Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Aurelia
I t only takes a matter of seconds to wriggle back into my drawers with Bastien’s help. But I clamber out of the carriage with my cheeks flushed and my dress apparently still a little askew, because Raul takes one look at me from where he’s hopped off the driver’s seat and lifts his eyebrows. “Got started on the fun without me, did you?”
His gaze ticks to my shoulder, where the neckline rests off-center after my other lovers’ eager fondling, and his expression darkens in an instant. “What the fuck happened to you?”
He strides closer and eases back the fabric to reveal more of the bruise he spotted. My throat closes up for a moment at the fury that radiates from every inch of his massive frame.
I thought I’d seen Raul angry on my behalf before, when he and the other princes found me lying broken and bleeding in the woods during the trials. That fierceness was nothing compared to the rage rolling off him now.
“Linus,” I start. “He dislocated my shoulder, but Marc set it back, and?—”
“That fucking prick!” Raul lets go of my gown to clench his hand into a fist. “We can’t just stand by— He keeps hurting you worse— The next time I see him, I swear I’m going to?—”
I touch his face, bringing his searing gaze back to mine. “No. You’re not going to lay a hand on him. Because you couldn’t anyway, because before you got close enough, his guards would knock you down and then string you up. Don’t you dare get yourself killed thinking it’s going to help me.”
Raul’s fury simmers down just slightly. His voice lowers, but it’s still rough. “I don’t know how much longer I can stand seeing him shove you around the way he does, Lamb.”
It’s hard for me to tell him he shouldn’t feel that way when there’ve been plenty of moments I’ve fought the urge to pour poison down my husband’s throat.
I lower my hand to stroke my thumb over his scarred knuckles. Can I simmer him down enough that tonight’s escape won’t end with them freshly bandaged? “My position isn’t really secure until the baby is born. We’re not quite halfway there yet. I’ve made gains with Marc. He apologized to me this morning. With every incident like this, he gets closer to ending his brother himself.”
“And then you end him.”
“And then I end him,” I agree. “By whatever means are safest for all of us. At least he hasn’t tormented me in quite the same ways as his twin has.”
Bastien’s mouth twists. “It might get worse. I know why you’ve been stirring them up against each other, but the way you’ve praised Linus, encouraging him to get bolder… He could turn that arrogance against you even more.”
I shiver. “Or against the people whose countries we’re calling on. I’m doing my best to strike the right balance. But you’ve recognized that the Darium court is starting to see him as outright unhinged too. The more relief they feel when he’s gone, the better it is for me.”
The brawny muscles across Raul’s shoulders flex, but his stance relaxes slightly. “All right. I’ll summon more of the incredible patience you’ve inspired in me. He’d better not beat you right in front of me, though, or I can’t make any promises.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” I squeeze his hand. “I’m a shepherdess more than a lamb, remember.”
A rough chuckle escapes him. “To be sure you are.”
He bends down to kiss me, hard and so hot I’m tingling all the way down to my toes by the time he draws back. He aims a wicked grin at me. “I can tell Bas and Lore already looked after you well, but I promise I’ll give you a send-off to remember before we’re done here.”
That’s a promise I know Raul can make good on.
Now that the prince of Lavira isn’t on the verge of exploding, I let my gaze drift away to take in our surroundings. We’re standing at the edge of a pebbled beach, just steps from a spine of stone that juts from the ground to our left. Beneath the half-moon and the star-speckled sky, the waters of the narrow lake lap at the shoreline with a soft warble.
As I hook my hand around Raul’s arm, he tugs me onward. “Come. I’d like to introduce you to my favorite cove. No one’s likely to stumble on it at the busiest of times, but Lorenzo will make sure they’re diverted if any random interlopers do ramble by.”
A cove. Recognition glimmers in my head. “You mentioned this place before—when we were still in Vivencia. A secluded spot you like to visit…”
Where he suggested he’d have his way with me. A fresh blush tingles across my face.
Raul’s grin only grows as he must realize what I’ve remembered. “That’s right. Sometimes a person’s got to escape the commotion of the city and clear his head. This whole stretch of beach is dedicated to royal use, although that doesn’t keep the gawkers away. The rocks over here guarantee a little more privacy.”
With Bastien and Lorenzo trailing behind us, Raul leads me nearly to the edge of the water and around the ridge of stone, which looms nearly as high as my head. A faint spray dapples my ankles, pleasantly cool.
