by Ana Calin
“But that doesn’t change the fact that she betrayed you in the worst way, Milord.” A member of the courts steps forward. “And while we do understand that the Queen is the bridge between us and the Winter Realm, and we know how valuable the Winter King’s support is right now, you cannot possibly expect us to just get over what she did. We will have her at least answer publicly to us all.”
“Hasn’t she done that during the trial?” Draven intervenes in his deep, calm voice that feels like the waves of a dark ocean. “She’s answered in front of all of you. She stood trial. Then she went and paid by doing what this court—through the King’s final decision—asked of her. She went with him to the Winter Realm and, together, they secured Lysander’s support against Samael. Basically, that means that her debt is paid. She fulfilled the sentence that was set for her through the trial.”
“That’s true,” the court member from before says, more people gathering behind him. “But still, she cannot possibly remain our Queen, and we cannot be expected to accept her as such.” He looks to the others, searching for some kind of confirmation and, when he gets it, he turns to me with more confidence. “When this is over, we expect you to divorce her, Milord.”
Cerys
“DIVORCE?” I CRY. “THEY demanded that he divorce me?”
Marayke stands by the bed, her mailed arms crossed over her chest. She’s watching with her focused slit eyes, but there’s genuine in concern in them.
I pace back and forth like a lioness in a cage while Nazarean meows nervously from the bed.
“I wish I could have done something,” she says, stepping in my way, her strong armored arms stopping me. “But Kareim has managed to poison the minds of the courts against you to the point that they won’t see reason. Only the truth will save you in their eyes.” She looks down, her red spiky hair framing her face that’s more drawn than usual, surely from the emotional stress with her brother. “What Kareim did to you is terrible, and unforgivable, and he knows it. He’ll go to any lengths so that the truth never comes to light, because that would mean certain death for him. The courts would never forgive this kind of betrayal. He went behind everybody’s backs, he backstabbed everyone.”
“And all for what?” I say through my teeth. “Just so that he could get more magical powers?”
“He doesn’t have many to begin with and, for a High Mage, they’re pretty vital.”
“Then he should have given up his birth right to become High Mage after your father died. He’s crazy intelligent, there are so many things he could have done instead.”
“Nothing that comes with as much power and prestige, and when you’re the spawn of the Fire Realm High Mage, there’s a lot of pressure to attain at least as much power and prestige as your parent.”
“Come on, Marayke, it’s not like his life depended on it.”
“You weren’t there when we were children, Cerys. He hasn’t had it easy.”
“Neither have you, and you didn’t turn out an evil bitch. Well, you almost did, but thank the high realms you recovered. “ I smile, sensing the tension between us melting. Marayke walks to the big arched window, staring out at the volcanic landscape of the Fire Realm.
“I want to help you, Cerys, I truly do, but it won’t be easy. You coming back with Xerxes and Lysander, along with the Winter King demanding that you be treated with royal respect in exchange for his support, all that put his Kareim with his back against the wall. He’ll fight against you with everything he has and, trust me, he has a lot.”
I’d love to tell her that Xerxes already knows what her bastard brother did to me, and that we’re actually back together, but seeing how much understanding she has for her brother’s predicament, I can’t risk it. Can I?
As I watch Marayke standing at the window, dressed in her armor that changes according to her surroundings like a chameleon, I feel annoyingly vulnerable. All I’m wearing is this flimsy silver dress, looking like a damsel in distress, waiting around in her sealed chamber, when I could be doing to much more. The plan was to manipulate her into giving me answers, but I just can’t do that to her. I’ll have to be straightforward, but without telling her about Xerxes and me.
“Marayke.” I lick my lips and walk over to her. “I have a feeling Kareim wouldn’t be doing all this if he didn’t have serious support from upper management, so to speak.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think you know exactly what I mean. That’s why you’re not looking at me.”
She places her mailed hands on her hips, biting her lip and staring down at her feet.
