Oath of Destruction

by Jennifer Anne Davis

  “What if we left a space for the future ruler of Melenia to sign?” Rema suggested. “Then, once he or she claims the throne, we can send a letter inviting them to sign the treaty?”

  Everyone but Apethaga agreed.

  “King Theon?” Rema said. “Do you agree as well?”

  He shifted uncomfortably on his seat, darting his gaze around the room. “Yes,” he said finally, “I will agree to those terms.”

  “Excellent. My scribe will compose the treaty now for us to sign.” Rema folded her hands.

  Kerdan was about to say something when the door opened and the king and queen from Telmena entered. Allyssa took note that the prince was not with them. She hoped Neco or Nathenek was keeping an eye on him while the royal families met.

  King Metek and Queen Cora sat. When the king went to say something, Rema cut him off. “As soon as my scribe is finished, the treaty will be passed around for everyone to read and sign.”

  “You should not have started without me,” King Metek said.

  “You shouldn’t have been late,” Kerdan said, glaring at Metek.

  “I won’t sign a treaty unless I have a say,” Metek said.

  “We are simply agreeing to peace,” Rema assured him. “We’re all willing to stay within our borders.”

  “That is not acceptable.”

  Silence descended over the room.

  “Why not?” Kerdan demanded.

  “I don’t answer to you,” Metek said.

  Rema leaned forward. “It has come to our attention that King Metek believes he should be the emperor of Emperion, am I correct?” Rema asked the king.

  “I should be,” he replied.

  “So you do not seek peace. Rather, you are here to either assassinate me or overthrow me.”

  The king’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Rema. “I am here for the wedding.”

  “In addition to declaring war against my kingdom.” She’d thrown down the gauntlet, laying it all out on the table.

  Allyssa had no idea how the king would respond. Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for him to say something.

  It was Kerdan who spoke next. “Why do you think you should rule Emperion?”

  “As you are well aware, the previous emperor, Hamen, was my uncle. Rema murdered and overthrew him.” The king folded his arms, glaring at no one in particular.

  Rema cleared her throat and said, “He was not the true emperor. He did not bear the tattoo marking him as the legitimate ruler.”

  “I should be ruling Emperion,” Metek insisted.

  “I can show you documentation that dates back over a century,” Rema said. “I’ll prove to you, and everyone here, that I am the rightful heir and you hold no claim. Once I’ve shown you everything, I will insist you sign the treaty and leave us alone.”

  “I will do no such thing.”

  “I’m curious,” Darmik said, speaking for the first time. “Emperor Hamen was my father. I sit on the Emperion throne. You are my cousin. Why do you think you hold a stronger bid for the throne than me?”

  “You murdered your own sister, Jana,” the king said. “My niece. I’ve been aiding her for years since you so callously banned her from Emperion.”

  Allyssa pursed her lips, trying to keep her temper under control. She wanted to yell at Metek that Jana was a deceitful, lying, murderous wench who got what she deserved. Odar slid his hand onto her thigh, squeezing it. The contact did the trick, and she reined in her temper.

  “I am asking you to leave Emperion alone,” Darmik said. “Make no claim against the kingdom. Let us have peace.”

  King Metek turned to King Theon. “Did you agree to this nonsense?”

  “We did,” Theon said.

  Allyssa studied the elder two siblings, Patteon and Conditto. Both had their heads down, so she couldn’t see their facial expressions.

  “Why?” Metek demanded.

  “We do not care to go to war,” Theon stated.

  “But we had a deal,” Metek said, his voice low and furious. “We won’t protect you if you back out.”

  “You can’t control the entire mainland,” Theon said. “And if we all ban together to take over Emperion and fail, then Emperion will control the entire mainland. By agreeing to this treaty, we are guaranteed to maintain control over Apethaga. Quite frankly, that is enough for me.”

  The corners of Conditto’s lips rose as she fought a smile. Did the woman actually think Kerdan would marry her? Allyssa’s temper started to rise again. Apethaga would be sitting pretty thinking they’d keep control over their kingdom plus have their eldest daughter sitting on the Russek throne. It was far better than being under Telmena’s thumb.

