Chapter 18
Telenovela
Just like that, all the burning heat in my body was replaced by a chill of fear.
I couldn’t even find humor in the fact that, for the third time today, someone had walked in on me in the worst possible moment–as if I were in the middle of a telenovela.
Because this time, the shit had truly hit the fan.
The person we were supposed to convince that whatever Katsia might claim was one big misunderstanding was now standing in the center of the room. She was stone-faced as she regarded us in our compromising position. A position that, even as a rumor, was grounds for execution.
Karim moved first. He was off the moss and walking toward the Queen in the blink of an eye.
That jolted me out of my stupor. I scrambled to sit and bow my head respectfully as fast as my recovering ankle allowed.
With my gaze lowered, I couldn’t see what expression Karim wore on his face, but there was no mistaking the annoyance in his low growl. “Does no one respect my privacy today?”
No greeting, no attempt to placate the Queen–was he trying to get us killed? I could only hope that unlike Deidre’s fake calmness before Katsia, Karim’s behavior was part of an actual strategy.
“Do we need to pass a law on doorbell use to ensure good manners are not disregarded?”
I couldn’t help but look up at those words. Had Karim just told the Queen she had bad manners? And in English, at that?
Head held high, hands resting on his elbows, Karim was giving his half-sister a challenging look.
The Queen, an imposing she-elf with raven-black hair down to her calves, didn’t look impressed. Her black eyes, topped by perfectly shaped, thin brows, met Karim’s head-on.
She stood tall in a floor-length blue dress that hugged her willowy figure like a glove.
Tiny crystals decorated the silky fabric, shining like stars under the wall lights.
The constellation of gold beads adorning her hair matched her exquisite crown, as well as the gold chain belt around her doll-like waistline.
There was nothing delicate about her features. Though she still looked young, the sharp lines at her eyes and mouth spoke of years of hardship and the weight of responsibilities.
“We can pass the law if you so wish, brother,” she said in flawless English.
She sounded tired. Disappointed. “I will still not ring your doorbell. With you hiding things from me, I had to either waste time interrogating you or catch you unprepared to find out the truth.” She glanced my way, and I quickly lowered my gaze again.
“Now I know that power-hungry vixen was not lying.”
“You know what Katsia is like, and yet you sent her here,” Karim said sternly. “Her invasion of my privacy yesterday was with your permission, was it not?”
I peeked just in time to see the Queen shrug.
“I simply allowed her to do as she saw fit in order to seduce you. I grew tired of waiting for you to realize that no suitable female could be found in time for our needs. Her aristocratic heritage makes her a perfect candidate for braid linkage. And she’s fertile. ”
As perplexed as I was by how peacefully the conversation was progressing in light of the circumstances, I didn’t miss the look that passed across the Queen’s face at the mention of fertility. That was how I instantly knew she wanted, but couldn’t have, children.
If that was true and the elves’ monarchy was hereditary, Karim and his children would be next in line. With elves being a discriminating lot, I couldn’t imagine a half-human being accepted as king, but Karim’s children might stand a chance if born by a pure-blooded aristocrat.
My heart squeezed at the realization of what that meant. If things had seemed impossible between us before, now they were outright doomed.
Karim sighed. “I told you it wouldn’t work, sister.”
The Queen shrugged again. “I had to try nevertheless. I had to hope I was wrong about you.” She threw another look my way, and I barely averted my gaze in time. “Alas, things are just as I suspected all along. You’ve been lying to me and yourself this whole time.”
“I’ve never lied to you. My eyes had never sought a human until yesterday.” He hesitated before adding, “I didn’t know I was fighting a losing battle until this morning.”
There was no hiding the surprise on my face when Karim looked at me just then. He’d been into me and fighting his attraction since the very beginning? Deidre had been right.
A bitter smile flashed across the Queen’s face.
“No, brother, that’s the lie you tell yourself.
You’ve been affected by the curse ever since coming of age.
