Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
~ Princess Blake ~
“ T ell me I’m not the only one who has a bad feeling about this,” Shade says as she stands on my shoulder.
“It’s not just you,” I reply with a tight smile. Reaching up, I adjust one of the straps of my black gossamer gown. After our discussion with Queen Vespera, we’d been escorted to a bedchamber where we could freshen up and prepare for the party. Prince Callan had disappeared, saying something about having errands to attend to, and the garments had been promptly delivered to us with a message that guards would escort us to the ballroom in a few hours.
Prince Callan arrived in time to join our escort, and unlike the rest of my mates who are wearing black suits that match my dress, he’s wearing a pristine, white suit trimmed with gold. It shouldn’t bother me, but I can’t help but feel like his clothing choice is some kind of statement.
Blowing out a breath, I try not to think about it as we turn down a long corridor that’s completely bare besides the decorative golden cornices and patterned cream wallpaper.
“Well, it’s still not too late to turn back,” Shade says. “We could use Mason’s portal ring and hightail it back to Seral.”
“We need to get through to Queen Vespera. If this is what it takes to get her to agree to call for aid, then we’ll attend her party. How bad can it be?” I say the last part sarcastically, but Shade answers anyway.
“Uh, have you forgotten about the torture and death part?”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“Well, you could have fooled me, because for someone who still hasn’t bonded with her mates, this feels a little risky.”
She’s right, but it still doesn’t change anything. I tell myself the only reason I’m going is to ensure the queen seeks help in Toralyn, but I know that’s not the full truth. I saw how Queen Vespera treated Prince Callan, and it bugs me. I want to know more about him, and more about her. More about this whole damn place where my mother came from.
Shade adjusts her perch on my shoulder, balancing on a small patch of leather that’s strapped there.
“And what if the queen is right, and the witches don’t pose as big a threat as you think?”
“Then everyone goes home again after we’ve squashed whatever resurgence this is. It’s better to be overprepared.”
Before we reach the guarded double doors at the end of the corridor, Prince Callan stops and turns to face our group. Lines of worry crease his handsome face. “Once we enter those doors, there’s no going back. The queen has different wards around specific areas of the palace, and portal magic won’t work in there. If you wish to return to Seral, this is your last chance.” There’s the faintest slice of hope in his eyes.
I hold his gaze. “Would you be coming with us?”
His brows lower. “I—No, not today.”
I shrug. “Then we’re staying. Besides, you know I can’t go. Not until the queen calls on the allied realms.”
“And you know we’re not leaving without our mate,” Mason adds. “A lesson you would do well to learn.”
Prince Callan’s gaze hardens. “Then so be it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Yeah, like he warned us about those porn clouds? Great job, buddy. Great job,” Shade snarks. “Wait, you don’t think the queen will have them in there, do you?”
“What?”
“The porn clouds.”
“I wish you would stop calling them that.”
She continues rambling, but I don’t hear a word she says. I’m busy staring at Prince Callan as his expression closes off, and his muscles harden like he’s preparing for battle. He turns from us and strides the rest of the way to the double doors.
Dante’s hand rests on the small of my back. “He may be right,” the demon says quietly against my ear. “We could return home knowing that we’d tried to convince the angel queen. King Dalton himself didn’t succeed. He’ll understand.”
I roll my shoulders back and stare into Dante’s midnight-blue eyes. “We can’t leave him.”
~ Prince Callan ~
Whenever Queen Vespera peers at Blake, I want to gouge the queen’s eyes out. I hate my mother’s attention on my Ahalian Touizda. My mate. I can see the queen’s mind working as she assesses Blake, no doubt trying to determine the best way to break the demon, and how to use the princess to her advantage.
The invitation to attend the party was more of a command than it was a request, but I’d still hoped Blake would refuse. I’d hoped she would see the queen for what she was and know that the words spilling from the queen’s lips were simply lies spun to ensnare her.
But Blake had agreed.
My promise to my younger sister, Mirelle, surfaces to the forefront of my mind, and with every step I take toward the ballroom, I can feel everything inside me unraveling.
For years, I’ve endured the queen, caught in her trap like so many others. Everything the queen has asked of me, I’ve given, but now Blake is shaking the foundation of all that I’ve worked toward.
The walls are closing in, and I feel that vice around my neck closing. Because I won’t lose my sister, but I won’t lose my mate either.
