CHAPTER 11 A RESTFUL RECONVENING
When Eric opened his chamber door, he was greeted with the sight of his wife curled on her side, hugging a pillow, her golden eyes staring blindly at the wall across from her.
Neither of them had felt like eating the lunch her father had prepared, it seemed.
“I take it your day isn’t going well either?” Eric asked while closing the door behind himself.
“Mm,” Kat responded without taking her eyes off the wall.
Eric sighed and took off his boots, then crawled into the bed beside her, though he didn’t make any move to touch her and instead lay on his back, looking at the ceiling.
“I tried to make peace with your father. It went badly.”
“He told me he still needs time. Oh, and Kraken doesn’t know what language Pina is speaking and thinks she’s making one up to insult him.”
Surprisingly, Eric felt himself smile over that last part. “The emperor is a bit prideful.”
Kat let a breath out her nose.
“I heard you’re going to be teaching some of the noblewomen self-defense soon,” Eric prompted idly.
“Yeah … if anyone shows up, that is. By the way, weren’t there any noblewomen who were upset about the announcement of our marriage? You were courting a lot of them.”
Eric gave a small chuckle. “I thought there might be a bit of backlash from it, but most of them apparently had a good idea I wasn’t being all that serious with them.”
“Why were you courting so much anyway?” Kat rolled over onto her side to face Eric.
“I was getting information on their fathers.”
Kat blinked in surprise and tried not to show her immediate feelings of relief and gladness.
“Oh.”
Eric turned his head and raised an eyebrow. “You married me thinking I’d been sleeping with all of them?”
“Well, not sleeping with all of them! But … you know … other things,” Kat blustered.
“What other things?”
“Things!” Kat snapped before turning back over to her other side to avoid staring at Eric’s teasing smile.
He only briefly wondered how it was he could smile again so easily with her after such a wretched day …
He reached out and tickled her, making her shriek.
“You chose to marry me regardless of thinking I’d been sampling all the Troivackian women?! Gods, you must love me.”
Kat couldn’t answer as she jerked and twisted while laughing heartily as her husband continued to tickle her.
They proceeded to tease and wrestle each other in good fun, until at last, both with aching sides and lightened spirits, gave up and lay intertwined on the bed.
“You know, I think I have a new strategy on how to get my father to ease up,” Kat announced while shifting to look at Eric as his thumb gently stroked the back of her hand that was resting on his chest.
The prince grimaced. “I’m sure it’s a good one, but … I’ll be honest, Kat … I don’t think I have it in me to face Fin again. At least for today.”
Kat’s mouth twisted. She wanted to argue with him on the matter, but there was a quiet hurt in Eric’s eyes that made her think that perhaps the exchange he’d had with her father was even worse than he was letting on.
With a sigh that turned into a yawn, Kat settled into Eric’s side.
She suddenly felt quite tired.
“You used to barely sleep, now you look like you’re ready for a nap,” he chuckled softly beside her, making her hair flutter.
“Mm … I blame you. I think it’s because my magic feeds off your old, tired arse.”
Eric turned to look down at Kat’s head. “Truly?”
Kat peered up at him, and when she realized that he was, in fact, alarmed, she pushed herself up to a seated position.
“I mean … possibly? You want to have a nap with me. Wouldn’t it be logical that my magic senses that and feeds off it?”
Eric sat up, his eyes widening. “Kat, how much does your magic feed off others? To what degree do you absorb that?”
The redhead chewed on her lip thoughtfully, carefully considering the question. “We don’t know. Mr. Kraft is worried about that as well. Especially if my magic keeps absorbing magical attacks. Look, I was mostly jesting about the napping bit.”
Eric didn’t look fully convinced.
“Mind telling me what has you so worried about my magic all of a sudden?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. She simultaneously shifted herself a little farther away from her husband on the bed.
“I know your magic feeds off intention, or magic power directed at you, but … I’m worried about what will happen if you keep feeding off my own feelings. What if it hurts you?”
Kat frowned. “Why are you suddenly even thinking about this?”
Eric faltered, but after a moment of studying his wife’s face, his shoulders sagged forward.
“Alright. The devil visited me again.”
Kat was on her feet in an instant, but Eric held up his hands to stop her from starting what was sure to be an elaborate tirade. “He didn’t attack me. He just shared some information.”
“Why in the world would you not tell me that sooner?! What information?! Why would you trust anything that the devil says?!” Kat spouted off, throwing her hands in the air.
Eric, still with one hand in the air to wordlessly plead that she not start shouting, pushed himself off the other side of the bed.
“He’s never lied to us before, Kat. Just … listen.” The prince waited to see if his wife was able to settle herself back down enough so she could actually hear him out.
It took a good while, but after a few moments of prolonged eye contact, she let out a huff and folded her arms over her chest expectantly.
“He said there is a woman close to us who is responsible for the recent altercations with the magical beasts. He said she wants you out of Troivack, though he doesn’t know why. It seems it’s all witches she wants banished from the kingdom, and unlike the devil who is now simply trying to avoid you, she isn’t above killing you. I’m even wondering if she could maybe be the one who gave Aidan Helmer the dragon.”
Kat frowned. “A woman who hates witches in Troivack? I don’t suppose the devil was able to give us more details. You know, like a name? Odd mole placement? Perhaps a special pitchfork she likes to carry around?”
Eric shook his head. “The devil doesn’t know who she is, but he knows she’s plotting something and that she’s the one bringing the magical beasts into Troivack through connections she has …”
Kat’s index finger began to tap her arm. “That aside … Why are you suddenly paranoid about my magic consuming your intention?”
