Page 16

Chapter sixteen

W hen we got back to the castle, we made our way to his room. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. The court stared, but no one said a word. They were used to people fornicating around every corner. Why should we be any different? As we pushed through his doors, I tore at his shirt, reaching for the clasp of his pants. He picked me up, setting me onto the table while he devoured my neck.

“Uh, hmm,” someone cleared their voice.

We pulled our attention away from each other to see Evinee standing in the room. I looked at the beautiful female and felt a bit insecure. I didn’t know what type of arrangement she and Eren currently had, but my mind went to the worst possible scenarios. Was that why she was here? To distract him? I straightened my dress, sliding off the table. I looked at her and then back at Eren as he tied his pants.

“I’ll just … go,” I said, walking past him without a word.

He grabbed my arm, pulling me back to him. He looked at Evinee, placing his politician mask on. “What is it?” he asked her.

“It’s about the assignment you gave me. I’ve discovered something that affects the princess,” Evinee said, nodding towards me.

“You can speak freely around her,” Eren said.

Evinee hesitated before she walked towards us.

“I seduced Avalon Filarion, the queen’s nephew, as you requested. He opened like a book. The queen has been slowly losing it for months now. Her brother is trying to hide it, but we’ve all seen her outbursts getting more violent and public. The stress of her position, her marriage, and not being able to produce an heir has sent her mad. The king hasn’t visited her chambers in almost two decades.”

“We assumed this already,” said Eren.

“She has been secretly meeting with Houses Sollerum, Gyset, and Yositru for weeks, plotting against you and Genevieve. Her brother is trying to stay ahead of her schemes, but she is a loose cannon.”

“My father will have her head,” I swore.

“There’s more.” Evinee paused, looking at me. “Avalon told me that he overheard her admit to being the one that killed Princess Genevieve’s mother. She took the king’s form and visited her. When she had her guard down, the Queen used a benout insect on her. She didn’t know about Genevieve, or I am sure she would have killed her as well.”

“What is a benout insect?” I asked, looking at Eren.

He hesitated. “It’s an insect that is inserted through the ear. It travels to the brain and eats the tissue until there is nothing left. We haven’t used them in centuries. It’s a horrible way to go,” he admitted, trailing his hand down my arm.

I felt the sting of losing my mother all over again. Not only had she been murdered, but she died painfully, even by dark alfar standards. My mind spun with what Evinee had discovered.

“Where is the queen now?” Eren asked.

“I don’t know. No one has seen her in the past day,” Evinee answered.

“My father needs to know this,” I whispered.

“And we will tell him,” said Eren, “but Gen, you must prepare yourself for an outcome you may not want. I know your father cared for your mother greatly, but it isn’t a crime to kill a human. The council would never agree to sentence an alfar to death over this. Especially not their queen.”

“There are other ways to kill an alfar without the permission of the council,” I stated.

“Thank you, Evinee,” said Eren. “Good work as always. If you find anything else, please come to us.”

She nodded, looking at him longingly. She dropped her eyes and made her way out of the room.

He turned me towards him and raised my face to his. “We will have justice for your mother. I promise,” he said, kissing me gently.

“You are the most dangerous alfar in the kingdom,” I said, giving him a small smile.

“Now that you’re in my bed and under my spell, I have no competition.”

I let a small chuckle escape, but my gaze fell away from him.

He ran his hands through my hair, pulling me in close. “You can talk to me,” he whispered.

I paused, still trying to grasp what had happened to my mother. “She died because she loved my father. Because he loved her. He’s never going to forgive himself for this,” I said, feeling a tear run down my face. “How am I going to tell him his wife is the reason for her death?”

“You won’t have to. I will,” Eren said, lifting my chin. “We will do it together.”

I nodded, a bit relieved. “We should probably tell him now, so when the queen makes a reappearance, we are prepared.”

He nodded, taking my hand, and leading me to my father’s chambers.

Eren told my father everything Evinee had discovered. I stood silent, unsure of his reaction. He refused to look at either of us. His face showed no sign of emotion. He didn’t ask questions or react whatsoever. After Eren was done, the king thanked us and then we were dismissed. I stepped forward to go to him, but he stood, turning his back on me.

Eren and I went down into the city to check on the rest of his team. He led me towards the bottom of the cave where old halls and tunnels had been abandoned. There were no alfar in sight, and the area was barely lit. The place looked like it had been neglected for centuries.

“Where are we going?” I finally asked.

“My safe house,” he said casually.

“You have a safe house?”

“I do.”

“Any other secrets you want to let me in on?”

“We have at least another eight hundred years together. I have to keep you on your toes, princess.”

I smiled, happy that I was the one he saw spending those centuries with. We stopped at a wall at the end of one of the tunnels. He waved his hand over the rock as a V and L interlocked inside of a circle. The marking glowed silver before a door appeared in the stone.

