her drown in his arms, possess her, haunt her every dream until he became a part of her so much that if they separated, she would perish.
“What the hell does the old miserable bastard want now?” Jonathan pulled away breathless and checked his cellulogram.
“Oh, for God’s sakes.” Riley sighed and leaned against the wall catching her breaths.
“What?” Jonathan answered his cellulogram frowning.
Riley watched Jonathan silently for a minute. His expression changed from pissed to surprised to angry again.
“I don’t want any bloody movement anymore. Put an end to this… I don’t care how. Set an example and let them learn. If I hear any more of this, I will burn anyone who defies me.” Jonathan waved the device to the left. It turned off immediately.
“Is everything alright?” Riley approached him slowly.
Jonathan sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“I don’t want you to distress yourself with nonsense of the kingdom.” He smiled but his eyes were still fuming from the news. “I need to leave.”
“No,” Riley stopped him instantly. “Spend the night with me.”
Jonathan turned to her surprised. “I can’t. I have matters to tend to.”
“You are the king. You have the right to put other people in charge.”
Riley crept her hand up his sleeve and pressed a little. Jonathan softened then nodded.
“They’ll handle it on their own if I don’t show up.”
They did not resume what they had been doing before. Riley was lying flat on her back staring at the ornamented ceiling. Jonathan leaned on one hand, staring at her. They were laughing at nothing in particular, just several absurd stories of Riley’s adventures in the circus and Jonathan’s jokes about the staff.
“You’d think William walked in on his parents. He never touched a girl, nor a man, nor himself. And would not laugh at any joke,” Jonathan chuckled. “I’ve tried to get him a woman once. She was from the brothel at the edge of Civilus—”
“One that you know so well.” Riley gave him the side eye with a hint of a smile.
Jonathan laughed loudly and shook his head.
“I am not one to go for available women.”
“And I am not available?” She raised her eyebrow.
“You are only available to me and no other,” Jonathan confidently said.
“I am yours.” Riley turned to her side and gently brushed her hand against his cheek. It was lean and his jawline sharp.
Jonathan closed his eyes and brushed his lips against her warm ones. His hand was roaming her leg that he soon wrapped around his waist.
“John…” Riley moaned when he moved on top of her and buried himself between her legs. They were both clothed, but she could feel his trousers tightening against her.
Jonathan pulled back a bit.
“I’m sorry. I did not mean to call you—” she started, but he kissed her again just to shut her up.
“Call me John. I’d love to hear it from your lips.”
Her eyes shone the darkest green he had ever seen. Her hair was like fire flaming against the pillowcase. He could not get enough of her. God, she looked more beautiful than ever without the make-up or the hairdos. She was outstandingly naked and vulnerable in his arms, but seeing her in that thin nightgown without pulling it down arose sparks of lust within him.
“I believe you are going to be the greatest king so far. Ballads will be sung in your name, about your deeds for Noteram and the East.”
“You are one hell of a woman, Red.”
“Don’t give me more credit than I deserve.”
“You don’t tell your king what to do. Remember?”
Riley laughed and spent another hour kissing and playfully teasing the king until they were both cuddling and tired.
By that time, they were only covered with thin bedsheets and warmed by the temperature of their bodies and the installed system around the castle.
“So you are going to follow the footsteps of your father, God bless his soul,” Riley said. Her thumb was drawing circles on his upper stomach.
“I take my own footsteps.” He caressed her hair. “The kingdom here follows the rules set by King Ezra. But I don’t know if I shall keep the system as it is.”
Riley looked up at her king. With a nod, she urged him to go on.
Chapter 29
“Did you not read this in your history books?” Jonathan chortled softly.
“I did not exactly finish my school years.” Riley looked up at the ceiling again, resting her hands on her stomach and her head on the king’s shoulder. “I took it upon myself to improve my knowledge through reading. But… I wouldn’t have a reason to doubt if history is relayed by the king himself, a true Freedian.”
Jonathan smiled and kissed her forehead softly. Riley was well-aware Jonathan was a western bastard, but she knew not if he was aware of that. She had been learning the history of Regitum and the East in general thoroughly ever since the accident that took her parents’ life. It was up for Jonathan now to show her his perspective of the Freedian history, since not one of the historians was objective. It was always about skipping some of the battles, adding characters, painting the king in beautiful or dull colours… And after skimming through the book in Gabriel’s library, she now unquestionably understood that history had been modified.
“It all started with King Edward Freedian in 2150. The Freedian family had been a nobility since that time. His parents died of cancer so the previous king, Daniel Windsor, raised him as a child because he had no children. And thus, Windsor passed the title to the Freedians instead of his other Windsor relatives.
“When World War III erupted, he helped Noteram and the other continents win. He won the people and was loved when he became the king of the East. He had from his wife, Amina Khaled, two sons, Roosevelt and Ezra. Roosevelt had a bad reputation. He was making movements against his father, and thus Ezra was chosen as the king.”
