Chapter 51 #2
My anger hasn’t fully dissipated, but confusion is now warring with it so strongly I don’t know which to follow. “Explain yourself,” I snarl at him. “Now.”
The Goblin King drags a hand over his face.
“The contract states that the daughter promised in the original bargain must either appear in my court before her twenty-third year to fulfill the agreement, or present written and signed proof of lawful marriage to render the claim void.” He glares at Vivienne. “That is all.”
She folds her arms and tips up her chin. “Or so you say.”
Branneth’thyr draws in a deep breath and exhales slowly as if he’s at the end of his patience.
One of my warriors snorts a laugh behind me but quickly covers it with a cough. Dain glances at me like he is waiting to see if he should laugh or keep glaring.
The Goblin King strides toward me, and my magic surges instantly, bolts of blue energy snapping through the room so violently nearby Goblin servants squeak and flatten themselves against the wall.
The King halts at once and lifts one hand in surrender. “I don’t want to fight you, King Auren. I’m merely trying to hand you the document so we can get this over with.”
He holds it out to me. “Take it,” he says. “Read it. Search it for hidden clauses, blood magic, cursed language, or whatever else she imagines I have laced through it.” He shoots Vivienne a scathing look. “Tell your wife that all I want is her signature and the end of this nightmare.”
Vivienne moves to my side and points at the contract. “Check for magical clauses, Auren. I wouldn’t put it past him to try to trick us into binding me to him.”
“Trust me when I say that is the last thing I want,” he says flatly.
She narrows her eyes at him and another one of my warriors coughs suspiciously behind us.
The Goblin King mutters something under his breath about impossible women and the downfall of civilization as I take the parchment from him.
Despite the fact that the other Goblins do not appear to be a threat, my warriors and their wolves instinctively tighten formation around us.
Vaelen moves to Vivienne’s side, his ears forward in alert as he stands guard.
As I study the parchment, the wording is exactly the sort of twisted Goblin bargain I would expect. It’s full of ceremonial phrasing, obligations, an inheritance clause, and language meant to bind descendants to the contract’s spirit even if the exact crown changes heads.
But the relevant clause is clear, and infuriatingly simple. A lawful marriage does indeed void the claim, provided the woman herself signs the nullification before a witness, acknowledging that she has entered another bond willingly and relinquishes all remaining obligation to the Goblin throne.
There is no hidden blood clause, magical reversal, or trap that would bind her here. Still, I read it a third time anyway.
Vivienne looks over my shoulder at the parchment. “What do you think? Is it as he says?”
The Goblin King folds his arms. “If he says it is safe and you still refuse to sign, I may surrender my throne just to escape.”
Dain barks out a laugh but quickly smothers it. Another soldier drops his gaze so quickly I know he’s hiding a grin.
Gods help me, despite everything, I feel the corner of my mouth twitch as well.
I look back at the contract, search the wording one last time, then lift my gaze to Vivienne. “It is as he says. You may sign it. Once you do, the bargain is null.”
“Thank the gods,” she says, smiling at me as if I’ve just given her the stars, the moon, and the sun. The expression slips from her face as she turns to Branneth’thyr. “I require a quill and ink.” She snaps her fingers. “Now.”
With a flick of his wrist, one appears and he hands it to her.
As she eagerly signs it, I gaze at my beautiful wife, stunned and helplessly fascinated all at once. She has done it again. Walked into the heart of danger and somehow made it rearrange itself around her. Pride swells my chest.
Gods. That is my queen.
The moment she’s done signing, a pulse of magic runs through the room, the contract curls in on itself, then disappears in a puff of smoke.
The Goblin King tips his head back toward the ceiling. “Thank the gods.”
Vivienne drops the quill and flies back to me. Catching her waist, I lift her into my arms. She laughs—a bright, joyous sound that fills me with warmth—and wraps herself around me, kissing me long and deep.
I return her kiss with equal hunger. I came here prepared to destroy a kingdom to get her back. Relief is too small a word for what crashes through me. When I finally lift my head, the Goblin King is staring at me as if I’ve gone mad.
A ring of blue smoke appears beside the throne, and anger tears through me as I recognize the Incubus portal.
In one swift motion, I pull Vivienne behind me and send an arc of blue magic toward it, instantly ensnaring the Incubus as he steps through.
He drops to the ground like a rock. “What in the seven—” His eyes widen as they meet mine. “What is the meaning of this?”
“You took my wife,” I snarl. “From inside our own castle.”
“I was doing it for him.” He jerks his chin toward King Branneth. “You hadn’t responded to any of his summons and if the time ran out on the contract, he would have been stuck married and bound to your bride.”
