Chapter 16
Onyx
I was already tired and frustrated when my phone rang, and then I was annoyed when I saw it was my brother and not Sagan like I’d hoped. So my greeting was… Honestly what he deserved. “Is everything all right?”
“No, Onyx, and now I really think it was you,” he snapped.
I sighed and let him hear it. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I figured—”
“You figured what? That if you leaked the video and hid behind Joris Visser of all people I wouldn’t see how you work all over this shit?” he blasted. “I gave you what you wanted. You wanted the chance to mate her. You have it. Why are you embarrassing this family more and—”
“Vex, I’m helping our fucking family as much as the queen,” I snarled. “The king is thrilled with what I found and—”
“What are you talking about?” he roared so loudly I actually pulled the phone away from my ear.
I couldn’t hide my annoyance either. “What are you talking about? I haven’t spoken to Joris since… I said hi to him at the coronation. I’m in fucking Protesia!”
“Doing what?”
“I’m so fucking done—you ignored my call, texts, and the voicemail I left and you have the balls to ask me that? Be pissed that you’re out of the loop?”
It would almost have been amusing how quiet the line went if this wasn’t serious, my relationship with my brother was already shit, and I wasn’t fucking exhausted.
“So you didn’t leak the video of Sagan and Elira to Joris? You didn’t take it?”
“What did that fucking twat do now?”
“That twat might become your nephew’s mate,” he drawled.
“Yeah, right, like you’ll ever make your precious son suffer consequences,” I threw right back. “What did she do to Sagan?” I practically felt his sigh through the phone.
“Someone recorded Elira confronting Sagan and demanding a position in her court, to be an aide, and then admitting she was sleeping with the high priest to influence him against Sagan.”
“Un-fucking-real,” I bit out. “And you think I’d leak that? Hurt her like that?”
“Great, you’re worried about her and not—”
“I want to mate her, Vex!” I roared. “Kole abused her and did this all to himself! People should know Elira is horrible, and if you were smarter you would use this to get Kole out of mating her. Make him take accountability, but—he fell in love, but kick that whore to the curb. She was sleeping with others for power, but he was willing to sleep down for love.”
“I didn’t think of that,” he muttered.
Fucking moron. “Do not downplay what he did and make Sagan any more of a target or I will—don’t test me, Vex.”
“No, and there’s no point when his other affairs are coming out,” he chuffed. “More and more are stepping forward that they were sleeping with him while he was with Sagan. They are upset that—they thought there was an understanding in place and it was allowed.”
“Your son is trash.”
“Thank you, I wasn’t aware.”
“You deserve it for thinking I—tell me what happened,” I bitched. I blinked at the wall when he did. “Fuck.”
“Maybe not, because both Sagan and Joris came out ahead. He did well for her. We took a hit—obviously Elira and by extension Kole did, but it was a good move for Joris and it helped Sagan.”
“Good.”
He snorted. “You don’t sound like you feel that way at all and are pissed you have real competition.”
I growled but couldn’t deny it. But then… “No, I don’t want competition, but even if it turned out well, all of this always has a cost to her, Vex. None of it is ever easy or without problems.”
“Fair.” He cleared his throat. “So what are you doing in Protesia now?” He sighed when I chuffed. “Fine, I’m an asshole but catch me up while I got you.”
“I can’t tell you much since it’s actually professional and a favor, royal family to royal family,” I admitted but then told him what I could. “I don’t know how much they’re going to release or if it will just be what I report to Sagan.”
“But you’re able to help? Found whatever is going on?”
“Yeah, and—honestly just a perfect storm of everything going wrong that could and no one unqualified or fucking off. Sometimes shit just can’t be figured out by the people at the table.” I nodded when he snorted even if he couldn’t see it. We both knew that well.
“Glad you can help them. Sorry I accused you without thinking things through. Be safe.”
I didn’t even get to say goodbye before he hung up. Always a prideful Alpha. Dickhead.
No matter what I still loved my brother even if he didn’t love me how he should—how I deserved.
Still, I was glad the call had ended because I wanted to talk to Sagan and see how she was doing. I had the excuse now that we had the answer of what was going on. Deep, deep under the mountain there was a tribe of undines that had lived there for centuries that probably few even knew about.
