The Emerald Prince (10 page)

Elliot regretted his words the moment they passed his lips. Blaine stood there, wet, naked, and confused. All previous signs of his desire were gone. “Zariya? You love Zariya?” He sounded lost, wounded. Elliot wanted to hug him, to comfort him. But he was the source of the knight’s pain. He didn’t respond.

Blaine stepped out of the tub and covered himself with a sheet. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Does she return your feelings?”

The prince glared at Blaine with indignation. “Of course she loves me too. Why wouldn’t she?”

“Because she’s the one that suggested I ask to marry you instead of your sister. The one that somehow convinced our fathers to agree to the marriage. I don’t know how she did it, but if it weren’t for her, I’d be married to Victoria right now.”

Blaine’s words sent Elliot stumbling back like he’d been punched in the chest. It didn’t even make sense. Why would Zariya betray him? He thought back to the day Blaine asked for his hand. Zariya pressed him to accept. She practically begged him, painted a picture of a ruined kingdom so he’d do it.

Blaine was telling the truth. It was the only way to explain how hard she pushed Elliot towards him. But why would she do such a thing? What could she gain from it? He would have made her a queen. Elliot backed into a wall. When he could go no farther, he sank onto the floor. Maybe she wanted to be free of him, and this was the only way she could think to do it. She couldn’t have loved him if she was the one behind his marriage.

His vision blurred as tears began to form. Blaine knelt down next to him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Elliot wiped his eyes and looked at him. “Are you really? I’d think you’d be happy.”

“How can I be happy when you’re in pain?” Blaine tentatively wrapped an arm over Elliot’s shoulder and pulled him close.

Elliot allowed him to. Pressing his face against Elliot’s chest, he accepted the knight’s comfort. Even damp, his body radiated heat that Elliot found so soothing. He was heartbroken over another person, yet still Blaine held him, and gently rocked him back and forth.

No matter what the future held, Elliot wouldn’t question Blaine’s love again.

Chapter Twenty One

As the morning rays peeked through the thick drapes, Victoria snuggled closer to Lorr, relishing the last drop of dream as wakefulness pressed upon her.

A soft knock on the door sent Lorr running from bed. Victoria watched with a half-smile as he pulled on pants. Another more insistent knock forced Victoria out of bed. Her personal servants knew of Lorr’s presence and were discrete. Whoever was at the door was someone Marla wasn’t letting in. Someone she either didn’t know or didn’t trust.

“Stay here,” was all Victoria said to Lorr as she shut him in the bedroom.

As she stood in the sitting room, she tied her robe covering her nightgown. “You may enter.”

She was quite surprised when her stylist and seamstress walked in. “Pierre? Sarah? What are you doing here?” She hadn’t spoken to either of them since her wedding had been canceled.

Pierre looked at his wife and then back at Victoria in confusion. He bowed deeply and said, “We’ve come to help you plan your dress for the wedding.”

She hadn’t heard of any wedding, though she also hadn’t spoken to anyone outside of her servants. If there was a big wedding coming up and Victoria knew nothing about it, there was no wonder Pierre and Sarah looked so confused. A princess should know these things. “Who’s getting married?”

The couple shared another nervous glance before Pierre answered, “Your father and Princess Zariya, Your Highness.”

Victoria grabbed the edge of a nearby chair to steady herself. She knew Zariya was making a move for her father, but she didn’t think she’d get him to propose, not so quickly. If the king had loved anything his entire life, it had been her mother. He wouldn’t defile her memory by marrying his son’s lover. Something insidious had to be going on. There were no other explanations.

The princess straightened herself and forced a smile. “We’ll have to discuss this at a later time. There is something I need to do. When is the wedding?”

“In three weeks, Your Highness.”

“So soon?” It had taken three months of secret negotiations to even agree on a date for her wedding.

“People say the king wished to have it sooner, but the High Priestess wouldn’t agree to an earlier date, and not even a king can defy the will of the gods.”

Victoria curtsied in her nightgown and then headed for the door. “I must go now. Marla will schedule another time for this.”

As she headed down the hall, Marla followed after her, “Where are you going in your sleep clothes?”

