8. Chapter EightAaron
Chapter Eight
Aaron
I had been a husband for a month and was having a party to celebrate. Well, it wasn’t celebrating my marital status, and calling it a party was a generous word. I didn’t have any friends beyond Ivan. I had made acquaintances of Yosef, his household, and those at work. Despite being a Nodoorian, Ivan had earned the trust of a handful of other soldiers, taking on continued military work. He’d also made fast friends with other Nodoorians sent to live here. I’d spoken to a few of them, but my reputation preceded me and would take time to dispel. I probably had a better chance of earning the trust of the Prinaths.
So, this gathering was not very large. And it wasn’t something I wanted. Ivan had suggested it as a way to make more friends, which would be better for me politically. He also thought it was a good way to seek petty revenge on Melina. I had complained to him about her pranks and sporadic, disagreeable nature. Although I understood her position, it was still quite annoying. Having a party without her knowing about it would surely upset her. I was remotely curious about how she would handle it. She could be cute when she pouted. Perhaps I did not hate her pranks. They were funny and could be easily fixed. Her creativity was amusing to me. My wife, despite her sometimes foolish behavior, could often be adorable.
I wanted to help her, but I also…wanted her. She had placed a boundary between us, and I understood. I miscalculated how much honesty I should give her. I was beginning to be just as confused as I assumed I was making her. I assumed she understood the political game. She was a noble, after all.
However, she was not of that world beyond the physical. She couldn’t be seduced because she was looking for more. Something I could not give her. Because I did not deserve it in return. She asked me what I wanted for happiness. That was a question I had never been asked. Nodoors were all soldiers. While we could pursue education and interests, they came only second to our duty to the kingdom. As a noble, I was only to ensure my family remained in our comfortable status. When my father passed, I was placed even more at the front of my household. There was no hiding or escape. I’d been raised to understand that.
The only reason my marriage to my ex-fiancée was so delayed was because we had already been promised, and time was allowed. It was time to focus on rising in my ranks in the military. This often included my need to be away from home more often than present. That was not ideal for most houses, and prior arrangements had dissolved. However, my ex was patient, or more accurately, her family was patient because they knew they were getting a higher station in life being connected to mine.
And Melina, my Rabbit, asked nothing of me except to know what made me happy. Like a coward, I could tell her nothing. I couldn’t stand to see her hate me after she knew the truth. I looked around the ground-level space at my partygoers. I’d prepared drinks and food, and people were spread about the area, sitting, standing, moving to the music emanating from our music players. The glass doors were open to the backyard, where floating lights lit the space along with the fire pit. It was fairly cool outside but not uncomfortably so. I’d hired servers and a cook. A wise decision. I had experience planning parties. What upper-class Fae did not?
I walked outside to see Ivan talking to another Fae friend of Melina’s on a bench near the fire pit. Luca. He had gone undercover in our lands during our war. I assumed, having been within our midst, that he would be the most disagreeable of Melina’s family and friends, but somehow, he’d seemed to have some sort of compassion for us.
I walked over to them, a drink in hand. “How are you enjoying the gathering?”
Ivan looked up at me with a grin. “We’ve had better, friend. But, all things considered, it isn’t bad. I can’t wait until your wife comes back from her shop to see this.”
Luca’s dark brows pinched together. His unusual glowing turquoise eyes squinting in a frown. “She doesn’t know?”
I shrugged, sitting down in a chair near them.
Luca shook his head. “That was unwise.”
“I asked her to stop her tricks, and she did, but now, she’s giving me the silent treatment. She’s refusing to acknowledge my presence or respond when I talk to her. She comes home late every night. Petty revenge seemed wise.” I looked toward the entrance to the house, anxious to see her appear. “ Now I am rethinking that decision.”
Luca laughed. “Mel has a kind heart, but our court was quite cruel to marry her off like this. She’s…been through a lot.”
Luca’s smile faltered when he said the last sentence. I wanted to know more about Melina. I realized the irony of wanting to know more when I was slow to open up on anything uncomfortable. This was mostly because I didn’t need her to dislike me any more than she already did. That didn’t stop me from wanting to know what hardships affected my wife.