  “I agree,” Viscor said. “This treaty is beneficial for us all. It guarantees we keep what we have. We can put our resources into helping our people instead of keeping a large standing army.”

  As much as Allyssa didn’t like Odar’s father, she had to hand it to him. Reminding people that he had a large army without actually saying he had a large army was a wise move. And she appreciated the fact he was backing Emperion. Of course, from his point of view, his son was marrying into the Emperion royal family, which would be hugely beneficial for them.

  Which meant that someone had to be vying for Savenek. Who had the most to benefit from such a union? As far as she knew, Lareissa of Apethaga was engaged to Jem of Telmena. That was advantageous for those two kingdoms. However, neither Lareissa nor Jem were first in line for the throne. Conditto clearly was still vying for a union with Kerdan. Allyssa was due to marry Odar. They were both first in line for their thrones. She was surprised Jem hadn’t made a serious bid for her hand. Or Patteon. Actually, now that she was considering the matter, Patteon should have courted her since they were both first in line. Not that she would have agreed, but it would have made sense.

  That still left Savenek. Would Lareissa find him more appealing than Jem? Allyssa almost laughed. Of course she would. However, the contract had already been signed between Lareissa and Jem. Allyssa found all of this very interesting. Although, she had a nagging suspicion she was missing something.

  “I won’t sign the treaty,” Metek said.

  The scribe handed the treaty to Rema. Rema read through it before signing her name with a flourish at the bottom. She passed the treaty to Viscor.

  “I must say,” Rema addressed Metek, “that I am disappointed. I’d hoped to avoid war. However, you are entitled to your opinion. I appreciate you coming here and at least talking with us.”

  Viscor passed the treaty to Theon, who read through and signed it. When he finished, he passed it to Kerdan. After Kerdan signed it, he passed it to the king from Dromien.

  “Thank you all for coming,” Darmik said.

  Allyssa stood, eager to get out of there. Odar took her arm and escorted her to the exit. She could feel Metek’s eyes following her every move. Odar’s hand tightened on her. He must have sensed it, too.

  Savenek

  Savenek entered the Dining Hall, which was already filled with royalty and members of court. Everyone sat at the tables talking, having a merry time as they ate. Hopefully, the food was safe and hadn’t been contaminated with poison. After the meeting—if one could even call it that—Savenek wouldn’t put it past King Metek to poison everyone and take control of the entire mainland. The king was crazy enough to do it.

  Strolling past courtiers, he smiled and nodded as he made his way to the head table where he took a seat next to his sister. He wished Mayra was here to keep him company. However, she was working on deciphering a letter written by King Metek. After the meeting, the king had stormed back to his room and composed the letter. He gave it to one of his servants to deliver. Since Savenek had a member of the Brotherhood watching the king, the spy followed the servant, who had given the letter to one of the Telmena soldiers. The spy had managed to copy the letter before the soldier destroyed it. When Savenek saw the letter had been written in a way that made no sense to
him, he gave it to Mayra to decipher. Mayra said it was written in some sort of code, and she needed time to figure it out. She’d been holed up in his office ever since.

  “What’s wrong?” Allyssa asked, concern etching her voice. She held a fork in her hand as if eating, but he knew she was just pretending. He was, too. A precautionary measure—just in case the food had been tampered with.

  “Nothing.” He didn’t want to worry her; she already had enough to deal with.

  Rema and Darmik entered. They stopped to speak to several people as they made their way to the head table.

  Darmik wanted the family to meet in the Royal Chambers after the ball tonight to finalize their plans for assassinating Metek, Cora, and Jem. For once, Rema hadn’t tried to stall or insist on more talks. She’d agreed they should move forward—the sooner, the better. Since then, Savenek had been on edge.

  “I wonder what Marek is doing here,” Allyssa mused. “He told me he’d remain in the corridor with the rest of my guard since my parents had so many sentries present in the room.”