“To see Zariya and to find out what is really going on here.” Victoria stopped and turned to Marla. “Go back to my room and deal with the stylist and his wife.”

“But my duty is to stay by your side.”

“Your duty is to obey me. Now go. I’ll be fine.” Victoria had no idea if she would really be fine. Zariya had never posed a physical threat before, but she’d also never been accused of crimes punishable by burning.

When Victoria reached Zariya’s chambers, she half expected the guards to try to stop her from entering. They had no right to, after all, it was her father’s palace. She could go wherever she pleased within it. But still, there was some surprise when the guards stood like statues, allowing her to pass through.

Zariya was already in her sitting room, a cup of tea in hand. A second cup sat waiting for Victoria, steam still rising from it.

“Did you use witchcraft to divine my arrival?”

Zariya took a sip of tea. “No, just your predictability, coupled with the dress appointment I scheduled for this morning. I think you and…what do you call him? Lorr, should wear matching outfits to the wedding.”

Victoria’s fists tightened at her sides. “There will be no wedding once I tell my father you’re a witch.”

“I prefer the term enchantress, if you don’t mind.”

Victoria gasped. She hadn’t expected Zariya to speak so freely of things that would bring about her execution. “So you admit your treachery? That you have the power to bewitch men and you’ve used it on my brother and father?”

Zariya laughed as she raised her cup to her lips. “So that is what you think it is? That my power only works on men? I assure you, it’s not your sex that protects you from my influence.”

“What does?” Victoria’s voice became small from fear. What if she wasn’t immune? Maybe Zariya was being so open because she found a way around Victoria’s defenses.

Zariya pointed at the chair across from her. “Have a seat, and I’ll try to explain.”

Victoria didn’t move.

“If I meant you harm, you’d be long dead. I’m telling you everything you want to know about all my little schemes and plans. So take a seat and enjoy your tea before it gets cold.”

“But why are you telling me?”

“Maybe because of regardless of how you feel about me, I care about you. Or maybe because I have such a finely crafted plan and no one to appreciate it. But mostly because no matter what I tell you, it’s too late to do anything to stop me.”

Victoria rolled her eyes at the witch’s first excuse. “Care about me? The only person you care about is yourself.”

Zariya pursed her lips together as if she would not speak again until Victoria complied with her wishes.

Reluctantly, Victoria took a seat, but she refused to drink the tea. There was no telling what kind of poison the witch had put in it.

“As for my powers, they tend to work on anyone that doesn’t consider me a threat. That’s part of the reason I’m so congenial. Though no matter how kind I was to you, you’ve always regarded me as dangerous.”

“Which has turned out to be excellent judgment on my part.”

“While I have manipulated events, I’ve done so in a way that has brought the happiest outcome for all involved. Had you married Blaine, you would be trapped in a loveless marriage, ruling while your brother lay dead.”

Victoria couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She knew the witch had toyed with her father and brother, but she made Blaine turn from her too? Was there no end to her treachery?

Victoria jumped from her chair. “It was you? You’re the one that ruined me?”

“Did you not hear what I said? Blaine intended to murder your brother and use you to seize the crown for himself. I saved your brother. He and Blaine will be happy together. And what I took from you, I more than repaid. Lorr will love you for all your days.”

“Was that about my happiness or to ensure whatever children you have with my father are next in line for the crown?”

“Both. You can’t expect me not to look after my own interests at all. I’m not
Arye
.” Zariya walked over to Victoria and took her hand. “Don’t you see? Everything has worked out for the best. You just have to accept that.”

The hairs on the back of Victoria’s neck stood on end. She snatched her hand away. “Never speak the name of the Holy Mother again. You’re a heathen and a witch. I would die before watching you crowned as queen of this realm. Make no mistake, your pretty words can’t fool me. You are my enemy.” Before Zariya could say another word, Victoria turned on her heels and stormed out of the witch’s chambers.

Chapter Twenty Two

When Storm’s Edge came into view, Elliot’s mouth fell open in awe. The keep was a magnificent testament to Entian military might and engineering. Water from the icy mountain tops trickled down the gray stone walls, stopped only by the numerous slits created to allow light into the keep. The massive structure completely blocked off Deadman’s Pass and kept the Ghas invaders from ever reaching Entian soil.

