Chapter 47 Braxton
Braxton
“That’s a dead body.” Rhoden claps her hand over her mouth to suppress the gag contracting her abdomen. “I-is that…” her voice drifts off, so I answer her not fully asked question.
“Gravesley? Yes.”
“Wh-Ho-I…” Rhoden stumbles over which question she would like to ask first, and I roll my eyes.
Azalea said breakfast had to wait until we had this mess figured out.
While Rhoden wouldn’t be my first choice in discreetly taking care of this situation, Azalea assured me she could be trusted.
Still, I can’t stop myself from watching her meticulously, my hand twitching toward the dagger I snuck into my belt every time she moves too abruptly.
Rhoden hesitantly leans forward, her porcelain skin paling as her eyes scan up and down Gravesley’s lifeless body. She suppresses another gag and quickly takes a step back.
“What happened?” Rhoden fixes me with an accusatory glare.
While I would love to tell her that I did the old bastard in, I turn my attention to Azalea, giving her room to answer her friend.
“Care to fill her in, Wildflower?”
Azalea gives me a pointed look before softening her eyes and turning to Rhoden. Why the fuck does she never look at me like that? Well, I guess I know why. Still, I feel an inkling of jealousy prickle down my spine.
“I may have… well… I stabbed him.”
Rhoden’s almond eyes practically bulge out of her skull.
“But he deserved it,” Azalea quickly amends, stepping toward her friend. To my satisfaction, Rhoden doesn’t move away from Azalea, but lets her take her hands.
Even if I don’t trust her, I don’t want Azalea to lose anyone else in this castle.
I know Gravesley was one of the only people she actually talked to, and now she’s lost that.
That familiar feeling of frustration churns my stomach at allowing him to get as close to her as he did.
Everything I’ve done is to protect her, and all the while I let one of the purest forms of evil cozy up to her in my castle, under my protection.
I shake my head clear, knowing we only have another few hours before the entire castle bustles awake and begins their duties. So far, the only people awake are those doing food preparations in the kitchen, which is mercifully far away from Azalea’s room.
“Azalea.” The mixture of stress and impatience inside me laces my tone with a hard edge. “We need to take care of this before anyone else sees.
The plan is to inform the castle that Gravesley retired.
Anyone who seems suspicious of this news, or particularly interested in hearing more of the story, we plan to take note of.
That’s how I’ll know who to keep an eye on and who I can trust. I’m not sure what kind of a person I am to not know my own castle staff.
Part of me wonders if I was just negligent on who I let in my castle, or if this is part of the magic working tricks on my mind.
Regardless, I’m not letting another rat slip through my grasp and get close to Azalea.
Azalea nods, turning back to Rhoden.
“I promise, I will fill you in on everything, but right now, I need you to trust me.” Her voice is pleading, and she grips Rhoden’s hands tighter.
“Zel,” Rhoden leans forward dropping her voice before darting her eyes toward me hesitantly.
“This isn’t like sneaking into a certain someone’s study.
” My expression hardens. I should have known she was partially behind that little scheme.
“This is a dead body,” she finishes, her eyes hesitantly darting back to look at Gravesley. Her complexion goes green.
“I know, and I normally would never get you involved, but…” I watch as Azalea tries to think about how much to tell Rhoden. I mentally plead with her to not share too much. “It’s very complicated. He attacked me, and Braxton saved me from The Great Divine knows what.”
Rhoden lifts her eyes to look at me. My arms are crossed over my chest, and I lift a single questioning brow at her.
“Rho, please. Will you help?”
Rhoden shakes her head, and the move is then repeated throughout her limbs before she clasps her hands and cracks her knuckles.
“Of course. Of course, I’ll help,” she agrees, turning back to Azalea with a smile. “What’s the plan?”
“Oh…” Azalea’s cheeks pink. “I thought you might have an idea of what to do.”
“Okay, Zel. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but washing the floors is not the same as getting rid of a dead body.”
I tuck my lips in to try and conceal the smile that threatens to break free on my face.
“Technically, we are cleaning a floor. We’re cleaning it up of blood.”
It’s astounding that these two minds came up with the master plan to break into my study and actually succeeded. With a rumbling chuckle, I step forward.
“I’ll discard of the body. I’m going to bury him where no one will find him. Can I trust you two to clean up this part of the mess and straighten Azalea’s room back up?”
Rhoden narrows her eyes at me. “Fine, but you owe us.”
“Owe you?” I ask incredulously. “What could I possibly owe you.”
“I don’t know your highness, a vacation, freedom, a night off. We’re cleaning up the aftermath of someone being murdered—”
“By your friend.”
“In your castle.” Rhoden fixes me with a glare, which I mirror back at her.
“You two are children,” Azalea grumbles pinching the bride of her nose. “We don’t have time for this.”
Rhoden doesn’t falter, and I release a sharp breath through my lips.
“Fine, I owe you. Name it later. Let’s get this over with.”
With a gloating grin, Rhoden holds her hand out to me to shake it. Rolling my eyes, I oblige before heaving Gravesley’s corpse over my shoulder.
“Get to work,” I grumble, still fuming that this is what I’m doing instead of having breakfast in bed with Azalea.
After a quick hour of work, I’ve successfully dug a grave, dropped the worthless piece of shits body inside of it, and covered it up before going to clean myself up.
I made the decision to burn the clothes in the fireplace in my room, deeming them far to soiled to recovered.
I also don’t need any maids wondering where all the blood on my clothes came from.
By the time I come back to the hallway, Luna’s snoozing on Azalea’s lap with Rhoden sitting at the foot of her bed.
Both girls look freshly bathed, and I could hear Azalea telling the tail of of what happened last night to Rhoden.
Meanwhile, Rhoden is staring at Azalea with fully rapt attention, her silky black hair hanging in front of her face from the way she’s leaning into her.
Reaching forward I gently knock my knuckles against the open door, causing both girls to jump slightly before looking up at me.
“So,” I smile at Azalea. “Breakfast?”
I don’t miss the way Rhoden huffs as Azalea hops to her feet.
“Only if you’re willing to eat it in the library,” she chides. I groan and run my hand down my face, all the while she beams at me with a saccharine smile. “We have a lot of research to do.”