Chapter 15 #2
I rolled my shoulders back, giving him a good shot of the dress.
“You are a delight. How these men ever let you leave their sight is beyond me.”
I tossed my head back and laughed the way I’d done dozens of times back in Scarlata when my bed got a little too cold. A little too lonely. “Trust me, they try.”
A satisfied growl rumbled from his chest, but I acted as if I hadn’t heard it, finding my seat quickly and leaving him to greet Jessiah and Xavier. Xavier took the seat opposite of me so the two of us flanked Cornelius. Jessiah sat on my left.
He said nothing, but his dislike for the king was a living, breathing entity surrounding him.
“Thank you for hosting this dinner,” he said, his tone civil. “You are too kind.”
Cornelius waved a dismissive hand. “Please, please. After the journey you’ve made, it’s the least I can do. I was surprised when I heard of your arrival.”
“Why surprised?” I asked. “You were the one who sent the letter, were you not?”
Humming, he picked up a glass of red wine. “Unfortunately, not many kingdoms have responded to my request for aid.”
“Many kingdoms can’t spare the manpower. They’ve got their own concerns to keep at the forefront,” Xavier said. “It’s hard for a kingdom to defend others when it can hardly defend itself.”
Head tilted to one side, Cornelius studied him, as if really seeing him for the first time. Xavier looked gorgeous in an all-black suit that fit his sculpted body to perfection.
Once again, I acknowledged the fact that I was a woman with needs. And I wasn’t blind.
Cornelius nodded. “You make a good point. I suppose Scarlata doesn’t have enemies like these anymore?”
Xavier smiled tightly. “Not anymore, no.”
As silence filled the room, I picked up my own wineglass. The ale in Scarlata—though it got the job done—was nothing compared to the sweet, luxurious liquid in this glass.
So I took a sip. And then another.
“I admire you three. I do. And I must confess my admiration for your king and queen, as well,” Cornelius began.
“Though when I wrote seeking aid, I expected an army, or at least a partial one. Yet only the three of you came.” He arched a brow in a manner that was subtly challenging.
“We’ve struggled to quash a few minor uprisings.
They should be easily stopped, but unfortunately, our own army has been… unable to complete the task.”
Jessiah shifted next to me, his white wings barely fitting in his dining chair, but I kept my kohl-lined eyes locked on Cornelius.
“What makes you say that?” Jessiah asked. “I’ve heard nothing but grand things about Pericius. Surely, our army is nothing in comparison to yours.”
Cornelius smiled, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “We’ve had some deserters. More than half, actually.”
Across the table, Xavier choked on his wine.
“More than half of your army has deserted? They’re not joining the uprisings, are they?” I asked.
Cornelius sighed. “Some of them, yes. Others have fled the kingdom entirely. It only took a few conspirators to convince hundreds of men to betray us.”
Interesting.
Jessiah leaned forward, the tip of his white wing almost grazing my shoulder. “And these rebellions, what’s causing them? What do they want?”
That was the question.
Naturally, the staff chose that moment to bring out large plates of food for us. If Cornelius heard Jessiah’s question, he acted as though he hadn’t, instead shifting his attention to the food being placed in front of us.
I couldn’t help it. My stomach grumbled on sight.
Even in Scarlata, our food options were limited. Most of the citizens were vampyres who preferred very rare meat over anything as delicious as this, meaning any other food was low on the priority list.
“Oh, my,” I breathed.
Cornelius laughed, the sound echoing off the tall ceiling. “Please, dig in. You must be starving after the trip you’ve made. We have plenty of time to discuss politics. For now, you need to fuel up.”
Though my companions looked apprehensive, I didn't need to be told twice. I picked up my utensils and immediately dove into the steaming course in front of me.
I had never tasted anything so divine in my life.
Between the food and the wine that never ran out, I was wholly immersed in the meal.
Time passed in a way that was impossible to measure. We sat there for what could have been ten minutes or an hour.
But eventually, my stomach was full and the wine dulled my senses to a comfortable level.
I sat back, finally tuning into the conversation the men around me were having.
