“No,” he continued. “Touch alone is not enough. One must be willing to accept a little more than just my touch.”
“Wait.” I shrugged off Castiel’s hold and took a step closer despite the warning from the guards. “I recognize you. You were in the forest…” I shot the king a look. “And the tavern in town.”
Cy hummed. Blood dripped down his arms to his fingertips. He smiled, his teeth perfectly white though the rest of him matched the filth that surrounded him. “Princess Ilianna.” He sighed my name, almost a sweet melody.
The king’s words held an edge. “How did you get out, creature?”
“I’m a wraith. You have let me in. I have been a guest. I didn’t know I couldn’t leave as I see fit. And I have done no harm.” He smiled wickedly. “Until today.”
The king’s gaze shifted to the bloodied bodies, twisted into unrecognizable knots.
The wraith smiled. “Would you like to hear the story of the Wraith Queen, great King of Anolyn? It truly is a fabulous tale, and one to learn from.”
But the king shook his head. “How do you know the princess?” he asked, his eyes shifting to mine.
Cy pressed farther into the bars, so much that I thought he would break the bones of his face. He lowered his voice, his red eyes wide in intrigue. “I’ve heard whispers of her name—she is here, she has come—but nothing more.”
“I do not believe you,” Riaan said.
“I care not what you believe.” The wraith shrugged then pushed away, rolling his neck as if it pained him. “I heard her when she harnessed the man’s thoughts in the bar. I saw her when she conjured the Demon Daughter. It was beautiful.”
Castiel stiffened at my side.
Stunned, I froze as the realization of what he was saying hit. Alarm flashed. My heart thundered at a breakneck pace, but I refused to look to the eyes that bore holes in the side of my face.
“Oh.” The wraith’s voice dripped in derision. “The great king does not know. How embarrassing.”
The king spat. “Speak now, demon.”
I wanted to run but I wouldn’t get far. I clenched my fists and waited for my fate.
“Magic runs in her royal blood.”
Silence followed the truth.
I pulled at my bindings, but the movement only dug them deeper into my wrists. Ketrina flapped her onyx wings and glared from golden eyes. Her clicking echoed against the walls as she flustered from the ledge of the window. I froze, holding my breath until she relaxed again.
The throne room walls pressed against me like the dungeon had only minutes before. My fists clenched until my nails drew blood. Reese, Mikael, and Melia stood a circle around me, their weapons drawn. Even though her gaze was hard, some unknown emotion darkened the light in Melia’s eyes.
Castiel had escorted us from the dungeon, all the while rehearsing everything he had witnessed me do during our fight in the forest. It lay bare my darkest secrets. He had known the whole time—had seen me use the cursed magic—and kept it to himself despite all reason. But why?
Riaan stared at me like I was some wild animal. Frustration and anger seeped from him.
“Again, Princess Ilianna, you are the reason for additional commotion within my quiet home. What do you have to say for yourself?”
I looked away, refusing to speak. Castiel had warned me—told me to do as much before he left for the dungeons to see to the disposal of the wraith. Moments later my hands were bound with rope and I was brought to the throne room to plead my case. But I wouldn’t plead.
Ketrina squawked a protest and ruffled her feather, her claws digging into the stone beneath her perch.
“Captain Melia, calm that creature,” the king said.
Melia gazed over her shoulder. “She doesn’t like what you’re doing.”
She didn’t like what he was doing? I glanced at the falcry but couldn’t maintain its piercing gaze.
Did the king appear more nervous? He cleared his throat, his face reddening. “I must protect my kingdom, Princess.”
“Not from her.” Castiel’s voice boomed across the expanse. He scanned me as he neared, his eyes growing wide to the bindings at my wrists. “What is this?”
“What does it look like?” Riaan asked.
The prince came to me, concern etched in his brows. Muscles rippled within a tense jaw. He drew a knife, shooting a baleful glare to the throne. “You’re upsetting Ketrina.”
The king straightened. “Now, Brother—”
Castiel didn’t listen. He cut through the rope without any difficulty. “I’ll take care of this,” he said, turning to the falcry. “Now, go.”
With a screech that shook my soul, Ketrina took off into the air, wafting tendrils of my hair.
“It can’t be true,” I said beneath my breath so that only Castiel could hear.
He searched my eyes for my meaning.
I clarified. “The Wraith Queen?”
He only shook his head.
“But my father. He was sent to assassinate her. He—”
“Prince Toma crossed the seas to stop her. Obviously, something happened to make her pull her forces, but he did not kill her.”
My mouth dropped open, but there was no sound. I didn’t have the courage to speak. I blinked back tears, watching as Castiel checked the marks on my wrist with a careful touch.
Why would he continue to protect me as he did? To increase a life-debt—one he never mentioned? And why would the falcry protest my treatment? That they cared was too simple of an explanation, one I could not comprehend nor believe.
“The wraith?” the king asked.
One brow rose as Castiel slid his knife back into its holster. “Gone.”
“Gone?”
My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach, but I kept my fears to myself.
“He disappeared before I returned. Vanished without a trace.”
The king’s head tipped to the side as he examined his brother.
