Chapter Twelve
“I wouldn’t be marrying her if I didn’t plan on keeping her.”
My hearing had to be faulty. Keep me? As if I were some sort of pet? Placing my hand over his as I fixed a smile on my face, I dug my nails into his flesh.
Casteel’s thumb didn’t miss a single sweep along my inner hip. “I can’t help myself.” His lips brushed my cheek, and it took everything in me not to elbow him in the throat. “Penellaphe intrigued me from the first moment I spoke to her.”
Intrigued. That word again.
“I can see why.” Alastir tilted his head. “She’s utterly unique, and most likely not what one would expect from the Maiden.”
“She is unique and brave, intelligent and beautiful,” Casteel agreed, apparently no longer content to drive me out of my mind with just his thumb.
His fingers were involved now, sliding out from his palm and then gliding back.
“And completely unexpected. But she is not the Maiden, Alastir.” His chin grazed my shoulder as he turned his head to the wolven.
“And if you refer to her as the Maiden one more time, we are going to have a problem. Understand?”
This time, when my muscles tensed, it was in response to his words.
“Understood,” Alastir murmured.
“Good.” Casteel’s chin drifted over the curve of my jaw as he sat back.
Alastir was quiet for a moment, and then he addressed the men. “Make sure the horses are ready for when we check the roads.”
Everyone at the table rose—everyone but Delano and Naill. Those two remained even after Alastir flicked a pointed look in their direction.
“If I called those men back, they would heed my summons,” Casteel began, his fingers still sliding along my waist and hip. “And those who remain will only leave this table once I command it.”
Alastir faced Casteel. “I know this.”
“Glad to hear that, because for a moment there, I thought you might have forgotten who commands whom here.”
A shiver tiptoed down my spine, a reminder of whose lap I sat in. This was not Hawke. He was the Prince of a kingdom, and he would not be disobeyed.
“I haven’t, Casteel. You know me better than that. Which is why I must speak openly.”
“Then speak,” Casteel replied quietly, and visions of him slamming his hand through Landell’s chest danced before me.
“You wish for me to do so right now?” Alastir’s gaze flicked to me briefly. “Even if what I have to say is something you might not want to be spoken at this time?”
A tingling sensation swept over me as Casteel’s fingers stilled on my hip. For a moment, I thought he would send me away. “You’d be surprised by what Penellaphe already knows.”
Alastir lifted his brows.
“He planned to ransom me in exchange for his brother,” I announced, deciding it sounded a little better coming from me. Alastir’s eyes widened slightly. “It’s not a secret. Everyone at this table knows.”
“And that has changed?” Alastir queried softly, but neither Casteel nor I had a chance to answer before he continued.
“I’ve watched you grow from a small boy sitting at his mother’s side to the man you are today, just as I watched Malik.
And I wish every damn day that I would’ve gotten to watch him grow into the King he was destined to be.
You two would do anything for each other, sacrifice anything.
” The sacrifice anyone went unspoken, but it still lingered in the space.
“And I understand the sense of obligation you carry within you. I understand more than most do, as I’m sure you remember. ”
Tension crept into Casteel’s body, and I knew that Alastir had struck a chord.
“I know it’s not like you’ve suddenly given up on your brother, no matter how intrigued you may be.
” Alastir tipped toward us, his voice low.
“Neither your mother nor your father wanted you to leave when you did. They understand why you felt you needed to, but you also know where they stand on this.”
“I know where they stand,” Casteel stated, and instinct told me that Alastir was referring to Prince Malik. “And where do you stand?”
“Where I always have, with the Kingdom of Atlantia,” Alastir answered. “But I also would never expect you to give up on Malik. I wouldn’t be able to if I were you, so I need to ask. Is this…engagement another ploy to gain your brother’s freedom?”
The fact that Alastir zeroed right in on what Casteel was planning told me that he did know him as well as he claimed.
I realized then that it wouldn’t be me who needed to convince Alastir of the engagement’s authenticity. It would have to be Casteel. And if he couldn’t? Then what?
“How does marrying Penellaphe have anything to do with my brother?” Casteel’s voice was level.
“That’s a good question.” Alastir leaned back. “Perhaps you believe that taking what the Kingdom of Solis covets and putting her in line to be the eventual Queen of Atlantia will give you better bargaining power.”
