31. CHAPTER 31
Sorin
The old gods certainly took their time when they made Aveline.
I felt her power surge through me like a tide, though I had not the slightest idea how she had accomplished it.
I had never felt another’s magic like that before.
Like I was falling into the deep. I was drowning in her.
Her presence consumed me. When her mouth came crashing down on mine, I knew with certainty that we were fated.
That she was meant to be mine.
The taste of her was divine. I craved her mouth the moment it left mine. How many times had I imagined it? Her body pressed against mine. Her arms wrapped around me as she pulled me closer.
I needed to speak with Ren.
My mind was churning with a million thoughts at once. I pulled a shirt on, not deigning to stop and button it up. I strode down the corridor and tore down the curved staircase barefoot, shards of glass from the broken window still embedded in my feet.
I didn’t care. Aveline was my mate. She was my fated.
She was made for me by the fates and the old gods themselves.
I needed to protect her at all costs. King Mavros and Queen Odessa needed to know.
I wouldn’t take Princess Morwenna as my wife only to keep my mate as a plaything, as I knew Mavros would suggest. Aveline was more important than that.
More important than any alliance to Gothryn.
This superseded everything else.
And nobody would threaten what was mine.
With Aveline by my side, I would be stronger than ever. I could sense her magic swirling inside of me still—and I had no explanation for it.
Did she feel my magic as I felt hers?
Mating bonds weren’t commonplace. I didn’t know a single Vireth or Veytari myself who had one. My own father was never bonded. I had a million questions and no idea where to turn for the answers.
So naturally, I turned to Rensford.
I banged on his chamber door, now realizing that it was still dawn and he was likely just rising for the day. He nudged the door open only enough to peer out.
“I need to speak with you,” I said, hand against the door, ready to press it open.
“I was wondering where you disappeared to last night. But…now isn’t really the best time—” His words were cut off as I burst inside, only to skid to a halt past the threshold, eyes wide in surprise.
Rensford’s bed was anything but empty.
“I’m sorry I—” I turned to him, unable to suppress the grin that spread across my face.
Two females and one male lay across the duvet in various stages of undress, the coverlet crumpled beneath them. Rensford pulled his robe closed around him and cleared his throat.
“I’ll need a moment.”
The three courtesans rose and exited the room, the male stopping to whisper something into Rensford’s ear before disappearing through the doorway.
“Ren, I didn’t realize…” My words trailed off as the door shut behind them.
He shook his head. “It’s of no matter to me. We were finishing up, anyway.”
A crude retort bubbled to my lips, but I bit it back. I almost threw myself down on the bed but thought better of it, instead finding a place in the chair by the cold fireplace.
“Sit,” I instructed.
Rensford took the seat opposite me, his features taut with concern. I raised a hand to stop him before he even opened his mouth.
“Aveline is my mate.”
The words hung heavy in the air between us as I held his gaze through the silence.
“You’re sure?” he asked, voice laced with a healthy dose of skepticism. “The royal family hasn’t had a fated couple in…centuries. More than that, truly—”
“I’m sure,” I replied, pulling my opened shirt to the side so that Rensford could see the healing wound.
The edges had completely stitched together, and it was no longer gaping. It was merely a patch of ugly and angry skin that had scabbed over. At the rate it was currently healing, it would be gone entirely in a matter of days.
Rensford’s eyebrows raised high enough that I thought they might reach his hairline.
“Sorin. This is…this is impossible. What in the old gods…she is a human—”
I shook my head at that. “She isn’t human, either.”
“What do you mean?” Rensford asked, leaning toward me. “Much has happened since we last spoke, it appears.”
“I’m not entirely sure what she is…but she isn’t human.
Her magic detonated in my chambers mere moments ago.
Completely destroyed half of the south wing in the process.
She pulled the water from the lake. It flooded through the glass, shattering it.
” I peered down at my feet for emphasis, pieces of the broken glass still littering the skin there.
Rensford raised a hand as if to calm me. “Hold on, how do you know for certain that you are fated?”
“The wound, Ren. The mage said it would never heal until I found her. I kissed her…it felt, it felt—”
“You kissed her?” His voice was incredulous as he rose to his feet.
I nodded. “She kissed me, really.”
