Ensnared (Sorcery and Science Book 5) (22 page)

“He might not be dead, but I am dead to him.” Isis wiped the back of her hand across her wet cheek. “It’s all my fault.”

Ariella reached out to her friend. “Isis…”

She said nothing, but her sapphire eyes trembled, pooling over. A few more seconds, and they would burst open like a split dam. She would be mortified to break down in front of King River and Davin, and there was no way Ariella would be getting any details out of her with them around. She considered her options. It would be really uncouth of her to ask the high king of Elitia and his son to leave their own apartment.

Ariella looked Isis up and down, noting the massive rips slashed across the black bodysuit stained with blood. She looked like she’d stepped straight off the battlefield. Even her hair was caked with mud and blood.

“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up,” Ariella said and scooped an arm around her, leading her toward the door.

Isis’s eyes darted between her and King River and Davin, as though she were considering the least painful of two deaths. She matched Ariella’s steps rather than pushing free of her hold. She’d either made her decision or decided it really didn’t matter. She looked like she just wanted to be left alone, but Ariella wasn’t playing along. Friends didn’t leave friends to wallow alone in their own misery. No, this would require a whole lot of chocolate-covered strawberries. They were Isis’s favorite. If anything could bring her back from the brink of devastation, they would be it.

Isis also had an apartment in the palace, a small unit with a view overlooking the rose gardens. Ariella led her there now, keeping her arm firmly around her shoulder.

“I don’t want to talk,” Isis said as they entered her room.

Ariella set her sword down on the stand beside the door. “Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Yes, ok.” She nudged Isis into the bathroom. “Maybe no one has been brave enough to tell you, but you’re dirty and gory. And you stink. I’m here to make sure you take a bath.” She turned the knob, and water began pouring into the tub. “And pronto. My nose is burning.”

Isis made a valiant attempt to laugh, but it came out as more of a tortured cry. Nonetheless, she peeled off the remains of her bloody outfit and stepped into the bathtub. For a long time, neither of them spoke again as Ariella helped her to wash the grime off. Streams of red and black poured down her skin, mixing with the soap bubbles. Ariella picked up a bottle of strawberry-vanilla scented shampoo and worked her fingers through Isis’s long hair. Once pale golden, her hair had brightened into a vibrant pink-blonde, the effects of going off the serum that had inhibited her powers and subdued her features to the point of making her appear almost human.

No one could possibly think this hair belonged to a human now,
Ariella thought as she combed through the tangled locks.

Once Isis was clean and the bathwater gritty and brown, Ariella handed her a fluffy white towel. Then, as Isis dried herself off, Ariella raided her closet for clean clothes.

“That’s a running suit,” Isis protested as she was handed a magenta tank top and a pair of snug black tights.

“Does it matter? Do you have somewhere special to be tonight?”

Isis pulled on the clothes and a pair of fuzzy socks without another word, then set about drying her hair. By the time she reappeared from the bathroom, neatly dressed and her dry hair pulled up into a high ponytail, the bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries Ariella had ordered was there. When Isis saw them, her mouth dropped. She extended an eager hand, then pulled it back quickly.

“No, send them back. I don’t deserve them.”

“That’s fine.” Ariella plucked one from the bowl and lifted it to her mouth to take a big, juicy bite. A burst of sweet citrus tingled her tongue. “I ordered them for me.”

Isis’s bottom lip quivered, and she eyed the strawberry with lust. She walked over and sat down beside Ariella on the sofa. “You’re mean.”

“Oh?” Ariella arched a brow and held out the bowl to her. “Do you want one after all?”

Isis snatched the largest strawberry and finished it off in two chomps. “I still don’t deserve it.” She licked the chocolate off her lips. “Oh, I’m damned, Ariella.”

“It’s just a strawberry, Isis. Albeit dipped in chocolate.”

“Not the strawberry. Jason. It’s my fault he’s in that prison. I should have just said no. But I didn’t. I…I
helped
them capture him,” she choked out. “I betrayed him. He will never forgive me. I will never forgive myself.”