  Savenek stood, knowing exactly what it meant. “Mayra must have finished deciphering the letter.” He casually strolled across the room, making sure to nod and smile to a few of the courtiers along the way.

  “Is she done?” Savenek asked Marek.

  “She is.” He nodded toward the door, and they exited the Dining Hall. They made their way to the corridor where the offices were located. Marek entered Neco’s office, holding the door open for Savenek.

  Once they were alone, Marek rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Mayra was able to decipher the letter. King Metek gave one of his soldiers a direct order to kill the empress, emperor, and the prince.”

  “But not the princess?” Savenek asked, immediately understanding why they’d want her alive—to secure the throne.

  “Correct.”

  “Have you told my parents yet?” He realized after the fact that he’d called Rema and Darmik his parents. He wondered when he’d started thinking of them that way.

  “No. Mayra came to me, asking that I tell you immediately.”

  “I need to go and speak with them.” He felt for the daggers hidden in his sleeves, around his waist, and in his pants. They were all there. “Did the letter say when the assassinations were to take place?” He’d hoped Metek, Cora, and Jem would leave the castle tomorrow. Once they left, he intended to make sure a fatal accident befell them. However, before he could worry about killing them, he had to eliminate the soldier. He ran his hands through his hair. Nathenek was the man for this job. He needed to find him immediately.

  “The soldier was instructed to kill you and your parents after the wedding tomorrow.”

  They had plenty of time then.

  “Mayra asked that you be careful,” Marek said.

  “I will.”

  “Yes, you will. I won’t have my sister worrying needlessly about you.”

  Savenek headed for the door. “I’ll inform my parents. You find Nathenek. Tell him to take care of the soldier. I assume you know who the soldier is?” If not, they could just remove all Telmena soldiers from the grounds. There were only two dozen or so in the barracks.

  “Yes, we’ve identified the soldier who received the letter and he’s being watched.”

  “Excellent.” The next twenty-four hours were going to be intense.

  Savenek entered the Great Hall where the ball was being held. Musicians played in one corner while the people meandered around the edges. All the dancing took place in the center of the room. Many were talking about Allyssa and Odar’s wedding, which was due to take place tomorrow.

  Several people were watching Savenek. He made sure to smile as he made his way over to Prince Zek. When he’d spoken to his parents a few moments ago, they were adamant he proceed as if nothing had changed and he didn’t know about his own assassination. Since he’d spent his entire life in the shadows, it was now hard to be the center of attention. Nathenek was off hunting the Telmena soldier while Savenek attended the ball. It went against his training—being the one here doing nothing while the Brotherhood and Emperion soldiers protected him.

  “Prince Savenek,” Prince Zek said. “My father wants confirmation that the only kingdom that didn’t sign the treaty is Telmena?”

  “You are correct.” Even at a ball, all anyone wanted to discuss was politics. Did it never end?

  “What does Emperion intend to do about it?”

  Savenek cocked his head at the man, trying to act puzzled. “Nothing.” He shrugged. “We can’t force them to do something they don’t want to do.” He reminded himself to be aloof, noncommittal, and nonthreatening. He felt like a fraud. It was at that moment he realized if he was going to do this—be the prince of Emperion—that he needed to be the prince he wanted to be: strong, reliable, dependable, and a leader. When this threat with Telmena was over, Savenek would talk to Darmik about that. Until then, he could play along.

  “You do understand that they will wage war on Emperion, correct? Now that we are part of Emperion, that includes my people.”

  “Does it?” Savenek said. “Well, I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure the empress and emperor have everything under control.” He forced himself to walk away before he told the guy that the Telmena royal family would be dead soon.

  If only Mayra was here so Savenek could dance with her. She would help ease his nerves. He ran his hands through his hair with the realization he was nervous. Was it because he had a family being threatened? That he cared for Rema, Darmik, and Allyssa?