Riley wanted to stop him.
Roosevelt knew of the West’s movements against the East and started the Phoenix Society that uncovered the secrets of the West. Ezra was caught by the West as a hostage and signed a treaty with them to give them important ranks in the assembly, and they would help him become the king and retreat from the East.
“Ezra begot two children from his wife, Jacob and Caroline,” Jonathan went on. “Seventeen years later Roosevelt died of an unknown illness.”
It was not an unknown illness, Riley persisted. Roosevelt introduced Jacob to the phoenixes and two years later he was murdered, she believed. When Jacob turned twenty years old, he took it upon himself to draw the same path his uncle started for the people of Regitum.
“When Jacob turned twenty, he died in a car accident. He was said to have loved speed and died in a car race with his friends. Then Ezra died as well in his sleep, so his sister Caroline was forced to be crowned. She got married to the duke of Lands of Ira and gave birth to one child who carried her name, my dear father.” Jonathan sighed.
/> Riley turned to him and laid her hand on his chest. She sweetly kissed his cheek and smiled.
“Why are you unhappy about it? He gave Regitum the greatest gift—you. I mean… Don’t you like being the king?”
“I love it. And that’s the problem.”
“Why is that?”
“Because my whole life will be dedicated to it, until I reach a point where nothing else matters. I have lived most of my teenage years in the army. I would have liked to spend some of my younger years doing crazy things without living in hiding or the safety of continents upon my shoulders.”
“But if you love it, you won’t look at it as a burden, my king. It is an honour to be considered the saviour of nations. My great knight…”
Jonathan turned to look at the woman beside him. He did not know what force was driving him to get that madly attached to her, but he did not want to be rid of it. He wanted to relish in her love, her kisses, her body, her warmth… Jonathan kissed her lips softly at first.
Riley closed her eyes immediately. It still beguiled her how her body automatically responded to him and in no time she was on top of him again. They kissed for what felt like hours. He buried himself inside her repeatedly until she was glowing with sweat, and he was breathing heavily.
They both collapsed on their backs to catch their breaths.
When the faint sunrays of dawn crept in through the tall windows, Jonathan’s hot breaths sent goosebumps down Riley’s arms. He was still sleeping, hugging her tightly against his chest.
Christopher Freedian did not love. He was forced to marry Dyane Stonard, the daughter of the deceased Lord Newton Stonard. They shared no love, as the queen told her. On a trip to the West, she later learned from Gabriel and then Lord Walter, Christopher slept with a trickster who gave birth to Jonathan nine months later. That was when the mistress came to castle as the king’s cousin, and no one dared touch her nor her son.
Christopher took them in and forced Queen Dyane to remain silent about the ordeal or he would have her killed. They gave birth to Gabriel later and she remained loyal only to be able to raise the child, but she hated Jonathan. Gabriel respected his mother and hated his father, unlike his half-brother. When Gabriel turned eighteen, he ran away with his mother, and they only informed people they trusted like Lord Walter and Keith. That was when the phoenixes rose again.
The Phoenix camp was set in King Edward’s land where his last battle took place and the dead were buried under. At least that’s what Lord Walter told her. She had asked him how Jonathan’s mother died but he said nothing in return.
Her eyes fell on Jonathan’s cellulogram, lying on the other bedside table. She was trying to get out of his grip and move to the device, but Jonathan let out a small groan and pulled her closer.
In the darkened room of the Symposium, the assembly gathered around the large glossy black table. Marcus watched the faces behind the wars in the world.
“Do you honestly think North Caligo would not make a counter move?” Charles Arnold scoffed and rolled his eyes.
“How can it?” General Juan Portland noted. “They only have one armoury and it’s abandoned. No man dares take anything from there.”
“They have a smart lot. They will take whatever the hell they want from nearby countries in secret and think that they could surprise us,” Toby Long, the Minister of Public Institutions spoke.
“We have to put an end to this. Their movements are already affecting our economy,” Craig Ranger, Head of the Pecuniary Affairs Bureau, said.
All the while Marcus was silent. He was watching the surface of the water inside his crystal cup on the table maintain its horizontal line without disturbance.
Suddenly, the water inside his cup jerked.
“I have spoken to the king and a decision has already been made.” Charles Arnold moved in his chair.
“Why were we not informed?” Freda Cummings asked him annoyed.
“You are now,” he answered her in a clipped tone. “We will make this small sad city an example for other countries. They would know where true power lies and how to choose their allegiances.”
Words escaped Marcus and he was unable to hold them before they hit each one at the table.
“This is not choosing. You are forcing them to side with the king.”
“You have decided to speak, dear. What now? You are siding with the rebels as well?” Charles Arnold’s icy blue eyes turned even colder as he sized him up. There was a hidden threat in his words that Marcus could not ignore.