The king actually had known—which impressed and shocked me—but never considered it. Why would harmless and nonviolent beings most thought of as water nymphs hurt others?
They hadn’t. They’d simply expanded their home that was underwater but deep under the mountain on that coast. And that carved-out section being there so long, with factors at the top of the mountain in the surrounding areas, was the perfect storm for the problems they’d been having.
“Sagan isn’t available,” a female answered, I assumed Myriam from the brisk tone. “Give me the update.”
“Sorry, but who is this? My queen said to—”
“It’s Myriam and she’s not available, Onyx,” she said flatly. “I have her phone, okay?”
A thrill of worry raced through me. “What’s wrong? What happened now? Vex just chewed me out about the video—did Joris hurt her or—”
“I’ve got things here and her. Do you have good news or not?”
But her tone told me that she didn’t even believe what she was saying. She didn’t have the situation in hand… Whatever it was.
I didn’t respond right away. “How bad?” I chuffed when she didn’t answer. “How bad, Myriam?”
“She could use good news,” she admitted with a sigh. “Maple said she’ll help, and—Sagan could use some good fucking news, okay?”
“I have it. Tell her I figured it out and the king is thrilled. I’ll have to come—I got this.”
“Got what?” she pushed.
“He doesn’t want anyone but Sagan to have the details. I promised. It doesn’t really matter, but I also promised to come back a few times and help more. He’s very grateful, and the people he promised should be landing soon? Your help is coming. He is taking this seriously too.”
“He always does, but we’re just too—tigers aren’t perfect.”
I snorted. No one was, but the King of Protesia’s “problem” was honestly caring too much. He was furious when he couldn’t get the help he needed for his people. As an Alpha and born leader, it was admirable.
As a dragon, when he’d been demanding with Thovudin, it was frustrating, so I was glad Sagan had handled him well and this was working out.
Myriam nearly hung up on me and that practically set me off. I packed up and headed to the king’s tent. The guards made it clear I should come back, but I gave them a look that they let him know I was there or I would eat them.
“I can smell his upset, so just let him in,” the king drawled from inside his fancy setup. The setups for expeditions weren’t ever glamorous and pushed us at times but the king? Yeah, it was out of a movie kind of lavish.
Part of being the king apparently.
“I have to leave,” I told him, swallowing a sigh when steam about came out of his ears.
“Your Majesty, you have my word that I will be back and as much as you need me. I don’t want anyone else to die and hope for the undines to be safely relocated as well.
This is beyond fascinating to me professionally even. The greatest—I have to go.”
He lost his anger and worry replaced it. “Is Sagan okay? What happened?”
I ran my tongue over my teeth. “I’m not getting answers and am being frozen out because…”
He snorted. “Your nephew is a bottom-dweller who should be drowned and the people around Sagan aren’t stupid enough to trust someone else in your family?”
“Fairly accurate,” I bit out.
He slowly blinked at me. “You love her—your feelings for her are real at least. This isn’t some ploy to help your family. You truly care for her.”
“For a long time now. I stepped aside when I learned about Kole. I need to get to her. Please. I promise—you don’t need me for a few days at least while your own experts come up with a plan.”
“Go,” he accepted, still studying me closely.
“I know you won’t be able to give me details, but at least let me know if she’s okay.
If there is—she suffers my worst nightmare for my own children.
I find myself feeling more like a father with her than just another world leader, especially with how harsh her own people act towards her. ”
“I’m disappointed in my species as well,” I admitted but then thanked him before hurrying off.
It took longer than I would have liked to get back to her, still annoyed I wasn’t getting any sort of update or information as to what was going on. And then the mood of the castle was off. It was like a tension I couldn’t understand.
Except I realized it was directly related to me.
Did people think I’d failed or something was wrong since I was back earlier than planned?
I cornered one of the staff and asked, but they politely—though abruptly—brushed me off. Again and again, female and male—none of them would tell me anything.
Finally, it was one of Sagan’s trusted guards, Lydia, who found me, evidently having heard I was asking questions. She nodded for me to follow her and then spun on me when we were alone. I didn’t even blame her because she could get in trouble for speaking plainly to a member of an Alpha family.
But I respected her for not caring and putting Sagan first.
“No one here trusts you nor your intentions,” she started with.
“Myriam does,” I corrected.