Ren ran a hand down his face in exasperation. “What a godsdamned mess, Sorin. We were supposed to be using her as leverage against Myros. Against our greatest enemy, in case you have forgotten. She is to wed Kallias Ashbourne. What in the seven hells are we supposed to do now? Send her back?”
I stood now, shoulders back. “We will do no such thing. That is what I came to tell you. Our plan to use her against Kallias and King Faris…all of it doesn’t matter anymore.
She is to remain here, in Gothryn. We must protect her at all costs.
She will be a target simply because she is mine. Do you understand?”
“Yours?” Rensford challenged with a raised brow. “You intend to claim her publicly? Have you both accepted the mating bond, then?”
My own brow furrowed in response.
“You know nothing of what you speak!” Rensford seethed. “You don’t even know what it is to accept the mating bond! What it means! You are prepared to turn this kingdom—this realm—on its head for your housemaid?”
My temper rose, fire breathing beneath my skin. “She is my mate, Rensford. You will not speak of her that way. What are the chances that I would ever find her? It isn’t something I am willing to let go. She will remain here under my protection.”
“And you’ll marry her?” Ren asked, expression taut.
“Has she agreed to any of this? Does your father know you are prepared to throw out the alliance with Ravenscar on a whim? He very well might pass the throne to Emrys. Gods know he has wanted it for himself this entire time. You need to think, Sorin.”
“I am thinking,” I replied through my teeth.
Ren shook his head. “With the wrong head, it appears. We need to speak with King Mavros at once. This cannot continue without the king knowing about it. Princess Morwenna and King Eldrin still reside within these castle walls. We need to come to an amicable solution. And quickly, before you start another war.”
“It won’t start another war, Rensford.”
“It very well might,” he said, jaw clenched.
He shed the robe he was wearing and turned toward the wardrobe to dress.
“We need Ravenscar for their men—for their resources. We have starved Myros out, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t making their own alliances as we speak.
King Faris will never stop. King Mavros is sick. This is hardly the best time.”
“As if I timed this myself. Asked her to sail across the Saltale Sea to come and kill me at Kallias or Queen Dyata’s behest.”
Rensford whipped around as he buttoned his trousers. “She did come to kill you?”
I blew out a long breath, eyes on my bare feet. “Initially.”
“A love story for the ages.” Ren laughed, pulling on a tunic and securing his broadsword to his back. “You’re going to the throne room like that?” he asked, a brow raised as he assessed my haggard appearance from head to toe.
My torso was bare; my clothing drenched from the lake water. Shards of glass remained embedded in my feet and my heart was racing in my chest, choking the breath from my lungs.
“You have a fair point. But my rooms…everything is soaked through—”
Rensford threw me a shirt, and I caught it against my chest. A pair of trousers and boots followed suit. I barely caught them in time. “You think these will fit?”
Ren narrowed his eyes at me. “You are only taller than me, Your Highness. Not broader. Get dressed.”
By the time I had shed my water-logged clothing and picked the pieces of glass out of my feet, it was mid-morning.
I wasn’t sure what we were going to do about the alliance, but it didn’t matter anymore.
We would placate them somehow. I would claim Aveline publicly as my mate, and she would remain under my protection.
It was too dangerous for us to be apart.
Ren and I marched toward the throne room, the guards opening the doors as we approached. The tension was thick in the air as I glanced at Rensford one last time before approaching the throne.
King Mavros sat back, his skin wan and gray. His crown was askew atop his head, his black hair threaded with more grays by the day. Queen Odessa sat by his side; her grip tight around the king’s hand. She was practically holding him in his seat today.
“My boy, to what do I owe the pleasure?” King Mavros spoke.
His words were quickly chased away by a ruinous cough that left his handkerchief bloody when he pulled it away from his lips. I bowed deeply on one knee, hand on my sternum, before rising.
“I come with news, though I am not sure how you will take it. I request that we speak calmly about the possible recourse that will ensue.”
King Mavros sat forward, the small movement taking a great deal of energy for him. “What do you speak of, Sorin?”
As I opened my mouth to explain, the doors behind us were thrown open. Emrys and Valerian strode in hastily, their faces taut. Why were they seeking an audience with the king? I turned toward them, mouth still ajar as my nostrils flared and Ren straightened.