The others don’t realize it, but blood will spill tonight. And I’ll make sure it’s by my blade.
~ Princess Blake ~
“Holy moly, this place is gorgeous,” Shade says in my head, her beady eyes taking in the giant ballroom.
There must be hundreds of angels in attendance, all dressed in sparkling garments with an array of piercings and jewellery. A giant harp sits to one side of the room, the strings being plucked by invisible fingers to create an intricate melody, and puffs of wispy white clouds blanket the floor, making it feel as though we’re in the sky.
Across the room, Queen Vespera sits on a golden throne, and her gaze finds us when we walk forward, the clouds stirring around our feet as we move. Thankfully, unlike the clouds in her office, nothing bad happens when we walk through these ones, but the queen smiles as she watches us.
A server walks by with a golden tray of drinks, and I take a glass and raise it into the air, smiling at the queen.
Queen Vespera lifts her own glass, returning the gesture, and Prince Callan glares at me.
“Don’t drink that,” Alaric growls, no doubt saying what Prince Callan is thinking.
My smile doesn’t falter, and I keep my eyes on the queen as I reply carefully. “Relax, I wasn’t planning to.”
“Wait, why can’t we drink it?” Nate says, pulling his mouth back from his own goblet. A droplet of liquid hangs from the side of his lips, and he peers at us sheepishly. “I’m not goin’ to die, right?”
“How the fuck you got your nickname is beyond me,” Alaric growls.
We all stare at Nate, but moments pass, and nothing happens. The shifter licks his lips. “Not quite as good as that stuff you brought me last time we were here, Callan, but it’s not bad. Not bad at all.”
Prince Callan glowers at the shifter.
“Is it poisoned?” I ask the archangel, knowing full well that not all ingested poisons show symptoms straight away.
Alaric snatches the goblet from Nate, and he dips his head, ducking behind Mason as he sniffs the remnants in the cup. “Not poisoned,” he growls.
My shoulders loosen, and I slap Nate on the chest. “Can you try to stay alive tonight?”
“What? I figure she wouldn’t have coaxed us here simply to poison us,” Nate defends. “The queen likes a spectacle when it comes to her enemies.”
“Enemies? I thought we were supposed to be her guests,” Mason comments.
Prince Callan straightens the collar of his shirt. “The shifter is right. Using poison isn’t the queen’s style. But I don’t suggest you drink the wine. It’s strong, and we’ll need our wits about us.”
Nate gives us a lop-sided smile. “Yeah, I’m feelin’ it. And I don’t have a single regret.”
Prince Callan let’s out a frustrated noise, and he leads us further into the ballroom. We stop beside a giant stone pillar, sheltered from the queen’s view.
“So what now?” I ask the prince. “I’m guessing Queen Vespera doesn’t really intend to keep her promise once this party is over.”
Prince Callan stares at me. “If you realize that, then why are you here?”
“Why are you here?” I counter. “It’s obvious you hold no love for your queen.” Or the other way around.
“Love?” The archangel’s top lip curls. “I’m here because I don’t have a choice.”
I frown. “Then help me understand.”
His gaze connects with mine, and the golden flecks in his eyes brighten. For a moment, I think he’s going to explain. For a moment, I think I’ll finally get an answer to his strange behavior, but then the music of the harp grows louder, and he turns his head, distracted. A trio of singers step up to the side of the harp, and the music changes, the tone darkening as they harmonise an eerie tune. The angels around the room start to move, forming a circle around the mass of white cloud in the middle of the space. They dance and sway in time to the music, and the white cloud grows bigger, doubling in size like it’s a living being.
Prince Callan’s expression flattens.
“What is it?” I ask.
“A demonstration,” he replies coldly.
Nate curses.
I look between them, an uneasy feeling spreading through me. “What kind of demonstration?”
The music stops abruptly, and we all move to peer around the pillar as the queen lifts to her feet, the fabric of her long white gown pooling on the floor. Her face is hard set as she looks across the ballroom, weapons strapped to her like she’s about to walk onto a battlefield rather than attend a party.
She lifts her hands into the air. “Gather, my angels,” she calls out, “for tonight, we celebrate a victory at the town of Sailyn! Once again, we have shown the witches that angels do not fall, and we shall remain victorious, uncowed by them!”