“This is amazing,” I said.

He turned to smile at me. “Leave it to the twins,” he said, grabbing my hands.

The door opened to reveal an extravagant floor plan with multiple rooms for science, weapons, dining, seating, and strategizing. The ceilings were tall, with rows of bright bulbs of light streaming across the surface.

Eren’s family busied themselves around the room. The twins were in the lab. Zerrial inspected new weapons, and Firel sat at a table near the massive wall of books. Evinee and Leenia lounged on one of the couches near where Doria was reading. One by one, their eyes snapped up to us and they looked from Eren to me, hesitant and confused.

Evinee walked over to us while the others began to gather. “Eren, what are you doing?” she asked. “Why did you bring her here? No offense, princess.”

“You’ve just compromised the space,” added Doria.

Eren smiled at both of them and turned to the twins. “Voz, Oz, please make sure Genevieve can access the safe house,” Eren instructed.

Evinee threw her hands in the air and walked away from us.

“So, what Firel told us this afternoon was true?” Leenia asked, winking at me. “You two have humped your way into a good place?”

Eren shot Firel a dirty look. “We’ve come to an understanding, yes,” answered Eren.

“And what is this understanding?” asked Zerrial with a mischievous look. “Just so we’re all clear.”

Eren looked at me and smiled. “That she is mine,” he said proudly.

The group looked at us for a moment, not saying a word, then all laughed hysterically.

Voz slapped Eren on the shoulder.

“ You … own the princess?” laughed Oz.

“Well, parts of her at least,” added Eren.

I nudged him in the side with my elbow.

“Welcome to the family, princess,” said Oz, pinching me on the chin. “We’ll get you coded into the key lock as soon as we can.”

I was taken aback by his physical contact. None of them had given me the time of day, even at the alehouse. Now that I was officially with Eren, it changed things. They trusted Eren and looked up to him, which meant they trusted his judgment. Zerrial came up to Eren and gave him a smile and nod. Eren smiled back. They silently communicated with each other in their own language. Firel approached, bashfully lowering his head to both of us.

“Sorry … for this morning,” he said uncomfortably.

“Just don’t make it a habit,” Eren said, taking him by the shoulder. “Ev, have we found the queen yet?”

“Nope,” answered Evinee. “I’ve scoured the entire castle. She is either in the city somewhere or has left the kingdom altogether.”

“Why would she do that?” asked Doria. “She doesn’t know we are on to her.”

“She’s crazy,” commented Voz. “What do you expect?”

“We have some movement from house Gyset,” added Zerrial.

They all took their seats around the round table. I stood next to Eren uncomfortably, realizing I was the outsider. He pulled me into his lap, tucking me against him as he lounged back in the chair. He held onto my hip tightly, trailing his fingers down the side of my arm.

“Alright, how do they plan to kill me this week?” asked Eren.

I looked at him in shock, but he was focused on Zerrial.

“During the next large-scale battle,” Zerrial started, “They’re trying to rally other houses to partake in a coup. They plan to make it look like an accident and say the creature was responsible.”

“What proof do you have?” I asked.

“Nothing tangible,” answered Zerrial. “I’ve been keeping tabs on house Gyset for five months. One of their chamber servants saw Yous Gyset meeting in his rooms with Beran Sollerum and Nal Yositru.”

“And you trust this chamber servant?” I asked.

They looked at each other and chuckled.

“Genevieve, we have eyes and ears everywhere,” explained Doria.

“We’ve been building this system for over a hundred and fifty years,” Leenia confessed proudly. “We’ve gotten quite good at it, actually.”

I looked at Eren. He smiled and shrugged.

“Most dangerous alfar at court,” I whispered with a smile.

“Is that all I am, princess?” Lust and desire flickered behind his swirling silver eyes.

My heart quickened at the sight of him. I caught my breath as my cheeks blushed. I let out a small portion of my pheromones. He inhaled, closing his eyes, and letting out a small moan before his hand slid under the slit of my dress to my leg.

“Is it Jestu already?” Voz sarcastically asked.

Oz laughed at his brother. Eren pulled his attention away from me.

“So, what are we going to do about the houses?” asked Leenia.

“They each have their own separate armies that follow their command,” continued Zerrial. “They would have enough people to surround Eren and take him down if we indeed go to battle again.”

“We will,” interrupted Eren. “We were just informed this morning that we are leaving for the light court in a week, to reinforce our alliance to prepare for battle. The king anticipates the rift will continue to open just as Narella threatened.”

“I call light court chauffeur,” yelled Evinee.

“You all will be coming with us,” ordered Eren. “We didn’t leave on good terms, as I am sure you can recall. We did steal Lysanthier’s murderer.” He pinched my side playfully. “Plus, I’m sure they’re mocking our kingdom for allowing a lowborn bastard to sit on our throne. I don’t expect this to be an easy trip.”