“We seek an audience with the king on an urgent matter,” Emrys called as he approached.
“And is it simply luck that I happen to already be here, Brother? Or had you planned to summon me?” I asked, cocking my head to the side as he took his place beside me.
Emrys’s mouth pulled into a thin line, but he did not respond.
“All three of my boys in one place for once, how lucky. Sorin also comes with news,” the king said, though it took him great effort.
“By all means, Brother. We will wait.” Emrys’s smile could not be mistaken for anything but what it was—provocation.
I wasn’t sure I was ready to reveal this information in front of Emrys or Valerian. I wasn’t as worried about Valerian, but Emrys was a vulture. He would use this as another opportunity to reach for the throne. It was something I wanted to discuss with Father in private first.
“Your matter appears more urgent—”
“Brother, I insist.” Emrys’s words cut me off as anger simmered slow and hot in my core.
My wings pressed against my back, but I held them taut, not wanting a show of temper to confirm that Emrys had gotten under my skin. He was bound to find out sooner or later, I supposed…
I cleared my throat, turning back toward King Mavros as I rested my hand against my chest.
“I come with wonderful news that I have found my mate. My fated is here, in the castle. Her name is Aveline Drake.”
Emrys sputtered, failing to conceal the surprised laugh that bubbled forth. Valerian remained stoic at his side.
“The human? The indenture? You can’t be serious—” Emrys laughed.
“I am deadly serious, Brother.” Disdain dripped from my words as I narrowed my gaze on Emrys in warning. “And she is not human.”
“Then what is she?” he challenged, stepping toward me.
I took a step toward him as well, closing the distance between us as I straightened to my full height. This time my temper did slip, my midnight wings unfurling from my back to beat the air behind me.
The room fell silent as they waited for my response.
“I’m…I’m not sure where her magic originates.”
Emrys threw his head back with a laugh, and it took every last molecule of strength to retain my composure in front of the king. If we were anywhere else, I would have laid Emrys flat on his back and taught him a lesson about respect.
I was tired of his insolence.
“Why, what marvelous news, Sorin!” Queen Odessa clapped, drawing our attention back toward the throne. “Two women in one week. You are quite like your father in that regard, it appears.”
I shook my head. “You misunderstand. I have come to discuss the alliance with Ravenscar. I intend to claim Aveline. Publicly. As my mate.”
Odessa sat back against the throne with a laugh. “Have you spoken with her about that?”
It was King Mavros who spoke next, his voice as close to anger as his weak body could manage. “I have gone to great trouble to secure this alliance for us, Sorin. You are not thinking like a king.” He coughed, choking on the spittle that rose from the back of his throat to pool in his mouth.
“I am sorry to interrupt this enthralling conversation, but I fear our news is more dire than the current status of Sorin’s love life.” Emrys interrupted all the same, a smug smile painted across his impudent little mouth.
“The alliance with Ravenscar is of little importance to you? Have I taught you nothing?” King Mavros’s voice boomed throughout the throne room, a second wind having apparently found him.
I could see out of the corner of my eye that Emrys shrank back.
Arrogant little prick.
“What is it, then?” I asked Emrys, turning my hostile gaze on him. “What is it that is more important than the alliance?”
Emrys’s next words sent us all fleeing from the throne room to convene with the council.
He grasped his hands behind his back, his chin squared as he ignored me and addressed only our father.
“A Myrosian spy has been spotted in Southgate. He is accompanied by a contingent of men that have certainly not been granted clemency to set foot on Gothryn soil.”
“A spy? You’re sure?” Mavros was standing before the throne now, his gaze swiveling between us.
Emrys nodded. “I am sure, Father. Not merely any spy. One that we sent on our own accord, but appears to have returned with a swath of Veytari soldiers from King Faris’s own army at his back.”
I barely heard Emrys’s last words as I turned from the throne.
We needed to get to Southgate. Now.
We didn’t have time to convene a war council. This was the move we had been waiting for from Myros. Their retaliation.
Emrys’s words were barely audible at my back. “Our spy, Vash, has returned to Gothryn, and it appears his loyalties have changed.”