17
Sagan
I let the judge go off for several minutes before I nodded to Belinda to silence him with her magic.
Then I smirked at the judge. “It’s actually adorable that you think this is a discussion or like a debate.
It’s not.” I gestured around us. “You have a gambling addiction and owe a lot of money to unscrupulous people. That’s against the rules for judges. ”
“So, you’re out,” Fraser drawled. “I think we should make it messy.”
“You and I enjoy messes,” Belinda chuckled as she looked over her nails. “I enjoy messes with gore even. Sagan prefers order and is too disgusted that this is even happening.”
I bobbed my head as I stared at the judge and crossed my arms over my chest, snorting when he took too much interest in the way my breasts moved. “Great, he’s a pig on top of everything else.”
“We already knew that given what he’s doing,” Benson drawled.
Good point. The others snorted in agreement.
I ran my tongue over my teeth as I kept my gaze locked with the judge’s.
“You’re a piece of shit. If it had been my father and people had texted him death threats, no matter the context, you would never have let that stand.
This is solely about me being female and whatever other bullshit in your tiny brain.
You are being biased in your decisions and that’s not what a judge does.
“Not in my fucking nation. You call it a kingdom all you want, but the founding king made sure that Thovudin was called a nation just so assholes like you didn’t get locked in on that.
That ruler so many thousands of years ago was less sexist than you.
And the Alphas who helped him build this nation.
How does that not give you any hesitation that you are the problem? ”
“You might as well talk to the brick wall, darling,” Belinda muttered. “He processes none of this in his delusions. He’s waiting for his chance to persuade Fraser to take over because he’s convinced he can. Ooh, now he wants to outlaw witches like me.”
“Because you see through his bullshit. Yeah, that’s why the elders basically banned the shifter species who can sense lies like tigers and wolves,” I drawled, freezing when others were shocked.
I snickered when the judge’s eyes were wide.
“You’re a fool. Your blind faith in my father being so much better and he let it happen.
“He let himself be trapped and corrupted like that.” I gestured around me. “You want to know who you owe money to? An elder.” I laughed when his face went pale. “The elders all own these places which is why I’ve been shutting them down—the elders for now.
“This I will make legal and taxable. Also controlled so people with addictions like you get help. Yes, I’m horrible for the future whereas perfect Rhys controlled nothing!” I went on a bit more and then realized Belinda was already using her magic to mess with the judge’s mind.
I was annoyed for maybe thirty seconds but then gave her a grateful look. It was smart. I centered myself and waited until she nodded to go on.
I stormed over to the judge and tapped his forehead.
“I’m queen, you little pissant. You are but one judge taking on the head of the fucking nation—most powerful nation in the world.
Realize you are done or fucking die. Is that blunt enough for you?
I will not let you and corrupt assholes like you ruin my nation and hurt my people any longer! ”
He looked scared and I realized it was because the power of my dragons was leaking all over him. It was surrounding me like a shield and just dripping on him so much I could practically hear it.
“Oh gross,” Fraser groaned as he pulled me back.
I burst out laughing. My power hadn’t made a dripping sound to my mind. The judge pissing himself was the dripping sound. “Oh yeah, you’re a big, strong man who should put me in my place. Pissing yourself when you feel some of my power. Fucking joke.”
“At least he believes you now and wants to retire and hide,” Belinda taunted. “Lovely. What do we do from here?”
“I need two questions answered first,” I said as I held up a finger to her and then gestured between Fraser and me. “We have a bet going on.”
“Oh, right,” he chuckled darkly and smacked the judge upside the head to get him to focus.
“Who was the call with where you were talking about all of this?” He snickered when the judge’s eyes went wide.
“Aye, you were overheard, you dunce. You walked down the court’s hallway and people heard you.
Someone heard your blatant corruption and told us. ”
“Wait, it was Vex,” Benson muttered, glancing between us.
“Well done, Sagan,” Belinda chuckled. “I had money on Vex too. You were right.”
I ran my tongue over my teeth as Fraser swore, losing the bet.
“I didn’t think he’d risk something this bad after all the evidence we already had on him.
” I pulled up my pants leg and squatted down so I was eye level with the judge.
