Chapter 16

16

S teel

I pace up and down. I hate waiting. I can be patient when necessary, when the situation warrants it. This is not one of those times. Unfortunately, I can’t leave the female. I need to protect her…to make sure she doesn’t run again. Bottom line, I need to make sure she is okay. Understandably, she isn’t in the best shape right now. I also need answers from the general and right fucking now.

I pick up the phone on the desk. I dial reception…again. I’m sure that they’re sick of hearing my voice.

“Put me through to the general’s office, please,” I say in a low voice, glancing at the bedroom door. Jen is still sleeping, which is good. She suffered one hell of an ordeal and needs the rest. At this point, I don’t care if she’s a con artist trying to make a quick buck. I don’t care about all of that. No one deserves to be treated in that way.

“Yes, sir.” There is a click as I am transferred.

“The royal offices,” the PA answers, sounding chipper.

“It’s Steel. Is the general in?” I growl under my breath.

There is a pause. It’s too long for my liking. I have to bite my tongue to keep from snarling.

“As I told you the last time you called, Steel – that was twenty-five minutes ago – I told you then, just as I am telling you now, that the general is tied up. I gave him your message. I will be sure to tell him you called as soon as he is available. I can’t help you further.”

With my free hand, I push two fingers into the inner corners of my eyes. “Thank you.” I put the phone down and resume pacing.

It’s been just over two hours since Jen fell asleep. I contemplate getting some room service for when she wakes up, but I think better of it. Then I think of checking on her, but I ditch that idea as well. We still aren’t friends. I still can’t trust her. Nothing has changed. Not really.

I pace for another ten minutes; I’m tempted to call that asshole again when there is a knock at the door.

I rush over and yank it open. “What the f—” I stop myself short, bowing my head. “Your Majesty. My apologies for greeting you in that way.” I clear my throat. “I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you were…someone else.”

“Clearly,” Arctic says. “I didn’t expect to see you, either, Steel. How…um…how are you?” His gaze softens for half a second before he schools it again.

Well, this is awkward. “Just fine and dandy…um…Your Majesty.” Our relationship dynamic has changed, and it feels…wrong. All fucking wrong. “How are you?” My voice breaks a little.

Fuck!

His eyes cloud, and his jaw tightens. He ignores the questions as his face turns impassive once more.

“What are you doing here, Steel? Last I heard, you were fighting in The Pit.” He kept tabs on me. Of course he did. Arctic doesn’t trust me one iota…not anymore. “Are you going to invite me inside?” He lifts his brows.

“Of course.” I step to the side and gesture for him to come in. “You are most welcome, Your Majesty.” I hold out a hand and even give a flourish.

“Always the smartass.” His mouth twitches, and for half a second, I think he might smile, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t come in, either. “What are you doing here? Is it true that Miss Harris is in this apartment?” He looks inside. “What the hell happened today at the Clifftop Castle?” Then he finally comes inside, closing the door behind him. Leaving his guards out in the hallway, which is highly unorthodox. “Duke Huntington is spitting mad. He’s—”

There is a single knock, and the general enters, looking flustered. “Brother…what a wonderful surprise. How fantastic to see you. I was just at the royal offices, trying to visit with you…to give an update on the situation. So, now you know that I have Steel handling everything to do with the human. I was going to surprise you at a later stage. Isn’t it wonderful? I hand-picked him myself.”

“It certainly is a surprise. You should have discussed your choice of candidate with me. Should have requested permission. I told you I didn’t like this situation with the human and that I wanted to be kept informed of every detail, no matter how small.” Arctic doesn’t look happy. He is frowning, and that, coupled with his bouncing right foot, tells me everything I need to know. Arctic is pissed. If you didn’t know the male, you might not realize it.

We all stand there for a few long moments.

“Who is going to tell me what the hell happened at Clifftop Castle?” Arctic asks, folding his arms. “I can’t wait to hear this.” He looks from me to the general and back again. I keep my mouth shut. I want to hear what the esteemed general has to say on the subject.

“It was nothing, Your Highness.” He laughs; it’s haughty and pretentious. “No,” he flaps a hand, “it was merely a small misunderstanding, that’s all.”

My blood starts to boil.

“The west wing of Clifftop Castle burned to the ground. I wouldn’t call that nothing.”

I want to fucking laugh. Good! That asshole deserves it. I wish the whole fucking castle had burned down and him along with it. The prick!

I want to set light to the general for playing down what happened. He hasn’t even heard what Jen or I have to say on the matter. He is siding with the duke and saving his own ass with a bunch of fucking lies. I realize that I have to tread carefully. Arctic doesn’t want me on this assignment. If I make a move against the general, he’ll remove me for sure. I feel invested. I need to see it through. I don’t trust anyone or anything right now. I smell something nasty, and I’m not sure what it is or who exactly is involved. I want to figure it out, and the only way to do that is to stay on this assignment.

