Chapter Thirty-Eight
Miriam
Darkness lashed within me; I could barely contain it. It couldn’t wait any longer. I shouldn’t have let Michael dictate our next steps. I had as much say in what happened after what we’d found as he did. Shadows spilled from me, swallowing the room until I knew I could no longer postpone it.
I jumped.
‘I want to see her,’ my voice echoed in the spacious corridor outside Michael’s bedroom door.
It must have been his. The smell that lingered was far too strong for an occasional presence. The distinct wood and cinnamon scent only fuelled my anger.
My fist slammed into the carved mahogany, making it creak in protest and groan beneath the force of the blow.
He wasn’t there.
Shadows tore out as I jumped outside Ava’s mate’s office. It was only when I pounded on his door that I realised I was technically trespassing on a foreign king’s land. And court.
Perhaps I should have restrained myself, but would he really do anything? It’s not like Ava would take lightly to her treacherous mate hurting me.
The door opened, and the confused King of Fogoya stood in the passage. As I looked past him, of course his brother was there, his eyes widened as he took me in, and he rushed to the door.
‘I’m assuming it’s about the girl,’ the king said, stepping away and making room for his overbearing younger brother.
‘It’s a child. I want a say in what happens to her before you traumatise the kid,’ I said firmly, repeating what I already tried to explain to Michael on the way back from the search.
‘We don’t know who she is, so she will be treated as a spy—,’ Michael started.
The bastard wouldn’t relent, but I could see doubt in his older brother’s eyes.
My vision darkened. ‘You think Ava would stand for this?’
‘We agreed not to involve her yet. She has enough going on,’ her mate seethed.
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘You decided she didn’t need to know because of what your sadistic brother is planning.’
Michael’s posture stiffened. ‘I’m not fucking sadistic! I’m the only one here thinking straight.’
‘Children aren’t evil by nature.’ He needed to know he was wrong. ‘You don’t get to decide she is just because you’re scared.’
His jaw ticked. ‘And who’s to say she’s not already dangerous?’ Michael shot back. ‘They left it there for a reason.’
‘It’s a fucking toddler; get a grip.’ I stepped closer. ‘I will hijack the child’s dreams to see what she knows.’
The Fogoyan King’s brows rose as he glanced at his brother. ‘Okay. That’s the best plan we’ve had so far.’
I stepped closer to the door, trying to take a peak and see if the child was there. Michael stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
‘It might be a trap. Maybe they knew you’d get in her head,’ he warned again, but I tuned him out, shifting to his brother.
‘I will help as much as I can. I’m good at extracting information from dreams. I might even be able to learn where she came from and who the cloaked people are.’
The king looked eager, held back only by his brother’s reluctance.
He eventually nodded.
‘Well, if you want that, then that baby isn’t staying in your fucking dungeon.’ My gaze sharpened. ‘I will personally break her out by jumping into every single cell if I have to. So help me Gods.’
‘Don’t you fucking dare, Miriam! Do you know who we keep there? Stay out of th—’
Ava’s mate cut him off, visibly tired. ‘Where do you propose we keep her?’
I swallowed. It was a stretch, but I needed to give it a shot. ‘The Isles are inaccessible for strangers. If you want the child contained, it’s in our best interests that she goes with me.’
‘Over my dead body are you taking this bait somewhere we can’t intervene if it attacks—’
My vision turned to pulses of power and life force.
Dark.
My nails bit into soft skin as I slammed the Prince of Fogoya against the wall.
My hand tightened around his throat.
His pulse thudded against my palm—steady, unafraid.
I leaned closer.
Too close.
‘I told you,’ I said quietly, breath steady despite the storm inside me. 'We found her together. She is as much my responsibility as she is yours.’
He didn’t fight back, just watched me, jaw tight, eyes dark with something that wasn’t fear.
Silence stretched.
The room behind us held its breath.
‘Michael, it’s a kid. I doubt she can do much damage. Relax,’ his brother said finally, voice firm. Then turned to me. ‘You can take her. But I want reports of what you see in her dreams.’
Michael shoved my hand away, breaking free. Then, he barged into my space like he owned it. ‘If that cult baby goes there, then so am I.’
He tried to intimidate me. ‘You don’t belong on the Isles—’
‘Take it or leave it, love,’ he seethed, gaze locked on mine.
The shift in him was unmistakable.
No longer the irritating fool.
This was the spy.
And I hated this version even more.
The king exhaled, already done with the argument. ‘Michael goes with the prisoner.’
‘He doesn’t need to go anywhere. I—’
‘Just as you have rights to the prisoner you found on foreign ground, I have a right to enforce conditions. Unless you’d prefer to take it to the Council?’
I clenched my jaw. ‘No. It’s fine.’
Michael would regret making things difficult.
Willow
I stood in the foyer waiting for Ava and one of her shadow siblings.
Either one could take us to Fogoyan castle, but I sincerely hoped it wasn’t that bloody idiot.
It was like the more I pushed him away, the more he tried to keep me around.
A masochist, perhaps. Or he enjoyed seeing my misery.
The reckoning that’d come the moment my powers returned would serve as a life lesson.
