Page 41 of My Princeling Brat (Tales from the Tarot #2)

Lord Vasil

It wasn’t until I heard the resounding bang on my dungeon door that I realized we’d overslept. I’d only meant to nap a little after ministering to Cedrych’s tenderest places, but the soporific haze had caught up with me, and I’d fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Now we were each scrambling to redress in yesterday’s clothing while the queen and her retinue waited for us in my parlor. At least I could count on my servants to make sure the queen had proper refreshments. I didn’t need her to be hungry in addition to cross at our tardiness.

“How do I look?” Cedrych asked, wide-eyed and disheveled.

He looked like he’d been recently and thoroughly fucked, which the queen would surely notice.

The smell of our sex was potent, even for a non-vampyre.

I tried to order his hair but gave up at the utter unruliness of his curls. They simply would not be tamed.

“Dashing,” I said at last. “And me?”

“Handsome as ever,” he said with a boyish grin.

I smacked his ass lightly and ushered him up the staircase while admiring the view.

Anika accompanied us into the elevator with a sideways glance, and a few minutes later we were entering the parlor where the queen was already seated and sampling an array of tiny confections.

“Your Majesty,” I said and bowed deeply.

“Mother,” Cedrych said with a tidy, practiced bow, sounding far less enthused.

She rose from the table in her regal, unhurried way, pausing to pull the train of her dress to the side.

An attendant rushed up to further arrange it.

Then the queen approached us both with a calculating look, her eyes scrolling me from head to foot before turning her scrutiny on her son.

From her knowing expression I gathered she’d concluded her son had been recently tumbled and was only considering whether to address it.

“Lord Vasil,” she said and offered her hand for me to kiss her emerald signet ring, which I proceeded to do.

“Cedrych,” she said next and leaned in to allow him a chaste peck on her powdered cheek.

Her eyes alighted on the betrothal bite, freshly marked, and she shot me a recriminating look.

I cleared my throat and stood my ground, unashamed of my claim or that she’d seen it.

“Please, let me offer you some tea, Your Majesty,” I said as I escorted her back to the table.

I waited for her to sit, pushed in her chair, then poured her a glass of spiced black tea before taking my own seat at the table.

Cedrych took his time getting comfortable, and I was glad for the cushion to ease his tender backside.

“Have you been riding lately?” the queen asked, directing the question at her son.

“No, why do you ask?” he replied, suspicious.

“You appear as if you’re sore.”

Face now aflame, he plucked up a folded napkin and shook it out. “I’m fine, Mother, no need to worry yourself.”

The queen then addressed me. “In the fae realm it is considered uncouth to leave marks on members of the royal family.”

Cedrych glared at her and reached up to adjust his collar, a poor attempt at hiding the bite. I rested one hand on his shoulder to soothe him.

“In my realm, we claim what is ours,” I told the queen. “Surely you’re familiar with the betrothal bite, Your Majesty? I marked your son moons ago when we first decided to embark on this arrangement.”

The queen sniffed with displeasure. “You needn’t make it look so garish, Lord Vasil. What will the Duke think?”

If she’d meant to inflame our passions, it certainly worked, for Cedrych leapt out of his chair and stood with his hands balled at his sides. “I will not marry that old codger, Mother. Goddess, he could be my great grandfather. It’s obscene.”

The queen shifted her gaze upward and said haughtily, “You seem to forget your place, Cedrych.”

“And what place is that? Under your royal thumb?” he snapped.

“You are an ambassador of the fae realm,” she said coolly, snapping her napkin open and laying it on her lap. “Your duty is to the crown, above all else.”

“I’m a pawn in your ploys for power, you mean,” he retorted.

“A second-born son is not meant to rule, and you certainly do not have the skill of diplomacy. You’ve besmirched our good name with your exploits in Emrallt Valley and left me no other choice but to marry you off to a respectable royal with some power and influence.”

Cedrych gestured to me. “Lord Vasil is a respectable royal with power and influence. Far more than any fae duke you can bribe to take me. I won’t marry Duke Holcomb and I won’t be returning with you to the fae realm.

” The prince crossed his arms and scowled, looking every bit the incorrigible brat I’d come to adore.

The queen didn’t move, didn’t even blink. “Is that so?”

“It would take an army to subdue me, Mother, so if you wish for fae blood to be spilled on the matter, then so be it. You will regret trying to force me. Your days of ruling my life are over.”

He shook out his arms, turned to me with a polite bow and said, “Excuse me, Lord Vasil. I will be in our bedchamber should you need me.”

To his mother, he gave no further remark, merely stormed off in the direction of the hall.

My guards would follow him. He would be safe in our rooms and perhaps that was better than to witness whatever horse trading I must do in order to make him mine forever.