I stared down at my drink, a red cocktail one of the invited Nodoorians had made. He was more Ivan’s friend but was pleasant enough to me. He was a younger Fae who volunteered to help mix drinks, honing his skills since he had recently started working at a local bar. It was good, I supposed, to see our kind integrating into this community. “I’m sure she’s had her struggles.”
Luca blew out a breath. “Do you know your people kidnapped her?”
I looked up at Luca, surprised. I glanced over to Ivan to see if he was aware, but he just shook his head, eyebrows raised. “No. When? Did something happen to her then?”
Luca slapped his forehead. “All this time, and she didn’t tell you? Maybe I shouldn’t say anymore.”
I scooted forward in my seat, eagerness taking hold of me. “No, please. I need to know. She’s my wife, and she’s stubborn. This could help me understand her better.”
Luca slumped down in his seat, a solemn look on his face. “I understand. I’ll accept her wrath. She was taken along with my mate, Lila, whom you met at the wedding. This was when your Fae invaded our territory and stole several of ours.”
I knew that day all too well. We had been kidnapping Prinathians before the invasion. Mostly, it was anyone who went beyond Prinath territory. What we did with those Fae I took no part in. We were trading them to a group of witches who used their Fae magic for nefarious purposes in the human realm in exchange for the witches’ support in our battle against the Prinaths. It was that invasion and the discovery behind the kidnappings that led to a full-on war between our kinds. A war that we came to lose. Ultimately, the witches who supported our efforts were defeated by another coven of witches in the human realm. Lila had also helped in that effort by killing an especially powerful witch who came into our realm. Once those allies were gone, our defeat become inevitable.
I had no idea that Melina was one of the kidnapped. I grew sick at the thought of what could have happened to her during that time. She was an omega. There would have been no safety for her. We kept our prisoners in less than comfortable environments. Their safety within those cells was always of little priority to the jailers. I never had that role, but my complaints about improving conditions were never heard when I visited.
“Was she?” my voice trailed off. I couldn’t finish the words. If she was hurt, I would hunt down the Nodoorians who harmed her and kill them with my bare hands. Never mind my reputation. None of it mattered. Rage burned inside me, and I gripped my drink so tightly I thought the glass would shatter.
Luca shook his head. “She tells me no, but she doesn’t talk much about her time there, and we don’t push it. Fortunately, I was there on a mission disguised as a Nodoorian. As luck would have it, I was assigned the prison to which Lila and Melina were brought. I was able to remove Lila but not Melina. However, I had another soldier who I trusted to protect her. According to Melina, he was able to do that. It was only because of him that she remained safe and that he still is alive. Otherwise, he would have been executed.” His eyes darkened.
He didn’t need to have remorse because of Ivan or me. We had been enemies, and we did not play fair. The Prinaths were strategic about what soldiers and high-up officials were allowed to remain alive or free. However, I wondered who this Fae was that had protected Melina. Did they still keep in touch? Had they shared a romance as Luca and Lila did? Jealousy reared in the back of my mind. What right did I have to feel any jealousy? I was being irrational.
“Is this Nodoorian in this land?” I asked.
Luca scratched his chin in thought. “He is still in Nodoor.”
A flood of relief filled me. Why? Because he was too far to be a threat? Threat? My mind was making no sense. I gulped my drink as if the cocktail would clear my head, which I knew would do only the opposite. My guilt increased all the greater knowing what she’d been through and that she was stuck with someone like me. Perhaps I should reach out to my leadership and see if there was anything we could do to end the marriage after all. It had a low chance of working. There was no doubt that they knew of her situation. Her leadership certainly did. And yet they did not care about forcing her to be with a Nodoorian after being kidnapped by them. It was cruel. “I can imagine that it was still a hard time for her. It was fortunate you were able to save her and the others. I’m sorry for what my kind did.”
Luca nodded. “You didn’t do it. But I guess this is why the marriages are seen as so important. Make us one so we can somehow move past all that was done when we were enemies.”
