Chapter 26 #3
“People are easy to control when they are scared, and you regulate their food source and livelihood. There is endless power in fear.” He cleared out my armoire, moving on to my drawers. “The powerful only stay powerful when people suffer.”
“Would the king do this? He should want me alive until my birthday. He has the chance to become ruler of all the kingdoms.”
“It’s not the king.” Onyx paused. “You are worth too much alive to him right now.”
“So, who?” I tracked him across the room, where he opened the desk drawer, tossing crap out of it.
“What about Morrigan? She seemed to want me gone.” I got the feeling she was not my biggest fan, which showed what a great manipulator she was.
Not once before did I ever perceive her duplicity. She was so kind to me before.
“Morrigan could, but I don’t think she did it.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“That’s not a reason. She clearly hates me and would love to see me dead. I know it was her.”
“It wasn’t her,” he said with finality, like it was the end of the conversation.
“How do you know?” I exclaimed.
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because she was with me!” he roared, slamming the door shut, his hands rolling into fists.
As if an arrow had sunk into my chest, I took a step back, gasping for air. “What?” I shook my head, not wanting to acknowledge what he had just admitted. “But . . . she’s with the king. And you . . . you were just . . .” I trailed off.
“What?” He took a step toward me. “What was I just doing, kanin?” His mouth curled in a merciless smirk, his tongue sliding over his lip. “Tell me.”
Brick by brick my shoulders set back, hiding any sign of vulnerability.
“Do you share her with the king, or join in?” I callously spat at him. “Knowing the king, he demands you join in.”
Onyx’s shoulders rose, dwarfing me in his shadow.
“Be careful.” His voice dragged over my skin. “You sound jealous.”
“Believe me, she can have you both.” I tipped my head back. “You all seem to deserve each other.” Another piece fell into place about the night he kidnapped me, setting me back on my heels. “She was the one to get you into my father’s office that night. She was your informant.”
“She was also King Gavric’s informer. And the one to slip your father bad intel if he wasn’t spilling his seed in her first.”
“And you didn’t do the same?” I folded my arms, the thin robe see-through thanks to my wet body. “Sounds like you all were thanking her for her services with your cocks.”
“How do you know I wasn’t thanking her with my tongue?” He leaned in, a challenge in his tone to acknowledge what happened earlier. To crawl further under my skin, but I would not let him have that power. “You seemed to enjoy it.”
“Someone thinks a little too highly of himself.”
He moved even closer, the heat of his mouth brushing mine. “I heard your cries, kanin. Tasted your release drenching my tongue.”
Sucking in through my nose, I dug my nails into my arms, my cheeks blooming with heat. “I was drugged and not in my right mind.”
“Believe that if you want, but what I do privately is not your concern,” he said. “You should probably worry about who your husband is sleeping with.”
“I don’t care who he is sleeping with.”
“Trouble in paradise already, my queen.”
“Fuck you.”
“You keep asking. I don’t know how many times I have to say no.”
My hand lifted to slap him, his fingers catching my arm, dragging my frame into him.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Why not?” I seethed.
His gaze tracked mine, his body plastered against me, the thin robe doing nothing to hinder the feel of his body against mine, the wetness soaking through us both. The moment strained, the silence between us filled with aggression.
“My lady—” The door swung open. “What in the hell happened here?” Meya stepped in, coming to a stop, Kara and Sassa slamming into the back of her. The other two names I had forgotten, holding clothes and items in their arms.
Meya’s mouth parted. “Hersir . . .” She dipped into a quick curtsy, while Kara tried to peer around, their eyes wide with awe. “I wasn’t expecting you here.”
Onyx stepped back, his expression impassive. “The king asked me to watch over her tonight.” He cleared his throat, stalking for the door, making them scramble out of the way. Their heads bowed in respect to him, though Kara was gaping at the huge guard.
“Which is more than you were doing,” he went on. “Someone already tried to kill her.”
“What?” Meya’s gaze shot from me back to him.
“Don’t let her out of her sight until she gets to the ceremony later. And if anything happens to her, I will come for you. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Meya curtsied, her face turning white.
He nodded, stepping past her.
Kara dipped in a curtsy next to Meya, covering her mouth and dramatically tugging on her sister’s arm when he passed by.
“Hersir . . .” I called out to him in with a queenly tone, a slight taunting in it. He halted, his head turning back. “How do I know it wasn’t you who tried to kill me?”
“Because, kanin . . .” His voice rolled to me like a thundercloud. “I would have done it weeks ago.”