Chapter 3
Rixon
“The people of Raeria are suffering,” Lord Haspel ground out from across the council table. “With the deviation in military plans, I demand that we expend more resources toward the transport of much needed goods.”
“Easy for you to say,” General Ralson drawled, “when it will line your pockets.”
“Haspel has a point,” Rixon found himself saying. Gods, this was torture. “Things cannot continue as they have.”
“Aleksander, you cannot possibly—”
“You will address me as Your Majesty.”
Ralson’s expression flickered to one of hatred—there and gone before anyone noticed—before he nodded. “Of course, forgive me. As I was saying, Your Majesty, our troops are needed at the borders.”
“Only because you instigated hostilities between our kingdom and Carth,” Haspel shot back.
“Me? I seem to recall everyone in this room in support of the king’s efforts not so long ago.”
Haspel huffed.
“Circumstances have changed, obviously,” Lord Holland cut in. “I second His Majesty on behalf of the people of Raeria. They’re starving in their strongholds. With limited ability to access farmland and fewer witches to protect them, they rely upon trade goods.”
Rixon blinked, half surprised Holland was coming to his aid. He had spurned the man’s daughter, after all. Perhaps he’d gotten over the matter.
His council continued to bicker and his mind wandered to Mina.
She had pretended to be asleep when he’d crawled into bed late last night. He’d played along, too afraid she might reject him. He took her into his arms and wrapped himself around her, holding her for the first time in weeks. She hadn’t pushed him away. He nearly wept from the relief of it.
Their bed had been empty when he woke. She’d left a note, having gone to King’s Mantle to meet with the other witches. Had she returned yet? He had half a mind to abandon this meeting and see.
“What you ask requires an increased need for Nebrine,” Ralston was saying. “Does this mean you are willing to increase your tithe?”
“I am already tithing more than the rest of you,” Holland snapped.
“The crown has funds,” Rixon found himself saying. “We would be willing to pay for any surplus.”
“What makes you think I have surplus?” Holland balked.
“Did you not say production was up by ten percent from last quarter?” Luka Kipani leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. He was aging, approaching his late sixties, with a massive overseas shipping empire that would pass to his oldest son upon his death.
The entire coast of Raeria relied upon him for goods.
It was what allowed the capital city of Corinna to thrive.
The door opened and a male stepped inside, one of the men he’d hired to keep an eye on things.
He strode over, bending at the waist to whisper, “Forgive me, Your Majesty. Your lady witch is assembling in the courtyard with a party of travelers.” His voice was too quiet for the others.
They continued their bickering unawares.
“You’re certain?” he whispered, shoulders straightening.
The male nodded, then departed.
He turned to the council and barked, “We’re done for the day.”
Their cries of protest went ignored as he stood and strode from the room.
His father might have handled that more elegantly, but he didn’t much care for matters of formality, especially among the council.
Everyone in that room was there because his father had put them there.
The only reason he hadn’t removed them was because he needed them.
He’d been far removed from kingdom politics ever since fleeing the capital.
Decades had passed. He hated to admit how much he relied upon their knowledge now as he fell back into the swing of things.
Eventually, he would find others better suited, but there was no time for it now. Not this soon into his rule.
When he reached the palace courtyard, his stomach dropped. He hadn’t wanted to believe it but—
“What is the meaning of this?!” His demand brought silence as everyone stopped what they were doing.
Mina was in the process of tying her things to Jarrow’s saddle when she froze.
Anne and Elianna were with her, along with their wielders, preparing their horses.
Ignoring them, he took Mina’s arm and dragged her away, shielding them within the nearest corridor.
“Tell me you weren’t planning to leave without saying goodbye. ”
“I wasn’t planning to leave without saying goodbye.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“You were busy—in a council meeting, apparently. When I demanded the guards let me pass, they refused.”
“They denied you?” She gave a brief nod that had his jaw clenching. “They will be dismissed from their duties, replaced with people more competent.”
She exhaled, resigned. “Don’t bother.”
“Mina…”
“I know what you’re going to say. I have to go, Rixon. You read the letter. I’ve been summoned.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean today. Stay a few days. Let us settle things between us.” The idea of leaving things as they were made his stomach churn.
She blew out a breath. “I need space, Rixon. Time to think.”
“Space?! Time to think?!”
He knew the thing living in her made her prone to heightened emotions, especially anger. That didn’t give her a monopoly on the emotion. He was allowed to be angry too, even if he didn’t have something lurking beneath his skin.
“Time to think is taking a couple of days for yourself. Space is avoiding me in the corridors, not running halfway across a kingdom simply because you received a summons.”
“It is nearly a week’s journey to the Citadel. If I don’t go, the head witch will send others to collect me.”
“So? Let her.”
“Rixon…”
“I’m serious, Mina. I am the king now. She cannot possibly expect you to drop everything.”
“I would imagine that you being king is exactly why she expects me to drop everything—demands it, even. The Citadel may not be the crown, but there are laws in place. You know them as well as I. We remain separate. What you’ve done…
it’s a conflict of interest. She expects me to answer for your actions. ”
In the world of witches and wielders, he was her responsibility.
“Stay,” he urged, his anger morphing to desperation. The thought of her leaving made him panic. “You run the risk of exposing yourself. What if…what if they see what you’ve become?”
“It’s a risk I must take. If I do not go, she will send a contingent of witches to drag me back anyway.”
“I won’t let her.”
Mina gave a derisive laugh. “And what will you do, set your palace guards on her?”
“If I have to.”
