Insult
Mid-morning the next day, I was standing at the window of the queen’s study, looking out at the fallow gardens, thinking what I’d never thought before, considering it was what it was and always had been during my lifetime: it was strange the castle stayed encased in snow while the world outside experienced the seasons.
Of course, Sky’s Edge was colder than the rest of the realms due to its position in the north, but they still had four seasons.
But the member of staff (I asked her name, it was Lesta) shyly shared when she was bringing me coffee that the forecast that day was for flurries, so if I wanted to go outside, I should dress accordingly.
In Night’s Fall, we’d never expect flurries at this time of year, even if it was late autumn.
However, I knew Sky’s Edge would be covered in snow that wouldn’t go away until next March, and it would be thus soon.
I was thinking these thoughts after spending a good deal of time thinking about what Aleece had to say about not connecting with any of the males she’d been with.
It made me wonder about myself.
And I started doing that again.
Sure, Tanyn was not crafted by the gods to be my mate, like the others were for theirs.
But did that mean, even as demons, we didn’t have some kind of…something that, deep down inside, guided us to who we were supposed to share our lives with?
And because of that, did I sabotage all my relationships before, not because they weren’t good males, but because they weren’t Tanyn?
I’d always wanted a partner, and not because Dad had started pressing me to find one in my early twenties (as demon dads did). I wanted that for me. I was the kind of female who dreamed about what my wedding would be. How many children I wanted. A life lived sharing it with someone else.
But every male I’d been with, for one reason or another—and yes, I could now admit some of those reasons were petty—wasn’t right.
Was that because they weren’t Tanyn?
Even if fate was not in play, that didn’t mean destiny wasn’t.
A nuance of difference, but there all the same (said me).
Or was this wishful thinking?
On this thought, I lifted my hand, hesitated, then touched the snowy wall beside the window.
There was an odd spark of electricity that left a residue of heat, but that could be anything.
Mostly it was just odd because it was snow, but it felt like a wall.
“So, not the perfect match to the king. A female who comes to him in a time of trouble and breaks the curse on Berg Castle,” I mumbled to myself.
I was a little dejected about this, but lore was lore. It could be true. It could not. Or it could be partially true.
What couldn’t be avoided was that I was in love with Tanyn, and I was going to be his queen.
Even if I’d made the moves to start this process, I hadn’t yet allowed myself to settle into the decision.
In this time of quiet, when everyone else was seeing to other things, I settled myself into that decision with a sigh.
I would miss my old life. I would miss daily being involved in the art world.
But farg it.
I was going to be an excellent queen, and Tanyn and I were going to be an unbeatable team.
A knock came at the door.
I turned to it and called, “Come in,” and was surprised when it was Tanyn who strolled through.
Maybe I did have magic, if I could conjure my male just thinking about him.
“You don’t have to knock in your own castle,” I told him as he made his way to me.
“If you were in the middle of something, I didn’t want to disturb you.”
So sweet.
He made it to me and rounded me with his arms right before I declared, “I’m mad at you.”
His brows shot up. “What, my beautiful Catla, could I have possibly done when I haven’t even spoken to you today?”
“That,” I stated. “You left me in bed and haven’t spoken to me all day.”
“It’s only ten in the morning.”
“And?”
His lips curved up. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“Okay, let’s get this sorted right now. You don’t have to knock. Even if I’m in the middle of something, just walk in. And I don’t mind if you wake me. I can go back to sleep. But wish me good morning before you go.”
“Noted. And the same goes for you.”
I scoffed. “I’ll never wake before you.”
“Okay, then don’t knock on my study door. You’re always welcome.”
“Right then.” I smiled a sunny smile. “I’m not mad at you anymore.”
He started chuckling.
I enjoyed the sound and feel of it.
His humor died, though, and I wasn’t a fan of that.
“I’m afraid I have something not all that great to share,” he said.
Fantastic.
“What now? Oh, wait. Did you get the warrant to take the bloods?”
“Yes. For the males in Gehenn. The bloods were drawn. The control drug was not detected, but an unknown preparation was. We have chemists analyzing it. However, in Night’s Fall, they first asked Arnaud to give blood willingly.
He declined. Stridently. They’ve submitted the request for the warrant, but it hasn’t been granted yet. ”
“As such, we can assume he’s hiding something,” I deduced.
“Yes.”
“So your theory that they’re under the influence of something that beats truth serum is proving true.”
