Chapter 25 #2
My face snapped to hers at her words, my lips peeling up to bare my teeth. “Calm down?” I asked, my voice lowering to a dangerous tone. My body twisted, pushing up against hers, and I pulled my hands away from her touch. “We have a traitor among us, and you’re telling me to calm down?”
My hand shot out, grabbing Arianna by the throat. A whimper escaped her lips as I towered over her, my fingers tightening around her neck. “Is it you? Are you the one who betrayed me?”
Arianna’s mouth gaped open, but no words came. She could only shake her head while tears filled her eyes.
“TELL ME!” I bellowed, my fingers squeezing tighter.
“I-it wasn’t me,” Arianna choked out. “I-I promise it wasn’t me.”
My eyes narrowed, watching her struggle to breathe, pleading with what little breath she had left.
My magic reached for her, probing her emotions to find the lie within her words.
I found nothing but terror and despair. Pushing further, a small hope bloomed, a hope that I would believe her words.
Growling, I shoved her away from me, slowly turning toward Hale. “And you?”
Hale’s chest rapidly rose and fell, his body trembling under my scrutiny. “No, Your Majesty. I have not betrayed you or spoken to anyone regarding Queen Cassia’s whereabouts.”
Hale held my stare, though fear shone through them.
His emotions emanated the same sentiments as Arianna’s.
Growling, I turned away, walking to my desk.
There were only a few of us who knew of Cassia.
Two were dead, and Sybil swore she had told no one.
I still couldn’t feel her emotions; that same dark void blocked me from her.
However, with Cassia’s word, I believed Sybil, even if it was reluctant.
“Call the other lords that know, along with Samian and Sybil. We need to get to the bottom of this.”
Waiting for the lords, Arianna stayed stuck to my side, her hands never straying from my body.
My headache returned two-fold, the pain blaring in my head.
My patience was fraying as I went over who the fuck could have made the Seelie Court aware of Cassia.
Each of the lords hated that court, wanting nothing more than to destroy it, just for the land and resources alone, though my hatred for the court went far deeper.
A knock sounded at the door, and I slapped away Arianna’s hands. Her sorrow filled the air around us, frying the little tolerance I held. “Sit down,” I snarled, disgust twisting my face at her whimper.
Rushing around my desk, she sat in the closest chair as the door swung open.
Lords Vito, Elnir, Loic, and Oziel marched through the door, followed by a blank-faced Samian and Sybil.
Sybil’s face was still pale from our earlier encounter, her red eyes setting off the green in her irises.
I paused, my gaze refusing to leave hers.
When she first came to this realm, her eyes were hazel. But now, with the use of her magic, there have been minor changes in her recently. Changes that I didn’t think twice about until I found out she met Cassia.
Sybil paled under my scrutiny, her gaze moving to the floor as she stepped closer to Samian.
Samian didn’t move, his face never breaking from his usual cold indifference.
Yet, there was tension gathering in his shoulders, a tension that had been oddly missing since I had completed the bargain with Sybil.
Samian had been territorial of Sybil since her arrival, to the point where he fought against me in the library the day I tried to seduce her.
I had been too caught up in moving my plan forward to notice how Samian had distanced himself, chalking it up to his being angry with her for agreeing to the bargain.
However, with this recent development, and with the murder of two lords, I can see that there’s more to it now.
More than what Samian—and Sybil—were letting on.
I opened my magic to them, hoping to get past their shields; however, I was met with nothing.
Moving my focus to the lords, I stood from my chair, moving around the desk to lean against the front of it. “As I’m sure you’ve already heard, Lord Bramwell was murdered last night.”
The lords began their incessant mutterings, their emotions unleashing and filling the room. I drank it all in—the fear, the anger, the restlessness. Raising my hand, a wave of silence crashed through the room.
“There has also been a new development. It seems someone in our midst has opened their mouth to the wrong people. The Goddess of Water from the Seelie Court decided to pay me a little visit this morning. There have been rumors floating around their court concerning Cassia’s detainment.
” I paused to look at each of the lords, my gaze landing on Samian and Sybil.
“Does anyone have anything to say? To confess?”
Silence was my only answer. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, letting it slowly fill my lungs. I needed to keep control if I wanted to keep these lords on my side. I let my magic wash through the room, feeling for any signs of betrayal. Yet I found nothing from any of the lords.
“Could it be the murderer?” Lord Loic asked, worry reflected across his face, though a hint of excitement trickled out of him. His territory was the closest to Bramwell’s. With his ambition for more land, I’m sure he was eager to take over Bramwell’s township.
“We’re not sure yet,” I sighed. “Lord Daelan is continuing his investigation. However, we are hoping to have some answers soon. There was a witness at the scene who was left alive. We are still processing her story.”
“What of Bramwell’s lordship?” Lord Oziel inquired, the other lords nodding their heads in agreement. “We still need to figure out what to do with Lowell’s since his wife and heir are still missing.”
I had kept Lady Lowell’s disappearance a secret until I could find out more, but with Lowell’s death and Arianna’s appointment to take over, I informed the lords of her absence, telling them she had disappeared the same night.
“Arianna has agreed to take over Lowell’s lordship. However, with Bramwell’s, it will pass down to his eldest son. We will send an invitation to his family to join us in mourning, and I will pass the title to him during the ball, which Zarina will attend as a guest of honor.”
Lord Loic sneered. “Why is the beast returning?”
“To investigate Cassia’s disappearance. She wants to search the palace to make sure Cassia is not being held against her will.” I returned to my seat and leaned back, steepling my fingers in front of me, my gaze hardening.
“What do you suggest we do? If Zarina finds Cassia, she will kill us all,” Lord Elnir choked, finally breaking his silence.
I paused, taking in everyone's words and their panic filling the air. I had planned on keeping Cassia in the dungeons, letting her magic slowly weaken until she shriveled away to nothing. Pain shot through my chest from my bargain with Samian, warning me of my slight, but I ignored it. I had felt it earlier when I attacked Cassia, but I knew that wouldn’t kill her; it would have just weakened her further.
That said, with Sybil learning about Cassia and a traitor hiding in our group, there was only one thing I could think to do.
“Cassia will be executed.”