Eric’s hands gradually fell to his sides. “The devil has always been pretty vocal about how I’d be the only one to benefit from our relationship. He has said numerous times that I’d destroy you.”
“I see. And tell me. How is Mrs. Satan doing?”
The prince blinked in confusion.
“My point is, he sounds just like a bitter, angsty man who likes to judge other people’s relationships.”
Eric couldn’t help laughing. “Kat … of all the … Really? Calling the devil angsty?”
“How is that man not angsty? All humans are terrible. I’m going to hide in the dark and torment them. I like to make people scared because people are awful!” Kat finished her performance, during which she had pitched her voice low and made Eric laugh all the harder.
It eventually devolved into the prince being forced to double over because he couldn’t find breath to spare between his laughs. Even Kat struggled not to crack a smile.
“See what I mean though? He is judging people without living as a person, and he thinks it’s his place to write us all off. Truth is, he doesn’t know everything, or else he’d know the identity of this ominous woman. So don’t go listening to his opinion on our relationship.” Kat paused with a smile as Eric gradually regained control of himself. “I’m guessing he wanted something in exchange for telling us about this woman?”
Finally able to stand straight, though he was in the process of pinching the corners of his eyes where tears had started to accumulate, Eric managed to respond, “Yes. He wants information about what we are finding out about her. And I imagine the kingdom.”
“He wants you to spy?” Kat’s eyes widened.
“Didn’t say spy—I would just talk to the king about it and see how he would like to proceed. More like an exchange of information. This woman is also close to Alina if she is close to you right now, so His Majesty should know about this,” Eric pointed out.
Kat’s hands moved to her hips. “I don’t think we need to bother telling the devil anything. We now know we have to watch out for someone who dislikes witches and who … who …”
“Disappears for longer periods of time,” Eric supplied with a small half shrug.
“Huh.”
The couple fell into silence again.
“Do you know anyone who does that?” the prince prompted patiently.
Kat’s tongue poked the inside of her cheek, and her gaze lowered as she ruminated on the description.
“Well … I know that Rebecca Devark certainly doesn’t seem to be a fan of me, and she would have been around during Aidan’s time here, which could explain the dragon, and she is probably the most well-connected woman in all Troivack.”
Eric faltered in surprise.
“That … That actually makes perfect sense. Except for why she attacked you at Faucher’s keep if it meant you being sent back to the castle. Unless it was the only way she could keep an eye on you.” His mind began to whirr into action.
Kat nodded along, though something in her eyes stopped Eric from speculating any further. “You don’t seem convinced,” he said.
“My gut tells me I’m wrong.”
“Are you sure you’re not just hungry? You did skip lunch.”
“Okay, I might be hungry. Can we go get something to eat before talking more?” Kat asked, a look of realization breaking through her cloudy mood.
Chuckling, Eric slowly rounded the bed until he stood in front of his wife. “Yes. We’ll go eat at a tavern somewhere in Vessa, and then we’ll keep trying to figure this out. Once we have something, we’ll talk to the king together. Sound good to you?”
Kat nodded.
Eric offered her his hand.
She smiled and took it.
As Kat began to follow her husband toward the door, a thought occurred to her. “You know, I got into a lot of trouble growing up—”
“Oh really? I had no idea.”
Kat shoved her shoulder into Eric’s side right as he reached for the door handle. “But I have to say, getting embroiled with the devil really does set a whole new standard for me going forward. How will I ever top this?”
“You’re going to be responsible for a kingdom someday. I don’t think it’ll be as hard as you think.”
The two continued their typical banter mixed with conversation as they made their way down the castle corridor, and while their conversation may have surrounded completely real and terrifying situations, there was an air of comfort and quiet knowingness that eased any prickly anxiety from the day.
They each shared the sense that, while there was much more to come, they already were doing everything they needed to, with the best person fighting at their back.
She stared at Ansar with a partial smirk.
“The devil reached out to the prince?”
Her assistant remained bowed. “Yes, ma’am, he did.”
Leaning back in her high-backed chair, her legs crossed, she licked her lips before fully smiling with a breathy laugh. “I’m making him nervous. Good.”
“If the king becomes aware that you are close to the queen, it will be difficult for us to meet, ma’am,” Ansar reminded carefully while drawing his shoulders straight.
She lightly clasped her hands on the massive desk before her. “That is to be expected. It doesn’t matter much at this time. Everything is just about ready. I just need to wait for Sam to come find me. Though the longer it takes him, the better prepared I can be, so no need to help him along. I wouldn’t mind a bit more information about the Ashowan family either, and waiting gives me the opportunity to learn more.”
“Do you think we will be able to get Kraken the Emperor and Lady Katarina out of Troivack in time?”
She pondered this question with her head tilted over her left shoulder. “I was hoping her father would be a lot more forceful given her reckless behavior with the prince, but it seems as though the Troivackian king is doing everything in his power to fight against that. I doubt Katarina will want to leave Her Majesty’s side now anyway.” The woman paused. “Duke Icarus failed in getting her forced out, and my guess is the devil is now aware that the nobleman has turned on him to join me. Icarus is dispensable now, but … who knows. Maybe the chance of keeping his head will prompt him to be more receptive to taking a more active part in our plans.”
She stood. “Give him more of the powdered Witch’s Brew and clear instructions. Oh, and remind him that the devil doesn’t simply leave alone those who abandon him. His days are numbered unless he succeeds and keeps me happy.”
Ansar bowed to his mistress. “Yes, ma’am.”
With a sigh, she stepped around her desk and headed toward the doors.
She wouldn’t be able to return to her hideout in Vessa as of sunset, but that didn’t matter.
Soon she would be rid of the devil once and for all, and then … well … she could finally live freely without the threat of his interference.