Chapter 72 #3
Heinrich shook his head. “You don’t get it.
If Trasmyr had succeeded, they would have stolen our treasures and carted them back to their dung hovel of an island.
We’d have been their subjects for a time until they got bored.
They seized the Seers’ crystal balls like crows collecting shiny rocks.
Trasmyr understands nothing of Bargain or Energy magic.
They don’t know what Lochmatten can really do. ”
“Even if Trasmyr had won,” Haydn said, “we would’ve taken everything back by now. General Egorovich and his men would be covered from head to toe in Bargain tattoos and surrendering to us.”
“The kingdoms left us in ruins and then expected our eternal gratitude,” Heinrich continued. “You showed up with parlor tricks, but Lochmatten has real power. Ritter’s plaything here has all of the Perceptual and Elemental magic, and yet a simple Bargain was enough to bring her to her knees.”
“She is not my plaything!” Haydn snarled. “She will be my bride.”
Evelyn was beyond words, but there wasn’t anything she could do without risking her friends and family.
“Of course,” Heinrich conceded. “But her sister probably can’t even light the candles on a birthday cake, and she’s a princess. It’s pathetic. The kingdoms need new leadership.”
“A service I am happy to provide,” Haydn said, brightening again. He kissed Evelyn’s hand. “The fact that I get to claim you as my own is no small prize, either. The political legitimacy that comes from marrying a queen is merely a bonus.”
Evelyn addressed Heinrich. “What do you get out of all of this?”
“Haydn will make him Grand Chancellor,” Tasia said with the relish of someone who could finally spill a particularly juicy morsel of gossip.
“I get the chance to serve a sensible and reorganized government, of course,” Heinrich said impatiently.
“I’ll be in charge of domestic affairs and ensuring that fae with the appropriate magical talents receive the positions they deserve, so long as they make the appropriate Bargains to prove their loyalty.
I’ll invite Moeller to join me, but I doubt he’ll be interested.
Wendell won’t realize anything’s changed until someone drops off some new history books in his library a thousand years from now. Useless old man.”
“And I’ll get to rule Velletri when we conquer them next,” Tasia bragged.
Haydn winked at Tasia. “You’ll be magnificent, darling. They need someone who can crack the whip over there.”
Evelyn tried to back away, but Haydn wouldn’t let her.
“I need you most of all,” he said. “You have the eight magical abilities from Carrowmore and Gryon, and you will give them to me when we get married.”
“No!”
“Don’t worry, love. You can have all of my magic, too.
Together, we will be the most powerful fae the world has ever seen.
This continent will be ours! We’ll have our very own empire in place of the kingdoms. Then, the rest of the lands will fall to us.
Lochmatten, Velletri, Brevig, Trasmyr, Aleneva, Neskowin, and Seldovia.
Everything will be ours. Can’t you picture us together on the throne? ”
“I’m not yours! I married Leo!”
“A minor inconvenience. Imagine my delight when I learned Alexander changed the law so you automatically inherit Gryon upon his death. That makes things so much easier! All I have to do is kill him and marry you. Then, once all the other Connollys are dead, you can claim Carrowmore for me.”
Evelyn’s legs nearly gave out beneath her.
Haydn locked an arm around her waist to keep her upright. “You will be mine, and everything will be ours.”
“No, Haydn. Please don’t do this.”
“This is what you wanted, my love. You wanted to be with me and have more power than you’ve ever dreamed of.
You invited me into your bed and you kept that necklace hidden.
You made deals with me and learned Energy magic in secret.
This is what we talked about, what you agreed to.
You said yes to everything I offered, until he stole you from me. ”
Haydn is making me sound guilty! But… oh, gods, I did all of that! I went along with what he told me and I kept secrets. I didn’t mean for it to lead to this! If I had been honest with Leo, or given Damien more details, would we still be here?
“Evelyn, you planned this?” Leo accused. “You knew what was happening?”
“No!” Evelyn cried. “No! I wasn’t part of this!”
“You think Evelyn married you just to commit treason?” Damien yelled at Leo. “Ritter tricked her! He fooled all of us!”
“But that’s over now,” Haydn said. “We can be honest with each other. And, truthfully, I don’t need kings alive any longer. The continent is better off without them.”
Haydn let go of Evelyn and conjured another deadly ball of light.
“Stop!” Evelyn shouted.
She clutched at Haydn’s arm, but he had already started to throw the Energy. Evelyn’s intervention only knocked his aim off course.
The magic sank into Simon’s chest instead of Leo’s.
Simon’s eyes went dark before he lurched forward and hit the floor. Evelyn screamed and lifted her hands, but Haydn trapped her in his arms.