“Were there casualties, Your Majesty?” I interject.

“No, thankfully not,” Arctic says. “That doesn’t make the incident any less significant.”

The general glares at me for a second before softening his features as he looks at the king.

“Of course not. If I may, Your Majesty—” I start to say.

“You may not,” the general spits, his eyes wide. “This is between my brother and me. You already caused enough trouble today.” He faces Arctic. “It was a misunderstanding between two different species. The duke was under the impression that the human was open to physical contact…to sex, but that wasn’t the case. Or perhaps she changed her mind. I do not know. They were discussing it when Steel arrived. He took things the wrong way and attacked the duke. It was his attacks on several guards that caused the fire. It was all unnecessary, I assure you.”

“Is that true?” Arctic asks me, a frown on his face.

“Surely you must believe me, Your Majesty? Why would you ask Steel to confirm what happened when I just did?”

“Because I know Huntington.” Arctic looks at me. They both do. The general’s eyes are narrowed, telling me to keep my trap shut. “The male can be a complete asshole, let’s face it. He was a spoiled brat as a child and still is one now. I’m sure he had a big hand in what happened today. Let’s leave it at that, shall we?” He doesn’t wait for a response. “How are things going with Jennifer Harris? Has she attempted to escape again? I don’t like that she tried to escape. You said that she is here willingly, Ice.”

“She is, brother. Of course she is.”

“Is she here willingly, Steel?” he asks, barely looking at me.

“Yes, I believe so.” I don’t add that there are things that don’t make sense. Things I don’t like about this whole situation.

“Why did she try to escape in the first place, then? You never sent me a report like I asked you. For the record, I don’t like any of this. I told you I was okay with it…with her staying, as long as she was willing. We need females, but not if they don’t want to be here.”

My thoughts exactly.

“Castles being burned down. Misunderstandings. Escape attempts.” Arctic shakes his head. “It’s starting to sound complicated. That wasn’t the agreement, brother.”

“It really isn’t complicated, I assure you.” The general backpedals. A sheen of sweat glistens on his forehead. “I explained why Miss Harris attempted to escape, Arctic. I apologize for not filing a full report as you asked; I should have. It was an oversight. The human knows too much about our people. I explained that to you as well. It is in our best interest if she stays and mates with one of our males.”

“What of her best interests?” the king asks, and I’m reminded all over again of why I like the male so much. Reminded of all my failings. Each one hits me harder than the last.

“It is in her best interests, too.” The general glances at me. “I explained it all to you, Your Majesty.”

“Miss Harris wants the money,” Arctic says. “She’s doing this for—”

“Yes, exactly,” Ice interrupts. What doesn’t Ice want me to know? That Jen’s family needs the money? That she has a baby brother and a sick mother? That he is a lying son of a bitch?

Fuck! This is all so damned confusing.

Arctic sighs. “I don’t like any of this. It should be straightforward. It needs to be straightforward, or I’m calling it off, having her sign an NDA and putting her on the next flight to the Mainland.”

“I swear to you that Miss Harris is more than willing to mate with one of our males. Perhaps I didn’t brief the candidates sufficiently. You’re right, Huntington can be a dick. It’s my fault. Know that this will work out in the end. This could be a trial run for when we start bringing in human females. The Mistveil dragons are at risk of dying out, Your Majesty. We need this female, just as we need Tributes of our own.”

“I don’t like any of it.” The heel of Arctic’s right foot starts to bounce again. It’s barely noticeable, but there.

“Of course not. There is nothing to like about our dire situation, but doing nothing isn’t the answer. You need a mate, Sire. You could mate with a human and…”

“No! We spoke about this. I’m not interested.”

“Understood. All I ask is that you keep an open mind about human Tributes. Expecting our females to mate more and more males isn’t the answer. Expecting them to bear more and more children isn’t the answer either. Our situation is getting worse, not better.”

“I know all of this.” Arctic’s tone is clipped.

“Can we talk in the hallway, brother? Please? I want a private word.”

“Fine. I think that would be a good idea.” Arctic looks at me. Nope, he doesn’t love my involvement in this. “There are a few things we need to discuss.” He leaves the apartment without a backward glance. He still hates me, and I don’t blame him.

I don’t exactly love myself either.

“Miss Harris needs a word with you,” I tell the general as he turns. “There are a couple of things we need to iron out.”

“We’ll talk, alright,” he snaps back, talking under his breath. Then he goes out into the hallway, closing the door.