Chapter 6 Tortured Beyond Violence #2
Be brave, I reminded myself. Brave for Josslyn.
Bravery, however, abandoned Brumous. The moment we reached the base of the dais, he dropped to his belly with a whimper, and King Julian’s expression shifted from curiosity to something more intense as he stared at the pup.
The two guards next to Queen Lilah went on alert, the male stepping forward to half-block my view of her.
“Brumous is harmless, I swear,” I choked out. “He may be a dire wolf, but he’s far from dire.”
“Obviously,” the queen murmured. “He’s adorable. May I pet him?”
“No, darling.” King Julian held out one hand. “Dires are unpredictable and violent, even a pup that looks as sweet as this one.”
“He’s been tortured beyond violence,” I confessed. “He’s as simple as a child.”
“Tortured?” The queen gasped and spun on to stare at the king, then her guards. “Julian? Luke? Gisela?”
“I take it Arabesque had a hand in that,” the king murmured, his eyes spearing me.
I couldn’t answer. The silence shackle held my tongue. I couldn’t even nod, and I fidgeted nervously with Josslyn’s blanket.
“Whether you can’t or you won’t, you don’t need to confirm it,” the king sighed. “Her reputation speaks for her, and I can see his condition. Starved, scarred, and scared. Luke, fetch some water and food for the poor animal.”
The male guard gave a short nod and departed.
“Thank you.” I inclined my head in a half bow, worried I’d tip over if I tried a full one again. My head was spinning as it was.
“Do you require anything, Ms. Bell?” asked the female guard, the one the queen called Gisela. “You look unwell.”
“I appreciate it, but I’m fine.”
“We can smell that you’re injured.” The queen’s eyes locked on my upper left arm, and I tried to shuffle Josslyn to cover it, but my body was giving out. I’d be lucky to make it through this audience without passing out from either pain or exhaustion.
Or both.
“It’s nothing to worry about.”
She didn’t look convinced. Neither did the king as he eyed me intensely, as if he suspected I was preparing to steal the dainty crown nearly hidden in her orange-red hair.
“And your drivers?” she asked. “The guards said there were two young ladies with you. Should we offer them refreshments?”
Good manners would have me answering yes, but my battered soul screamed that Amabel and Eluned deserved nothing but the same misery they’d shown me.
“You can do with them as you see fit, Your Majesty,” I murmured, dropping my eyes to Brumous.
“Sounds like you’d prefer we threw them in the dungeon,” Gisela chuckled, and I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t agree.
“Let’s move this along.” King Julian waved one hand in a rolling motion. “When she arranged this audience, your stepmother didn’t state a purpose beyond that you had a request you wished to make. Is it for us to help this poor beast?”
“No, sire.” I shook my head, my curls rioting around my face, and I wished I would have taken time to tame them back in a low pony or bun. “I request your help for her.”
Turning Josslyn around so they could see her adorable face, I swallowed hard. I hated the idea of never seeing her again, but I couldn’t let my selfishness get in the way of her safety. She deserved a future, a bright and blessed future, and I couldn’t give her that.
“She’s four weeks old and the daughter of Arabesque and my father, Jonathan Bell, an earth witch,” I went on. “She’s a lunar witch like me, and she needs a good home.”
“Oh, how precious. May I see her closer?” The queen handed her own child off to Gisela and, without thinking, I went up the steps and laid Josslyn in her arms.
“What about your father? Does he not want to raise his daughter?” King Julian asked from much closer than he’d been, and I straightened up to find him right next to me, and I wondered if he’d leapt out of his throne as I ascended the dais, despite her guard standing right there.
Seems His Majesty truly loves his queen, I thought with a wistful smile as I rejoined Brumous at the bottom of the stairs. How lucky she is, to be so cherished.
“My father is dead,” I answered his question with quiet dignity. “Since October. Arabesque killed him.”
“You’re certain of this?” The king’s voice rumbled through the grand hall, loaded with disbelief and something sharper. Anger, maybe, or frustration.
“As certain as I can be,” I replied with a tiny shrug, laying my right hand over the mass of adhesive bandages I’d plastered over the claw wound this morning.
The whisperbind was a choking pressure that silenced the words Arabesque forbade me to say. I couldn’t tell him everything, but I could tell him some things, so I explained about my contract with her and what I got out of the arranged marriage that sealed her truce with King Lucian.
“She doesn’t really want peace with the vampires. She’s only using it to give her time to plan something. Something that involves—”
I shook my head, frustrated.
“We’ll do what we can.” Queen Lilah’s expression softened, her eyes filling with a quiet empathy. “We’ll warn King Lucian, right, Julian?”
“Of course, although he’s most assuredly already aware. Anyone who has any dealings with Arabesque would be a fool not to expect a trap.” King Julian sat back on his throne.
“You know her?” I asked with both awe and embarrassment. I didn’t want them to associate me with her.
“Everyone knows that bitch,” Gisela grumbled.
“We also know all about this truce and the attached marriage contract, but you must understand, Miss Bell.” The king sighed and tugged at his beard. “I’ll have to tread carefully. Werewolf and vampire politics are complicated, despite our alliance.”
“I understand.” I nodded, my heart pounding. “But you have to stop her. She’s not what she seems.”
King Julian leaned back in his throne, his big body sprawling like a predator settling into its den. His gaze never left mine, and I forced myself not to squirm under it.
“My mother, Jocelyn Ross Bell, was part of the Royal pack,” I said, lifting my chin.
“She always spoke highly of the wolf kings. I don’t have anyone else to trust, so I’m trusting you.
Please, Your Majesties, please find my sister a good home.
One with parents who will love her, but can also protect her if my stepmother breaks our contract and ever tries to find her. ”
“Of course we will,” the queen murmured, studying Josslyn’s tiny fingers.”
“And what of you, Miss Bell?” the king asked suddenly. “You’re caught in the crosshairs here, however unwittingly or unwilling. What will you do?”
“Survive,” I said, the word coming out with a conviction I didn’t know I had in me anymore. “Somehow, I’ll survive it.”
He studied me for a moment, then nodded.
“I believe you will, but just in case.” He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “Tell me, have you ever heard of the Cimmerians?”
“Oh, Goddess!” Gisela groaned as she bounced the royals’ baby, who was starting to make hungry noises. “You think King Lucian will send one of his dhampir sons?”
“It’s possible.” The king stared at me. “Have you, Miss Bell?”
“No, but, what’s a d-dhampir?” I stumbled over the new word.
“Julian, since this is looking to be a long conversation, can we move somewhere else?” Queen Lilah asked, her eyes on the squirming baby Gisela held. “Valerian is getting hungry.”
“Of course, darling.” On his feet in a flash, King Julian scooped her up, Josslyn still in her arms, and carried her down the dias. “Ms. Bell, please follow me. Gisela, link your mate to join us in the study.”
“And tell him to bring Tussy and Callum if they’re awake!” the queen called, looking at me over her mate’s shoulder as he strode along. “You can meet our eldest and his cousin.”
Ten minutes later, I found myself on the most comfortable couch ever, an adorable, chubby-cheeked redhead attached to my bad arm as I cradled Josslyn in my other.
Callum, Luke and Gisela’s three-year-old, was fascinated by her and kept cooing and gurgling happy noises.
Prince Augustus sat on Callum’s other side and rambled on about his new baby, who the queen was currently feeding in a recliner nearby.
All in all, it was nothing like I thought an audience with the werewolf king would go.