Chapter 16 #2
He uses all his tools to torture me, so I shall use mine.
“It must have your nobles covered with dark circles from the lack of sleep; their great and mighty king allowed an assassin so close to all of them. Nobles value gold and jewels, but they place their necks at a higher worth. Imagine if the arrow had not been stopped; it could have missed and hit something else.” Reaching out, I grab the closest fruit, a blood orange.
Galen’s eyes are sharper than an adolescent wolf’s canine tooth; I can practically feel the moisture from their snarls.
“Once the nobles start to question a king’s ability to protect them, it’s a very bad sign, husband.” My nails claw into the orange peel; the mist fills the air with a sweet scent of victory on my behalf.
I toss the peel onto his plate—the satisfaction it brings me should be illegal—then bring a slice to my mouth.
Before I eat it, I run it over my lips, savoring the sweet scent as I say, “I do hope you can quell their doubts before the roots spread. I’m sure you can. You have no problem spreading your weeds and vines throughout the land.”
Juice coats my tongue, and I plop the slice into my mouth, never breaking eye contact as I swallow.
I lean in, my breasts against his shoulder, and whisper, “You’re regretting crossing me.” I kiss his ear and snicker. “I see it in your eyes, husband.”
The smile on my lips curls around each of my letters, causing his jaw to clench.
It’s so wonderful.
“Be careful.” I kiss his jaw. “First, you let an assassin in, and now you’re at war with your wife, which means our kingdoms are on the verge of war again. Don’t let your nobles see your mistakes. That’s two strikes; a third, and you’re out.”
Galen shoves his spine into his chair. Perfect posture won’t fix this mess, hubby.
“Leave us, Titus,” he orders.
That’s exactly what I wanted you to say, Galen. Now Titus can leave the room in case he time-weaves.
As soon as the doors close, I sit back in my chair and croon, “Oh, Galen, you played right into my hands. I’ve wanted him gone from the moment he came to unbind me. I knew all I had to do was piss you off, so you’d excuse him.”
You lose. Again.
He plucks the orange from my hand, rips off a slice, and swallows it whole.
“If you were a woman, your swallowing skills would impress me. Instead, you look like a gluttonous oaf.” I giggle. The blush on his cheeks must chafe terribly.
“You think I underestimated you, but I know what you crave,” he spits.
“A craving is a desire. Desires change faster than the sun can retreat from the sky.” I grab my fork and stab a sausage with it. “You have no idea what I want now, what I am planning on doing. That terrifies you.”
His eyes follow my hands as I slice the sausage into tiny pieces. Yes, Galen, this is a symbol for your dick!
“Naturally, you know I want your head after what you did to me, so you’ve put Titus in my path. Made him disposable. You want me to kill him so that you can declare war again.” I sink my teeth into the meat and make sure to chew slowly.
He rubs his jaw. “I can’t let what you did go unexcused.”
“Neither could I.” I set my fork down. “You wanted war; congratulations, you now have one.” I stand and stab the knife into the polished wooden table. “Watch me end it,” I declare.
“Don’t you mean win it?”
“I’m the type of enemy that burns it all down, husband.
No one wins. You should have considered that before the game began.
I have nothing to lose. My brother is dead.
I’m married to a prick who, yes, has a nice dick, but niceties only go so far.
You’ve never fought a war like this, Galen.
All your enemies had treasures they fought to keep safe.
I don’t, therefore I don’t care who wins, only how it ends. ”
I round the table when he says, “If attempting to kill Titus costs you two dozen fae nobles, imagine how many more will die if you succeed the next time you try.”
Good. In Galen’s eyes, I have an excuse not to kill Titus, but to endure him.
Thank you, Galen, for making it easier for me, you fool.
I halt, then turn to face him. “If you never wanted the war between our people to end, then why did you agree to the marriage?” I ask.
He takes a slow sip of his goblet, making me wait as he cleans his lips. “Because I wanted you.” He arches a brow. “The sole method to obtain you was to mislead your father into thinking I desired peace.”
What?
“You never met me before the marriage.” I want to hide my shock. I can’t.
