Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
“You are discussing the marriages?” Elias asked. “Now?” He left out the Without me? part.
His father nodded. “We have a council meeting soon where we will discuss who will marry whom.”
At first Elias had been kept out of all the Voltarian and Zephyrian council meetings at the White Monastery.
“There is no need for you to be in the meetings,” his stepmother had said. “If too many people are in attendance, it will get confusing.” Unsurprisingly, her sycophant councillors had agreed.
But Elias had pushed to be at every meeting that involved discussion of his marriage. He’d chosen that battle. He’d won.
Sometimes he regretted winning. The meetings dragged. They seemed to be more about marriage-adjacent topics, like what colours the flowers should be at the wedding banquet and not who he would actually marry.
No doubt that was the empress’s doing. Perhaps she hoped he’d get bored of the council meetings and stop coming. But Elias had persevered.
Although, it seemed his stepmother had decided to do the talks outside the meetings, when he wasn’t present. Thankfully, he’d been walking past.
Taking a deep breath, Elias stepped into the sitting room, ready to do battle with his stepmother once more.
I need to get this right. If I fuck this up, I might be married to someone intolerable.
Empress Emmeline sat, lips pressed together, face pinched, as she stared at her stepson. Clearly, she’d not wanted him here for this conversation. Meanwhile Princess Anais gave him a blank look. Prince Beau sneered.
Elias reclined on a divan, throwing up his feet and settling amongst the cushions, as if preparing for an afternoon of reading and napping.
Somehow, the empress’s face soured further.
“I’ll have some tea, please. Milk and lots and lots of sugar,” Elias said to the servant. When he took his cup, he looked around. “I know so much sugar is not good for me, but one must savour life’s little pleasures, don’t you think? Now, we were discussing marriages, right?”
“That is correct,” Empress Emmeline said in a clipped tone.
Emperor Hugo smiled at his wife, who sat beside him. “Yes. We’ve been discussing the first marriage. King Alaric has suggested his son, the dragon warrior, Prince Gerard.”
Elias’s fingers on the cup tightened.
“He is a very esteemed and good man. A brave warrior.” Emperor Hugo paused. He cleared his throat. “Too bad about his face.”
Elias kept his expression neutral.
There is nothing wrong with his face!
He wanted to yell the words. But that would be revealing his thoughts to his stepmother.
Since he’d arrived at the assembly, he’d heard similar disparaging comments regarding Prince Gerard’s face. Every time Elias heard them, he wanted to slap the individual. Or zap them. Sometimes he did. Just a tiny electric shock. They felt it but of course didn’t realise it was him.
“Do we know who did that to Prince Gerard’s face?” Empress Emmeline asked.
“All we know is that it was one of our lightning archmages,” Emperor Hugo said.
She smiled. “And you don’t know who?”
The emperor chuckled and held a finger to his lips. “The archmages’ identities are all top secret.”
A breeze stirred the curtains. The empress’s smiled tightened. “But we are the empress and emperor, surely we should know their identities. What if we have need of them?”
“Then I will seek out Lord Laurent, and he will pass word to the archmages immediately.” Emperor Hugo lifted his chin. “That is the way it has always been.”
At least, that was the way it had been since the Zephyrians murdered half their archmages years ago.
Lord Laurent was not a lightning archmage, and he did not know Elias was one. Lord Laurent only knew the identity of a couple of archmages.
Meanwhile, only Colette, his great-uncle, and one other knew Elias’s identity.
Not knowing one another’s identities meant that if a lightning archmage was discovered, caught, and questioned, they could not give up everyone’s identity.
In fact, Elias didn’t even know the exact number of lightning archmages in existence.
The empress sipped her tea, clearly dissatisfied with her husband’s unwillingness to acquiesce to her.
And not for the first time, Elias was glad he’d never told his father about his ability. His stepmother had asked several times about the lightning archmages. No doubt his father would have spilt everything about Elias the first time she’d asked.