  The herald announced Princess Allyssa and Prince Odar. The pair entered the Great Hall, smiling at everyone in attendance. After them, Rema and Darmik entered. Savenek took a moment to closely observe his family. While his sister looked regal in her red dress with her hair done all fancy, the lines around her eyes were tight, her mouth pinched with worry. Rema and Darmik both headed straight for King Metek and Queen Cora. Savenek knew neither of his parents wanted to deal with or speak to the Telmena royals, but they chose to do their duty. He had to respect that.

  Music and dancing resumed.

  “The last time I spoke to you, you were in a dungeon,” Princess Lareissa crooned from behind Savenek.

  He forced his body to remain relaxed instead of tensing up at the mere sound of her sultry voice. Plastering a half smile on his face, he regarded her from under hooded eyes and said, “I heard you are engaged to Prince Jem.” He nodded at the prince from Telmena and smirked. The guy was at least twice her age.

  “We shall see if that happens,” she said, lips going from plump and seductive to a tight line.

  The contract had already been signed. While he doubted Lareissa wanted to marry Jem, she didn’t have much say in the matter. If King Theon wanted his daughter to marry Jem, she would. He tried not to feel sorry for her. “Dance with me.” Without giving her a chance to respond, Savenek took her arm and led her to the dance floor. “Too bad you and I couldn’t have been matched.”

  She placed her right hand far too low on his back for comfort. Maybe it was better Mayra wasn’t here to see this. Knowing he had a part to play, he left her hand there and continued dancing.

  Lareissa smiled seductively at Savenek. “You are second in line behind your sister.”

  He never got the impression she sought power. Pleasure, diversion from boredom, and adventure perhaps. But not power. “You’re fourth in line now; if you marry Jem, you’ll be second in line. So no matter what, you will not sit on the throne. We are alike in that.” He spun her around and pulled her to him, resting one hand on the small of her back, which just so happened to be bare.

  “If you think I am happy with my status, that I will just sit around being told what to do my entire life, then you don’t know me as well as I thought you did.” Her eyes flashed with fury.

  An idea suddenly occurred to him. If Lareissa wanted a throne, all she had to do was kill Allyssa. Then Savenek would be the crown heir. Suddenly, he feared for his sis
ter’s life. Lareissa had access to poison, and he wouldn’t put it past her to slip something in Allyssa’s food or drink.

  “You always were fun,” he whispered in her ear. He needed to get Lareissa out of here.

  She laughed, the sound deep and sensual. “And you always were a flirt.”

  The song ended. “Let’s go somewhere we can be alone.” He started to leave, pulling her along with him.

  “I want to stay,” she said, refusing to budge.

  Thunder boomed through the sky, making the candles flicker. Savenek turned to face her. He slowly leaned in and whispered, “And I want to see you out of that dress.” Although, half her body was already exposed, revealing voluptuous breasts and smooth, silky skin.

  She trailed a finger over his lips and down his neck. “There will be time for that. Later. For now, dance with me.”

  Not wanting her to see his hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. As long as he was with Lareissa, she couldn’t harm his sister. He just couldn’t let her out of his sight until he managed to tie her up somewhere.

  Savenek scanned the people around him, wanting to make sure Allyssa was a safe distance away. Three yards to the right, Kerdan was dancing with Conditto, both stiff and rigid with about a foot of space between their bodies. Savenek tried not to laugh. He spotted Allyssa with Odar standing off to the side, near the food table, talking to King Viscor and Queen Lutia. That had to be an awkward conversation for Allyssa, and one he wished he could interrupt. The only consolation was they were a good fifty feet away.

  When the music ended, Savenek released Lareissa and they clapped for the musicians. Lareissa started making her way over to the food table. Savenek hurried and caught up to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

  “I’m thirsty,” she said, a small pout on her lips. “Get me something to drink.”

  He had no intention of leaving her side or taking her any closer to Allyssa. Leaning down, he kissed her cheek, his lips lingering there. “Are you sure you don’t want to go somewhere we can be alone?” He kept his arm firmly around her waist.