“Tales of your beauty have been the courtly gossip for months; kings collect beautiful things, Selene, so that’s not alarming. But there was another truth woven into the rumors, one that made you stand out over your twin. Ask me what it is.” He smirks. “Come on, I know you want to.”
“You already told me. It was my magic.”
“Your magic was just an added benefit my people would admire.” He opens his hands as if he’s unrolling a tapestry that reveals the picture he wants.
“A queen who saves lives on the battlefield is more respected and embraced than one who uses her death magic to slaughter. Queens should be seen as affectionate mothers, not vicious bitches.” He bites his lip as he grins. “Care to take another guess?”
I don’t want to be silent, but he’s managed to capture my tongue.
My skin tingles at the sound of his deep chuckle.
“Fine, I’ll tell you.” He flutters his lashes like a feline seducing its target.
“It was said you bowed down to no one. You don’t use fake flattery as your weapon like most women do.
You use your sharp tongue. You fight head-on, whereas your twin prefers a knife in the back.
I like to fight head-to-head. I want to see those eyes as I force you into submission.
“And I did, and I will again, because like I said, you and I are the same; we crave each other; yes, cravings change; sometimes our cravings are desire, other times it’s hate, and other times it’s love.”
“Love? Oh, Galen, I never loved you.” My body is heavier than a stone pillar, unmoving, stuck, and forced to bear witness to the atrocities surrounding me.
I must bear it, hold up the roof, and keep my head high.
“Your mommy issues are deeper than I thought. She swaddled you too tightly. It wasn’t out of love, Galen; she couldn’t stand your cries; she was smothering you.
” I strike with my words, digging where I pray it hurts him.
You see, he’s revealed an important card to me. He’s obsessed with me, which means no matter what I do, he won’t kill me.
He doesn’t look as handsome with a red face. “You will,” he replies. His smile is all teeth and fangs.
“You allowed thousands to die on both sides just to win me, and you think that will make me fall in love with you?”
“A soldier’s duty is to obey his king, as is a wife’s role.”
A dozen ways to kill him run through my head. I’d be killed, too. Titus would turn to Sable for help; that would be disastrous.
I step one strong foot forward. “I. Am. No. Wife.” I raise my chin high like a sword. “I am a queen.”
“My queen. Mine, Selene.”
“So I have led you to believe.” I widen my stance. “The crown on my head isn’t vampire-crafted. It is fae. I shall never fully belong to you, Galen,” I state coldly.
His glare attacks the crown Everett had fashioned for me when I came of age.
Galen blinks as if he can flick it off. “It matters not.” He steeples his hands.
“You are here. You belong to me, and you will obey me. If I have to carve the pointy tips off your fae ears to make you understand you are no longer property of Solaria, I will. If you want someone to blame, don’t look at me,” he purrs.
He nonchalantly picks up his goblet. “As you mentioned, I am a horticulturist. When something new is planted in my lands, I find the roots. Flowers don’t grow without seeds, Selene.
Rumors don’t start without a tongue willing to spew them.
Guess whose tongue spread the rumors of your wild temper? ”
Galen waits until he spots my unmoving chest. My breath is locked tight in my lungs.
He leans in, jabbing his next words like a dagger. “Your dearest brother.” His smirk is venom that invades my thoughts.
What?
“Everett planted all the seeds about how rare, strong, and untamable you were. Blame him, not me. Oh, wait, you can’t. He’s dead.” Galen shrugs. He picks up the blood orange and continues to eat.
Then that means Everett needed me to be here, married to Galen, the king of bloody thorns and roses.
“Keep Sable close,” Everett said. “Keep your enemies close.”
Is Galen an enemy or a pawn?
I needed to be here to find Titus, and vice versa.
What other secrets lie within the castle walls?
We’re all aligning. Coming together like pawns moving to the center of the board.
Why do I feel like the end is inching close to my heels?
My feet are stuck! I can’t run; I don’t know how, because there are too many missing pieces. I have to face it, just as Everett did when he saw the future.
Accept that I have no way to change the outcome just as Everett planned.
We all followed the breadcrumbs Everett planted. We all think we are playing games against one another, but the cold, hard truth is we are not the players.
We are the pieces Everett moved.