Then I heard it. The annoying baritone of his voice as he chatted with my younger sister on the way downstairs.
She laughed at something he said, oblivious to how stupid he sounded.
I hoped he’d trip and break his neck.
Just before they reached me, I began wondering why all the meetings with the Council had been taking place in the Fogoyan castle. Wasn’t that a conflict of interest? Just because she had the Fire King pussy-whipped didn’t mean he wouldn’t eventually break my neck out of spite.
We were at war. And I would become the next Ortensian Queen… And I looked a bit too much like his long-time opponent to feel safe in the presence of a man affectionately referred to as a beast. Surely, there ought to be better places to meet.
Still, I stood calmly, beginning to accept my fate as the looming shadow brute placed a hand on either of our shoulders.
Ava looked for something in my eyes; I stared back, showing nothing.
She didn’t want the throne; she knew what kind of pressure that was.
I wasn’t born to rule either. I felt like a fraud.
Whoever wrote that letter was right. I slept with so many men in Ortensia. Our nobles, foreign nobles, foreign princes, and even one or two councilmen.
How could I ever rule?
But should my past define me? Why would my sex life have anything to do with my ability to lead? Because really, that was all it was, wasn’t it? Managing people and land.
And politics.
And the never-ending conflicts.
And the increasingly rebellious population.
Did the Elder really mean it last time when he said some of them want somebody new entirely on the throne?
Traitors. I could be good to them… once I learnt how to.
‘Are you okay?’ Ava asked quietly as we made our way toward the conference room. I could tell she meant well, so I reined in the need for a scalding retort.
Things weren’t so bad between us lately. I wondered what it would be like when I took over Ortensia. Would she ever visit?
She’d probably stay away… and I would never see her again.
‘Yeah, fine. You?’ was all I could force out.
She nodded, looking ahead, as if searching for something. Or someone.
I looked directly at her. Earlier in the kitchen with the curtain covering the window and dim lights, she didn’t look quite as…
compromised. The bags under her eyes stayed dark, and really, they seemed to be a permanent feature now.
She looked dreadful and had done for quite some time.
Something was wrong with her, but even if I asked, I doubted she’d tell me.
We finally made it into the room; I took an empty seat opposite Ava and her king. Of course her stalker of a brother took the seat nearest to me.
He might keep me on a short leash, but before long I’d be the one pulling him by the collar.
With my witchcraft, I could temporarily trap him in a crystal prison of my making. I spent years crafting that spell. It would be of such good use nowadays if only I weren't risking bleeding out anytime I tried to use my powers.
No. I just had to make my revenge worthwhile once I recovered. By then, I’d probably be queen too.
Wait. Shit. Would it be an act of war then? I didn’t want politics involved. Fuck. I needed to recover before I was crowned.
But even then, how the fuck were you supposed to fight someone when you didn’t know where they lived? Someone who could appear out of nowhere whenever they pleased?
Life was tough. But when I had my mind set on something, I was tougher.
The Elder from last time walked in, his eyes immediately landing on Ava, and I wondered what his sick obsession with her was. She was way too fucking young for the sick old bastard. The weird cape of his made him look like he wore a gown too. And it didn’t even fit him properly.
Bunch of weirdos. The whole Council was strange and involved themselves way too much. Perhaps I would restrict their involvement in Ortensia after I took over. It would obviously come with financial sanctions, but we had a stable economy. We could probably pull it off.
‘I gather you have decided on the matter of the future of Ortensia,’ he said, raising his clasped hands in thanks to the Gods.
What an obnoxious prick.
‘So, what is it?’ he asked when we all watched his little theatrics in silence.
‘The throne belongs to Willow, Elder Ramonds,’ Ava said with confidence, and for a moment something akin to disappointment flashed on the Elder’s face.
Alec took a sharp breath through his nose next to me, catching his attention. And everybody else’s in the room.
‘Very well.’ Raymond’s fake enthusiasm disgusted me. ‘I believe you are aware that the privilege of ruling a kingdom as vast and populous as Ortensia comes with certain prerequisites.’
‘Try to get to the point, Councillor,’ I replied, fighting back a yawn.
He obviously took offence, his cheeks turning pink as he gasped. ‘Given your lack of preparations for the role, you will need to enrol in classes of ethics, strategy, and economy. It has been arranged for one of you at the Sycamore University.’
Gods fucking damn it. ‘For how long?’
‘Since this is a time-critical matter, we’ve arranged an expedited training programme that will take only a couple of weeks. Only then will you have your coronation.’
I smiled. ‘Let me guess, until then, Ortensia stays under council’s thumb?’
‘Who else could lead your people responsibly?’ he raised his voice.
The way he lost his cool so easily was almost funny. ‘When do I start?’
‘Tomorrow. You may stay in the halls, where you will be given a private room or commute daily according to your preference.’
Ava’s raised eyebrow could very well have a voice of its own, screaming at me to be smart and choose the safer option. I hated when she was right. ‘I will commute.’
‘Very well. Then I will get back to my busy schedule and allow you to get back to… whatever it is that you do,’ he said, getting up and leaving.
I was going back to school.
Brilliant.