Ivan snorted. “Well, the marriage success rates need to improve for that to work. Why is no one talking more about all the arranged marriages between our people resulting in death?”
Luca’s eyes widened as he looked around the space, but no one listening to us. “Please keep your voice down. And all the marriages don’t end in death. Almost half so far, though.”
I grimaced. “That isn’t a great percentage. What exactly are the causes of these deaths?”
Luca sighed. “It’s always the same. One partner is killed as if they were mauled or eaten by a beast. The other dies differently if we find them, because some have gone missing. Some look like suicide; others look like murder. The only pattern is that one partner dies in the same beastly manner. The most recent happened in a Prinathian town not far from here.”
That made no sense. What kind of pattern was this? This had to be purposeful. But what of the beast? “Any idea what type of beast?”
Luca shook his head. “None we’ve been able to define.”
Ivan shrugged in agreement. “Same on our side. Teeth marks, magic aura. Nothing resembles what we’ve ever seen.”
I thought back to my wedding and that odd beast that tried to break down the door. “What about that creature at the wedding? Could these killings be related to those beasts?”
Luca put his empty glass down on the grass. “I don’t know. Not to mention, I can’t figure out why a beast would only attack these couples and no one else. It’s just an unknown. Nothing makes sense.”
The beast was specific about its attack, which either made it intelligent or controlled. “Could it have been conjured or created? Sent to come for the couples?”
Ivan tilted his head from side to side, considering my idea. “That’s the talk. However, creature creation is a rare power. We don’t know any Fae in either region who has that power. It doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
“It could also be a witch we still have as an ally. Ones who are still hiding in our realm.”
Luca nodded. “We are considering that as well.”
Ivan slapped his thighs, looking disappointedly at his empty drink. “The motive is clear. Someone who hates these unions is behind these deaths. They don’t have the power to get to all of them, but they have enough ability and access to get to both territories. Assuming it’s not more than one Fae, maybe it’s the angry-looking female stomping our way. ”
I frowned and shifted in my seat to see Melina walking toward us, a scowl covering her beautiful face.
She stopped, hovering before me with her hands on her hips. It seemed to be her usual pose with me. “What the hell is this?”
I looked around, waving a hand. “Oh, she’s speaking again. This, dear wife, is a party or gathering. Have a drink and some food. Relax.”
She bared her teeth at me in something resembling a sinister smile. “Husband, why didn’t you tell me you were going to have a party?”
I cocked a brow. After talking to Luca about her kidnapping and now the targets on our unions, the last thing I wanted was to be mean to Melina. However, I did enjoy teasing her, within reason, and she did deserve it. “I’m sorry, wife, that I did not get permission to invite friends over. You weren’t talking to me. Shall I send everyone home?”
She huffed and stormed away.
I watched her as she walked back into the house. “Huh, that didn’t go as I expected.”
I heard Ivan tsk-tsk behind me. “It’s always the silent ones that you must be mindful of. If I were you, I’d sleep with one eye open tonight, my friend.” He walked past me, shaking his empty glass, Luca following.
“This was your idea!” I called after him.
“And I don’t know why you listen to me!”
Melina didn’t speak to me for the rest of the party. Even when I tried, she ignored my very presence. It…bothered me. I liked our usual banter. And now that I knew more about her past, it made me want to be closer. Perhaps I felt a sense of guilt from what my people had done to her. But more so, I just wanted to be close to her. To make up for the pain we caused her and give her the happiness we stole from her, even if it wasn’t long-lasting.
When the party was over and everyone had left, including those I hired to clean up, I went to bed. Melina was already there, having ended the night as the last guest left, but before the service Fae I’d hired had gone. The bedroom was dark when I entered, and I half expected her to have a ward up to keep me out. She’d done that before a few times.
Sensing no traps, I walked further into the room and quickly showered before changing into pajama bottoms and sliding into bed.
“I suppose I deserved you not telling me about the party,” I heard her say into the darkness.
