Chapter 22 Tell Me
Tell Me
Stellon
“Cease,” I yelled, and the flagellator froze in mid-motion, the whip swirling then spinning to a stop behind his back.
As soon as I saw Raewyn fling herself in front of Pharis, I’d left the throne and bolted across the ballroom.
She was acting like she’d lost her senses, but she was still my bride. I couldn’t allow her to be harmed any more than she already had been.
Angry red welts rose across her palm and chest, and the barbed whip had slashed her dress across the front, marring the delicate fabric.
What a disaster.
I glanced around at the room full of wide-eyed witnesses. So did Raewyn. She looked terrified, but still she stood her ground, protecting my brother.
What was happening?
Raewyn had told me just last night that she loved me, that she’d been desperate to get away from him and return to me.
Had she and Pharis planned this to humiliate me?
Sounds of shock and amazement rippled through the crowd, followed by whispers and murmurs of speculation.
“What are you doing?” I demanded in a low voice.
“What you should have done,” Raewyn said. “Stopping this travesty.”
“I ordered it for you. To make him pay for what he did to you, and to publicly demonstrate what will happen to anyone who dares lay a finger on you.”
“It’s wrong,” Raewyn said.
“I am the King,” I said, seething. “I decide what is right and wrong. As my wife, you should stand behind my decisions and support—”
“I’m not your wife,” she interrupted. “Not yet. And I would never marry a man who’d killed his own brother. Release him at once.”
I wanted to strike something, but I dropped my hands to my sides, grinding my teeth together.
“Fine,” I muttered between them. “He’s received punishment, and though it’s not enough, as your wedding gift, I’ll let it end here.”
Turning to the crowd, I announced, “The entertainment is over. Your new Queen has a gentle and merciful heart.”
To the wide-eyed footmen standing nearby I said, “Clear the ballroom. Get everyone to the garden to prepare for the wedding ceremony. I’ll be along shortly with my bride.”
They nodded and began herding the guests toward the ballroom doors.
At my instruction, the two guards who’d locked Pharis to the stone pillar stepped forward and opened the manacles. His body dropped to the floor.
With obvious strain, he dragged himself to his feet, turning to face us.
“I’d invite you to stay for the wedding,” I said to him, “but you don’t seem to be properly attired.”
“You’re not marrying her,” Pharis said, turning his head and spitting blood onto the floor.
My eyes narrowed. “What did you just say?”
“She doesn’t love you,” my brother said. “Not really.”
My eyebrows rose nearly to my hairline.
“She certainly doesn’t love you. Not after all the lies you’ve told and the things you’ve done.”
Pharis took the conversation private, his mental voice sounding weary.
I think you’re wrong, unfortunately. he said. It doesn’t matter anyway. I love her enough for the both of us, and I’m through fighting it.
I put my hand on the ceremonial dagger in my belt.
I loved her first.
That’s debatable, Pharis said. And you never loved her the way I do. In fact I’m more convinced than ever that you’re under a love spell.
Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better, I said. I love Raewyn more than anything. Even knowing she had to have been killed by the dragon, I had my troops scouring the countryside for months looking for her.
Despite his wounds, Pharis chuckled.
That’s the difference between us, brother, he said. You sent your troops out to find her for you. If she had been mine, I would have been out there myself, ripping the world apart, hunting down and slaying every dragon in existence until I found her.
I scowled and spit in Pharis’ direction. “I should slay you right here and now.”
“Please don’t,” Raewyn said, moving in front of him again.
Grabbing her hand, I pulled her to my side.
“Out of deference to the wishes of my kind-hearted fiancee, I will let you go,” I told my brother. “But you are no longer welcome in this kingdom.”
“That’s just fine. Perhaps I’ll form one of my own,” Pharis said.
“You speak treason to me, even after I have spared you?” I demanded. “You are banished, do you hear me? I want you to leave and never set foot on my lands again.”
“With pleasure,” Pharis gave me a facetious bow.
Holding out his hand to Raewyn, he said, “Come on, Wildcat. Let’s get out of here.”
I wrapped an arm around my bride’s shoulders, clamping her to my side.
“Raewyn isn’t going anywhere. We are getting married tonight.”
Squirming to free herself from my grasp, she took a step away from me. She blinked and shook her head as if just waking up from a deep sleep.
“Firebug?” I asked.
She took another step away, but not toward Pharis. She simply looked at his extended hand as if trying to discern what it meant.
“You brought me back here,” she said to him. “You sent me to your brother.”
Wait, what? He’d brought her here?
“I shouldn’t have,” Pharis said. “I was wrong. This isn’t the place for you after all. And Stellon isn’t the man.”
“He kidnapped you,” I reminded Raewyn, my tone rising in desperation.
“You told me that the whole time you were with him, all you wanted was to escape and get back to me.”
“I compelled her to think that and say that,” Pharis said. “And still, look where we are.”
After a pause he said, “Inevitable.”
“Raewyn will be happier with me,” I said. “I am the King.”
“She was happy with me… and getting happier all the time,” Pharis said with a suggestive lift of his brow.
Raewyn and I both scoffed in offense.
She pressed her palms to her temples and wrapped her fingers around her head. “I don’t know what to think. I’m so confused. My head is all a jumble.”
“Stop compelling her,” I demanded. “Can’t you see she’s distressed?”
Pharis raised his hands. “I’m not. I’m through with all that. Raewyn will get nothing but honesty from me for the rest of eternity. Can you say the same?”
I scowled at him. “Of course. I’ve always been honest with her.”
Pharis gave me a slight smile that made my blood run cold. “Not always.”
Then he turned to Raewyn. “Could you spend the rest of your life with the man who killed your mother?”
“What?” she gasped at the same time I yelled, “Shut up!”
He went on. “I told you the story of how my mother died, but would you like to hear about your mother’s final moments?”
“Stop,” I warned. “Don’t listen to him, Raewyn. How many times has he lied to you?”
“Come now. Are you really going to withhold information from your dear betrothed, with whom you’re ‘always honest?’” Pharis chided.
“Not a good idea,” he said. “Raewyn is a fan of honesty. And as I said, she’ll get it from me from now on. What about you, brother? Why don’t you tell her mind-to-mind how her mother met the end of her immortality?”
“Stellon?” Raewyn turned to me, appearing to be struggling for breath.
I had told her that her mother was Elven but had chosen not to mention knowing anything else about Jeneve.
Tell me, Raewyn said in perfectly clear nonverbal speech, surprising me with her newfound Elven ability.
And I will know if you’re lying.