The rocky outcropping rises in a semi-circle about the size of the vast ballroom in the imperial palace. The lake intrudes on the cove with a dip into the shoreline, but half of the ground is dry, a mix of smooth pebbles and glinting grains of sand.
Lorenzo props himself against the slant of the ridge where he can follow our conversation while also watching for intruders. Nearby, Raul spreads out a thin blanket he brought from the carriage for the rest of us to sit on.
He hunkers down and leans back on his elbows. “Night is one of the best times to come. It’s quiet along this stretch, and we get an excellent view. There’s a shoal on the opposite side of the lake where pero fish like to swarm when it’s dark. Quite a delicacy in Lavira. They’re attracted to light like moths, and the fishers use that to their advantage.”
He tips his head toward the lake. As if on cue, a gleam flickers in the distance—a glowing spark that looks almost like the godlen sign I chased yesterday, only pale yellow instead of red.
The fishing period must have just started. As we watch, another glow glides into view—presumably on a boat I can’t make out. Then another and another. Glittering reflections of their light streak across the rippling water.
A sense of peace like I haven’t felt in days if not weeks settles over me. “It’s beautiful.”
Raul sits more upright to slip his arm around me. “There you go. I can offer more than bluster and moments of bliss… as enjoyable as the latter can be.”
I nudge him gently with my elbow. “I know you’re more than bluster. And I know how well you’d fight for me if it made sense to.”
He hums skeptically, but a warm smile curves his lips.
Taking in our surroundings, I can’t help wondering what led the prince who’s always been by far the most forceful of his foster brothers to seek out so much calm. I tip my head against his shoulder. “Have you felt the need to slip away out here often when you’ve been back home?”
A trace of tension passes through the brawny muscles I’m leaning against, but Raul’s voice comes out with typical nonchalance. “You know all that politicking isn’t really my style. A fellow gets tired of having his every move analyzed. It isn’t as if they missed me.”
I want to say that I’m sure his family treasures every moment they can get with him, but after seeing how Bastien’s father spoke to him… I’m not actually sure at all.
Instead, I ease up to kiss his cheek. “I’m honored to share this place with you.”
The shine of Raul’s eyes in the moonlight tells me that was the right response. “Everything I have is yours too, Shepherdess.”
At my other side, Bastien twines his fingers with mine. “Since we’ve been speaking about fighting for you… We’ll continue our usual tactics with the locals and the court while we’re here. Is there anything specific we should be trying to prod the Lavirian nobles toward or arranging on your behalf?”
I consider. “I’d like a chance to speak to your parents somewhat privately,” I tell Raul. “Whenever you can arrange that discretely. Perhaps I can address the illicit merchant dealings to win some good will with them? They can’t be pleased to have the country’s economy diverted from their control, and it’d make sense for me to be concerned too.”
“They do like to have their fingers in every pie.” Raul cocks his head. “I’ll see what they’ll agree to. They won’t want to feel meeting with you alone is a situation that puts them at any disadvantage. And you’ll have to be prepared for them to question you thoroughly.”
“I think I can handle that.”
“I’m sure you can. Just don’t let it bother you if they still seem distant by the end. They’ll prefer to keep you on your toes until they’re really sure of you, no matter how much you’ve started to convince them.”
I grimace. “So basically you’re saying that there’s no way for me to tell whether I’ve earned any respect from them. Will they admit it even to you?”
“Not likely,” he admits with a faltering of his smile. “But I might be able to get a better read on them than you can.”
“I suppose I’ll just have to do my best regardless.” I gaze across the glittering lake, and my mind drifts to much more disturbing images from two days ago. “If any of you have the chance to subtly plant some seeds of disapproval about Linus’s new child brigade with the Darium court, that would be useful too. I think there’s a chance Marc could be convinced to disband it if he senses it’s causing the nobles to think less of him.”
Bastien adjusts his grip on my hand. “Not that I was anything but horrified by Linus’s scheme, but don’t you think it adds to the general ill-feeling toward him ?”
“I think he unnerved whoever he was going to unnerve plenty just by doing it. Undoing it later isn’t going to make much of a difference—to anyone except the kids and their families, who matter by far the most.”
“True enough.” Raul rubs his chin. “I’ll see what omens I can conjure.”
Lorenzo adds his agreement with a twitch of his hand.
“Good.” I nestle closer between Bastien and Raul. “Otherwise we keep on as we have been and see the course through.”
