Page 40 of A Promise so Bold and Broken (Compelling Fates Saga #2)

Chapter Forty

L ow voices drifted underneath the door to Loche’s office when they reached it, and while she hadn’t been here since that horrible day, Lessia didn’t hesitate as she pushed the door open.

With Merrick’s hand in her own, she walked over the threshold, refusing to let the guilt surface when Loche’s eyes immediately flew down to their intertwined fingers from where he sat atop the desk.

She had nearly broken upon hearing how Merrick had suffered watching her with him, and she wouldn’t be the cause of another single moment of torment.

It might hurt Loche for a while, but the feelings he had right now weren’t those of heartbreak—not when she hadn’t given in to remove the hold her magic had over his memories of them.

They were only thoughts of what could have been, the what-ifs she refused to let her mind linger on.

And perhaps that made her a bad person…

But Merrick was her priority.

Mate or not, she couldn’t bear seeing the light that now burned in his eyes—even as they were forced from the bubble of his room—go out.

Raine and Kerym grinned at her, leaning against the bookshelf lining the wall to their right, but when Merrick snarled softly, they quickly averted their gazes.

Although neither could hide their smile nor how their nostrils flared as she passed them to sit in one of the chairs by the fireplace on the other side of the room.

Merrick’s snarls grew louder, possessiveness sneaking into the primal sound, and it was Lessia’s turn to bite back a smile.

They’d nearly not been able to leave the room when she’d refused to wash up, declaring that she planned to ensure his scent always cloaked her from now on.

Merrick had had to go and throw some cold water on his face, as he’d been unable to stop himself from lifting her up again, kissing her with such passion she’d nearly passed out from the lack of air.

But her smile fell when she sat down with Merrick standing behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders and fingers brushing the skin beneath her neck, and Loche unceremoniously shoved a piece of paper into her hands.

It seemed as if the person had been in a great rush—the paper wrinkled and the letters sloppy—but she’d recognize her father’s handwriting anywhere, and her blood ran cold when she read the only word he’d sent back from their warning of what had happened with Frelina:

Run.

Lessia snapped her head up, and Merrick’s grip tightened as he stared back at her, that muscle in his jaw flexing.

“What does he mean?” she whispered, unsure whether she truly wanted to know.

“I’m fairly certain he means get the fuck out of this realm.” Loche tapped his fingers against the solid wood of his desk as he dangled another piece of paper before her. “I received this letter at the same time as Raine’s eagle broke through one of the windows, waking up the whole damn castle.”

Lessia glanced at the two Fae males by their side, and she really didn’t like the tension pulling at their features.

Snapping the letter from Loche’s hand, Merrick ignored the regent when he scoffed at him and sat down on the armrest of her chair, allowing her to read the note with him.

Regent,

I’ve understood you’re harboring the fugitives we both sought to punish.

I am confident that this is a misunderstanding, but I’d like to ensure the alliance between Ellow and Vastala remains intact.

My ship will be waiting for you tomorrow at dusk, in the spot we met when you were elected.

Should you not show, I will take it as an act of war and act accordingly.

King Rioner Rantzier

“He’s worried,” Merrick mumbled as he stared at Raine and Kerym.

Kerym nodded. “It would seem so.”

They all froze when the door flew open, but it was only one of the guards who had been posted behind Loche at dinner.

His masked face nervously turned from Raine and Kerym by the bookshelf to herself, Merrick, and Loche by the desk until Loche waved him into the room.

The clinking of glasses interrupted the thick silence, and Lessia realized the guard carried a tray filled with cups of liquor.

“Thought we might need something stronger than wine to deal with this.” Loche inclined his head when the guard offered him one first. “Thank you.”

Accepting the glass, Lessia took a sip when Loche raised his, letting the warmth drive away some of the cold that seeped through her veins after reading the threatening letter.

The other Fae did the same, Raine downing his in one go, as usual, while Merrick sipped slowly, and she could nearly not tear her eyes away when he licked his full lips as he set it down.