Do you honestly believe it was Katsia’s moss skills that made you lose interest in her and discouraged you from dragging anyone else to your moss for years?
No. Her only fault is that she isn’t human. ”
Karim tensed up, but the Queen calmly went on. “It’s all right. I understand why you didn’t want to admit this to yourself. It would mean accepting you’re as weak as our father. I desperately wanted to believe otherwise, but there is no denying it now.”
His hands curled into fists at his sides, his face a hard mask.
She laughed bitterly. “You want us to duel over the undeniable? It’s not physical weakness that I’m talking about. You have bested me–and so many of our warriors during sparring sessions–more times than I care to remember. It’s your will that is weak. You want to prove me wrong?”
This time when she looked at me, her gaze held. I could feel it, even staring at the ground as I was. I didn’t want to look meek, but I also didn’t want to worsen the situation by acting arrogant in front of the Queen.
“Let me execute the human and Deidre for interacting on your moss. We’ll say it was without your permission and in your absence. That will somewhat clear your image. It will also make Katsia willing to overlook your questionable behavior and agree to a braid linkage.”
I looked up in fear. Would Karim cave in–
He moved like lightning. In an instant, he was in the Queen’s face, their eyes locked, their bodies almost brushing. The tension in the room skyrocketed without a single blow having been exchanged.
I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but who knew? Unlike Deidre, the Queen did not back down from the eye challenge. She stood her ground and stared right back at her half-brother.
“After the ceremony,” she continued daringly, “you will have as many moss interactions with Katsia as necessary to produce an heir to our throne. When you place your firstborn in my arms, then and only then will I admit I’ve been wrong about you.
I’ll beg for your forgiveness for calling you weak.
I’ll say you’ve made our father proud and honored the oath we gave to him on his deathmoss. ”
“Our oath is being honored,” Karim said with a steely tone. “We rule together and will continue to do so, Mesia. Heir or no heir, in this war-torn world the Kingdom could perish at any moment.”
“An heir is needed regardless of–”
“I rule beside you,” he cut her off, “and I say Jasmine stays exactly where she is, if she so wishes. Let our subjects talk. Since they don’t know you and I make ruling decisions together, my ruined image cannot affect our joint rule.
Your law-abiding reputation will not be tarnished either: the law does not allow you to execute your brother.
And it is I who ordered Deidre to share my moss with a human for my pleasure.
“Neither Deidre nor Jasmine can be punished for following my orders. If Katsia didn’t see me present at the time, it was because I was taking a bath before joining the two of them.”
The Queen shook her head in exasperation and finally stepped back, acknowledging defeat in the dominance display.
Still, she didn’t quit the eye challenge.
“Your image will be ruined. If something happens to me, the crown will fall to you, but our people will not follow you with a human sharing your moss.”
To my surprise, Karim looked away, conceding the eye challenge to his half-sister. “They wouldn’t follow me now either, were my orders not disguised as yours.”
“So you would leave the Kingdom to be torn apart by squabbles over the crown? All because you can’t resist a human?”
Karim’s eyes narrowed. “If the Kingdom can’t adapt to the changing times and accept that humans can be worthy allies and being half-human does not equal weakness, perhaps it deserves to be torn apart.”
The Queen raised a delicate brow at him. “And if our subjects do adapt and accept you as King? Will you be ready to step out of the convenient shadows? Or will you choose to neglect your duty to focus solely on your human, following entirely in our father’s footsteps?”
“I will always serve the Kingdom, sister.” Karim’s tone turned icy. “I spent half the night and today in the library considering the consequences of giving in. Either way, resisting is impossible.”
Then he looked at me, and our eyes met. At my wide-eyed look, his gaze softened. “One look at Jasmine on my moss this morning, and I knew it was too late for me already. I wish to be with her, Mesia. If she would have me.”
I released a shaky breath. But I didn’t have time to fully process Karim’s confession, because the Queen chose that moment to come take a closer look at the human.