Branneth looks at me and Vivienne. “If you had simply agreed to meet with me as requested, all of this could have been avoided.”
“You could have sent a less alarming invitation.” Vivienne places her hands on her hips. “Or at least one with better wording, making it clear what you wanted.”
“It was perfectly sound legal wording,” he replies matter-of-factly. “Clearly stating I required your presence before my court.”
“Well, it sounded ominous.”
“It was not ominous, it was formal.”
“Perhaps to a Goblin,” she counters.
He purses his lips. “That is, regrettably, what I am.”
I bite back a laugh, and my warriors struggle to do the same, as my lovely wife verbally spars with the Goblin King again.
The Goblin King exhales and rubs the bridge of his nose. He looks like a male who has survived a long and difficult siege. “I have no wish to be enemies with Valethryn.” He looks at me. “This was my father’s bargain. It passed to me, and I wanted it ended as much as she did.”
I study him, trying to determine how best to move forward. He did abduct my wife, and I’m not sure I can forgive—
“He treated me well,” Vivienne says, interrupting my thoughts.
The King releases a heavy sigh. And, at last, I begin to see the shape of his frustration. He was a male trapped by obligations he did not choose. A misunderstanding, then. A dangerous one, but real all the same.
“I apologize for abducting you,” he tells her.
“And I apologize for my remarks about your trustworthiness and about Goblins in general,” she replies. She glances at me and then turns her attention back to Branneth. “Now that things are settled, I suggest we eat, and we can discuss a treaty between our two kingdoms.”
I blink and so does he. We’ve never gone to war with the Goblins, but we’ve never had any formal peace agreements with them beyond trade contracts either.
“I—” he starts, but Vivienne cuts him off.
“Good,” she says. She turns to one of the servants. “How are you coming along with the meal, Dradyn?”
“It should be ready in less than an hour, my lady,” he replies with a grin.
“Excellent. I knew I could count on you.” She turns to me and smiles. “Dradyn has been an absolute gem throughout this entire ordeal.” She gestures to the room and all the servants scurrying around her. “Look at how much we’ve accomplished thanks to his amazing skills organizing everyone.”
Dradyn straightens his back at her praise, and I bite back a laugh.
“Dinner will be ready shortly.” He bows.
Before he heads off to the kitchens, she adds, “And don’t forget to remind the cook to make more of those lemon cakes.”
“Of course, my lady.” He practically beams as he rushes out of the room.
She turns to me, eyes bright. “Oh, Auren, they have the most delicious lemon pastries.”
“You… have sampled the pastries?”
“Well of course I did,” she says, as if this ought to have been obvious. “I wasn’t sure how long I’d be here, and I had to determine whether the kitchen staff was competent.”
“It has been a harrowing afternoon,” the Goblin King mutters.
“Um, can someone please release me?” the Incubus says, still bound by my magic on the floor.
“Fine,” I reply, snapping my fingers and freeing him. “But touch my wife again and I’ll end you. Do you understand?”
He bows his head and offers a smile. “Of course,” he replies and walks over to the Goblin King.
All around the room, servants are carrying trays of food, adjusting tapestries, and rushing back and forth like mad. Vivienne has been here less than a day and already taken command of the household.
Some mad part of me wants to laugh until I cannot breathe. Another part wants to drag her into my arms again and never let her go. I thought I was coming to rescue her. Instead, I find her ruling the enemy territory in less than a day.
Gods, she’s amazing.
Vivienne turns and points at one of the servants near the far wall. “Mardyn,” she says. “Please run along to the kitchen and fetch some tea and biscuits for my husband and his warriors, and some dried meat for the Dire wolves, to enjoy while we wait for the food to be ready.”
He bows deeply and then rushes off to do her bidding.
“And have someone hang that painting properly,” she says to another servant, gesturing toward the crooked panel behind the throne. “It has been bothering me for an hour.”
He rushes off to grab a nearby ladder while Branneth closes his eyes briefly. His expression is that of someone who has looked into an abyss and found the abyss staring back with green eyes, red hair, and an iron will that would drive lesser men to madness.
I lean in and whisper in her ear. “Vivienne?”
She turns toward me at once. “Yes?”
When I came here today, I worried I’d find her possibly injured or worse. As I stare deep into her lovely green eyes, relief fills me once more and I drop my forehead to hers. “I love you,” I whisper. “More than anything in this world, me’lira.”
“I love you too, Auren.” A stunning smile curves her mouth. “I knew you’d come for me.”
I curl my arms around her. “Always.”