“Why is he worried?” Loche demanded as he placed his glass on the table, once again thrumming his fingers against the dark surface, tapping an ominous melody that started an ache in Lessia’s head.

Merrick didn’t bother looking his way as he responded; instead, his eyes fixed on Lessia’s, and his hand moved to clasp her shoulder. “Because of us, I expect.”

He threw his other hand toward Lessia and then to Raine and Kerym. “He probably believed Raine and Kerym to be dead, and I was blood-sworn to him for so long he forgot that I’m a threat. And powers like those Lessia and Raine wield have always frightened Rioner.”

Merrick’s eyes found hers, and his hand moved to her neck, his thumb brushing her cheek as he lowered his voice. “I’m guessing he started to piece things together when he learned about Frelina. He must have realized whatever Alarin knew, we now know, and he’s scared you’re about to compel Loche to go against him before his plan can be executed.”

“So… he’s coming to take us out?” Kerym moved to stand beside Loche, a smirk slipping across his features. “I can’t wait to see him try.”

Loche’s eyes hardened. “Should I be worried for my people?”

Raine broke in. “I doubt it. He likes to pretend he’s this noble leader, so he wouldn’t try anything. Not by himself. But you should be worried for us—he surely has something up his sleeve if he’s proactively proposing to meet.”

Loche nodded, and for a moment, it was silent—so silent Lessia felt it press down on her, squeeze the air from her tight lungs, as if Rioner had already used his magic on her, replacing her breath with water, as she’d heard he liked to do if someone talked back to him.

But as she leaned into Merrick, letting his touch distract her for the second she needed to draw a steadying breath, she forced the fear out of her mind.

“Then we need to come up with an advantage of our own.” Lessia stared right at Loche as she said it. “We need that stone, Loche.”

Loche’s eyes trailed from the hand Merrick still kept around her neck, down to where her body aligned with the Fae’s, then finally up to her own, and she almost shivered from the frost filling his grays.

“I’ve told you. I am not giving you the one thing Ellow might use to survive two wars. I already risked my whole land—my people!—for you once, and…” He shot a look at Merrick, his eyes emptying. “That clearly was a mistake.”

Merrick and Lessia flew to their feet at the same time.

But as Merrick noticed her slitted eyes, he let her step forward, although the snarl he unleashed shook the floor as she took the two steps needed to get into Loche’s face.

“This isn’t about me, Loche.” Her low voice shook as she tried to keep herself from growling at him. “We need this! Ellow needs this! Your people need this! You need this, for gods’ sake—he still believes you’re the one who’s to betray him!”

“No. He”—he gestured toward Raine—“said I don’t need to worry for my people, so why should we use it now? I prefer to hold on to it until I know you won’t just leave Ellow to its fate.”

Lessia ground her teeth. “Loche, he has my sister. Perhaps even my father. He’ll surely come with half an army to ensure no harm will come to him. We need the wyverns to maintain an advantage.”

“That’s exactly why I won’t give it to you. What if he has your family somewhere else, and you conveniently disappear with the stone to rescue them?” When Loche scoffed, she couldn’t stop her magic from surfacing, the golden of her eyes reflecting in his.

Lessia hesitated only for a second.

She was confident Rioner had something up his sleeve.

They needed that stone.

“Give. Me. The. Stone,” she purred. “Now.”

Her eyes widened when Loche’s didn’t glaze over—when his features didn’t morph into the mask of obedience she’d expected but hardened further as he tsked at her.

“See, I realized my mistake when we were on that balcony…”

Merrick’s body lined up with hers as he advanced, and Raine and Kerym also drew closer, the tension filling the room so palpable Lessia was certain her daggers could cut through it.

Loche didn’t seem bothered by the three Fae warriors glowering at him as he continued. “I am man enough to admit I had a weak moment… but I was too curious as to why I’d risked everything for you. But now—”

Loche jumped from the table, straightening to look down upon her. “When you refused to give me my memories back, I realized you’re not on my side… Not fully. Not anymore.” He picked up a small vial from the table. “That’s where this comes in.”