“I already told you that you aren’t allowed to save anyone else with your magic,” Haydn chided.
“Let me go!” Evelyn shrieked. “He’s my friend!”
“No. I warned you and you didn’t listen.”
Evelyn went limp and sank to the floor.
Simon is dead, and his only crime was being my guard. This is all my fault.
Haydn lowered himself beside her, hugging her comfortingly as she cried. “Everything will be okay, my love. After this, we’ll get married, and I will give you everything you desire.”
Evelyn forced herself to look up at him. “Haydn, please. If you really love me, stop this.”
“My innocent bride.” Haydn traced her jawline. “It’s too late. The kingdoms will be ours by sunrise.”
“You don’t need to reign over a continent!”
“But I want to, just as much as I want you, my love. I’ve done most of the work for us already. I convinced the Legislative Council to give me the highest position in Lochmatten. I’ve built connections in all nine lands. I killed the Kennedys in Carrowmore, plus the king and first heir of Gryon.”
All the air seemed to be sucked out of the room.
The first heir of Gryon. Prince Christopher.
Leo let out a strangled cry, which was nothing compared to the guttural wails coming from his mother.
Haydn acted like he couldn’t hear them. “The kingdoms are in chaos, ready for new leadership. I have been planning this for so long, and then you showed up. You were the missing piece that I needed. You and your Fire. There is nothing I can’t do with a dragon at my side.”
Haydn forced Evelyn to her feet. “I’m not heartless. Fontaine will live. I’ve always liked him, and he will be valuable. You can keep your other guard, but all the heirs have to go. You understand, don’t you?”
“No! I—” Evelyn swallowed her fear.
Arguing isn’t going to get me anywhere. Haydn will kill them faster if I make him mad.
“Give me another Bargain.”
Haydn’s mouth curled into a smile. “What is it you want, love?”
“Don’t kill them. They can all forfeit their claims to the throne and leave the continent. Just keep them alive!”
“In exchange for what? What are their lives worth?”
Evelyn took his hands. “I will be yours! I won’t fight you on anything else. I’ll go where you want me to go. We can get married today and I will give you all of my magic. I will do anything for you.”
“Evelyn, no!” Leo yelled.
“Shut the fuck up!” Damien hissed at him.
“Please, Haydn.” Evelyn cupped his face to keep his attention on her. “Let me be yours. I will go with you willingly. But I can’t love you if you kill everyone. Give me this one thing so I can love you.”
Haydn’s eyes were locked on Evelyn, intoxicated by her words. “No more arguing? No more tears? I spare them and you will love me?”
“Yes! You want to make me happy. You said so in my room. This is how! Keep them alive, and you can have me!”
Haydn’s expression was slowly swinging from skeptical to hopeful.
“I don’t want to be in mourning when we get married,” Evelyn continued. “We can still have everything we want! Just move them out of the way instead of killing them.”
Haydn considered her proposal. A glimmer of something unpleasant passed over his eyes. “I want a compromise in this deal.”
“What do you mean?” Evelyn asked nervously.
“There are five heirs here. Three Connollys and two Ducasses. You can keep four of them.”
Evelyn stopped breathing.
“You can pick whoever you want,” Haydn added. “It doesn’t make a difference to me. But only four of them can leave this room alive.”
“I… I can’t!” Evelyn barely got the words out.
“Then I kill all of them.”
“No!”
“You can’t have it both ways. I will marry you, even if I need to drag you down the aisle.
But I would prefer your cooperation. So I can kill five people today and carry you out of here kicking and screaming.
Or I can kill one person, and four of your loved ones leave here unscathed. That seems like an easy choice.”
“I can’t sentence one of them to death!”
“You would rather they all die?”
“No! But—”
“This shouldn’t be difficult, Evelyn. If Hannah doesn’t get to a Healer soon, she’ll die anyway. I can speed things along, and the rest of them can leave here alive.”
“She’s my sister!”
“What about your father, then? You were so mad at Alexander for lying to you for a week, but your father kept your own identity a secret for over a century! Can you really forgive him for that?”
“Haydn, stop! I can’t—”
Camille’s confident voice interrupted them. “Pick me. Kill me and release the others.”
“Mother, no!” Leo yelled.
“I have lived a long life. I’ve already lost my husband and one of my sons. I would rather die for my remaining son and my daughter-in-law than lose them, too.”
Tears streamed down Leo’s face. “Mother, don’t say that!”
Evelyn’s eyes stung as she tried not to cry, both for Camille’s offer and Leo’s pain.