Chapter Nine #2
His actions do not change the opinion I have made of him.
Someone has been on my side this entire time, after all.
“I did what needed to be done. Father does not like to kill his own men. He would rather exile them to the Etherkeep or in this case, reassign them. That punishment was not enough for me.”
It intrigues me that reassigning guards to work under Draven is a form of punishment.
“What is the Etherkeep?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Think of it as like an immortal prison. It is located on the outskirts of Faeria. A place that holds both kingdoms banished criminals.”
“What kind of criminals?”
“Some are there for acts of injustice, others are there for no reason other than the fact that they cannot ever be let out into the Etherealm. Whatever it may be, once sentenced, Vryko prisoners are transported across the Line of Ether and into Faeria forever. No one ever leaves the Etherkeep once decided that it is their fate.”
I shiver at the thought of what could be in there.
“I on the other hand, have very little tolerance for sentencing and believe some people do not deserve the mercy of being kept alive. So, as you can see, me and my father’s morals differ and I am not king.”
“Honestly, your father needs to get his morals straightened out,” I say.
He nods in agreement, the corner of his mouth pulling upward.
Questions continue to come forward in my head. I feel as if I learn something new every day here.
“So, who takes them across the line?” I ask him.
“I do.”
I wonder how many of those prisoners never made it to the other side of the line because of Draven. I decide not to ask any more questions.
“Let’s go get ready to eat dinner with the old relic, shall we?” he asks.
We walk toward the exit of the arena and Draven opens the door for me. A simple gesture but an appreciated one. He proceeds to walk next to me as I turn to walk to my room.
I glance over at him. “You do not have to walk me back. I can get there on my own.”
“It is no trouble. In fact, it is on the way,” he says.
“No, it’s not.”
Draven sighs. “Right, it is not. But I promise I do not mind. I actually insist.”
I wonder if this has anything to do with the disappearances. Or, with my luck, he knows that I am a snooper and went through his room so he does not trust me to be alone.
Probably the latter.
I give him a tight smile and we continue walking in comfortable silence. When we reach my bedroom door, he opens it for me.
“I will see you shortly,” he says.
“Yep. Sounds good.”
I step inside and shut the door behind me, immediately walking over to the bed and falling onto it with a groan.
I would rather do, quite literally, anything other than eat dinner with King Vesper. The man gives me the creeps. His eyes stare right into your soul like he is going to snatch it away.
At least he has already taken mine.
I sit up and look around the room, there are no signs of Ivorie. I roll onto my side, seeing that I am halfway lying on a dress she must have laid out for me to wear tonight. It is one of the new ones we ordered so they must have just arrived today.
When I gather the strength to stand back up, I walk to the bathroom, glancing down at myself as I grimace. With the amount of sweat I am covered in, I probably should wash.
When I finish bathing, I make quick work of taking my hair out of the braids they are in.
They leave my hair falling in soft waves to my waist. I put some red tint on my cheeks and lips, nodding at my reflection and deciding it will have to be enough.
I have no desire to make myself presentable for this.
I walk over to the dress and pick it up, noting the side zipper so I can dress myself.
I smile, realizing that I miss Ivorie. I did not get to speak with her for very long this morning. I know she has to be with me all the time, but I like to think we would be friends if that was not the case. Maybe I should try opening up to her a bit more.
I step into the dress, pulling it up past my waist. It is a satin lavender colored dress that has a sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves. The bottom falls in ruffled layers to my feet.
I step in front of the mirror and sway my hips back and forth, watching the ruffles move. The motion makes me laugh and I glace up at the mirror, two points catching my eye. I step closer, taking a look at my face.
I look healthy. There are no signs of exhaustion under my eyes and my skin looks fresh. My irises are still red, making it hard to look in the mirror but I stay anyways.
I take a deep breath and give myself a big smile. I lean in close, seeing my two elongated canines coming down from my gums. It is the same smile, just pointier.
It is not as horrific as I thought it would be. Seeing Draven’s smile so often has made curious to look at my own.
Mine does not bring me happiness like his does.
I sigh, turning from the mirror to slip my shoes on.