“You get it now, right? Talking to the defendant’s family and making a backroom deal to fuck over the queen? You’re done.”
He didn’t like it, but he knew it was true, nodding that he understood and would do what we wanted.
Seeing the look in Belinda’s eye as she studied him, I didn’t think he’d live very long to regret his choices that led him to his outcome. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over that.
At all.
“I didn’t think to ask that,” Fraser muttered about the last question as we walked out the door. Belinda was staying behind to handle the judge—in what way I wasn’t going to ask—while we went back to the restaurant.
“What are you doing here?” Onyx asked from my left.
“What are you doing here?” I replied, hearing it echo.
Glad I wasn’t the only shocked one there at least. What the fuck?
We stared at each other for a ridiculous amount of time before I waved for him to answer. I obviously wasn’t going to go first.
“You found the judge,” he sighed, glancing past me and then scrubbing his hands over his head. “You found out what he was planning to do with Vex.”
“Not Vex,” I grumbled and grabbed his arm. “Let’s not have this conversation in the alley of an illegal gambling den none of us should be seen at. Let’s be smarter than that, shall we?”
I was glad when Fraser snorted and we hurried to get in the SUV since Lydia had already pulled up.
“Talk,” Fraser demanded from the front seat where he was next to Benson, now driving, and Lydia had hopped in the second row next to me.
I nodded to Onyx. There was no way he was getting out of filling us in.
“A cousin overheard Kole bragging that you were going to get screwed by him one last time after all and he hoped this time…”
I snorted. I could only imagine the rest of that sentence given who it was that said it. Probably that it would feel like rape, or if he was being more reasonable, that it hurt worse than when he took my virginity.
Who really knew with that fucking psycho?
“And the cousin warned you and you were going to do what with the judge? How did you even find him?” Fraser demanded in rapid fire. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Onyx gave him a scary look. “You think there’s like a playbook for this fucking shit?
The woman I’m falling for who my nephew abused and was with for years—cheated on and more—and is now suing him and my brother, who both deserve it and worse, barely talks to me because of something going on that I don’t know about and they’re about to screw her again. Seriously?”
“Kinda valid when he puts it like that,” Benson muttered under his breath.
I didn’t disagree. I just had one question. “What were you going to do with the judge?”
“Don’t ask me that,” Onyx sighed. “I prefer not confess to my sins when I didn’t commit them yet.”
Fraser snorted. “I like him better at least. He’s the good kind of psycho.
” He gave a half shrug when all of us shot him unfriendly looks.
“You have to be nuts to want to mate the leader of a nation, not just Thovudin. For the right reasons or wrong ones. He seems to have the right ones, but you still have to be nuts to want to be here. We didn’t have a choice. ”
“Kinda valid when he puts it like that,” Benson repeated, looking a bit too pleased with himself for that joke.
But even I had to admit it was a good one.
“We have a location,” Benson told me. “She’s at home.” He handed his phone to Lydia. “I’m not familiar with the area. Can you navigate for me?”
“Yeah, I know it well. Too bad you have to be a man and always drive. I’m the only getaway driver who doesn’t actually drive,” she grumbled.
“Okay, she’s my favorite too,” Onyx joked.
“She’s everyone’s favorite, and honestly I’m annoyed that…” Fraser trailed off and shook his head.
We were annoyed with a lot, but he was referring to the fact that my mother hadn’t wanted Lydia on her detail. I hadn’t known that, but apparently my mother hadn’t thought there should be female guards at the castle. Belinda had found that already in Mother’s journals and informed us of that gem.
Sexist bitch.
“We handled it,” I told Onyx. “We can let you out and—”
“Don’t!” he snapped, calming down when Lydia reached over me and shoved him back. “Please don’t do that and shut me out. I get not coming and telling me what my family is doing to you now, but I’m here. Stop shutting me out.”
“You need to back the fuck off and understand you weren’t dating when all of this has happened to you both.
It’s happening to each of you individually and you’re not a couple yet,” Lydia seethed.
“And you’re ruining any chance you could realistically have by not respecting that.
You keep acting like she’s ruining your established relationship. Stop putting that on her!”
I blinked at where her hand was still on his chest and then slowly looked over to her. “So clearly you’ve been wanting to say that for a while.”