“Lysander believes Kareim has the support of someone in a really high position,” I press on. “Someone from the Council of the Arcane. Is that true?”
“I don’t know, Cerys.”
“Would you tell me if you did?”
She doesn’t answer. I get close to her, so close that I’m breathing against her shoulder. She’s taller than me, lean and definitely physically stronger, but I can feel my own magic starting to boil inside of me. I will fight for my love with Xerxes, I won’t lose him, sure as hell not for something I haven’t done. I won’t be defeated by an evil mage’s schemes.
“I understand that you’re worried about your brother’s life, Marayke. But he’s walking on a minefield, and he’s doing it of his own accord. He brought himself into this situation. You can’t expect me to just accept what happened and get out of his way.”
“I’m not worried for his life, Cerys, I’m terrified.” Her head snaps up to me, and I see dread in her sharp warrior eyes. “If Xerxes finds out that he’s behind this whole thing, that he set you up, he’s going to do things to him you can’t even imagine.”
“Oh, I can imagine,” I whisper. I might have known Xerxes for less time than Marayke and the rest of his people, but he and I shared things on the deepest, most vulnerable levels. Nobody besides me even knew that he has a vulnerable side. They only know the warlord, the ruthless man, the powerful king that can spread wings of flame and spit fire like a dragon, heaving behind terror and ash. All the other realm leaders tremble to think about him, some don’t even dare say his name for fear it would summon him.
“I want to help you, really, I do, but I could kill my own brother in the process, and I can’t risk that.” She pinches the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “Listen, all the time down there in the Throne Hall, I wanted to speak up for you. It angered me so much my blood was fucking boiling, the way he turned everyone against you. You don’t deserve the fury that was building up in Xerxes’ face. If that fury were directed at Kareim, it would have fucking killed him. It would never cost you anything even close to your life, because no matter what, he loves you.” She stares deeply into my eyes as she says that, her own filling with water. “He can fight against that all he wants, but you’re bonded mates, and he’ll never be able to lose the feelings he has for you. You’re safe, while Kareim—”
“He already knows that Kareim is the real traitor.” The words just slide out of my mouth, but I’m not even sorry. I hold Marayke’s stricken stare as she realizes what I just said. She takes a step back, her mouth open, her eyes wide.
“What are you talking about?” she breathes.
“Things happened in the Winter Realm, it’s a long story. What matters is that the truth came to light.”
“Then how... What just happened in the Throne Hall? Xerxes accepted to divorce you when this is over!”
I walk to her as she backs away, but soon she’s got no place to back up to. I stop in front of her, talking in the softest voice I can muster in order to soothe her electrified nerves.
“Xerxes, Lysander and I determined that it’s better to keep our reconciliation secret. To make Kareim feel like he’d won. And you just confirmed our fears. He’s fighting with everything he has to protect himself. If he knew the truth, he’d become even more dangerous. That’s why I’m asking you please, Marayke. If you know who’s supporting him, tell me.”
&nbs
p; “I... Even if I knew, which I don’t... High realms, how come Kareim is even still alive?”
“Listen, Marayke, no matter what, you are safe. I already told Xerxes that you helped me. I secured your safety. I’m sure we can work something out for your brother as well. I promise you—” I reinforce that promise with my glowing aura, showing to Marayke that I’m telling her the pure truth. “Whatever happens, Kareim will remain alive. He might spend a good chunk of his life in the dungeons, but he will live. I guarantee that with my own life. I will make a blood oath to you, if that’s what it takes for you to believe me.”
She stares at me like she can’t believe what I’m saying, but soon it starts to sink in.
“I really don’t know who his patron is,” she manages. “But I have reason to believe that you’re right. That someone is in the Council is secretly supporting him.”
The confirmation runs through me like an electric shock. I guess part of me hoped this suspicion wouldn’t be confirmed. The Council of the Arcane is just beneath Heaven itself, they basically run all the supernatural realms. Three members are Archangels, the president is a High Seraph and two of them are Eldritch terrors.