“No… I—”
“Speak another word in favour of this nation, and we are done with you.” Arnold moved his chair back and stood up to end the meeting.
“Is that a threat?” Marcus asked him, his heart beating so loudly that its echoes around the safe walls revealed his fear to the attendees.
“Take it as you please. The orders are already sent out. They came straight from the king. You are free to leave,” Charles finally said and gestured for the rest of the members to stand up and traditionally repeat the oath to keep what is spoken inside the room to themselves or choose to face severe consequences.
Marcus’s walk back to his room seemed endless. He could feel his guard was able to hear him wheeze. His heart clenched, and for a moment, he thought he was going to have a heart attack.
When the door clicked open, he found Charlotte sitting on the bed in a seductive position, only wrapping herself in the sheets.
“Hello there, sir minister.” She smirked at Marcus and lifted the satin sheet slowly away from her bare legs.
Marcus wanted to smile, but he couldn’t. He wanted to rush and make love to his wife, but he couldn’t. Charles Arnold’s words were repeating in his head like a broken tape. Were he to die, Charlotte would be devastated. Only Charlotte. The rest of the circus members did not even notice that there was something different about him, that he was someone important now.
He forced a twist of his lips that looked more of a grimace.
“I’m not a minister yet. I just attend meetings.” His voice was cold.
Marcus waved at the window, and the curtains slid aside letting the disappearing moonlight shine over Charlotte’s sad face.
She took a deep breath and walked over to him. “You are my sir.”
Charlotte laid her hands on her husband’s shoulder. Something was eating on him and the fact that she could not know why he changed into a completely different person made her feel vulnerable and a bad wife. If she did not know what was going on with her husband, who would? Did she even deserve him?
Standing completely naked and hugging him did not phase Marcus. He kept his permanent frown upon his face and wiggled out of his wife’s arms.
“I need to sleep.”
He walked to bed and threw himself on the sheets with his clothes on.
“What is happening with you? Why are you doing this?” Charlotte’s eyes welled with tears. “I thought we agreed on trying before coming to the castle.”
“A child is the last thing on my mind right now, Charlotte. Let me sleep,” he said with his eyes closed.
“Your wife and a child should be the only thing on your mind. What is doing this to you?”
“Put your clothes on and come to bed. We’ll talk later.”
Charlotte sighed. She put on her nightgown and slid under the sheets. There was a painful space between her and her husband, but she did not try to come closer again that night.
A current of staff members flowed inside the showroom the next morning. It was not only about Cirque Et Feu. There were several additional dancers that were assisting in the performances. Fay’s part of the show was still the same but her scenes were cut down to six instead of ten, and so were Marilyn and Flore’s. Mathew struggled to get back to the original show, the one Rufus designed. Nobody listened. It was all funded by the kingdom and non-other than a little percentage of the profit was given back to the performers, since they were living inside the castle and everything was
provided for them.
Riley made her way to the changing room behind the dark blue curtains and searched for Mathew. There was only Fay and Marilyn changing into their outfits.
“Matt?” Riley shouted but stopped as a hand tapped her shoulder.
“Are you ready for your performance, Miss Red?” Arnold’s cold blue eyes locked hers.
“Always.” She smiled politely, and he returned it with a sinister nod.
“Come on. Gather up. It’s time for the show.”
There were cameras surrounding the platform and special effects that even Riley could barely distinguish them from reality. Scenes upon scenes were passing. Riley sat on the back chair watching the acrobats jumping from one trapeze to another, different kinds of animals she did not even know existed, bred inside the royal laboratories, and her friends doing their best to perform right even though the camera was not focusing on them. The importance did not lie solely on the performance, the dances, or the music. It was sprinting from those who were sitting behind the cameras but not the ones filming.
Riley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her brain felt ticklish and her hands were shaking. A surge of what felt like inner wind leapt through her body and she let out a soft sigh. When she opened her eyes, the men and women behind the cameras did not phase. Something inside of her stopped. There was another power of tricksters… too powerful that blocked hers, that did not even acknowledge hers.
“Riles, you’re up.” Mathew stood next to her with an e-pad in his hands.
“Where have you been?” she whispered as she stood up.
“In the bathroom?” He raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve been searching for you. I need to tell you something.”
“We’ll talk tonight. Now, it’s your turn. Go, go!” He gently shoved her to the platform. A green light blinded her. The music was getting louder and the staff were looking at her puzzled.
She cleared and throat and gestured for the techman in the upper room to rewind the music and start over.
Her room was dim. Riley closed the chamber door behind her and rubbed her forehead. It had been aching since morning. She had meant to take a quick shower and go straight to bed after all those sleepless nights and the non-stop shooting of the bloody show.
Red Circus Page 24