Kier
Long nails coated in red drum against the table in an odd rhythm. Once. Twice. Thrice. I stare at them. She’s always looked lovely in anything she wears, but there’s something about her wearing red that undoes me.
She takes her hands if the table, folding them against her chest. That. Damned. Corset. Plush, succulent skin rises and falls, and I tear my gaze away before she can catch me staring at her breasts. “King Kier, your request is not one to be taken lightly. The relationship between our kingdoms has been strained, and Neredia's actions have not always been honorable. It is simply illogical to form an alliance with you that doesn’t benefit us in anyway. My answer is still no.”
Since when am I King Kier? My fists clench underneath the table. “Us? Until two months ago, Neredia was your home—”
Jessamine holds up a single finger, hushing me in a manner that absolutely baffles me. It’s something about the gesture that yells regal. Every movement she makes is necessary, every shift, every tilt, and glance. It’s the look of a woman who knows she is in control. A woman who knows she has power and it’s being engrained into every fiber of her being.
She has always been this way, but it was subtle. Now, it's as if the subtlety has given way to an undeniable force, a tangible aura that surrounds her like an invisible crown. “Your assumption that I owe allegiance to a place I was never welcome or accepted over the kingdom I now rule is both presumptuous and misguided.” Her violet gaze is unwavering. “I do suggest you not divert and present a compelling reason as to why I should jeopardize the peace of my people for you.”
Calm. Collected. Unruffled. Who the fuck is this woman?
I flatten my palms on the table, and try to get my thoughts in order. But I can’t. Her scent in my nose. I can’t think at all. “They have Lloyd.”
She pauses, and for the first time since she walked through that door, emotion flickers in her eyes. But it’s gone in a second. “One man is too small a reason to start a war.”
I stare, surprised. “The woman I knew would never say that. She had a big heart. She dove into a lake when she very well knew she was a terrible swimmer, all to save a rog—"
“I’m afraid this won’t do,” she says, pushing to her feet. “You’re wasting my time, and I do have quite a lot on my schedule today. Perhaps, tomorrow, when you have gathered your thoughts and have something important to say, you may talk to Az and he’ll arrange a meeting in my free time.”
My lips part and close. Twice. I feel like…a fool. I stand, stretching taller than her, even in those dangerously high heels, but she manages to stare me down her nose. A loose curl falls from her hair as she straightens her dress—a mint green wonder of flowers and translucent silk—and I reach for it.
She’s faster, tucking it behind her ear and putting a few feet of distance between us. Red flashes in the light and my gaze snags on the sole ring on her left hand. “Darrock gave you that.”
Her gaze lowers to her hand, her long lashes fluttering. Slim fingers caress the stone like it means something to her and she smiles fondly. “Yes.”
My jaw tightens. My breathing quickens. Something twists in my chest as I say, “It’s beautiful. It suits you.”
She chuckles lightly. “Of course, it does. Do have a wonderful day, King Kier. An aid will join you shortly and show you to your room. You are welcome to take a tour around.”
Heels click against marble as she walks past me and I shut my eyes, groaning as her scent fills my nose. It’s sharper now, and it makes me so hungry.
“Oh,” she suddenly says, turning with flair and grace. “How are they?”
I tense. “Who?”
She smiles gently. “Moira and the baby. News does travel quickly around here. I hear she’s with child.”
I want to tell her I’d have to be out of my damn mind to fuck Moira, but for some reason, I find myself doing the exact opposite, just to get a reaction out of her. Any sign that she still…cares for me. Even a little. “Great. I’m…excited. To be a father.”
She claps cheerfully, not even a glimpse of hurt in those eyes. “Such wonderful news. I’ll arrange for the finest gifts for the little prince. Congratulations.”
And that’s it. She leaves. I raise my fist to punch the fucking wall, then I remember this isn’t my castle. It’s practically hers. I need her help. I’m at her mercy until she agrees.
I’m fucking done for.
Jessamine
I spend thirty minutes in the bathroom, sitting on the floor and staring at the wall, while the scalding hot water rained down my back. I close my eyes, hitting the back of my head on the wall. One. Twice. Atticus has Lloyd? How did that even happen? One man is too small a reason to go to war? Utter horseshit. Lloyd was my only friend in that place.
Still, I can’t—I can’t do that. It is illogical.
“He looked good today,” that grating voice pops into my head.
My eyes snap open and I narrow my eyes at the mirror across the space, peering back at a version of me with eyes of quicksilver. “And this is my business how?”
She smiles back knowingly. “It became OUR business the moment you realized he was OUR mate. Act cold all you want, but we both know you were looking at his ass today.”
I blink and my face catches fire. “That was all you—and there is no OUR. Or US. You won’t even tell me your name. All you do is make me do things I don’t want to do, and bite me in my dreams.”
“My name is much too large for your brain to comprehend, Jessa. And I wouldn’t have to bite you if you weren’t always fighting me. You’re not strong enough to subdue me. Let me out, Jessa. I promise I’ll play nice.”
I shut her out. Having one Jessamine is enough. Two of me warring against each other is simply a catastrophe. Getting out of the shower, I wrap my pink robe around myself and comb my wet hair with my fingers as I shuffle out of my room.
I pause at the sight of Darrock laying on my freshly changed sheets, his muddy boots a few inches away from staining its fabric. He turns his head to me and smiles slowly, eating me up with his red eyes. “I missed you, Violet.”
Scoffing, I turn to my dresser, pulling the door open. “Take your boots off before you lay on my bed. And you’re not allowed to do that either.”
“What? Lay in my wife’s bed?”