“Vampyres aren’t much different from fae at all,” Xavier explained, fully leaving out the fact that he was a vampyre. “You could look straight at one and not know the difference.”
Cornelius laughed. “That is so interesting!” he said. “I’ve never met a real vampyre. Perhaps I’ll have to pay Scarlata a visit sometime and change that. I’d love to hear what all the fuss is about, anyway.”
Jessiah remained pretty quiet beside me, frustration rolling off him, but I did my best to avoid looking at him.
He was a big, grown man. He could take care of himself.
It was a damn dinner party, for crying out loud.
“We’d love to have you,” I chimed in, leaning toward Cornelius. “We may not have a castle as grand as this one, but we can be quite accommodating hosts.”
I was flirting. How could I not? The wine made his eyes look bluer. And that damn smile…
“I may have to take you up on that, Miss Rummy. Especially if it gives me an excuse to see your beautiful face again.”
Beside me, Jessiah made a grumbling sound.
I flashed another smile in Cornelius’s direction.
Jessiah tried twice to bring up the rebellion again, but Cornelius dodged the conversation both times. He was a hard man to crack. I’d give him that much.
But why bring us all the way here if he wasn’t going to be upfront about why he needed us?
I supposed since we just arrived, we could wait for those answers.
And it was important that we find them the right way. Jessiah was used to barging in and demanding the truth, but we were playing a precarious game here.
This would take time. And probably much, much more wine.
By the time dinner was done, I’d lost count of how many glasses I’d had. I did know, however, that Cornelius touched my arm at least four times, and my laughter was much louder than usual.
So that counted for something.
“Thank you so much for this evening,” I said as Cornelius walked us out of the dining room. “You have no idea how badly I needed a dignified dinner like this one.” I looped my arm through his. “And the company wasn’t so terrible, either.”
Cornelius softened under my touch. He was tall, though not nearly as tall as Jessiah or Xavier, and he was strong, but his skin was pristine, his posture perfect. Clearly, he had not been put through many trials in his life.
That wasn’t surprising. Men like him rarely ever experienced much hardship.
“It was my pleasure.” At the bottom of the stairs, he turned and faced me.
Xavier and Jessiah stood a few feet away, watching, but I kept my eyes locked on Cornelius. Slowly, he angled in and brushed his lips against my cheek. His lips lingered there for a moment, then drifted to my ear. “Until I see you again, Rummy,” he whispered. “Sleep well.”
With a nod to the guys, he turned and strode toward the opposite wing.
His gold-touched suit flickered in the dim lighting as he disappeared from sight.
I was still watching the now empty hallway when Jessiah cleared his throat.
Heart thumping, I spun to face him, looking him in the eye for the first time all night. “What?” I asked, batting my eyes innocently.
“Are you done eye fucking the king, or should we stand here a little longer?”
Xavier coughed on a laugh.
I simply tilted my head to the side and smiled. “Why? Jealous?”
With a roll of his eyes, he started up the stairs, leaving Xavier and me to follow behind him.
Halfway up, Xavier bumped my shoulder playfully. “Did I tell you how sexy you look in that dress?” he whispered.
I shoved his shoulder. “No, but you didn’t have to. My eyes are up here, by the way.”
He smiled warmly. Though Cornelius continued to avoid political conversations, I actually had fun tonight. We ate. We drank. We laughed. At the beginning of the night, the smiles and laughter might have been forced, but toward the end?
It felt pretty damn real.
We followed Jessiah down the hall, and as we approached my door, I said a quick good night.
Which Xavier kindly returned.
And Jessiah did not.
Instead, his white wing brushed gently against my shoulder. “I need to talk to you,” he said.
Though said was a strong word for the way the words escaped him. They were forced out in a muffled growl just above my ear.
I rolled my eyes at his overbearing ways, but I pushed my door open and led him inside.
“Can I help you with something?” I asked, kicking aside a few of the stray dresses that littered the floor.
He closed the door behind him, then turned and scanned the disaster of a room, his brows drawn together.
I mentally braced myself for the absurd comment he was bound to make.
But none came.
