Chapter Fourteen
WITH EMERALD SAFELY deposited in Basilia, he decided to make the journey to Alabria. She was resistant to the idea, and she was angry. But she needed to deal with Onyx, and her position in the country in her own time. He would not allow her to face Lucian.
Ever.
If the man were any kind of threat to her, then Andrei would kill him with his bare hands. Given the situation they were already in, that was probably only going to make things worse.
And he had to fix this. For their future. For their child.
They had found a way to be together back in Romania. He could imagine long, happy days, and no, perhaps they couldn’t have everything.
Because of who he was. Because of the blood that flowed through his veins. Because of the way he was shaped by the cloistered world his father had raised him in. But they could have this.
They could have a family.
A better version of it than he’d ever had.
He could make peace with Onyx. And he was determined to do so.
But everything had begun to unravel when they had introduced sex, their own desires, their messy feelings. And in the time since then, they had found something more.
Something deeper.
Something that existed beyond the pining and longing the two of them had managed to make their entire identity.
He’d suppressed his need for her for years, and though he’d let it out, allowed himself to get swept away by it for a time, he could suppress it again. It would be better if they could go back to that neater, simpler way of being.
He took a small, faster ship to Alabria, cutting the journey down to one day, and by the time he set foot on the island, he was prepared for whatever met him.
If he died, it would be in the interest of keeping Emerald safe. And she was ensconced with Onyx, so she would be protected.
He walked up to the front doors of the palace and was greeted by the guard.
“King Lucian is expecting you.”
“As he should be. Is there an executioner with him as well?”
“He’s interested in what you have to say. He thinks you’re brave. And mad.”
“Perhaps,” he said.
He allowed himself to be escorted into the throne room. They searched him for weapons. He wasn’t that foolish. If need be, he would fight for his life with his bare hands.
He himself was a weapon. He didn’t need to carry one.
If they had known this, perhaps they would’ve bound his hands. But they did not.
The king was sitting on the throne much as he had been the first time Andrei had laid eyes on him. With the sort of lazy indolence that many would see as nonthreatening. But he saw it for what it was.
Lucian himself was also deadly. And there was no disinterest in him whatsoever.
He was languid. Like a cat ready to strike.
“My bride thief. Here you are. I didn’t expect for you to return to me of your own free will. Do you have my chosen queen with you?”
“No. That is what I have come to discuss with you. I intend to marry Princess Emerald.”
“That is a problem for me. Given that I’ve planned an entire wedding for the two of us. Once you monogram things, they don’t let you return them.”
“I feel that with the treasury as great as yours, whatever is monogrammed on your linens is not truly your main concern.”
“Perhaps not. But I don’t like to lose.”
“What I propose to you is not a losing proposition. We can make something work.”
“So say you. But what if I do not like what you have to offer.”
“Reject it. Cut off my head. Promise me, whatever you do, you will leave Emerald out of it.”
“I can make you a promise, Andrei Ardelean. But there is no guarantee that I will keep it. I am not a man of my word, nor am I a man of honor. Though, neither are you. I have done an extensive amount of research into your background since you took my bride. You are the son of a criminal.”
“That is like calling a battleship a rowboat. My father was the criminal.”
“Yes. So I read.” He leaned forward in his throne, suddenly keen. “It was brave of you to take her like you did. And the spectacle. I enjoy a spectacle. I do not like finding myself without a bride, though. And I was publicly humiliated.”
Andrei lifted an eyebrow. “You did not think that you would be publicly humiliated if people found out that she was carrying another man’s baby?”
“No one would’ve ever discovered that.”
“Really?” He snorted. “Can you be that naive? I heard that you were a great terror. And yet, your perspective on this is giving… Babe in the woods. Do you not think there would be speculation? Do not think that somebody would try to sneak a DNA test? Anything to undermine you in your power?”
“Why would anyone do that?”
“You are hated. Reviled. You are also blond, and Emerald is extremely pale herself. The chances of the child coming out looking very much my coloring should be a concern for you.”
“A good point.”
“Besides, you strike me as a despoiler of virgins. And Emerald is not that.”
“I do enjoy a good despoiling.” He looked thoughtful. Andrei was mindful of the fact that he could not make any of this too much his idea. King Lucian was the sort of man who liked to believe that everything was his own decision. Andrei didn’t have to know him to know that.
“Find yourself a new bride. Get her with your own child, avoid the incident.”
“I do suppose this adds to my lore. I also like that. As much as I enjoy spectacle.”
“Did you murder your wives?”
He smiled. Just slightly. “No.”
“Why is it you allow the rumors to persist?”
“I told you. I like a spectacle. And I like for people to not know which direction I’m going to come from.
It suits me. I don’t give a shit about my reputation, honestly.
But I do care about somebody making a threat to my throne.
And its sovereignty. And you present a good point about the heir.
What will you offer me in return? For you have cost me a lot of money and trouble. ”
“Military alliance. Trade alliance. Everything that Emerald promised you. In addition to that, one of the things that I do in my own time is invest in new military technologies. If you would like to have access to the newest and latest advancements… They can be yours. For significantly reduced rates.”
“Free,” he said.
“If it pleases the king.”
“Very little pleases the king. I am bored. And one thing I will say about the most recent events, is that they were not boring. I have no taste for killing you, Andrei Ardelean. You will make a good ally, and an even better enemy. So, I would prefer that you stay on this side of the ground.”
“Don’t expect an invitation to my wedding.”
“I wouldn’t go anyway. It would be a terrible black mark on my reputation if I were seen as being the bigger person. I’ll send a gift.”