Castiel continued. “I’ve sent Gomez and Verity, as well as a dozen men to search for him, but I doubt the wraith will stay nearby.”
“Gomez and Verity?” I asked.
“The older falcry.”
“How do we know he’s no longer within Meyrion?” the king asked.
“We don’t. We keep watch.”
“And this Lucan? Have you questioned him?”
Castiel rolled his neck, frustration clear in his expression. “The spy is unconscious still. I am to be notified the moment he wakes.”
“You’re slipping, Brother. But of all these things, you should have told me about her,” he said, flicking his fingers my direction.
Heat tingled in my ears, but Castiel stood between the king and my guards, as champion. “I thought you might have her killed.”
“And I might still.” He slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne, then seemed to check himself. He again leaned back into his chair. “Although, we have other options to us. What do you say, Captain? Should we send for your mother?”
Melia glared at her king.
“Your mother?” I blinked, looking to her.
Melia stood straight, sheathing her sword. “That will be unnecessary. As Ketrina tried to indicate, Princess Ilianna is not a threat.”
Riaan watched his guard. “Would you commit treason against your king as well?”
“You know I wouldn’t.”
He leaned forward in his seat. “I understand my brother’s reasons well enough, but you? Explain yourself, Captain.”
She dared approach as near as the second step to the dais. “Your Majesty, I have watched over the princess this whole time. During the past two weeks she has not tried to escape, sought for information about our kingdom, or sent or received any type of communication.”
Humiliation doused me like a cold wave. She was right. I was truly a traitor. I had left my kingdom without any thought to its survival or success, and did I even care? I closed my eyes, allowing the shame. The people didn’t need me.
I would only make things worse.
Melia continued. “And she has not once used her magical influence on me.”
“That you know of,” the king said.
She shot him an annoyed glance. “I would have known.”
Riaan tipped his head. He lifted a hand and waved her forward. “Come speak with me privately, Captain.”
Melia straightened, then moved to the monarch.
Castiel turned from them to stand with me.
“Why is she doing this?” I asked in a whispered breath. Guilt struck deep within my gut. Would I do the same for her? “She could be hanged for treason. You both could.” Castiel smirked and I jerked back. “You don’t take this seriously.”
He leaned to me, whispering low in my ear. “You really don’t pay attention to anything around you, do you?”
“What do you mean?”
He raised his brows. The corners of his mouth tipped up. “Just watch.”
The king took Melia by the arm and pulled her close for a private council. That was all. I almost shrugged at the simple act. I had seen Johan in a similar tête-à-tête with many of his trusted advisors. Was that what she was? Guard and advisor?
But then my senses caught upon something else.
Barely perceptible, Riaan’s thumb skimmed Melia’s arm in a soft circular stroke, familiar, intimate. Despite the hardness of his face, the eyes that usually glared when he looked at me now gazed with appreciation and something else. He whispered a response and when he did, his lips, while only for a fleeting moment, grazed her ear.
Heat invaded my checks when I realized I was eavesdropping upon something a lot more private than a simple council. But Riaan had a mistress. True, it was not uncommon for royalty to enjoy such company, even when married. My uncle had a collection of favorites, and my father was known to have had a stash of lovers, but I had thought someone of Melia’s nature would find such an act abhorrent. And perhaps she did.
Melia stepped back to the middle where Castiel had just defended me.
That flint-like gaze had returned to the king’s eyes. “And what of you, Reese? Is her magic what persuaded you? Did she trick you into helping her escape? Perhaps we are all enchanted.”
Reese dipped his head. “I told the prince of my interactions. I assumed you were made aware.”
The king smirked at the prince. “His promotion?”
The muscles in Reese’s face twitched.
Castiel waved an unconcerned hand. “Reese’s promotion was due, and with the relocation of Scores, he took the empty seat of Lieutenant.”
Reese stepped forward. “Sir, if I didn’t earn—”
“Would I have put you as a guard if I didn’t completely trust you? The secret of her identity is top priority, but I needed someone who could handle anything she might pull. I didn’t know she would use magic, but I was even more impressed when you came forward, and how quickly you did so.”
“And Sameen?” Riaan asked.
Castiel huffed. “How many years did I torture that good woman with my childish, magical pranks? She might fall for them, but she recognizes them soon enough.”
Riaan tipped his head back. “It appears I’m the fool here.”
“Far from it, Your Majesty,” Melia said. “You asked me to watch her. To keep her close, and I did. She was more than content with the distractions I gave her.”
“You mean the thrashings?” Castiel asked, an edge to his voice.
Melia pished. “Those were not thrashings.”
The king cleared his throat. “Nevertheless, I was not informed of something vital. So you saw what the wraith saw, Castiel? This conjuring?”
I hardened beneath Riaan’s weighty gaze.
“Yes,” Castiel said.
His brother rolled his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh.
I looked to Castiel, but he answered the question before I could even ask it. “When you use your magic, you leave a visible mark upon those you use it on.”