He looked different tonight. I couldn’t quite place why, though. The grand white wings that stole my attention before dinner were now much duller, hanging from his shoulders like he was exhausted.
Maybe he was.
But he’d barely said a word at dinner.
“Jessiah,” I pushed, stepping closer.
His eyes snapped from the messy room to me.
I tipped my head up and locked eyes with him. “What do you want?”
In an instant, he morphed into the old Jessiah. The arrogant, rude Jessiah. As if I’d imagined the change in him tonight. “You can’t be serious, Rummy.”
I stilled. “I’m going to need you to explain a little more.”
“You were all but hanging on him all damn night. You really think flirting with King Cornelius is going to help us?”
I shrugged. “I don’t see the harm. He seemed into it, and that could help not only our situation here but Wolf and Huntyr’s situation in the future. They need allies. I’m only doing my civil duty.”
Scoffing, he paced across the room, as if the space belonged to him. “Civil duty. That’s one way of putting it.”
“I’m sorry—are you shaming me right now? You know just as well as I do that Cornelius was falling for it. How could this possibly be a bad thing?”
“It’s a bad thing because he’s obviously hiding something.”
“So? Who isn’t? He’s a king, Jessiah! Have you ever known a king to not keep some sort of secret?
Goddess above,” I huffed. “We stormed into his kingdom on our horses just a few hours ago. It would be more suspicious if he just opened up his book of secrets and let us take a look inside, don’t you think? ”
He stopped and faced me. “Something isn't right. I asked about the rebellion multiple times, and he avoided the question every time.”
I lifted my chin, eyes narrowed. “Maybe he just doesn’t like you.”
“Right, perhaps you should ask him next time, just make sure you get him naked first. That way he’ll be more eager to spill all his dirty little secrets. That’s how you like to play, right?”
It could have been the wine. But his words were extra sharp tonight. The barrier I’d erected around my heart was cracking, slipping.
“Watch what you say to me, Jessiah. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I, though? This is your thing, isn’t it?”
“Stop.”
“You want something from him, and to get it, you’ll put on your pretty little dress and you’ll bat your eyelashes.
Eventually, if you flirt enough, give him what he wants, he’ll tell you what you want to hear.
Is it worth it, Rummy?” He stepped in closer.
“Is it worth losing yourself to these people just to get what you want? Do you ever get fucking tired of—”
“I said STOP!” My voice ricocheted off the stone walls around us.
Jessiah halted. So did I.
“Get out,” I ordered.
His eyes softened, but not nearly enough. “Rummy, I didn’t—”
“I did not invite you in here, and if your goal here is solely to insult me, I’d prefer if you left. I don’t need this.”
His jaw tightened and his wings perked up. But he didn’t move.
“Did you hear me?” The back of my throat stung. Yes, it was definitely the wine. It was definitely exhaustion, the mixture of his futile words.
I couldn’t seriously be letting him get to me. I couldn’t let his words perforate the wall I’d built. “I said go.”
But Jessiah only cleared his throat. “I did not come in here to insult you. I came here to tell you that I’m going into the city tonight.”
I swallowed back tears. “What?”
“You saw the same things I did when we arrived here. There’s more going on here than we know. There has to be. If he won’t answer our questions about the rebellion, then we’ll find other ways to get them. We need to see these people firsthand so we can understand what’s causing these uprisings.”
Heart still pounding, tears still threatening, I turned away from him and stepped toward the balcony. “Fine,” I said. “I’m coming with you.”
I expected him to argue. Instead, he said, “I expected you to. That’s why I’m here. Change your clothes and meet me at the far end of the hallway. We’ll have to move quickly so we aren’t seen.”
Finally, he turned and let himself out. When the door clicked shut behind him, I took a full breath for the first time since he’d entered.
Pull yourself together, Rummy. This isn’t the time to get your feelings hurt over something the arrogant prick said. You’ve got work to do.
So I stripped the ridiculous dress off my body and put on the most practical outfit I’d brought.
And, with the buzz of wine still pulsing through my veins, I went to meet Jessiah and sneak out into the night.