Chapter 26
The next morning, Fawn and Dean sat in the royals’ private dining room enjoying their breakfast alone. “I have a surprise for you tonight,” Dean told her with a salacious smile.
“If it’s another leash, I will stab you on purpose this time.”
He barked out a laugh and stabbed a piece of ham to pop into his mouth. “What’s funny?”
A woman who looked to be in her fifties asked as she glided into the room.
Her greying blonde hair twisted into an elegant updo, and her pale beige skin was flawless.
Dean stiffened beside Fawn and a man with a permanent scowl, salt and pepper hair, and a slim but muscular build followed her in the room behind Cali.
Fawn’s knuckles turned white around her fork.
“Mother,” Dean greeted with a fake smile. His eyes flicked to the man. “Father.”
Gods, if you’re listening, please open the ground beneath me.
“Dean,” his father answered curtly.
“Good morning, Dean,” Cali beamed and ignored Fawn. This bitch.
“Who is your friend?” his mother asked, but the look in her eye said she already knew.
“Mother, Father, this is my mate, Fawn.” Dean settled a lethal gaze on his father. “We need to speak about the death certificate you supposedly found.”
The former king’s expression hardened. “What are you suggesting?”
“I’m not suggesting anything,” Dean replied coolly. “I’m saying you lied about my mate’s death. I don’t know why, but you will answer for what you’ve done.”
His mother’s hand flew to her chest, and Cali looked scared. “Are you threatening me?”
Dean rose and rounded the table. “Yes. Beg for your life if you want, but it will be up to Fawn if you keep it.”
The older man’s lip curled. “I heard about your display at the ball. You are tarnishing our family’s reputation and our people’s faith in our ability to rule.”
Dean threw his head back and laughed. “Unlike you, I ensure my family receives the respect they deserve.”
“Everyone needs to take a breath,” the former queen tried. She made her way to Fawn’s side and held out her hand. “I’m Anne, Dean’s mother.”
Dean left his father and stood at Fawn’s side. She stood and took his mother’s hand. “I’m Fawn. It’s nice to meet you.”
Much to Fawn’s dismay, Cali stayed at Anne’s side. Were they good friends? Did his mother wish her son was marrying Cali instead?
Dean’s father approached Fawn, and her mate took a defensive stance, ready to strike. “Fawn,” his father said, tipping his head respectfully. “I’m Henry. Despite what my son claims, I was given your death certificate, as well as those of your parents.”
Fawn smiled politely even though she wanted to tell her abusive father-in-law to go to hell. “My parents passed away in a rebel attack in the Mountain Kingdom when I was fourteen,” she explained. “I survived.”
Henry’s eyes flared slightly before he blanked his expression. A seed of doubt at the man’s guilt planted in Fawn’s gut. He’d looked genuinely surprised at her admission. If he’d knowingly given Dean false information, wouldn’t he know the truth?
“I am sorry to hear that,” Henry responded, and Fawn believed him. She hated him for what he did to his son, but in this, she believed him to be innocent.
“Shall we enjoy our breakfast?” Cali interjected. “I’m starved.”
“What are you doing here?” Fawn asked her before she could think better of it.
Anne gasped, Henry ignored the barb and took a seat, and Cali sat to Dean’s left with a smile. “Anne and I were catching up last night and she invited me to breakfast. We became very close while planning mine and Dean’s wedding.”
If Dean could kill someone in front of everyone, Fawn could too. Sensing her train of thought, Dean wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her to her seat. He sat down and leaned down to kiss her. Nothing deep, but enough to send a message.
Servers hurried in, setting plates before the newcomers and filling their glasses. “Fawn,” Anne began, “tell me about yourself.”
She’d rather not but had no reason to refuse. “What would you like to know?”
“Your birth record in the Human Kingdom said you’re half-human, but since the other records they provided were false…”
“That’s correct,” Fawn confirmed and tucked her hair behind her ear to point at it. “My father was from the Mountain Kingdom, and my mother was from the Human Kingdom. I grew up in the Human Kingdom until I was fourteen and moved to the Mountain Kingdom.”
Henry listened attentively. She expected him to make smart remarks, but he seemed genuinely interested.
“You’ve been in the Mountain Kingdom this entire time?” Anne asked and picked up a blueberry.
“Fawn worked at the pleasure house there,” Cali offered with a saccharine smile. Henry choked on his food, and Anne took a hasty drink of water.
“Cali,” Dean snapped. She looked at him with innocent eyes, and Fawn wanted to scratch them out.
She wasn’t embarrassed about her hobby, and she’d be damned if anyone insinuated she should be ashamed.
Before she could tell Cali to fuck off, her mate continued.
“Have you forgotten what happened to the last person who disrespected my mate?”
The color drained from Cali’s face. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”
Fawn remained quiet, curious to hear his response. If he needed her for political reasons, did she have a certain immunity?
The look he gave her would have terrified the toughest of men. “Don’t test me.”
That’s it? Fawn frowned. Couldn’t he at least cut out her tongue?
Anne cleared her throat and tried to smile. “Did you enjoy growing up in the Mountain Kingdom?”
Fawn took a drink of water to give herself time to calm down. Fuck Cali for making this more awkward than it already was. “I did. I lived with my grandparents on their horse ranch until my early twenties. Then I got a job as a palace maid and lived in the staff quarters.”
Anne’s face lit up. “Dean loves horses.”
“We went riding yesterday,” Dean added. “She’s a natural.”
She reached under the table and pinched his leg. “Did you grow up in the Garden Kingdom?” she asked his mother.
“I grew up in the Tropical Kingdom,” Anne replied. “This kingdom is more beautiful, but the Tropical Kingdom was better on my skin.”
Cali and Anne both laughed, and Fawn and Dean exchanged a look.