“You sure love to dream a lot, Darrock. Take off your boots or get out.” I hum to myself, my fingers grazing the soft yellow fabric. Too much for dinner, and I look terrible in yellow. “I take it your visit went well?”
Darrock sighs heavily and I hear his boots thud against the floors. “They were ready to ship me off and drown me in the sea, but their mortal queen intervened. Lovely woman. Nerf. She had such succulent—”
I turn, wide-eyed. “Please tell me you didn’t sleep with her.”
A charming grin spreads across his handsome face. “No, but she did ask. I was trying to remain faithful to you—”
“Liar. You did, didn’t you?” I start laughing when he shoots me an apologetic look and says, “In my defense, I was trying not to die, and I did secure the routes using her. She loves me. All the women do, except you.”
A perfect retort plays on the tip of my tongue, but I discard it and say instead. “Kier is here.”
“So, I heard.” He sounds calm. Much too calm that I halt my inspection of my dresser and turn to look at him. He looks troubled. His gaze lifts to mine slowly and he stares at me intensely. “Arrangement or not, you are not going back with him. I won’t let you.” His voice is low and each word is delivered with the weight of a hurled spear. The predatory gleam in his eyes tell me that he means them, and I hear the threat underneath it.
My fists clench. “I don’t plan to. His Luna is with child. I’d be stupid to walk right back into that.”
Darrock cocks his head at me. “And if she wasn’t? Would it make a difference?”
“No,” I say, without hesitation. The air suddenly grows heavy with emotions I’ve locked away, and I realize I am letting them slip away from me. I shove them back in. “It doesn’t. This is my home now. I’d also appreciate if you refrained from trying to control me. I may not be Kier’s, but I’m not yours either.”
Darrock, he has anger and entitlement issues. It is why I am unfazed when he crosses the room in the blink of an eye and shoves me into my dresser, pressing my arm hard enough to crack every bone in it. His hands dive into my hair roughly and he tilts my head back, sniffing me. “You smell like him. Tell me why that is. Your lover visits for a day and you discard your dignity and throw yourself at him.”
I don’t tell him that I’ll always have a touch of Kier’s scent because we’re mates, and it’s stronger because we spent time together in the same space today. “Let go, Darrock,” I say calmly instead.
He doesn’t. Darrock’s hands snake up my ribs, his teeth dangerously close to my neck. “You refuse me, every time. Yet, for him, you’d be a willing tart.”
I shove him, hard. He staggers slightly, stunned by my strength. I stand on my toes, leaning into him until we’re inches apart. “Just because I entertain you shouldn’t give you the impression that we both stand on level ground, because we do not. You will earn the title of king after our wedding and my father’s abdication, but keep in mind that I put you on that seat. It isn’t yours by right. Neither am I. Hold your tongue or I’ll cut it out for you.”
Darrock falls back a step, his eyes widening like he only just realizes what he has done. On some days, I’m convinced Darrock is mental. “I’m sorry,” he breathes, blinking hard and fast. His black shirt strains as he reaches out to touch me. I step out of his reach and his eyes are filled with hurt. “I’m sorry. I do not like hearing you say that. I told you I liked you. I got you flowers. I don’t do that for women. I try to be nice. I follow you around, watch you work, watch you grow, and all I can think is, a few more weeks and I can call this wildflower mine. Claim her. Hearing you say that, catching his scent on you—”
“And if indeed I chose to spread my lovely, rosy thighs wide for him, it’d still be none of your business. You don’t see me calling you out on the maids and women you take to bed. We agreed we would try to be friends and I am one breath away from reconsidering.”
His face squeezes with something that looks like hurt and just as he starts to speak, my door swings open. I stare behind him and—Nymeria? Her eyes dart between me and Darrock and she shuffles back. “I…ah…I’ll come back.”
“No,” I find myself saying. “He was just leaving.”
Darrock looks reluctant, but my cold stare chases from my room. Nymeria stands awkwardly by the door, her lips pursing. Her fingers trembling. She’s still in her dress from earlier, but her hair and makeup are a mess. She’s been crying.
I arch a brow, wary. “And to what do i—”
She suddenly surges forward, startling me. I’m swinging my fist to punch her when she takes my hand in hers, squeezing a little, her blue eyes wide and crazy. “Jessamine, I…I need…” There are tears in her eyes. She’s frightened. “I need your help. I made a mistake. Father is going to kill me. I need…” A sob. “I need your help.”
What in the world of impossibilities is happening?
I lower my clenched fists, retracting my hands from her weird, fuzzy ones. “What happened?”
She bites her lower lip, looking at the ground. “I…He lied to me. I swear, I didn’t know who he was. I told him everything. About you. I didn’t mean to. He just…he’s the only one who ever asked if I was fine and—”
I inch closer, alarmed. “I don’t understand you, Nymeria. What is the problem? Who is this man you speak of?”
She hesitates, weighing the risks, but she decides to tell me anyway. “I met a man a few weeks ago, at the fare in Everwood. Sylvan. I was drunk and we…slept together. I liked it. Him. I kept meeting with him. He would ask about me. You. Father. I told him. I just couldn’t stop myself from talking to him about everything.” Her eyes rise to mine. “I’m…with child.”
My eyebrows rise to my hairline and my mouth falls open. She continues anyway, seeming to have more. “I found out a few days ago. I went to tell him about it and he rejected me. I was angry, and…and…we argued, and he laughed at me. Called me a fool. Told me his name wasn’t Sylvan. It’s…” A tear slides down her cheek and her voice breaks. “Atticus.”