My heart ached. I had never realized how much it affected him to hear people talk about his status. I could hear the shame and insecurity in his voice. I ran my hands through his hair for comfort.

“Yes! I call Gaelin,” yelled Evinee. “If you don’t mind, that is, princess.”

“He’s all yours,” I said, uncomfortable.

“Any advice?” asked Evinee, leaning across the table. “Maybe we could meet up later and you can tell me what he likes. I am sure I can give you a few pointers about what makes Eren tick.”

I felt a spike of rage and anger at the thought of them together. She was goading me.

Eren’s grip on my leg tightened. “Back to the houses,” interrupted Eren, shooting Evinee a glare.

“I vote to kill them,” suggested Doria.

“I second that vote,” said Voz.

“It won’t stop them from coming after Eren again,” interrupted Zerrial. “We need a sign of force. Something they won’t dare to challenge.”

“Okay, let’s just have Gen light their asses on fire,” suggested Leenia. “That will shut them up.”

“May I?” I asked with hesitation. They all looked at me for a moment in silence. Zerrial nodded his acceptance. “It can’t come from me,” I said, trying to think. “They need to fear Eren in order to respect him.” I thought back to his advice to me when I first came to the dark court all those months ago.

“They do fear him,” stated Leenia. “That’s another reason why they’re trying to remove him from the throne. They’ve watched him work and achieve everything he now possesses for the past hundred and fifty years. Now they believe he has reached too far.”

I pondered for a moment. “Tell me about their heirs,” I finally said. They looked at each other with confusion.

“Sollerum has two sons,” started Oz. “Helor and Hashen. They seem to stay out of our way, for the most part. We see them at the gentleman’s club often. They’ve never been hostile or rude to any of us.”

“Gyset has a daughter,” interrupted Voz, “Ophilia. She is a little over a hundred and twenty, but very experienced in the bedroom.” His eyebrows rose up and down flirtatiously. “From what we have gathered, she despises her father. He ignores her for the most part.”

“Then that leaves Soddram,” said Leenia. “He and his father seem close, though Soddram is power-hungry. He is clever and good with a sword. He visits your cousin’s bed almost every night.”

“Every night?” I asked with astonishment. I turned back to Eren. “Guess you were replaced.”

“A small mercy,” he said, winking at me.

“What are you getting at, princess?” asked Doria.

I paused, thinking all the details over. “What if we got their heirs to betray them? We figure out what each of them wants and then deliver. We make allies out of the houses that currently want Eren dead. In exchange for giving them what they want, we make them sign blood contracts pledging their allegiance to Eren. Then they turn their houses against their fathers. We bring their treasonous acts to the court. Once we reveal their guilt, we have their heirs slit their throats in front of everyone. After, they will bow to Eren, and so will I,” I said, turning to smile at him.

The room went silent.

“Damn, being killed by your own heir,” mumbled Oz. “Brutal.”

Firel smiled widely. “Everyone will fear Eren’s mind and your power. They will have a front row seat as they watch Eren turn blood against blood. It’s brilliant,”

Voz added, “Ophilia will be the easiest to turn. She will be happy to be rid of her father while taking her place as the head of the family.”

Oz exhaled. “Helor and Hashen are going to be a challenge. I can’t tell if they are just waiting to attack or if they truly have no ambitions.”

“I can get Hashen to talk,” admitted Doria.

Eren’s face turned up into a smile. “I thought you ended that seven decades ago. You said you were scared of feelings .”

“Oh, look who’s talking, Erendrial Lyklor,” Doria said with an attitude. “And no, I didn’t end things, so I still have influence.”

“That just leaves Soddram,” added Evinee.

“Leave him to me,” I said.

“Do you think that’s wise?” commented Firel. “You were the wife he lost.”

“I don’t think I was the wife he wanted,” I replied. “Out of all my suitors, he was the one who showed the least interest. And if what you say about him and my cousin is true, it’s likely there is more to their involvement then even we know.”

“Right … now that all of that’s settled, we should be getting ready for dinner,” instructed Eren, standing and keeping me close to him. “Oh, where are we at with those new weapons?”

“Test runs are tomorrow,” answered Voz smiling at Oz.

“My favorite day,” said Leenia, smiling with glee.

“Can I attend?” I asked.

“It would be an honor,” Oz replied, giving me a dramatic bow. Voz hit him, sending the twins into a fit of laughter.

“Also, Zerrial, I want you to start training Gen,” instructed Eren, pulling me towards the door.

Zerrial bowed.

“What? But I already train with Varches,” I said.

“You’ve seen how the beast fights,” Eren said, pushing us to the door. “He is unmatched, and I will only have the best for my wife.”