This is serious business. With a member of the Council behind him, Kareim stands a great chance to win this. No matter how much I’ve been resisting this all my life, there’s no way around it now. I have to embrace my dark legacy if I want to be of real help to Xerxes. I have to tap into the powers buried in my blood from my father Hades, and from my grandfather from my mother’s side, Merlin. The thought sends chills down my back.
My fists clench. Nazarean hisses, jumping from between the pillows on the bed, and brushing silkily against my naked calves, as if encouraging me. If he approves of this decision that he senses I’ve made, then it must be good, no matter how terrifying it feels.
“You did the right thing, not letting Kareim see that you and Xerxes are back together,” Marayke says. “But he’s raising hell down there on the Palace’s ground level, poisoning people’s minds against you. And tomorrow night, at the feast, he’ll stop at nothing to make things as bad as they can get for you.”
Cerys
THE WORST THING ABOUT being locked here, in the palace tower, isn’t that I’m feeling helpless. It’s that I miss Xerxes to the point where it hurts. Besides, I have to tell him that our suspicion has been confirmed. Kareim might actually have one of the Eldritch terrors behind him, and that means we have to up our game big time. I have to let him know that I’ve made the decision to tap into my darkest powers, and that I’ll go to any lengths to back him up in this.
But I sure as heck won’t be going like this, in this flimsy silver dress that makes me look like an incapable little princess. No, I’ll put something on that fits the shift of energy that I’ve been experiencing. I walk to the wardrobe and open it wide, taking in the selection of dresses and outfits that he’d gotten for me the day he brought me here. I want something bolder, something that will represent the way I’m feeling now.
For some reason the material that calls to me is lace. A black dress that looks as if it was painted onto me, with lace snaking up my chest and my arms, and a shiny black corset hugging my torso.
Nazarean meows from the bed, giving his opinion.
“I can’t, Nazarean. It’s just the way I feel. And yes, I’m willing to risk it, because...” My eyes burn as I think about being alone with Xerxes. “I miss him. You know, that way.”
Nazarean leaps gracefully from the bed up onto the top of the wardrobe, and from there onto my shoulder, his paws landing softly on the lace, his claws tucked in. He curls up into the arc of my neck, where he likes to nestle in order to feel my jugular pulsing against his warm body.
“I’ve been avoiding magic for a long time, Nazarean,” I tell him softly, locking eyes with him in the mirror, witchy golden meeting catty green. “But now it’s time to admit what’s really been going on. I’ve been running away from the legacy of my father Hades, and I’ve been too afraid of that of my grandfather Merlin. I’ve been too terrified to dive into it because I knew there might not be a way back.”
Nazarean meows, brushing his head softly against my cheek.
“Yes, you’re right. We can’t afford not to go down that path now. Kareim Velduros is using everything he has against us, cursed realms, maybe he even has an Eldritch terror supporting him. The least I’m going to need in this dire situation is the darkness buried in my bloodline.” And I can only hope it will be enough to be beat this.
Especially not with the entire Fire Realm against me, demanding that the King divorce me, therefore separating our powers instead of letting us work together, and we really need each other right now. Working together is what bound us in the first place, even though our bond was built on the spark of the bonded mates’ connection that we already had from first sight.
The thought of that connection vibrates in my chest. I smile in the mirror at this new woman that’s wearing the glow of my face but the outfit of a temptress. I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise for Xerxes, so I grab a cape and whirl it around me, pulling the hood over my head as I push the stone in the wall that will open to a dark corridor leading to anywhere I want in the castle.
It’s a secret passageway that Xerxes showed me in my first week here. He assured me that nobody knew about it, not even Draven Ferox. Of course, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, because if I get lost in this labyrinth, there’s no way anyone will find me unless Xerxes senses me, but that’s not guaranteed to happen with all the pressure he’s been facing.