Ariella couldn’t believe Isis would ever betray Jason, not with how she felt for him. But something had happened, and she had. Ariella wanted to help her. She just didn’t think probing her for details on how she’d betrayed the man she was in love with was the best way to go about doing that. Not when it was that series of events which was so obviously tearing her apart. Ariella was about to steer the conversation around the issue when someone knocked. Isis gave the door the evil eye and stuffed another strawberry into her mouth.

“Do you want me to get it?” Ariella asked. “And send them away?”

Isis sighed and swallowed. “No. It wouldn’t do any good. He’d just waltz right in anyway.”

“He?”

Without another word, Isis stood and trudged toward the door. She extended her hand forward hesitantly, hovering it above the knob. Then, with a deep sigh, she opened it.

Aaron stood on the other side, one hand leaned casually against the door frame. He was dressed in an ink-black bodysuit, the collar and sleeves trimmed in pale blue, the pattern of a dagger printed across the chest. Skin-tight and stretchy, it was the athletic suit the Diamond Edges wore when exercising inside the sports building that adjoined the palace, a facility which opened its doors only to them and the Selpe nobility. Since it was unlikely that Aaron was wearing that garish muscle-accentuating outfit to win over the territory rulers, Ariella could only assume that he’d put it on for Isis’s benefit. The way he was leaning against the door frame, trying to subtly flex his muscles, only confirmed her suspicions.

Isis looked him over and seemed to come to the same conclusion. She crossed her arms and growled, “What do you want?”

“No need to bite.” A grin broke across his mouth. “Unless you want to.”

Isis replied with a stony glare.

He lifted his arms into the air. “Ok, ok. I was just coming to check on you.” He traced a finger along the magenta strap of her top. “Though I could stay longer. You appear dressed…for a workout.”

She slapped his hand away. “Not with you.”

His brows rose. “Oh?”

Ariella stepped out from behind Isis, and his smile faded.

“Oh, I see. Well, I suppose you could be keeping worse company.”

What exactly is that supposed to mean?
Ariella frowned at him.

“Ariella is my friend. And so is Jason,” Isis added with a Phantom glare.

“Not anymore, my love,” he simpered. “
The untetherable assassin Jason Chanz has been tethered. Elusive, cunning, deadly as he was, even he proved himself not immune to the siren’s charms. You. You have accomplished what no other ever has. You should be proud.”

The fight in Isis’s eyes died instantly, and she braced herself against the wall for support. “No, I’m not proud. I’m ashamed. How could you…make me a part of your scheme?”

“Without you, we never would have captured Jason Chanz. Drugging him. Brilliant! It may have been my plan, but you were the catalyst that made it happen.”

“Those soldiers at Winter’s Gate weren’t part of the plan.”

“Just as insurance, my love. We couldn’t have you getting cold feet.” Aaron stroked his index finger down the side of her face. “You look magnificent.”

“Well, I feel horrid,” Isis shot back, retracting.

“It will pass.”
Aaron stepped forward into the room, brushing his lips against her ear. “That rogue will no longer trouble you. And even should he crawl his way out of that prison cell he so much deserves, he will never look at you in
that
way again. Not after you betrayed him,” he whispered. “You are mine now. Don’t forget that.”

Before Ariella could kick him out of the room, he retreated from the doorway. He reappeared a few seconds later with a large wooden trunk, which he set into Isis’s hands.

“Here are some things for later. The blue one is for tonight,” he told her. “And I’ll see you at eighteen-thirty in the ballroom. The nobility of the Selpe Empire hunger for details on Jason Chanz’s capture. I will do the talking.”

“I understand,” she replied quietly, setting the trunk down behind her.

Aaron nodded. “Now kiss me goodbye, and I will take my leave of you.”

As he tilted his face forward, Ariella expected Isis to slap it. Instead, she leaned forward to kiss him lightly once on his lips. His fingers locked around her waist and held her there for a moment, staring at her with hungry, exhilarated eyes. As soon as he turned to walk back down the hallway, Ariella closed the door and turned to face her friend.

“Isis?” When she didn’t respond, Ariella nodded toward the trunk. “What is it?”

Isis opened the lid and pulled out a long, dark blue evening gown that sparkled like a sky of stars at midnight. She draped it over the back of the nearest chair. As she peered into the trunk a second time, dread spread across her face.