I was oddly relieved she was still awake. Wanting to hear her voice before I slept. “You did deserve this, but…I don’t want to have these fights or this distance, Melina. I want us to get closer.”
She shifted until she was facing me. The room was barely lit by the slit of moonlight peeking behind the curtains. “What is the point? Nothing we have can be real. According to you.”
“I wish what I offered was enough.”
“I deserve more,” she whispered. It was the lightness of her tone that made her sound so vulnerable. That made something in my heart twist uncomfortably.
“You do. And I am sorry that you are in such a situation.”
She tossed an arm over her forehead, and I longed to grab her and wrap her in my arms as I’d gotten to do so many weeks before. “I suppose I should accept my fate. It’s been my story my whole life.”
“How so?”
“Like I told you, bad beings are a magnet to me. Love has always escaped me. This fits in with what I’ve gone through. I meet someone and think he likes me, only for him to betray me or like me just because I’m a noble or omega and have connections to those in power. No one ever liked me for me. I’ve been hurt in so many relationships, it’s expected. No one could love me, no matter what I did.”
Her voice trembled at the end, and my heart splintered. I decided to no longer keep my hands to myself and brushed it over her bare shoulder, her buttery skin cool under my fingertips. Surprisingly, she didn’t stiffen like she usually did whenever I first touched her or even came too close. Maybe she was finally getting used to me. “That’s unacceptable. Despite your prankster ways, you can be a delight.”
“Well…thank you,” she replied, her voice softening. “But it seems not many would agree. And heartbreak kept happening even after I covered up my scarring.”
I frowned. Scaring? From what she allowed me to see, I’d never seen any flaws on her . Before I could ask, she continued. “You wouldn’t know about my scars unless someone told you. I use magic to cover it up.”
“I would be able to tell if you were glamoured.”
“Well, my magic is undetectable. It’s why I could hide Lila and make her look Fae when she first came here. I don’t have a successful business for nothing. ”
I thought back to the older Fae she had glamoured at her shop. It was undetectable magic. I’d heard her skill set was unmatched. Her whole family possessed a superior magic that allowed them to change environments and Fae, beautifying everything they touched. It was intricate and, most importantly, long-lasting, which was not so easy for most Fae, if at all. I’d even heard they could revitalize dead or destroyed lands.
I kept my hand on her arm, rubbing up and down at a languid pace. I was mainly happy she wasn’t shrugging my hand away. “Do you mind if I ask you about your scars?”
She sighed and slightly leaned into my touch. Even though she couldn’t see me in the dark, I still bit back a smile. If I’d had a tail, I’d be wagging it in contentment.
“When I was a kid, I tumbled into some poisonous plant life while playing in the forest where my family used to reside. It must have been cursed, and my body reacted badly. I went unconscious and broke out in disgusting hives. I could barely breathe, and my organs started to fail. Our healers could only do so much, but they healed me internally. I awoke two weeks later, but the markings from the vines had ravished my body. The healers couldn’t remove the scarring, only heal the hives. My family, who you know are experts at making things beautiful, couldn’t cover the scars. They’d try, and it would only last a few hours before the scars reappeared.
“My whole childhood was a series of finding ways to either remove the scarring or cover it up. I even spent years in the human realm, finding witches with the power to help. Hell, I even drank vampire blood. It healed some of it, but not all. Whoever cursed that plant life was talented. We never found out who did it. We suspect it was done on purpose. My grandparents, who started our business, didn’t get to the top without pushing down a few competitors, even if indirectly.”
I paused my stroking of her arm. “You think an enemy poisoned the land around your family home?”
“That’s our theory.”
My blood ran cold at the thought. The Nodoors were ruthless, so I had no place to judge, but children were living in the home. Children played in the woods. Whoever did that to the land had to know the likelihood of harm to the kids. “You never found them?”
She sighed. “No. Life’s unfair sometimes. Anyway, you know Fae are known to be beautiful, and here I was, surrounded by a beautiful family full of flaws. Growing up was difficult, as Fae can be cruel to each other--especially the nobility. If nothing else, it focused my attention on growing my gifts. When I came of age, my power grew, and finally, I was able to find a way to mask my scars. I have to recharge my power regularly to keep covered. I tell others I was able to heal the scars. It’s been over fifteen years with my glamour. It didn’t make my love life better like I had hoped. Turns out people are cruel even if you are beautiful. Also, my skin itches if I’m in the glamour too long.”