The fact that Alastir was yet again so on point with what Casteel planned should’ve stunned me. It didn’t. What took me by surprise was the eventual Queen of Atlantia part.
I might’ve toppled out of the chair if it weren’t for Casteel’s arm around me. It struck me then that Casteel had left a very important part out when he discussed our arrangement.
He was to become King.
Oh, we had so much to talk about, it wasn’t even funny.
“Maybe this would put all of us in a position of better bargaining power,” Casteel remarked. I bit down on the inside of my lip. “But during the time spent at the capital and in Masadonia, I’ve come to accept that my brother is beyond my reach.”
Lie. That was such a lie. But I said nothing because even I had the sense to remain quiet.
Alastir was silent for a long moment and then he exhaled heavily. “As much as I hate to say this, because I love both you and Malik as if you were my sons, I hope that is true. If only for your sake and the sake of the kingdom. It is far past time to let go.”
I reached out with my senses again, this time not hesitating. Sincerity echoed through the invisible cord, tasting like warm vanilla.
“It is,” Casteel said, and my ability stretched out toward him. The burst of agony was tangy, coating my insides.
My hand dropped to his out of instinct, and I only stopped myself at the last moment. He would know what I’d done. I slipped my hand away, clasping them in my lap.
“What about your obligations?” Alastir met Casteel’s gaze with an unflinching one of his own. “What was expected of you before you left still awaits your return.”
Casteel’s fingers started moving again, along the curve of my hip. “Things change all the time.”
What had been expected of Casteel upon his return? Questions bubbled to the tip of my tongue, but I held them back, figuring that the second I started asking them would be the moment they stopped talking. Right now, it was as if they had forgotten I sat between them.
“And things have changed since you left, Casteel. You’ve been gone for over two years,” Alastir advised, picking up his cup. “There is unrest among our people, especially the wolven.”
“I know that,” Casteel answered as I glanced at Kieran. He stood with a hand on the hilt of his sword, but other than that, I wondered if it were possible for someone to be asleep while standing with their eyes open. He looked that bored. “And I will do everything I can to ease that unrest.”
“By marrying someone who is only half-Atlantian? An outsider?” Alastir turned to me. “And I mean no offense by that, Penellaphe. I sincerely do not.”
“None taken,” I advised. He was right. I would be an outsider to Casteel’s people.
“She may only be half-Atlantian and raised in Solis, but my people will accept her because I accept her.” Casteel stated this as if there were no other option.
“You know, you were partly correct when you said that marrying her gives us bargaining power. It does. With her at my side, we have a better chance of gaining back our land.”
Alastir sat back in his chair. “To avoid war?”
“Yes. Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that better than sending our people off to die by the thousands?” Casteel demanded. “Do you want to see more wolven die?”
“Of course, not.” Alastir shook his head. “I want to avoid war. I’ve already lost enough to the Ascended, as you know.”
I felt a momentarily tensing in Casteel’s body.
“I do. Gods, I do know.” He exhaled heavily, relaxing a bit, and I sensed that there was more, things not being said.
“The part you were incorrect about is assuming that my only reason for marrying Penellaphe is for bargaining power, whether that be for my brother or the kingdom. If I didn’t feel the way I do for her, I could’ve simply used her in the way I originally planned. ”
The truth stung, but the lies scraped over my skin like hot knives. I kept my face blank, showing no reaction.
“That is true.” Alastir dragged his lower lip between his teeth.
“I can only hope the unrest is manageable. I’ve been trying, but the young ones…
they have a certain view on how things should be carried out.
And your father has agreed with them more and more.
” Alastir’s gaze fixed on the cup he held.
“He hoped that your time in Solis would prove fruitful. He has learned that it has. However, he has plans now, Casteel. And he is still the King.”
“Do those plans involve me?” There went the realization that I should remain quiet. Still, I couldn’t hold myself back. For far too many years, I’d sat in silence while others around me discussed me, my life, and my future.
No more.
The look of surprise flickering across Alastir’s expression gave way to a faint smile. “I have a feeling that many things involve you now.” His features sobered as his gaze shifted to the Prince. “I would like to speak to Penellaphe.”
“About?” Casteel queried.
“About all of this. I want to talk to her alone,” he requested.
Casteel leaned forward, pressing his chest to my back. “Why do you want that?”