Chapter 39
TAUREN
My gaze falls over the letter again and again.
He’s been kind to me. She must’ve written this last week in Girabalt’s while we were wedding dress shopping.
I think I might not hate it here. There’s a sweetness to him.
I had no idea she liked me back then, let alone thought there was a sweetness to me.
My fingers tense around the page. My wife wrote this. I clench my jaw. My. Wife. Who is now most likely trapped in the palace of my greatest enemy.
“You’re the demon who kidnapped her, right?” The red-haired woman scowls. She’s still pointing her dagger at my throat, but I’m now pressed against the wall after she marched me back here and thrust this letter into my hands. “Speak, demon!” she shouts.
Before I can reply, a much deeper voice echoes through my bedchamber.
“You’re doing so well, my love, but keep your dagger against his throat.
Up high, like we practised.” A man steps out from behind my wardrobe dressed head-to-toe in black, while his companion wears a dainty corset beneath her black cloak.
She smiles giddily. “Is this right?” She digs the dagger into my neck, hard enough to make me wince.
“Watch it,” I warn. The only reason I’ve not killed her yet is because I’m fairly certain she wasn’t lying about being one of Dahlia’s sisters. Which one, though, I’m not sure yet. It’s hard to think when my head is such an angry mess.
“Are you the demon who kidnapped Dahlia?” she tries again. “Please. I have to know she’s safe.”
I glance between them, the morning sun from my opened curtains lighting up the daggers at their hips, the roughness of the man’s features. Then it hits me. The answer is obvious.
“You’re the princess who ran off with the assassin, aren’t you? Amaryllis? The oldest of the twelve.” I sigh. “Dahlia spoke about you.” I push her hand away from my throat.
“Don’t you dare fucking touch her,” the man growls.
“And you must be Kasimir.” I narrow my eyes at him before glancing back at Amaryllis. “I’m afraid if you’ve come for your sister, you’re too late. She’s been taken from me.” It’s hard to speak through the tightness in my jaw.
“What do you mean ‘taken’?” Amaryllis pales.
“That lord she spoke about in her letter. He has her.” I suspect he gave up his soul to a rogue demon to get her back. That’s if the bastard even has enough of a soul left to give.
“Lord Elheart?” she stammers. “Blossom wrote to me about his letters. She said he spoke with Father about Dahlia as if she were cattle.” Her lip curls.
“She won’t be in there for long.” I shove past the pair. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I was about to rescue my wife.”
“Your wife?” she yelps. “You actually married her?”
“You’ll have to forgive me for not sending you or any of her sisters an invitation.” I reach for my cloak. “But I’m sure Dahlia will happily tell you the story of how she dressed herself as a river monster to walk down the aisle and spat pond water into my mouth instead of kissing me.”
“What?” she gasps, while Kasimir cackles.
I don’t get a chance to leave, though. Before I can walk through the open door, it slams shut in front of me.
Amaryllis blocks my path, her tiny fists clenched. “Did you force my sister into marrying you?” She’s almost scary when she’s furious, like an angry little dog. “Speak, demon! Did you force her?” she yells.
I hold up my palms. “It’s a long story. One I absolutely do not have the time nor mental capacity to share with a stranger right now. Now, please—”
“I’m her sister,” she snarls. “Now you need to tell me, did you force her or not?”
My lips part, but before I can answer, Kasimir steps beside her.
His tone is as dark as Amaryllis’s. “I made a promise to those girls when I had Ami move in with me that I would protect them if their shitty father tried to marry them off to any more shitty princes. Now, answer her question, demon. I know you can’t compel us both at the same time. ”
I glare at him, my jaw tight. He’s right. Even demon lords can’t compel two souls at once. But there’s nothing stopping me compelling him to slit the throat of his red-haired companion.
I won’t, though. And I think he knows that. I see it in his eyes. He just wants me to calm Amaryllis down. But I doubt what’s about to come out of me will.
“I did force her,” I breathe. “But, like I said, she made sure I suffered for it.” I can still taste the pond water in my mouth.
“And earlier tonight, I gave her the choice to leave me or stay, and she chose to stay. Ask her yourself when I bring her back home. She said she needed me.” My voice strains.
Kasimir’s brow dips. “Is he lying to us, Ruby?”
“He’s not,” she mutters. “He’s telling the truth. About all of it.” She looks so certain. I’m assuming there’s magic at work here. Either that or Dahlia’s eldest sister is some kind of human lie detector. She did grow up with eleven younger sisters, I suppose.
Her violet gaze darkens. “You kidnapped my sister and then forced her to marry you. I cannot in good faith approve of this union. But if Dahlia is foolish enough to want to stay with you then I have to accept that.” She sighs. “I will help you break into Lord Elheart’s palace.”
“No,” both Kasimir and I speak in unison.
Kasimir shoots me an approving nod before turning to his princess. “I love you, Ruby, but you’re not going anywhere until you let me scout the place first.”
“You said I was ready for missions!”
“And you are, I just need to make sure that they’re safe missions.”