“Isis?”

She only pointed into the open trunk, her finger trembling as though at any moment the lid would chomp down on it. Ariella moved in closer for a better look and found a neatly-folded white dress.

“Another dress?”

“Not just any dress.” Isis sighed. “My wedding dress.”

“Wedding…dress?”

“The night Aaron is crowned emperor, I will be married to him.”

“Married?” Ariella gasped at the realization of her second nightmare.

“Yes.”

“You sound awfully certain the Selpes will choose him.”

“Aaron is certain, and I…”
Isis backtracked to the sofa and plopped down
, throwing up a cloud of dejection. “I have come to realize that he always gets what he wants.”

“Do you love him?” Ariella asked her.

“Of course not. What a ridiculous question.”

“Then why…”

“It was part of Davin’s deal with him.”

Well, that explained King River’s outrage. He absolutely loathed the idea of any Elition being traded off to the Selpes like nothing more than some exotic sparkling trinket—and he had worked tirelessly to counter any such transactions.

But what would possess Davin to make such a deal? Much as Ariella tried to ignore it, it was obvious the prince of Elitia had feelings for Isis. No matter his ambition or his friendship with Aaron, he wouldn’t just trade her to the Selpes. There had to be more to it than that. A whole lot more.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

~
Veronica Frostwater ~

526AX August 23, Orion

AMBROSE SELPE WAS dead. Both his sons were presumed dead. And that left the Selpe Empire with somewhat of a predicament: who would take the throne? Names were tossed about here and there, including those of ambitious nobles who had taken the liberty to throw in their own for consideration. It had even been suggested that the Advisory Council be transformed into a Ruling Council and take the place of the emperor.

Preposterous idea
, thought Aaron.
The council members’ love of bickering would stall the empire in its tracks.

But when it came right down to it, there were only two real choices.

Lady Veronica
Frostwater
, daughter of Ambrose Selpe’s beloved sister Cordelia, had spent her life in the courts of the Selpe nobility, winning them over with her honey-coated compliments. She had an instinctive knack for knowing exactly what everyone wanted to hear and expressing everything they’d ever wanted to say in such a way they could never quite articulate. To the war mongers she was a hawk and to the peaceful spirits a dove. Everyone loved her, it seemed.

Everyone but Aaron, that was. And he just happened to be the other name up for consideration. Aaron Pall was the son of Ambrose’s not-so-beloved younger brother Gabriel, whose wildly unsuccessful attempt to usurp the throne ten years ago had cost him his own life, as well as that of Kira, his wife and coconspirator. The scheme had all gone down in a matter of days, so fast that the first Aaron had heard of any of it was already news of his parents’ deaths.

Adrian Greenwood, the empire’s most powerful lord, had used their deaths to push Aaron to greater ambition than ever before. Lord Adrian came to him with promises of greater wealth, power, and revenge against the men responsible for killing Gabriel and Kira Pall. All Aaron had to do was serve him.

As promised, he rose through the ranks quickly, ascending to the prestigious position of major and leader of the elite Diamond Edges, who in addition to being sent off on the most dangerous and difficult of missions and policing the regular Selpe military, were also under the direct supervision of Lord Adrian himself.

By this time, many were speaking of Aaron, publicly praising his skill and privately delighting in his bloody escapades. Some wondered if he wouldn’t be better suited for the cut-throat world of politics than the literal cutting of throats, but Aaron paid little attention to their whispers, at least for many years. He didn’t much fancy the dull life led by an idle court squatter like his annoying cousin Veronica. All that mattered to him was that he had the sort of status that made people quite willing to do whatever he wanted, which came in handy whenever he had to deal with self-important soldiers or any of those ridiculous turkeys who called themselves Selpe nobility.

As an added benefit, his position was a big plus with all the ladies—not that he’d ever had trouble in that department. Well, except with a certain stubborn Elition. But she was special. High-spirited, willful, and so downright frustrating that he felt like punching his fist through the wall—she’d turned him down. Multiple times even. But he was confident she would give up fighting him eventually. He was wearing her down; he could tell. He had tasted her sweet lips before, and he would do so again.