Not thinking, Lessia reached out for the gilded flask, but Loche backed up a step, a low laugh escaping him. “I don’t think so.”

“What is it?” Kerym walked up to her side, his face straining as he glared at the regent. “I can’t drain him. It’s like…”

Merrick’s whispers burst through the room, but Loche only continued laughing, the sound bouncing between the walls as the whispers drifted away, only to be replaced by a frustrated snarl from Raine.

“Amazing! I wasn’t sure it would work.”

The smile pulling at Loche’s features didn’t light up his face in the way that had once mesmerized her.

Instead, it twisted it into one of those masks Loche liked to bear, the cold, lethal mask of a regent who didn’t care for anything or anyone other than his duties.

“What did you do?” Lessia whispered as the light in her eyes dimmed.

Loche cocked his head. “I did what I had to do for those I love.”

Merrick’s arm circled her waist, and he pulled her to him as he shook his head. “You damned idiot.”

“You get it now, Death Whisperer?” Loche raised a brow.

“What the fuck is going on, Merrick?” Raine asked, and a twinge of worry brushed her skin as Lessia met his eyes and worry crinkled the skin around them.

Merrick stared right at Loche as he answered. “The liquor. There was something in it that rendered our magic useless.”

Lessia sucked in a breath, but it wasn’t fear that made her body shake.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Shaking off Merrick’s arm, she got into Loche’s face again. “Rioner is coming tomorrow ! When will it wear off?”

“A day or so, I believe… but I am not too certain.”

When Loche smirked, she saw red.

Lifting her hand, she prepared to slam it right into his smug face when Merrick caught it.

Whirling around, she flashed her teeth at him.

“What are you doing?” she hissed when he wouldn’t let go.

“He’s caught on.”

Lessia didn’t turn around when Loche spoke.

She couldn’t.

Not when she realized it wasn’t anger distorting Merrick’s face, but…

Relief?

Relief mixed with the tiniest bit of gratitude.

“Merrick?” she demanded, but when her eyes lifted to the other two Fae and they watched her and Merrick with sorrow-filled but knowing looks, a thought flickered to life within her mind.

No.

Lessia slowly turned her head toward Loche, then back to Merrick again. “You did this in some twisted way to protect me?”

“Rioner let you go. You are not a fugitive, so you need not be there tomorrow.” Loche tried to appear bored when he responded, but she knew him too well by now—knew that slight twitch of his eye meant a storm of emotions raged within him.

“But they do?” Lessia swept out an arm toward the Fae. “You’re willing to sacrifice the strongest Fae in Havlands—who are on your fucking side and could save your people—for me ?”

“You are meant to kill him, Lessia.” Merrick’s voice was low, and it would have been soothing if there were room for more emotions within her. “He’s also protecting his people by protecting you.”

But the anger that had taken root seemed to burst through every pore, and she took a step back when Merrick reached out for her hand.

“You’re on his side?” she hissed between her clamped-shut teeth.

“We’re all on the same side.” Loche moved so he stood next to Merrick. “We want Rioner gone. And you’re the key to that. I banked on Merrick not letting you go without the protection of the three of them, and without their magic…”

“Not letting me?” she repeated slowly, the crimson hue dancing before her eyes.

“You just fucked up, regent.” Merrick threw his head back. “I do not decide what she does or doesn’t do. She is her own person, and she makes her own decisions. While I am hers and she is most definitely mine …” He emphasized the last word by sending a death glare Loche’s way. “I do not own her. No one owns her.”

She opened her mouth to argue when his words sank in.

I do not decide what she does or doesn’t do.

He didn’t.

Unlike Loche, he didn’t try to force her hand.

Merrick tried to give her all the tools to make decisions for herself—like when he trained her or gave her new perspectives on her gift and life.

But never had he forced her to do or not do anything.

