42. Leverage
Chapter 42
Leverage
R aewyn
Stellon stiffened at the sight of his father, placing a protective hand on my leg as I sat astride his enormous horse.
I appreciated the instinct, but what could he do? As strong as he was, he was one man against far too many.
We were trapped, surrounded, and at the end of so many exposed blades I felt faint.
Stellon’s neck and shoulder muscles were bunched as if he was preparing himself to fight his way out of here, or at least fight to the death to protect me. I couldn’t let that happen.
“You can’t win,” I said quietly. “You have to hand me over. They know. Pharis broke his promise.”
“No,” he grunted in a guttural tone.
The word contained so much pain it ripped my heart in half. I couldn’t be sure if he was more distressed over handing me over to the guards or his brother’s betrayal, but one had led to the other, so it didn’t really matter.
“Stand back,” Stellon warned the soldiers, drawing his own sword. “The first man who tries to take her will be the first to arrive in the Land Without Stars.”
“Everyone sheath your swords,” King Pontus said in a tone that sounded almost bored.
The soldiers obeyed instantly.
“You too, son,” he said to Stellon, who still held his blade aloft.
Stellon ignored him, moving the sword in a slow arc as he eyed each soldier, one by one.
“She is innocent,” he said. “She meant no harm—no matter what Pharis said.”
“Pharis?” his father said with a look of confusion. “Put down your blade, Stellon. No one is going to hurt you.”
The king’s eyes moved to me, scanning me quizzically.
“And if you surrender her peacefully, no one will hurt your little human pet either,” he added.
No one would hurt me? If I hadn’t been so terrified I would have laughed.
Pharis had told them I’d come here to assassinate the whole royal family. They’d do worse than hurt me—they were going to kill me.
Strolling over to join the guards blocking our stall, the king gave his son a warning look.
“She’s not a pet,” Stellon spat, furious. “She’s a person, and she happens to be the woman I love. I’m going to marry her, Father.”
In an instant, King Pontus shifted from beleaguered patience to fury.
“No son of mine is going to marry a human . You are not in your right mind. Guards, take her to the dungeon for safekeeping while I speak sense to my son.”
Two soldiers moved forward, and Stellon pointed his sword at one then the other. “You will not take her. I’ll die before I allow it.”
Rolling his eyes, the king focused his attention on Stellon. “No one needs to die today over this… misunderstanding.”
His next words came out slowly and deliberately. “I want you to drop your sword.”
Stellon’s arm began to shake, then the tremor moved to the rest of his body. The sword tip bobbed in the air like a flutter-by drunk on nectar.
And then it clanked to the stable’s stone floor.
The king’s glamour. He’d forced his son to bend to his will.
Immediately the guards rushed forward and grabbed Stellon, hauling him, thrashing and cursing, out of the stall.
Another one came in and pulled me down from Malo’s back, moving me out into the open as well. The two of us were restrained several feet apart, our gazes locked.
“I’m so sorry, Firebug,” Stellon said. “I never should have trusted Pharis.”
The king studied the both of us, his eyes moving over my body and then to his son. They sparked with suspicion, and his tone held a note of doom.
“I’m not sure what your brother has to do with all this, but you have clearly not been honest with me. Be honest with me now—her life depends on it. Have you bonded with this woman?”
“No,” Stellon barked. “Let her go. She is innocent. As you said, I am the one who deceived you.”
“And she is the one who tempted you to do so,” the King said, approaching me and standing far too close as his haughty eyes bore down on me.
“When I heard you’d been secretly keeping a human in your chambers, I was angry—at first.”
Extending a long finger, he stroked my neck from collarbone to chin, tipping my face up so I had no choice but to look at him.
“But now I see there’s a benefit to the situation,” he said. “This pretty little nothing means something to you. She will make excellent leverage.”
“Stop touching her,” Stellon ordered his father, who only laughed.
He turned and walked a few steps over to his son.
“In two days’ time, you will marry—in front of the entire Assemblage—Lady Glenna of House Lalor.”
Glaring daggers at the king, Stellon jerked against the strong arms that held him fast.
Unbothered, Pontus continued. “If you do so, you may keep your little human paramour as the first member of your own retinue. After the wedding—and after you’ve bonded with your new Elven bond-mate—this girl will be moved from the dungeon to your wing of the palace, where no one will bother her. You have my word.”
So, I wasn’t going to be executed? I wasn’t sure what was going on here.
If it was Pharis who’d revealed that Stellon had been hiding me in his chambers, why had he not also told the king about the assassination plot? It made no sense.
King Pontus glanced over at me, and a sadistic smile developed on his face before he turned back to his son.
“If you do not cooperate and decide to refuse the marriage, your ‘true love’ here will move instead to the gallows,” he said, “where you will watch, along with the entire Assemblage, as she is hanged for the crime of witchcraft, bewitching a royal prince with a love spell.”
“Not my favorite option,” he clarified, “as it will be embarrassing for the rest of our people to know just how weak-minded you are. I have half a mind to disown you as heir and give the honor to your brother.”
“Do it,” Stellon spat, daring his father. “I don’t want to be your heir.”
The King laughed. “Ah, but it doesn’t matter what you want does it? What I want is what matters. And you’ll give it to me, or she’ll pay the price. You’ll remain the Crown Prince, and you will marry Lady Glenna. The sooner you do so, the sooner you’ll be reunited with your little human.”
He gave me another leering look. “Of course, if you don’t want her in your retinue, maybe I’ll have her placed into mine.”
Stellon renewed his struggle, murder in his eyes, but there were too many guards on him.
The king just laughed then directed the soldier who held me. “Take her away. See that she’s put in the cell with the fewest rats . I’d hate to get fleas in my bed.”
As the guard dragged me toward the stable door, I craned my neck to see Stellon roaring at his father.
“Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll do it. Just don’t put her in the dungeon. Put her back in my chambers—or in another room.”
“Where you can get to her and try again to spirit her away?” the king asked. “I don’t think so.”
“The dungeon,” he barked at the guard. “In chains .”