Chapter 39 #2
Lord Volorthen volunteered to secure the circlet around my wrist. A dozen soldiers surrounded me inside the beautiful cage, their crossbows nocked and pointed in my direction.
A precautionary measure, according to Sir Raltisse, lest I regain my powers for even a moment without the shackles to stop me and go for the King’s throat.
Mordric and the Master at Arms lingered by the bars beside an irritated Enhart, who watched the proceedings like a coiled viper about to strike.
I eyed the circlet that hung from the Chief Adviser’s bony finger.
I tried to remind myself that this was nothing more than a temporary measure.
That Mordric would order the cursed thing removed the moment it was no longer necessary.
But I couldn’t ignore the greedy glint in Sir Raltisse’s eyes, nor the indifference in Lord Volorthen’s.
I wondered if they truly only cared about Mordric’s safety, or if there was some hidden agenda lurking behind their words.
Enhart had warned me a thousand times about the perils of court.
It was a delicate system built on lies and deception, and the king’s advisers pulled its strings.
Lord Volorthen inserted a small key into the latch in the center of the circlet, its two halves springing apart with a click. My stomach churned as the vampire’s fingernails brushed the delicate skin of my wrist.
“Wait,” I cried, jerking backward.
The soldiers around me shuffled, steadying their arms. The Master at Arms harrumphed, his mustache quivering. Ignoring them, I turned to face Enhart, my heartbeat rattling my ribcage.
“If it has to be anyone,” I whispered. “I want it to be you.”
I was careful not to meet Mordric’s gaze, afraid of what I might see in it.
“Are you sure?” asked Enhart.
I nodded.
A beat passed between us. A muscle in his jaw pulsed as he stared into my eyes. He sighed once before peeling off of the wall. “Give me the damned thing,” he ordered Lord Volorthen.
The elderly vampire exchanged a glance with Mordric, who nodded his approval. Unfurling his fingers, he dropped the metal cuff and its key into Enhart’s open palm. The prince held out his free hand, beckoning for my own.
I stifled a gasp as we touched, the memory of our previous embrace lingering at the forefront of my mind. His fingers swept over my skin, pausing on the point where my quickened pulse was closest to the surface. For a brief moment, my magic flared to life as if his touch was a conduit.
The prince’s velvety voice tickled my ears. Why me?
Lord Volorthen unnerves me.
That’s a common sentiment, but it’s not the reason.
I exhaled a shaky breath. You made me into the witch that I am today. It’s fitting that you would be the one to take my magic away, don’t you think?
The prince grinned. How masochistic of you.
I returned his smile.
I can’t promise that he’ll ever allow you to remove it. Neither can they.
I cut my glance toward Mordric and his advisers.
The King watched me silently, his body stiff.
But when I looked at Enhart, his expression was calm.
Undaunted. In my mind’s eye, I could still picture the moment I first noticed him, the vampire princeling who captured the eye of every nobleman and noblewoman who passed through the castle doors.
Knowing him as I did now, I knew he was so different from what I had initially thought.
I searched his eyes for any sign that he felt what I did.
Even if he didn’t, he was the only one I trusted with my magic, with my future.
Do it, I thought.
The clink of a key in the cuff’s latch pricked my ears. I slid my fingers out of the prince’s reach, the effects of the iron creeping through my veins and toward my beating heart like poison.
Turning to his brother, the prince nodded. “Thank you,” said Mordric, holding Enhart’s gaze as if they were having their own silent conversation. It was possible, of course, although the idea unnerved me for some reason. “And now, I would like a moment alone with Miss Erramun.”
The advisers exchanged worried glances.
“Your Majesty, I cannot condone this,” countered Sir Raltisse, his armor clinking as he straightened.
Mordric shot him a dark look. “Your insinuation insults me. My consort is no longer a threat.”
I winced.
“I order you to leave,” he continued. “If only for five minutes.”
I avoided Mordric’s gaze as the party slunk reluctantly out of the room, their footsteps fading until they were out of earshot. Tears pricked at my eyes as Mordric closed the gap between us, lingering just out of reach.
He cleared his throat. “I apologize that we have not had the opportunity to be alone before now.”
I said nothing. The fury that had ignited within me the last time I’d stood before him in this room had been snuffed out the moment my magic had.
Instead, I was left hollow, numb to the fact that he had allowed his advisers to decide my fate, numb to the fact he had wanted to keep me like a caged animal in his menagerie.
“I know you must be upset,” he pressed.
Upset. I nearly laughed as I pictured how he would act if the situation were reversed. I didn’t dare speak the thought aloud. “You did what you thought was best,” I said flatly.
A shudder coursed through my body as he ran his thumb along my cheek, dragging my gaze to meet his. “I did,” he agreed. “As I did when I first put you here.”
I stiffened.
“That doesn’t mean that it was right.”
I stared into the deep pools of his eyes.
“Forgive me, my love.”
Love. The word came so easily to him, but there was no love here. Perhaps there never had been. Only lust, and an overwhelming desire for control.
I had been foolish to believe that the King of Valen had any room for anything in his heart other than his own kingdom.
That he wanted me for me, not as a tool to use for his own gain.
Of everything he’d done to me since I returned to Valnar, that hurt most of all.
My chest ached as I mourned what I’d thought we had.
Vesper and Enhart had warned me time and again of the perils of court. It wasn’t just the King and his council. The palace was saturated with conniving courtiers, their plots and schemes masked by opulence. Now, I finally understood. If I ever wanted to be free, I would have to play by their rules.
And so, my next words came easily. “I forgive you.”
When he kissed me, I fought the urge to recoil.
His lips were surprisingly gentle. As if he thought I might shatter.
He slipped his fingers around to tangle in my hair, his tongue gliding across my bottom lip.
But I felt nothing. The fire between us was stamped out, the illusion he had created crumbled into ash.
After we parted, he held me to him for what felt like hours, his arms wrapped tight around me.
“I’m frightened,” I whispered into his shirt. It wasn’t a lie, although it pained me to admit it.
“I’m not.”
I pulled away from him to see that he was grinning. My brow creased. He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, my skin pebbling in the tread of his fingers. “I’m not frightened,” he continued. “Because you’ll be with Enhart.”
I balked. “What do you mean?”
“When my advisers proposed this plan to me, I agreed to it only on the condition that you remain in Prince Enhart’s care.”
“Gods above,” I murmured. “He can’t be happy about that.”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”
The sound of his laughter brought heat rushing into my cheeks.
He nodded. “I know everything that happened that night wasn’t real, wasn’t you, and I don’t hold it against you. Besides, far more scandalous things have transpired in the court of Valnar than a king’s consort kissing his brother.”
I untangled myself from him, avoiding his gaze. For now, it was better if he believed that.
“No matter what’s happened, Prince Enhart will do for you what I cannot from the confines of this place. He is the only person I trust to keep you safe,” he insisted, pulling me back to him.
“And I will see you again,” he whispered, sending a chill down my spine. “I swear it.”