Because that was the only outcome of this meeting as far as I was concerned.

That, or war.

“Well, he hasn’t changed a bit,” the queen said, dropping her shoulders, which had tensed in their altercation, despite her every effort to seem unaffected.

“He hasn’t changed toward you,” I corrected.

“Yes, you’ve certainly reformed him, Lord Vasil,” she said with an edge of sarcasm. “Just like his father, that one.”

“You inspire his ire, Your Majesty. And you’ve not seen him when it is just the two of us.” I met her scandalized gaze directly. I wasn’t ashamed of my relationship with Cedrych or of the fact that we’d been intimate.

“Yes, you’ve made your claim on my son quite apparent. I’m not sure how I’m going to spin that with Holcomb. No man likes used goods, you know.”

My temper flared at her reference to her son as “used goods,” though I knew that was likely her intention.

“There is something we must discuss before we get into the topic of Cedrych and our betrothal,” I began.

I turned the bottle of wine toward her, already uncorked, so that she might read the label.

I’d gone to great trouble to acquire this bottle, a more recent year, but matching the poisonous wine from a decade ago.

“What’s this?” she asked, her countenance turning suspicious.

“Do you recognize this variety?” I asked while pouring her a glass.

“Of course. It’s my own.”

“It’s what my parents were drinking the night of their death, a gift from you, I presume.”

Her body went stiff as she assessed me differently, likely determining my potential for violence. Her eyes shifted toward her guards stationed at the back of the room, and mine which doubled hers in numbers. “What are you suggesting, Lord Vasil?”

“I’m suggesting that you or one of your retinue poisoned my parents, and I wish to ascertain if you know anything about it.

” She snorted with displeasure and I continued.

“And before you answer, Your Majesty, think carefully about our two realms and the treaties we’ve made, how any further treachery might compromise this tenuous relationship with your closest ally. ”

Her lips pursed in a decidedly displeased way. “I have never been accused of something so heinous in my entire life,” she said indignantly.

Rather than argue that point, I said, “Imagine my surprise when the archer who tried to take my life just a couple weeks ago turned out to be fae.”

“He… what?” the queen asked. She was either a great actress or her surprise was sincere.

“All of these seemingly unrelated coincidences are not looking favorable on your reign. I can’t help but wonder if an all-out confrontation might be fairer than this cloak and dagger business, if conquest is what you wish to achieve.”

“Lord Vasil, the impertinence of what you are suggesting,” she huffed.

“Is it war that you seek with the elvish territories or merely my throne?” I asked her.

“Neither,” she said staunchly.

“And what is Cedrych’s role in all of this? Did you send him as a spy? As a possible assassin? Were you waiting until he gained my trust only to have him murder me while I slept?”

She stood and slammed both hands on the table, rattling the cups and saucers. “I demand you halt these accusations at once. I had nothing to do with your parents’ death, and the betrothal was simply to repair his reputation with no other motive at hand.”

“But this is your wine,” I said.

“Anyone could have poisoned them. A disgruntled servant or another power-hungry royal. If I wanted the elvish territories, I’d have taken them when you were weak and powerless. Instead, I bolstered you up and endorsed your early ascension. Or have you forgotten who your true allies are?”

“I have not forgotten,” I said mildly.

“My husband, the late King Reginald, was fond of your parents, your father in particular. Your father loved our Cherry Blossom festival. Brought you and your mother every spring.”

I nodded, a fond memory, but I couldn’t let that dissuade me from the argument at hand.

Was she lying or simply trying to mollify me?

We assessed each other for a moment, silently weighing each other’s argument.

I didn’t trust her but I didn’t disbelieve her either, which meant I was no further along in my discovery than ten years ago.

“M’lord?” A guard rushed in, looking breathless and harried.

“What is it?” I asked impatiently, for I hated to be interrupted during such dealings.

“M’lord, it’s the prince. He’s… he’s not in your bedchambers, sir.”

My senses sharpened immediately and I focused my full attention on the guard. “What do you mean he’s not there?”

“He’s missing, m’lord.”

The queen gasped, and I stood from the table, the bottom of my chair scraping along the stone floor. “Missing? What do you mean, he’s missing?”

“We escorted him to your bedchambers, m’lord, but he’s… he’s no longer there.”

“How is that possible? There is only one exit.”

“The bars on the window, m’lord. They're gone.”

Cold dread coursed through me as I glanced at the queen, her alarm reflecting my own. There were only two people in all the realms who could manipulate that metal. I was one of them. The other had been dead for more than a decade.

“Show me,” I commanded. The guard pivoted sharply, and I chased after him with the queen hot on my heels.