It rather felt more like a threat than an offer, but then most things of King Lucian did.
“I’ll look forward to receiving it.”
He was done. And now, all that was left was to plan the wedding.
“I was worried about you.”
Emerald was awash in anxiety waiting to hear what had happened with Lucian and Andrei. She was worried for his safety. She…
When she had arrived back at Basilia, Onyx had given her some reprieve. He hadn’t demanded an explanation immediately, but today, all bets were off.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t the one who spirited me off to Romania with no means to contact you.”
“What were you thinking? Why would you decide to marry Lucian when you wanted Andrei?”
“Because I had decided that I couldn’t have him.”
“Why?”
“He isn’t royal.”
“That is high level bullshit, Emerald. I certainly never told you that you had to marry a man with royal blood. I never even suggested it. Andrei is my best friend. He is the most trusted man—he was the most trusted man—in my employ. I would have given you to him happily.”
This was what she had been afraid of. This conversation.
She realized that now, as her brother looked at her with confusion and ferocity in his eyes. He would have allowed them to be together. Of course he would have. He didn’t demand that she make something more of herself. He wanted her to be happy.
She was the one who hadn’t been able to accept it. She was the one who had been fleeing these feelings for Andrei, and now she was stuck in this great and terrible middle ground with him, where there was something of a truce, but no more passion.
It was her own fault. It was her own fault because…
She tried to take a breath.
“But I wanted something more. I wanted to make something out of myself. I wanted…” She closed her eyes.
“It made me feel close to Mom. This idea that I was going to have a dynastic marriage. One that changed something. I just… I wanted to be like her. Because I can’t know her.
I can’t be with her. And if I have to accept that, that I just have to accept the grief.
It’s just so horrible. It’s endless. And I… ”
“The past is undeniably tragic,” Onyx said. “For all of us.”
“Yes.” She looked at her brother, who had a remote expression on his face. She knew he missed their parents. She knew he loved her. But he could be so detached sometimes, like it was what he had to do in order to be king.
But she wished sometimes it wasn’t that way.
“I do not give this my blessing,” Onyx said. “He kidnapped you. He forced you down the aisle. You are clearly in a state.”
“I’m not asking for your blessing. I’m just asking you to… Be my brother. While I try to figure out the situation that I’ve gotten myself into.”
“I am always your brother. You always have me.”
“And Andrei?”
“He and I will take some time before we repair our relationship. He took you away from me. He put you in danger. He didn’t tell me where you were. He didn’t trust me. It will take time for me to get over that.”
“And fair enough. But he is the father of my baby.”
“And he is that simply through donation of genetic material. To be called a friend is something he will have to earn his way back to.”
The doors to his study opened, and Andrei came in. She had to fight the joy in her chest, fight to keep from flying out of her chair and into his arms. That wasn’t the relationship that they had. They decided. It was for the best.
“It is done. He has agreed not to pursue any type of retaliation. I’ve made military alliances with him in exchange. And offered him technology.”
“You don’t have the authority to make those deals,” Onyx said.
Andrei looked at him, hard. “Would you like to make this more difficult than it needs to be?”
“You need to remember who you are,” Onyx said.
“I know who I am,” Andrei returned. “I know who I am, and I have taken steps to ensure that I will behave with honor either way. I am going to marry your sister. Whether we receive your blessing or not.”
“She and I just covered that. I do not extend my blessing, but I will not stop it from happening.”
She hated this. The feeling of the rift between them. He was a mess, and she knew that, but she shared the blame. She’d been a coward when he’d needed her to be brave. She had been resisting her feelings for Andrei to protect herself.
And now… All this had happened. It was such a huge mess that needed cleaning up.
But at least they had started. As for the issues between the two of them? She didn’t know that it would be so easy.
“How quickly do you suppose we can plan the wedding?”
“It should be easy enough,” she said.
“With my money?” Onyx asked.
Andrei turned to him sharply. “I will pay. It does not have to be a royal wedding. We can have it anywhere.”
“Don’t be a fool. I will pay for it. She’s my sister. It is a royal wedding. And it will be here. I may not be giving this union my blessing, but one thing I will not tolerate is you being an idiot.”
Andrei almost laughed. “Then you see it done how you wish, Your Highness.”
“I have moved your quarters,” Onyx said. “You will be in the same wing of the palace as Emerald. A suite of rooms is my gift to you.”
“We won’t be living here full-time,” Emerald said softly.
“Of course not,” said Onyx. “But still, that is my wedding gift to you. Not that you’ll be needing it.”
It was Onyx who stormed out of his own office, leaving her there with Andrei.
The tension stretched between them, her desire to close the gap between them increasing. But she couldn’t. She had made vows to him in Romania. About how this would be.
“I’m glad that you’re all right.”
“I’m quite relieved.”
“Onyx is going to be a little bit more difficult.”
“I’m not worried about him.”
She was. She hated this. Hated the distance between them. Hated the distance between herself and her brother.
“I hope so.”
“We have a mission, Emerald. And we are most of the way to completing it. Do not lose hope now.”
She shook her head. “I won’t.”
“Good. This is why we will succeed.”
“Of course. This is why we will succeed.”
He nodded his head and left the study, and Emerald found herself sitting there by herself. The same room where she had first told her brother that she was going to marry Lucian. The same room where all of this had begun.
She did not feel determined at all right now. She felt defeated.
She had created this problem. Fixing it would be ugly, and Andrei wouldn’t like it, That much she knew.
But one thing she also knew about herself was that she was strong enough to do it.
She had loved Andrei Ardelean for all these years. She wouldn’t give up on them now.