Bastien looks down at our interlaced fingers and then over at me, as if he’s uncertain about shifting the direction of the conversation. “There’s also the matter of these dangerous ‘accidents’ that’ve started befalling you on this journey. The way you were tripped in the square—I’d swear that was purposeful. And when considering the other threats you’ve narrowly avoided…”
My gut clenches. “They do seem to be more than accidents. But I don’t have any proof. I’m not sure what we can do except stay on our guard, which we already were. It has to be someone traveling with us, but I assume if any of you noticed suspicious behavior from our companions, you’d have already let me know.”
“After smacking their head off their body,” Raul mutters through a scowl. “I haven’t seen any indication of who’s behind it.”
Lorenzo shakes his head to indicate the same, his face tensing with worry.
“I’ve tried to watch for hints of guilt,” Bastien says. “I don’t know who in the court that’s joined us would have any animosity toward you, other than maybe Ennius because you’ve developed some sway over his wife. From what I understand, his gift from Prospira has to do with finding lucrative investments, nothing that could send rocks tumbling at your head or startle horses.”
A sudden thought strikes me, so uncomfortable it chokes me for a second before I can put the question into words. “Doesn’t Neven’s gift have something to do with stone?”
Raul sputters. “No fucking way. The kid might be in some weird state of mind, but he’d never attack you.”
“And it isn’t really about stone,” Bastien adds. “Like Lore’s illusions, Neven can shape stone because of his larger gift. He couldn’t make a chunk of a cliffside break without touching it, and he was down with the rest of us when that rock nearly hit you.”
Relief trickles through me to know that I don’t have to fear treachery from at least that quarter. “All right. Do you know of anyone among our traveling party who does have a gift with stone or earth or willing things to move, however unlikely a suspect they’d seem otherwise?”
Bastien lets out a brief laugh. “If I did, I’d have warned you about that . But it wouldn’t need to be a larger gift. Plenty of the nobles haven’t admitted to any gifts at all.”
Lorenzo twists his hand. Servants. Guards.
I sigh. “Of course, we have to consider them too.”
Anyone who’s traveling with us could be involved. Plenty of staff and soldiers were around both when the horse startled and in the square two days ago. I don’t remember any Darium servants joining our walk along the hillside in Rione, but someone could have snuck onto that outcropping without us knowing.
Bastien opens his mouth and then hesitates before speaking. “We also have to consider who commands the staff and soldiers. You’ve been in much closer quarters with Marclinus than we have… Do you think Linus is at the point where he’d try to arrange to murder you ?”
The question lances through me like a spear of ice. “I—I wouldn’t have thought so. Shoving me around last night is by far the most violently he’s ever treated me himself. But he’s never seemed exactly happy with me.”
I couldn’t put it past that psychopath to pretend he’s tolerating me while plotting my death by means no one could pin on him. Especially if he’s realized that Marc’s interest in me has contributed to their quarrels.
Lorenzo must let his concealing illusion drop just long enough to conjure his voice instead, looking over at us with a frown. “Would he really risk word getting out that he tried to kill his own wife?”
“It is hard to imagine that delusional prick trusting anyone, let alone staff, enough to give the order,” Raul says.
I wet my lips against the sudden dryness of my mouth. “I suppose we shouldn’t discount the possibility entirely. I’ll watch for any sign that he’s that displeased with me.”
The prince of Lavira brushes a stray strand of hair back from my forehead. “We’ll all keep watching. We’ll be even warier than usual. No matter who it is, they aren’t going to get to you.”
Bastien offers a crooked smile. “At least their attempts have been relatively infrequent.” He pauses. “They can only act when you’re far enough from Marclinus that his guards won’t notice the magic.”
I can’t restrain a groan. “Wonderful. Apparently I should stick even closer to his side. While he might be responsible for the attempted assassinations in the first place.”
Raul gives a low growl and nuzzles the crook of my jaw. “Whatever you have to do later, he can’t touch you right now. Enough about him and his plans and all those other horrors. Tonight, it’s only us. Stand up, Shepherdess.”
I do, shooting him a questioning look. “What are we doing now?”
He looms over me, trailing his fingertips down my side from breast to hip. “Unless you have some complaint, I’m going to fuck you until you’re seeing stars brighter than anything up in the sky.”
He always knows just how to turn me on. Desire ripples through me from head to toe. My voice comes out breathy. “No objections here.”
“Good.” Raul captures my mouth again, and just for that fleeting moment, I let all the worries dogging me slip away.