A rush of love broke through the fury within her, and she threw Merrick a grateful look before boring her eyes into Loche’s once more. “Rioner has my sister. There is no way I am not coming. And besides, do you think I’d let any of them walk right into the death trap that is Rioner’s ship? Especially now, when their magic doesn’t fucking work?”

“You’re doing exactly what he wants, then.” Loche’s upper lip curled. “We’ll lose this war before it’s even begun if he kills you. How can you not see you’re key to all of this?”

“He doesn’t know the prophecy is about me!”

When Loche sighed, she bared her teeth at him.

He was such an idiot.

What had he been thinking?

How would they face Rioner now?

The three males he feared were still strong fighters without magic, sure.

But they weren’t the extraordinary warriors she’d heard tales of growing up.

If Merrick’s magic didn’t tinge the air and Raine’s didn’t brush his mind, Rioner would get suspicious.

Unless…

Lessia brushed some hair out of her face, a seed of an idea beginning to sprout in her thoughts.

After a glance at Merrick, she started pacing back and forth in the small room.

Loche was a damned bastard for taking away their magic—the one thing Rioner was frightened of—the day before they were to meet him.

But…

Rioner didn’t know what Loche had done.

He might think he understood what she was trying to do—why she was here.

But he also must know by now the love she, her father, and Frelina held for each other—the lengths they would go for each other.

That she’d take all the torture in the world and still not speak of her family ties.

That her father would risk everything for them.

And she didn’t expect Frelina to break easily, either, should Rioner use the same methods on her that he’d done with Lessia.

“Rioner wants to look like the righteous leader he definitely isn’t, right?” Lessia threw a look at Raine and Kerym, who both nodded. “Given the note, Rioner knows of Frelina and my father… so he must believe I am about to betray him.”

“What’s your point?” Loche glared at her but quieted when Merrick snarled, “Shut your mouth, human. Or I’ll do it for you. You’ve already fucked up enough.”

Ignoring their chilling glares, Lessia halted. “What if Loche isn’t the one who’s keeping fugitives?”

Loche frowned, but a smile curled Merrick’s lips as understanding—understanding in the way he had; he always understood her quicker than others—filled his eyes.

“Rioner knows Lessia will probably do anything to get her family back.”

She nodded when Merrick spoke, and when he stepped toward her, she didn’t back away but met him halfway, slipping her hand into his as he reached her.

“And how do we manage that?” Loche drawled, although she could see he’d also started to understand the direction of her thoughts.

“We pretend you are all under my control. That I’ve compelled you all to follow my lead. That I am the one ruling Ellow.” Lessia met each pair of eyes before continuing. “That I’ll hand you all over if Rioner releases my family. He won’t be able to resist having you all under his control again. And when you step onto his ship…”

“We kill him.” Kerym grinned at her. “It’s a good plan.”

Raine shook his head. “It’s a plan . Not a good one.”

Merrick let out a concurring sound, but when Lessia fixed him with a sharp stare, he gave her a nod. “If this is what you want to do, we’ll do it.”

“Come on!” Kerym slapped Raine’s back when he continued to mutter something incomprehensible. “It would be boring if there weren’t any risks.”

“It still puts you at risk,” Loche mumbled. “Rioner isn’t dumb. He’ll be suspicious.”

“Then we have to be convincing.” Keeping Merrick’s gaze, she swallowed any uncertainty. “We’ll have to make him believe it.”

She would have to make him believe it.

But she’d fooled him before.

All the years she’d been bound to him, she’d evaded any questions that might have led him to understand who she truly was.

Merrick stared back at her, and he didn’t need to tell her what he was thinking.

Worry and fear tangled with pride and love in those storming eyes.

“Do you have more of whatever you gave us to mute our magic?” Lessia moved her glare to Loche when that flame flickered to life inside her again, and when he nodded, an ember of relief fought with the fury at what he’d done as she stared into his gray eyes.

“We all will need some on us,” she stated.

Raine was right.

It was a plan .

And a lot could go wrong.

But if it didn’t…

They might have a chance to save Ellow.