Elias knew that the only reason his father didn’t give his wife the names of the archmages was because Lord Laurent would not give up the names of those he did know, not even to the emperor.
The empress looked at Beau. “I was thinking that Beau should marry the prince.”
Beau’s lip curled. “He is rather disgusting looking. But at least he is a prince.” He laughed. “I’ll just close my eyes when we fuck that one and only time, and then it’ll be over. If he comes near me again, I’ll blow him away.” He waved his fingers.
Anais laughed. “Oh! I can just picture you doing that!”
Emperor Hugo frowned at his children. The empress smiled and sipped her tea.
“Maybe every time I see him. I’ll just … whoosh.” Beau mimed the sound of wind.
Beau and Anais kept laughing.
Elias held completely still.
How fucking dare they? How fucking dare Beau and Anais mock Prince Gerard?
Elias suddenly felt an urge to sign and flick his fingers at Beau and Anais. Then he’d watch as the lightning entered their bodies. They’d jerk and fall to the floor as the lightning tore through them and they cried out. And whilst he was at it, he’d zap his stepmother too.
Also, Beau could not blow anyone away. He’d need a team of wind sorcerers to manage that. Perhaps he could make Prince Gerard’s coat waft.
In fact, Zephyrias didn’t even have wind archmages! They all worked in cells with their engraved bracelets that they used to control their powers.
“Just focus on the fact he is a prince,” Empress Emmeline said.
“I will.” Beau slumped back in his chair.
Elias suppressed a scowl. How dare Beau be disappointed in Prince Gerard? Who the fuck did this shitty human and average wind sorcerer think he was? He was no catch! He was nothing!
Elias had found out a great deal about Prince Gerard. He was still a strong fighter, even though he’d lost half his vision. He was smart, a leader, and a skilled tactician.
Beau didn’t deserve him! He didn’t deserve half of who Prince Gerard was. Elias’s heart raced, and his breath quickened. Oh, he wanted to zap Beau so bad!
Prince Gerard deserved someone who did not just reluctantly tolerate him. He deserved someone who could look upon his face and see the beauty in those marks. The endurance. The ability to survive.
Elias could see beauty in the marks. After all, he’d made them. Prince Gerard bore the touch of his magic.
He took several long, slow breaths. He sipped his tea. Slowly, his heartbeat, the rage, and the desire to shock his half-siblings and stepmother calmed.
This is a battle I choose. I will not lose this.
Elias tilted his head. “Prince Gerard.” He frowned, like he was thinking. “That’s not the man with the …” He gestured to his own face as he glanced around the room.
Beau scowled.
“Oh no! It is!” Elias pressed his fingers to his lips. “You’re marrying him? Oh. I’m so sorry, Beau.” He looked away. Then he laughed. “Well, I’m glad it’s you and not me!”
He placed his teacup down in front of him. “I couldn’t stomach marrying someone with such a face.” He gave an exaggerated shudder. “One night would be far too many. It doesn’t matter if you close your eyes, you could still feel his skin.”
The words stung his tongue as if he’d eaten a mouthful of stinging nettle. But it was a necessary evil. He had to make this convincing.
His stepmother would never do him a kindness. Never do something for him that she thought he wanted. But she’d go far out of her way to hurt him.
“Dragon Warrior. Is that what he is called? More like a dragon wretch!” It wasn’t the cleverest of barbs, but Elias was working on the fly.
He slid a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t handle being married to him.
Prince or not. I’d prefer to marry some lowly, insignificant lord compared to a man with a face so vile.
And the scars cover so much of his face.
They even go through his lip.” And Elias may have imagined those very lips wrapped around his dick.
That thought really isn’t helpful right now.
He shook himself. “And for the rest of your lives, you’ll stand beside him.” He looked out the window. “And every time someone thinks of you, they will think of your husband and his repulsive appearance.”
Elias picked up his tea and drank it, wanting to wash the taste of those horrid insults from his mouth.
From the corner of his eye, he could see the empress staring at him.