Chapter 13 #2
I clear my throat. “Thank you,” I say, feeling so unsure in my own skin.
Baydel smiles at me, his gaze casting left and right as we spin around. “I see you were making friends with Earl Arden’s daughter.”
I dip my head, doing my best to focus and calm the adrenaline crackling in my veins. “I intend to befriend them all.”
“So eager to swap stories with the ex-potentials?” He gently pushes me out, spinning me before bringing me back in, not too close, keeping a respectable distance.
“I’m excited to meet as many people as I can,” I say truthfully. “I have much to learn.”
“That you do,” he says, looking at me with a curious gaze. “I must admit, I was worried about you after the Athanry.”
I choke on a laugh. “Why do I doubt that?”
He rolls his eyes, spinning us again to the sweep of the music.
“I know I was hard on you, little bug. But that’s because I want the best for my son.
For all of them. I also want what’s best for Lumathyst. I’ve ruled this realm for so long .
. .” His voice trails off, his eyes going somewhere else altogether.
That itch perks up again. The urge to draw Pierce’s power back. I could do it. Baydel certainly never cared before about my consent when it came to his power.
“I won’t leave it in incapable hands,” he continues.
The reality of that statement stops all thoughts of trying to break into his mind. It would be a fool’s attempt. I barely understand these powers, and Pierce told me the kings have some of the best mental shields he’s ever seen.
Still . . . tempting.
“I want what’s best for Lumathyst, too,” I hedge. Maybe I can appeal to some sense of royal duty? “So does your son.”
“Time will tell,” he says.
“The Kings’ List will tell,” I say, but it sounds more like a question.
Baydel grins, shaking his head. “I will not give you any hints, little bug. You and the princes will have to manage on your own. Even if I’m trying to come to some sort of common ground with you.”
Is that what he’s doing? Is that what this nice-guy persona is all about?
“Common ground?”
He shrugs. “I’d much like it if you could look at me like you don’t want to lop off my head at any moment.”
My lips part, and I almost stumble in our dance. “I don’t—”
“You do,” he counters. “I’m quite used to it. Honestly, I find fear a far more powerful motivator than hope. Evaluna always tried to lead with love.” He shrugs.
My senses alert at the mention of his mate. The memories of her while I was asleep, everything that happened at the Athanry . . . it all floods in with her name. “Do you miss her?” I can’t stop myself from asking.
The smile melts off his face. In the span of a breath, Jax’s power hurtles back into me, blazing through the locked door I’d hoped would hold forever. A flash of anger bites me so hard it stings. I flinch from the pain but cover it with a cough, grateful it gets easier each time.
“Every day,” he says, and something prickles on the back of my neck.
Something unnerving. Unnatural. His hand tightens in mine before he loosens it and continues the dance.
“Now, we don’t like each other. That much is apparent,” he says casually.
“But you are the Chosen. They’ve selected you as their mate.
You’ve unlocked their power and will now act as the grounding unit for the Legends.
I will respect the goddesses’ decision. And I hope, in time, you and I will become friends. ”
The notion is too shocking to respond to, so I don’t.
“I’m a good friend to have, little bug,” he says. “And a terrible enemy.”
“I don’t want any enemies,” I admit, the truth of the statement twisting my chest.
The Faders flash in my mind, which directly leads to thoughts of my sister.
“That’s naive,” he says, swaying us. “You’re a princess now. You’re mated to the Legends of Chaos. You have a bigger target on you than ever before. Every enemy of Lumathyst is now your enemy. Which makes us as close to friends as I think we’ll ever be.”
My head is spinning. The game I’ve been playing has become more complex than I ever imagined.
In difficult times in the past—with schemes of robbing the wealthy to help aid the people of the Ashlands—I’d talk it out with Erin.
I’d run to her with anything that stood in my way.
Any problem I couldn’t solve on my own, my sister and I would solve together.
Pain throbs in my heart, a signature sensation that I now associate directly with missing her.
“Like I said before.” I force out the words, coming back to myself. “I have much to learn.”
“How about I give you your first lesson?” he offers, his tone practically chummy.
I like it better when he’s sneering at me. That, I know. That, I expect. This? I don’t know what to do with this.
I hate this man.
I hate what he’s done to the Ashlands. Hate how he’s treated his son his entire life. Hate his malicious indifference to those in need. Hate the way he takes and takes and takes.
There’s no room in my heart for forgiveness.
But . . . strategy? Yeah, there’s room for that. I’m a royal now. I need to start acting like one.
“It would be an honor.” The lie flows so easily from my tongue. Jax would be proud.
Baydel’s smile deepens as he spins us, the motion giving us a clear view of my mates. They’re all watching me with a hawklike precision that’s downright intimidating.
“Make them happy,” he continues. I snap my gaze back to his. “Keep them happy. Whatever they want, whatever they need, provide it.”
I part my lips. “Of course I want to make them happy—”
“You must,” he cuts me off, his tone grave. “If they make a choice, you support it. You are theirs. There is no other choice for you now. If you don’t . . .”
“What?” I ask when he doesn’t continue.
He slows our dance, giving me a pitying look. “They’ll end you.”
I shake my head. He doesn’t know them like I do. He’s just trying to scare me.
He laughs, the boisterous sound rattling me.
“You’re looking at me like I don’t know what I’m speaking on,” he says.
I try to smooth my features so he can’t read me.
“But I do, little bug.” He grins at the Legends across the room.
“I’ve known them infinitely longer than you have.
Heed my advice. You cross those four, and they’ll tear you to pieces. ”