Fae are beautiful, and I doubted that even with her scars, she wouldn’t be too. I’d always assumed others used glamour because Fae are vain and like to outshine one another. I had been fortunate not ever to use it. I was not ignorant of my appearance, but I’d taken for granted that glamour could be a tool to bring confidence.
Melina suddenly sat up and tapped the light button to activate the floating orb by her bedside, dimly illuminating the room. “I suppose I can’t tell you all that and not show you what I look like.”
I sat up as well. I was curious, but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. “You don’t have to.”
She shrugged, her face a peaceful neutral. “No, it’s okay.”
I knew her well enough now to know she probably thought showing me would run me away. It would not work.
She closed her eyes, her hands glowing a bright white as she ran it over her face. A smoke blurred her features, and just as quickly as it had come, it dissipated until I saw her face again. She had the same almond-shaped red eyes, rounded nose, high cheekbones, full lips, and long lashes. Only her face held tiny, indented markings mainly concentrated on her cheekbones and chin, giving her skin a bit of texture. She still had a beauty that held my attention. I wanted her comfortable, not itchy behind her skin, trying to reach a standard set by others who didn’t matter.
I reached to touch her cheek, and she stiffened again, leaning away. We had made progress, but I had to remember she probably felt very exposed then. “I realize you don’t need me to say you are beautiful. Your self-esteem doesn’t come from the irrelevant opinion of someone else but rather, from you. But you know that I’m certain. So no, I’m not telling you that you are beautiful, just to make you feel better. I’m telling you you’re beautiful because I can’t help but to express my thoughts. What I’ve always thought and will continue to think.”
She slowly grinned, and it was glorious. “You’re right.”
I tilted my head, curious. “About what? You’re beautiful, or you don’t need me to tell you that.”
A giggle escaped her lips, the tiny sound pumping my heart a fraction faster. “Both. But some days, I don’t always feel that way. And some days, the coverage feels like comfort. And, at this point, I’ve sold the story that I’m healed. I backed myself into a corner because I cared too much about what others thought.”
I nodded, understanding. “Cruelty can be just as painful as a knife and leave inner scars. I don’t judge you.”
She worried her lower lip between her teeth as she considered me, eyes careful. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Being so likable.”
I chuckled and scooted closer to her, chancing that she wouldn’t pull away this time. I took one of her hands in mine and placed it against my forehead, bowing slightly to her as I closed my eyes. Liking her so much did make things more challenging. It made me desire something I did not deserve, especially not from her. “I want to apologize for what happened to you. Luca told me about your kidnapping. ”
She swore under her breath. “I’m going to get him. If you want to feel guilty, don’t. You owe me nothing. I don’t blame you; I know not all Nodoorians are horrible. My time in prison was awful, but it could have been much worse. And that was thanks to another Nodoorian.”
The other guard Luca mentioned. Again, the pit of my stomach tightened with jealousy. I wanted to ask her about him, but she was growing tired, a yawn escaping her lips. I removed her hand from my forehead and kissed it, not wanting to let go. “I’m keeping you awake.”
“It’s okay.” She removed her hand and turned off the light, leaving us in the darkness. She did not put her glamour back on, which pleased me. I wanted her to be herself around me at all times, and I took comfort in the fact that she could be relaxed with me.
I wanted her to lay in my arms, but I wasn’t surprised that she kept to her side of the bed as usual. I could only hope she would remain in bed for the night.
“Rabbit,” I began, breaking the silence of the night. I wasn’t even sure she was still awake. “You deserve everything the realm has to offer, including love.”
“That would be nice,” she replied in a drowsy voice.
I wanted to give her love, but I couldn’t say that last part because then she might try to love me back, and I could not have that. I did not deserve it. But I was beginning to want it.