I roll my eyes. But then what he just said hits me. “You scouted my castle?”
He shrugs. “I’ve been casing the place for the past few days, assessing the guard situation.” That’s it. They’re all fired. “You really ought to put guards beneath your tower. Anyone could climb up the side and come in through your window.”
“Like you did,” I deadpan.
“Like we did,” Amaryllis corrects. “I’m not a fragile princess anymore.” She glares at Kasimir before turning back to me. “So I’m coming with you whether you like it or not. Sisters stick together.”
As if on cue, I hear the door to my chambers crash open and we all step back just in time for three more battle-ready women and my nervous-yet-determined-looking brother to barge into my bedchamber. Even Pumpkin’s here, wearing fucking armour.
I spit out a curse. “Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me—”
“What’s taking you so long to get ready?” Blossom charges towards me. She, Eden, and Tamryn are wearing armoured leather corsets over their gowns, presumably with daggers hidden in the slits of their skirts. Daggers they absolutely will not be using.
“You are all staying here.” I fasten my cloak. “Dahlia would not want her sisters to be put in harm’s way.” I may as well have said nothing at all. Nobody can hear me over Eden and Blossom’s excited squeals.
“Ami!” they scream, rushing over to their sister.
“What are you both doing here?” Amaryllis hugs them both. The three of them burst into a mess of babbles and squeals.
While they’re distracted, I turn to Claren. “Keep them here.” I grasp his shoulder. “Do not let them follow me.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
I blink, surprised at his tone.
“If you think you’re going to that palace without our help, you’re more foolish than Elheart.” He folds his arms and stands taller than I remember my little brother ever being. “Dahlia is my family now, as much as she is yours. So we’re coming with you. You can’t stop us.”
Tamryn stands by his side, her eyes glittering with determination while she holds Pumpkin tightly. The three sisters soon join her, hand in hand, closely followed by Kasimir.
“There’s a salt barrier,” Claren explains to them, not giving me a chance to argue. “So Tauren and I will have to wait for our army to make a hole before demons can pass through.”
“We’re not demons, though. So I’ll take Kasimir, Ami, and Eden through the main entrance,” Blossom pipes up. “It’ll be the fastest way to get to Dahlia. We’ll search all the bedchambers first. Tamryn,” she turns to the half-demon, “you can choose to stay with Tauren and Claren or come with us.”
Tamryn nods, wrapping her hand around Claren’s arm.
Sensible girl.
But then my jaw tenses. I should not even be fucking entertaining this. “You can’t just walk in there,” I growl at them. “There are guards at the gate.”
“I dealt with them before just fine.” Blossom smirks.
Eden squeals, “Ami, you have to see her gift in action! She’s amazing!”
“I still can’t believe you can do that,” she replies. “I wish I had a gift as useful as controlling people.”
“Your gift is useful,” Kasimir scolds her. “I never have to worry about my guild hiding shit from me again. They’re terrified of you,” he chuckles.
“What gift do you have?” I ask her curiously.
“I can tell when people are lying. Always.” She narrows her eyes at me. “So if you ever hurt my sister, don’t think you’ll get away with it.”
I swallow. “Not planning on it.”
“Good.” She smiles sweetly, as if she didn’t hold a dagger to my throat five minutes ago. “Now let’s stop wasting time and rescue Dahlia.”
I gave up convincing them to stay behind.
As much as I hate to admit it, having humans on our side is a huge help.
Kennix had already started moving the cannons when we reached the stables, but it’ll be mid-morning by the time he and the soldiers make it to Elheart’s palace, and I want Dahlia protected now. Need her protected.
She needs me.
And, fuck, with my heart tearing in two I think I need her just as much.
I ride full gallop through the forest with the humans and Claren at my side until we arrive at the clearing near Elheart’s palace. Tamryn stayed behind in a wagon with the soldiers and Pumpkin.
Poor girl was never taught how to ride a horse. We’ll have to fix that soon.
“Do you know how to get into the palace from here?” Claren asks Blossom.
She nods, glaring through the trees.
“We’ll meet you inside as soon as we can get through. Start with the bedchambers, and if you can’t find her there, try the dungeon. But wherever you go, make sure you stay together,” he orders.
The humans slide off their horses and race towards the palace, but the whole time I can’t look away from Claren.
Guilt twists inside me. He may be my baby brother, but he’s no baby anymore, and all this time I’ve been treating him like one.
“Claren,” I start, wincing.
“No need to thank me.” He twists his horse around to pass me a gentle smile. “I thought you’d be feeling too upset about Dahlia to think straight, so I took over for a bit. How did I do?” Hope dances in his eyes, and just like that, he’s little Claren again.
But this time, I’m not his arsehole brother.
“You did great. Thank you,” I say, and I mean it.
“Come on.” He kicks his horse into a walk, but I don’t miss the pride on his face. “We’ll find a weak spot in the wall and take out some of the patrolling guards to save time.”
I nod, following him through the trees.
When we get home, he’ll be taking Thobas’s job at my advisers’ table so the old demon can finally retire. Claren’s way too good to not be at my side.