The gates began to open as Blaine and Elliot approached, which wasn’t surprising. People didn’t expect a threat to come from the Entian side of the keep, and there were many eyes on them. Several of the soldiers would recognize either Blaine or Elliot.

As they got closer, Elliot’s horse seemed to resist the idea of entering the darkness of the keep. But the prince firmly held the reins and guided him in. The smell of rot, blood, and feces assaulted his nose, making him empathize with his horse.

An older man with potbelly and a receding hairline stumbled towards them, his armor clanking.

Blaine climbed off his horse and handed the reins to a boy who guided the horse toward the stables. Blaine grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him into a hug. “Sir Charles, it’s good to see you.”

“And you, Sir Blaine. You couldn’t have come at a more urgent time. But where are the reinforcements I sent for?”

“A few days behind. We rode ahead to see if there was anything we could do to help.” Blaine gestured to Elliot. “Sir Charles, I’d like you to meet my husband, Prince Elliot.”

Elliot hopped off his horse and stood next to Blaine. Sir Charles bowed before him. “Your Highness.”

Sir Charles hadn’t recognized the prince. Once Blaine introduced him, his demeanor became much more formal. “I hope…I hope I haven’t done anything to displease the crown.”

The prince wasn’t accustomed to such a greeting. Everyone was frightened of his father, but Elliot always went out of his way not to put on airs. Many of the servants in the palace considered him a friend.

He shook his head. “No. My father has never expressed any displeasure at your service.” The king had never mentioned Sir Charles at all. The only reason Elliot even knew his name was because Blaine had mentioned it.

Sir Charles sighed in relief. “If you’ll come with me. I’ll have a room prepared for you. We weren’t expecting you, so if you don’t mind joining me for evening meal, your room should be clean by the time we’re done.”

The prince rubbed his stomach, his first warm meal in days. “We’ll be happy to join you for evening meal.”

They followed Sir Charles to a stairwell that was nearly pitch black and stank of mildew and mold. On the first landing, Elliot stopped. Groans of agony came from behind a nearby door. The prince looked questioningly at Sir Charles, who simply responded, “the hospital.”

Elliot pushed open the door and almost choked on the smell of death and disease. There seemed to be no air in this keep. Soldiers lay on cots, dirty sheets sticking to bloody wounds. Priests of Ephron and Arye, Science and Spirit, made their way between the beds, doing as much as they could for the soldiers. Changing bandages, feeding them, giving them tonics to ease their pain.

“A sickness came with the rains. We were already low on men. Now we barely have enough to cover half the wall when the Ghas attack again.”

“Just a few more days. Then you’ll have fresh, healthy men.” Elliot hoped the reinforcements would arrive soon, but he recalled how annoyed he’d been at their pace. Moving an entire battalion took time.

The smell and the cries of pain became too much. Elliot turned to Sir Charles. “I’ve seen enough. Let’s continue on.”

Each level of the keep had a purpose. The stables and blacksmith were on the bottom floor. The next floor held the hospital. Above that were the barracks and mess hall, and so on and so forth until they reached the officers’ mess hall. By then, Elliot’s legs ached from the number of stairs he’d climbed.

When they were close to the landing, Elliot swore he could hear muffled screams. But they were a woman’s screams, and that didn’t make sense. No woman would be anywhere near a keep and definitely not inside one. Ghas were heathens, not even a priestess would be allowed anywhere near Storm’s Edge where they could get hurt.

But as the thick wooden doors of the mess hall came open, there was no question about it — a woman was screaming for her life. Elliot pushed past Blaine and Sir Charles, his hand on his sword hilt, ready to defeat any Ghas warrior that had broken past the keep’s defenses and save the maiden crying out in distress.

He was stopped in his tracts by a sight that fractured him. There was no evil Ghas villain to destroy, just a young woman, with torn scraps of clothing hanging from her frail form, her beaded hair slapping against her tear streaked face. She was held down across a table as some beast of a man jutted into her. His armor, the pieces of it he still wore, clearly denoted his noble birth.