“Rixon. That would start a war.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“What are you talking about?” Her eyebrows pinched together.
His gaze darted over her face. “I did some digging, hoping to find information on the portal.”
“You did?” Her lips parted in surprise.
“The keepers helped me drag up information on the founding of the Citadel. The witches were once a collective here in the capital, before the city became what it is today. They were advisors to the first king, helping to bring him into power. Conflict erupted between them and they were sent away, stripped of their positions. Right around the time when the demon murals were painted on the walls beneath the palace. Don’t you think it odd that the Citadel was founded in parallel with the kingdom of Raeria? ”
“When were you planning to tell me all this?!”
“When you decided to start talking to me again,” he snapped.
She scoffed. “Right.”
“Mina…don’t do this.” He wasn’t sure what this he was referring to. Leaving? Fighting with him? Both?
“My mind is made up on the matter,” she said.
He exhaled, resigned. “I will speak to the head witch about what you mentioned. I am certain she will have more information, perhaps what we need to seal the portal once and for all. You never wanted to be king, Rixon. Removing the need to tithe blood changes everything. Don’t you want that? ”
His shoulders slumped. He did want that, but it was too late to abandon the throne now. Still, eliminating the tithe would make everything so much better. Only, he was afraid to hope. But if anyone could fix this, it was his lady witch.
“I don’t know how to live without you,” he admitted, the words free before he could stop them.
Her face softened. “Hopefully you won’t have to—not for long.” She hesitated, then took a step away from him. “I should get going.”
Panic flared in his chest and he lunged for her, pulling her against him. He took her mouth captive before she could speak any commanding words that might stop him. He would not allow her to leave without kissing him goodbye.
Gods, if he had his way, he’d fuck her here against the wall. A proper goodbye. As it was…
A strangled, desperate sound left her lips, like she was resisting. Then her resistance crumbled and she kissed him back. It was a mess of anger and desperation. Tongues lashing and teeth clacking. Searing desire shot straight to his balls, tightening them.
He threaded his fingers into her hair and twisted, wrenching a deeper, more demonic sound from her throat. Her hands clawed at his back. The length of her nails grew elongated. He caught the rip of fabric and didn’t care.
The wet taste of her was his undoing. He lost himself in their battle of wills, letting her devour him. The thought of missing weeks of this when he’d already missed so much made his breaths come faster. It made him desperate.
He slammed her against the wall, engulfing her delicate throat with his hand, squeezing. His cock sprang to life, painful against his pants. He ground his hips against her, forcing the breath from her lungs, trapping it beneath his hand.
“Oh, gods,” she managed, coming up for air when he released her.
“Stay, and we can continue this,” he growled. “Stay, and I’ll fuck you like I’ve never fucked you before. We don’t have to fix things in order to fuck. We can do it angry—as angry as you like. You can punish me a thousand times over for what I’ve done.”
Her eyes flashed at the offer. He saw the desire there, clear as day. For a moment, he thought he had her. “Think of all the things you might do to me,” he taunted. “All the ways you might make me suffer. You can hurt me. You can cut out my fucking heart, if it means you’ll stay.”
She blinked. The glaze of lust faded from her eyes. She gave her head a little shake, then pushed against him.
He faltered, then backed up.
“Don’t—you don’t get to make this harder than it already is. Not after what you’ve done.”
His chest wrenched. “Is this hard for you?”
He waited, dangling over the edge. If she said no, it might break him. She stared back at him as her chest rose and fell in rapid pants.
“Is it?!” he demanded. “Answer the fucking question, Mina. Is this as hard for you as it is for me?! Tell me!”
“Yes!” she cried. Her expression crumbled.
He finally saw the vulnerability in her eyes and it was a blessed fucking relief.
“Yes it’s hard! But I’m so fucking mad at you—” She stoped herself, then regained her composure.
More quietly she said, “I’m so fucking mad at you, Rxion.
Aleksander. I want to rip your fucking face off.
I want to make you hurt. To destroy you.
I want to cut you open, carve out your insides, then crawl inside and sew you back together. To hide inside you forever.”
Where she’d be safe. Where he could protect her from the world. Where he could adore her and cherish her.
What remained of his anger melted away, his insides melting with it. Gods, this woman…
“Do it,” he challenged. “Destroy me.”
A small sob rose up from her chest and she pressed a hand over her mouth, shaking her head. “No. We’ll discuss this—us—when I return. I need time, like I told you. I have my obligations, just as you have yours.”
His jaw flexed. “When will you return?”
“I don’t know…” she whispered hoarsely. “Three weeks? Four?”
“That’s too fucking long and you know it.
” The journey would take nearly a week. That was two for a round trip—already two too long.
But what else could he do? “You’ll send word—the moment you arrive, you will write to me, let me know you are safe.
” She didn’t respond. “The moment you arrive, Mina. Swear it. I want to hear you say it.”
“I will send word the moment I arrive.”
His shoulders relaxed. It was the best he was going to get at this point. “Good girl.”
“Rix… I have to go. I can’t—” She took a shuddering inhale then stepped aside and walked back out into the courtyard. He watched her from the shadows, eyes fixed to her.
Anne and Elianna shot him worried looks.
They would help keep her safe, the four of them.
He had to believe that. If he allowed himself even the smallest bit of doubt, he’d lose his nerve.
Besides, Mina was strong. Hell, she could command demons now.
There was no reason to worry. Except, it wasn’t the demons he worried about.
Not anymore. It was the Citadel. Why did it feel like the moment she stepped foot inside its walls, she would never return?