“I do not—”
“In your case, a faded silvery blue similar to your eye color was present upon their aura, which is why I believed Sameen and Reese that you had influenced them. While it’s not a rule, I can see when magic has been used.” He turned to the king. “That bit she pulled in the forest is a simple but effective parlor trick used to strike fear into her opponents.”
Heat coursed through my body, but I couldn’t defend something I had never understood. The Demon Daughter only came when needed. She was my last line of defense, one I didn’t control.
He stepped toward the king. “Brother, the only times she has ever used her powers was when it was essential to her survival.”
Riaan pursed his lips. “I still think the best option is to send for your mother, Captain.”
Melia stiffened, but did not answer.
The king stood and moved slowly toward me. He circled my position. “You are a magician?”
My tongue felt thick inside a dry mouth. “Hardly.”
“And yet you possess a magical gift.”
“A curse.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Wraiths haven’t been seen in our parts of the land for over a century, and all of a sudden you show up and we have one within our dungeons.”
“If it weren’t for Ilianna, his existence might never have been discovered,” Castiel said.
“But how did she discover him?”
“It was his eyes,” I said, but the moment it left my mouth, I regretted it. I glanced between brothers. “They were red.”
The king’s brows raised. “They were not red.”
My jaw clamped shut.
“She must be sensitive to his presence,” Castiel interjected. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
Riaan smirked. “Oh?”
I was tired of this game. I cleared my throat. “King Riaan, I have done what I said I would do. I have provided information that led to the capture of the Eirian spy, Lucan. I ask that you honor our bargain and release me. I will sail on your next ship. You will never have to see me again.”
Riaan’s thumb rubbed beneath his chin. “A tempting offer. However, I can no longer do that.”
My heart plummeted with a thud to the pit of my stomach. Again, tears mingled with anger and pricked the rim of my eyes, but I wouldn’t cry. Not in front of him. “Why not?”
“You’re a magician. An unlicensed, rogue magician.”
“I’m nothing of the sort.”
“You should know what that means. After all, your people are the ones that set such a motion forward about untrained magicians.”
My mouth snapped shut as the horrible truth sucker-punched me in the stomach.
“I have become aware of your untrained skills, and as such, I am liable for you. I am bound by law to see you trained as a proper magician or killed if unwilling to submit.”
“You can’t—”
“Or, I can relinquish this knowledge to your uncle and to tell him of what I have learned so that he can see to your proper training.”
A vision flashed in my mind: my uncle’s face twisted in devilish glee. The image mingled with the wraith’s words. “You’ve been given every opportunity for influence, and yet… nothing.”
My uncle had done his best to provoke my magic into revealing itself, but I had been able to fight him.
I clenched my teeth. “You would go back on your word? I thought better of the king of Anolyn. What would your people say?”
“That I’m protecting them from harm—the harm that comes from an untrained magician. Have you not told your uncle what you are?”
I clenched my teeth. “No. You wouldn’t want me to either.”
“Why?”
I smiled, exposing a feral smile. “You know exactly why.”
He returned my smile. “As a matter of fact, I do.” The king retained his seat. “My conditions stand. I’ll give you the night—”
“I accept.” The words blurted from my lips before I could stop them.
> Castiel’s gaze whipped to mine, then away again.
Riaan’s head tipped to the side, examining me. “I’m surprised you accept this offer so quickly.”
I tipped my head higher. “What choice do I have? If I want my freedom, it’s the only real option, but if I do this, I reclaim the benefits of our original bargain and the first ship off this island.”
Castiel cleared his throat. “Brother, perhaps—”
“Done. But I warn you, Princess. If you fail my trainings, if you try to escape, if you betray our trust again… I won’t think twice about killing you myself.”
“Brother, I need to speak to you.”
Riaan flicked his hand in clear annoyance. “No, you don’t.”
Castiel’s eyes narrowed. “You are not a magician, great one. You cannot train her.”
“You’re right.” Riaan stood and swept from his throne. “You’ll train her.”
Scars
Sameen knocked on the door twice, as customary, to let me know it was her. It would be unkind not to recognize that the woman catered to my every need, even the emotional ones. I paused when she entered to peek beyond the privacy screen, then continued to undress to bathe. I slipped into the depths of the tub, allowing the heat of the water to infiltrate every aching muscle and drown every disturbing thought. The soap stung the cuts unattended to by the healer.
For a brief moment, I wished I would have let Gedeon work his magic.
“Dinner will be ready in an hour. You will eat with the king and prince,” Sameen said as she carried in my robe and towel.
Confusion pulled at my brows as I processed this new piece of information. “Why does the king want to dine with me? I’ve talked to him plenty today.” And I was officially annoyed.
“I didn’t ask, my lady.”
She poured water over my head. I closed my eyes and reveled in the sensation of her fingers in my hair, massaging my scalp. The calming smell of Sameen’s oils cheered my senses, but they couldn’t fully soothe the frustration at the king going back on his word, or the threat of a demon on the loose.
There had been a wraith in the dungeons of Anolyn. An actual demon. It was rumored that with each conquered kingdom, the Wraith Queen collected these demon warriors herself, outfitting her army with only the wickedest of beings from those continents.
Of Blood and Deceit Page 9