Fawn didn’t know what she meant by that, but it irked her that the other two women acted like old friends.
Fawn would never be close with Anne, not after she stood by and did nothing while her husband abused her son, but that didn’t mean she wanted Cali close with his family.
Anne peppered Fawn with innocuous questions, she and Cali laughing at private little jokes. Henry didn’t say much, and Dean fielded any questions that made Fawn uncomfortable.
The torture ended, and Dean ushered Fawn out of the room with hasty goodbyes. “You didn’t tell me they were back,” Fawn hissed.
He stabbed a hand through his styled hair. “I would have if I’d known.”
“Dean,” a vaguely familiar voice called out.
Dean and Fawn spun around and came face to face with Lilith. How old was this woman? She looked at least one hundred. Fae weren’t immortal, and the woman’s youthful walk and sound mind only solidified Fawn’s belief in witches.
The king bowed his head. “Lilith. Terrorizing the palace today?” he teased fondly.
The old woman’s lips twitched. “I need to speak with you.”
Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. “Now? I can’t leave her alone with my parents in the palace.”
“Who says I can’t go?” Fawn demanded.
Lilith’s pale eyes danced with amusement watching the two. “You can’t.” Fawn glared at her. A little womanly solidarity would have been nice. “Nothing will harm her while you’re gone.” Dean opened his mouth to reply but she held up a hand. “You may call Cassandra to stay with her but not Braddock.”
“No,” he snapped. “I’m not leaving her without someone who can carry her to safety if needed.”
“I can walk,” Fawn interjected, earning a scowl from her mate.
“You must,” Lilith told him, never taking her unsettling eyes from his.
After giving Lilith a scathing look, he turned to Fawn. “I have to go with her, but I’ll be back as soon as we’re done.”
Fawn looked curiously at the old woman. Who was she that Dean bent to her will with little resistance. Turning back to her mate, she nodded. “I don’t mind, but I’m not staying in our rooms again.”
He clenched his jaw. “Why not? We were going there anyway.”
“ We being the operative word. I’m not sitting there alone when I can find one of my friends.”
“Cassandra will be there,” he reminded her.
She turned to Lilith for help, but the old woman offered her nothing. “Cassandra can’t speak to me. I’m not staying in the rooms, and I’m only telling you as a courtesy.”
“Fine,” he gritted out. “I’ll call Cassandra.”
Fawn and Cassandra meandered through the gardens, looking for Tickles.
Dean kept his word and issued a protective order on all tarantulas, and after the incidents in the palace regarding tongues, Fawn felt safe enough to let the spider free in the gardens.
Naomi had found a book on spiders in the palace library and declared Tickles a male.
Whether she read his molt correctly or not is up for debate.
“Tickles,” Fawn called out, hoping to lure the little bugger into the open. She’d have to ask Naomi if tarantulas had ears. Part of her had wanted to keep him with her, but he needed to catch his food and eat, and while she liked him, she drew the line at catching things to feed him.
Tickles scurried out from a bush and toward Fawn. “There you are.”
Cassandra started forward but Fawn grabbed her with both hands. The serpent jerked around, and Fawn screamed, falling to the ground. Tickles ran as fast as his noodle legs would carry him until he sat protectively on Fawn’s shoulder.
Cassandra hissed and Fawn scrambled backward across the stone walkway. “He’s my friend,” she told the familiar , cursing when she remembered the serpent couldn’t hear. Trying again, Fawn pointed to Tickles then pointed to her face and smiled.
Cassandra’s tongue slithered out and Fawn backed up more. She was certain Dean’s familiar wouldn’t hurt her, but she didn’t trust the beast around the spider.
“Do you need assistance?” a deep, commanding voice asked.
Fawn tilted her head back, meeting the eyes of a large man much older than her. He wore fighting leathers and had a long sword strapped at his hip. “No, she won’t hurt me.”
The man held out his hand to help Fawn stand, but Cassandra darted forward and knocked it away with a terrifying hiss.
“I’m not going to hurt her,” the man snapped at the familiar . “You’re the one who made her scream.”
Fawn pushed to her feet and dusted herself off. “She can’t hear you. She doesn’t have ears.” She held out her hand. “I’m Fawn. Thank you for trying to help me.”
“General Craven,” the man said, withdrawing his hand quickly when Cassandra hissed again.
“Don’t mind her,” Fawn replied, hitching a thumb in Cassandra’s direction. “The king told her to protect me, and she takes her job seriously. She almost killed my tarantula.” She pointed at Tickles.
The general’s eyes moved to the spider on her shoulder and he laughed. “You’re giving the boy a hard time, aren’t you?”
Fawn tilted her head. “The boy?”
“Dean,” he clarified. “I’ve known him since he was a child.”
Fawn bobbed her head. “Yes, well, he deserves it.”
The general laughed again. “I wanted to meet you at the ball, but I had to meet the king and queen at the border and escort them to the capital.”
“This must be anticlimactic for you, then.” She swept a hand over herself. “Just a plain woman who consorts with animals.”
The general studied her until she fidgeted under his gaze. “I think you’ll make an excellent queen.” He turned to leave but thought better of it and looked at her one last time. “Do not walk around alone.”
With that, he left Fawn staring after him, wondering if he’d threatened her or helped her.
General Craven couldn’t do it, not now that he’d seen the girl. He thought he’d choose power over loyalty to the crown, but one look at her protecting a little creature from a great serpent, and he knew the kingdom needed her.
He wasn’t stupid enough to get in Samuel’s way, but he couldn’t carry out the assassination. The general had been a good man once, back before the former king had sunk his claws into him and made him into a fucking monster. That good man was long gone, but the loyalty to his kingdom was not.
He marched through the gardens and made plans to get his family out of the kingdom as quickly as possible. No one told Samuel no and lived.