As I walk toward the door I stop, not even sure I want to walk down there yet. I wonder if I should walk over to Draven’s wing, just so I do not have to walk into dinner alone.
Yes, I will do just that.
The door swings open, Draven is lazily propped up against the wall with his hands in his pockets. His eyes trail over me all the way down, then back up.
He shows no emotion on his face regarding what I look like so I ignore his wandering eyes.
“Wow crazy, I was just thinking about you,” I say.
The corner of his mouth lifts in a half-smile. “Imagine that.”
He offers me his arm and I take it, looping my arm through his and nestling comfortably into his side, fitting perfectly. We slowly start our walk to the dining room together. Our footsteps echo through the halls as we walk.
“I do not want to do this,” I admit.
“I know. I will be there with you,” he says.
We take the right turn leading to the dining hall.
“I will let you in on a secret.” He leans in toward me like he is about to tell me something life-changing. “I do not want to do this either,” he whispers.
I let out a giggle and give him a shove. My laughter quickly dies off when we reach the wooden double doors.
He opens them for me and I step into the wolfs den.
King Vesper is sitting at the head of the table, per usual. There are only a few workers lingering in the corners of the room and some staff are bringing dinner plates out to the table. Trays pass us full of various forms of meat, alcohol, and blood.
What a combination and the only thing ever on the menu it seems.
The king is wearing all black except his crown of rubies and silver that sits high on top of his head. Interesting time for him to wear his crown.
His white hair falls to his shoulders in waves. His eyes and mouth set into a cruel stare as he watches us walk in.
I glance over to Draven as we walk to the table. Gone is the person in the hallway joking with me. He has slipped the mask of the prince back over his features. His expression is set in a way I am not used to seeing him, passive and bored. He does not look back at me.
We reach the table and Draven pulls a chair furthest from the king out for me. I sit down and he helps me scoot up. He takes the seat to the left of me, sitting next to his dad.
“Hello, Draven son.”
“Hello, Father.”
The king does not acknowledge my presence.
“It is rude not to also greet our guest, Father.”
“Ah yes, hello, Solene. So glad you can join us this evening,” the king says through gritted teeth.
The feeling is not mutual.
“Thank you for having me,” I say, giving him the sweetest smile I can conjure up in return.
We start to eat our dinner in silence. Many minutes pass and still no conversation, just the sound of silverware scrapping against a plate.
I start to bounce my leg up and down under the table in anticipation.
Seconds pass when I feel a hand reaching over top of my leg.
Draven settles his palm over my knee and gives it a small squeeze.
I take a deep breath and release it. My leg stops shaking.
Draven squeezes it again and moves his hand away.
I immediately miss its presence.
Finding it very hard to continue to eat, I put my fork down and decide to just stick with drinking blood.
The king finally breaks the silence.
“Well, I have brought the two of you here to discuss the timeline of your betrothal.”
Draven abruptly sets his fork down and looks up.
The king continues, “I have decided that we should have the wedding on the summer solstice. It is when everyone is at their highest point of power and it will display the strength of the union.”
The summer solstice, isn’t that usually in June? That is only—
“But that is only three months away,” Draven says.
“Yes, precisely,” the king responds.
“That is barely any time for us to even—” Draven waves his hands in the air.
“I don’t know. Barely any time for us to even get to know each other.
Do you not care about that? That you have brought a complete stranger into this world for me to marry.
That you have ripped someone completely out of their life and are forcing them into marriage they do not want to be in. ”
The king sighs like this is a great inconvenience for him.
“I am aware and no, I do not care Draven. I did it myself long ago and now you will too. As long as I sit on the throne, with this crown on my head, what I say, goes.”
I sit back in my chair as his voice continues to get louder with each word.
“I am done with the games, Draven. I gave you the time and space that you asked for and now my patience has dried up!” He slams his fist down onto the table.
Everything on the table rattles and the workers in the corner immediately turn to leave the room.
I sit in awkward silence watching the two of them in their very heated discussion that I clearly will have no say in. I do not even try.
“You are ruining her life,” Draven says.
“I SAVED HER LIFE,” the king shouts.
I jump at the volume of his voice.
“You did not,” I whisper.