But I’m ready to risk everything just to be near him. I make my way down the stairs towards the lower levels, and the chamber where Xerxes stayed the first time we separated, when he still thought I’d betrayed him with Samael.
I don’t know exactly where this chamber is, but Nazarean can track Xerxes’ energy, so I let him lead the way. I keep close behind him because it’s pitch black in here, and I can’t see more than a few inches in front of me, and that much thanks to the glow of my face. My heart beats faster in my chest, anticipating Xerxes’ reaction when he sees me there. Visiting him is dangerous, but after everything we’ve been through, he must need me as much as I need him. I’m barely still able to breathe without him, my yearning for him wrapping a fist around my heart.
Nazarean stops in front of a slight crack in the wall. That’s it. This must be his chamber, the place where Xerxes energy is coming from. I square my shoulders, mustering all my confidence to get in there and present to him this new version of his Cerys, a version of me that’s made important decisions that will have implications for the both us, especially because our powers would be working together now in a creative way that might actually win us this battle.
I activate the stone door the same way I activated the one in my room, and it slides open with the same heavy sound that reminds me of an ancient tomb in Egypt. My eyes squint at the cozy orange light, but they adjust after only a few seconds. I step inside, and follow soft music to the bath chamber. High realms, I can’t help imagining how I’m going to find Xerxes there, relaxing in his stone tub, his bronze skin glistening in the light. Find him with his eyes closed, his head leaned against the tub edge, his eyes snapping open as I start to kiss the first drop of water off his chest.
But instead of leading me straight to Xerxes, Nazarean stops in his tracks. There’s no mistaking the message behind the hiss that comes out as he bares his fangs—he senses another energetic signature in here, besides Xerxes’. I activate my own aura, picking it up, too. A sharp sensation lances through my jaw, as if I’ve just tasted lemon. I round the corner to the bath chamber carefully, my naked feet barely touching the floor. Then my eyes fall on the scene inside, and a cold claw grips my heart, squeezing the blood out of it.
CHAPTER II
Xerxes
“What the fuck is going on here?”
I spin around to find Cerys standing in the archway, a black cape over her shoulders, her face glow
ing with fury from beneath the hood that covers her head.
Her golden eyes send daggers at Zestari, the courtesan that attended to her on our wedding day, and who hates her more than anyone in the Fire Realm.
“Cerys, it’s not what you think,” I begin, standing here in the bath chamber with my leather pants still on, blades still strapped to them, only my torso naked. I’d barely gotten to take off my leather armor before Zestari appeared by my bathtub, which she had prepared despite the fact that I had specifically ordered that she not be sent to attend to me again. It’s not the first time that she’s tried to seduce me. Last time I let her down gently, but this time I could throw her right out.
“Really?” Her eyes snap from Zestari to me, expressing something I’ve never seen in them before. It’s an angry kind of jealousy that makes the skin on my arms prickle.
“Zestari only prepared my bath, that’s all.” I motion to myself to make a point. “I haven’t even gotten to take my clothes off.”
“Yeah, it does look like I interrupted you.” She steps into the bath chamber, taking off her cape and throwing it on the floor by the wall. “Go ahead and take your pants off, too. Come on, why hesitate? It’s not like Zestari and I have never seen you naked.”
“Cerys, this really isn’t what you think.”
“Why do you even have to give her an explanation?” Zestari steps in between Cerys and me, and I can barely keep myself from punching a wall. My jaw and my fists clench. “She’s not your queen anymore. She’s betrayed you and the entire Fire Realm. We were almost wiped off the face of the universe because of her.”
“You’re wrong, Zestari,” I growl, even though I manage to keep it low. “Cerys is still the Queen, even if she and I are separated. I wouldn’t have been able to get Lysander here without her help. Besides, I ordered specifically that someone else is to attend to my baths.”