“Perhaps. We’ll have to wait and see.”
“Well, you’re correct, this isn’t all that great, but it isn’t all bad either. If those chemists can find out what it is, they’ll know such an agent is out there and bloods can be taken before truth serum is delivered.”
“That isn’t the news I came to share.”
Oh boy.
“What news is that?”
He let me go to pull out his Palm, he brought something up on the display and handed it to me.
I looked down at it.
It was an article from a well-known tabloid newspaper in the Edge.
And the headline screamed, He’s Made His Choice.
Under that was a picture of Tanyn, looking amazing in a suit, walking into a building.
I’d seen that picture before. He’d been attending one of the hearings on his succession.
Next to it was a picture of me, taken direct from the staff section of Tempera’s pane. I was standing just to the side of a large painting by Deekor. It was a bright, mad, demented canvas covered in thick slashes and thicker drips of paint.
I looked fabulous (obviously, or I wouldn’t have put that picture up on the gallery’s pane).
As I scrolled down, I saw another photo of us both at the Midnight Masque. We were in close proximity but not standing together. However, we were sharing a look.
I remembered that moment.
We both were wearing masks, so you couldn’t quite see my glare, and Tanyn was being his then-usual indifferent, so his expression was unreadable, even around the mask he was wearing.
But the angle of the camera made it look like we were together.
And we looked amazing, if I did say so myself. Tanyn could rock a tux, and my gown for the Masque had been the bomb.
I scrolled back up to start reading, and…yes.
The first sentence said:
King Tanyn, our new monarch, isn’t wasting any time filling his neighboring throne. And he’s selected a member of a First Family of The Fall, a demon defector, Catla Truelock.
Well…fuck.
This had to be Mira’s doing.
I’d promised her I’d give her a heads-up before I told Tanyn, but it was seeming I wasn’t going to be able to do it.
I handed him back his Palm, but before I could say anything, he said, “Mira attempted to resign half an hour ago.”
Right, that was a surprise.
Maybe?
“She did?”
He was watching me closely. “She said something happened between you two, and she’s tendering her resignation before I request it.”
Uh-oh.
“Just to say, I was waiting for the right time to tell you,” I said.
“Tell me what?”
“Mira didn’t share?”
“No.”
Cowardly female.
“She approached me about the staffing in the castle, specifically that I thought it might be overstaffed, and sharing her advice, as who I was to you, but who I would be to Sky’s Edge, and a member of a traitor family, that wasn’t the first act I should do as the future queen.”
I got that all out, even if his eyes had saturated with red before I finished it.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me she spoke that way to you?” he demanded after he took a step away from me.
“I handled it at the time, and, honey, you know we’ve been dealing with more important matters.”
“I don’t give a fuck what we’re dealing with. If someone insults you, I don’t care who that is, but especially someone on my staff who I pay to offer service to me and the crown, you don’t delay. You fucking tell me.”
Oh no.
I was getting angry.
“How is this my fault?”
“I’m not saying it’s your fault. I’m telling you, in future, you don’t take these hits without me at your back, so I can ensure, in the more distant future, you don’t take them at all.”
“I know you’re at my back. But I can also take care of myself.”
“And I know you can take care of yourself. What you need to understand is, you aren’t in this life alone anymore. Like I’ve shared, we’re a team, and in that team, it isn’t simply you looking after me, it’s me looking after you as well.”
Again, so farging sweet.
But at this juncture, also annoying, because I was annoyed.
“And I know that,” I bit.
“So why didn’t you tell me this shit went down?”
“I explained that,” I snapped.
“I’m not a fragile flower, Catla. I’m king of a bloody realm.”
My voice was rising. “I know!”
We went into a staring contest I was determined to win.
Because he was also the king of patience, and I was the queen of impatience, predictably, I lost.
“So does this mean Mira’s the leak?”
“No. One of the reasons she came to me was to show this to me and share she knew nothing about it. It was another reason she wanted to tender her resignation, that she hadn’t been on the ball enough to cut something like this off at the pass.”
“All right. In order that you know it all, I’ve recruited the females to keep an eye on castle staff so we can help you find the leak.”
“We know who the leak is.”
My chin jerked back. “You do?”
“It was confirmed this morning. A footbeing by the name of Mord has been selling info to whoever wanted to buy it.”
“Oh,” I mumbled.
“Another reason why I haven’t spoken to you this morning. I was dealing with him.”
“Oh,” I repeated my mumble.