The crowd erupts into applause, and Queen Vespera beams at them, her pearly teeth reflecting the light. “And what better way to celebrate than by enacting justice on another who has wronged us?”
There’s more applause, but when I peer around the room, none of the angels are smiling.
“Did I not say I had a bad feeling?” Shade grumbles. “It’s still not too late to leave, right?”
“We knew this might happen,” I say grimly. “The queen is known for torturing her enemies at her parties. We just need to keep our heads down.”
Mason moves closer to me and glares at Prince Callan. “What is this?”
I grind my teeth, wishing I had my weapons, and my mates all tense.
Prince Callan steps to the side, and it takes me a moment to realize why. He’s shielding me from the queen’s view.
It’s a noble thought, but I’m not prepared to hide from this.
“Keep quiet,” Prince Callan orders us quietly. “We’ll watch her have her fun, and we’ll only stay at the party long enough to fulfill our obligation.”
The cloud in the middle of the room continues to swell, and then the queen flicks her hands, and the mass stops growing. The music stops, and moaning fills the air. It’s the same couple we were listening to earlier when we were in the queen’s office, except when it gets to the same place where the recording was cut off, this time it continues.
“And what could be so important that you need to leave right now?” the female implores again, and a feeling of dread winds through me as the conversation continues.
“Oh crap, it’s the bad porno recording again,” Shade squawks in my head, but I quiet her so I can listen.
“I-It’s nothing,” the male replies, uncertain.
“Nothing?” the female replies, and I can practically imagine her pouting from the tone of her voice.
Everyone in the ballroom remains silent, all of us listening as the recording continues.
There’s more moaning, and it’s obvious things are starting to heat up again. “I’m simply trying to understand you,” the female says between kisses. “I’m going to miss you. Are you sure you must leave?”
The guy groans and there are more wet kissing sounds. “If I had a choice, I’d stay here forever,” he says.
“Then stay,” the female pleads. “I love you. You’re my… my Ahalian Touizda.”
Prince Callan mutters a curse. “Stop,” he growls under his breath.
“What did you just say, my precious?” the male in the recording continues.
“I’ve never felt for another, what I feel for you,” the female replies, and even I can hear the waver in her voice. The lie. But the male in the recording doesn’t detect it.
There’s the sound of more kissing, and then the male says, “I promise this will be the last time my love. But I must go to Rostof tonight. When I return, we can start to build our family. We can go into the country like you’ve always wanted. We can get away from all of this and find a place that’s secluded before they even get here.”
There’s a sharp intake of breath. “Before who gets here?”
“Don’t worry, my love, they will not harm you. They’re only after the queen. And when I give them the plans which detail the layout of the palace, my part will be over.”
“Oh, Uriel,” the female’s voice cracks, and despite earlier when I felt like I could tell she was acting, true sadness coats her words.
The recording ends, and the massive cloud in the center of the room starts to dissipate, the whisps of white smoke simply evaporating until a naked male is revealed. His back is arched, and he remains crouched, his hands and ankles bound in thick chains that shackle him to the floor. Wounds cover his entire body, and his broken wings hang to either side of him, his feathers covered in blood.
Something tells me I know exactly who the male is. Uriel.
“Please,” Uriel begs, barely able to see through two swollen eyes. “I-I won’t take the plans anywhere. I was a fool, brainwashed by the enemy. P-please. I didn’t realize what would happen. I didn’t know what they would do.”
Queen Vespera sneers before her lips twist into a cruel smile. “Oh, I know you won’t take them anywhere, traitor. My daughter has seen to that.”
Daughter? I look to where a figure stands not far from the queen. Soft golden curls hang down to her waist, and golden sparks shine in her pale blue eyes. Strange golden markings cover her entire body, including her face, and she stands tall, her shoulders pulled back.
“Hang on, that would make her Prince Callan’s sister, right?” Shade comments.
The beautiful girl looks young, maybe only eighteen, and her gaze fixes on Prince Callan.
My brows lower. “Yes, it would.”
Prince Callan doesn’t say anything, but he stares back at her, not taking his gaze from her face.
“Wait. Do you think she’s the female from the recording?” Shade says uneasily.
Queen Vespera glares down at the prisoner. “Uriel, for high treason against your queen, you are hereby sentenced to a true death. May your last moments be long and full of agony, and may your memory be forever tarnished.”