Chapter 47

47

Cassius

The door shut behind Ella, and the room grew cold, like the heat of summer had slipped into winter. I relaxed at last, glad to breathe more easily.

Once, it had been torment while she was away. Now, I could barely stand having her near. The scent of her body, the drum of her pulse, the way her lips danced when she spoke—they threatened to drive me to madness.

I loved her fire and anger and the casual way she defied me. She was unlike all the others, with no sense of decorum or propriety, and it had been all I could do not to shove her up against the wall and sink my teeth into her neck, to plunge myself into her and savor her warmth. She was a vicious reminder that in another life, there might have been a different path for me. One where I didn't have to wear a crown and serve a kingdom. One where I could have served myself and all my desires.

Unfortunately, that path was long gone, while the road ahead was dark and full of trouble—trouble that began with her and everything I'd said.

I'd been a fool to tell her about the mages and the revolution. It went far beyond what was safe, even with the curse sealing her lips. It was like I was tempting fate and the Triad to come down on her at once.

Yet, pathetically , I hadn't been able to help myself. There was an earnestness to the way she looked at me that made me want to confess. She deserved the truth. All her kind did.

But that was madness.

Perhaps I'd been drunk on desire. Courtesans and mistresses always made good informants because men love confiding in a pretty face. They shared their secrets and worries and doubts, thinking that they'd found a dark hole they could spill their troubles into. I was no different—a fool running my tongue, like any other.

Aamon let himself back in unannounced. "Your new toy looked rather flushed when she left. A quick bite for lunch?"

"No."

"What was so urgent?" he asked, idly looking out at the dark courtyard below the window—though there was nothing idle in the question. His mind was always going, which was one reason I kept him so close.

I waved my hand dismissively. "Nothing. She was upset about the gardener—as were all the staff. However, she has the prince's ear."

"Then the message was received as intended."

I nodded. It had been brutally handled, but it had to be done. The moment the Triad had learned of the vines, the gardener's fate had been sealed. They would have tortured him until he'd divulged everything he knew, and if he had seen Ella…

I shoved that thought away.

His lips were sealed forever, and I could pass it off as him dying while trying to escape. If it protected Ella, the rest didn't matter. Still, Aamon's theatrical display had pushed things too far.

I was lucky I didn't have a riot of servants on my hands.

Aamon flopped down into the seat across from me. "What is your intention for that woman, anyway?"

I slumped back in my chair. What, indeed?

When I didn't respond, he pressed. "Clearly, you care for her,"

"I do not." My words came too sharp, too quick to be anything but a lie.

He laughed in that good-natured way of his, one I could never echo. "You can't be serious, Cassius. Everyone in the castle knows you're fascinated with the creature, from the scullery maids to the lords of your court. Hell, the Triad themselves probably know."

Oh, they knew—which put Ella in danger. I had no reason to protect a random serving girl, but if they suspected I truly felt anything for her, or that she affected me so profoundly, they might reconsider dismissing her quite so quickly.

I brushed the question away. "She's nothing to me. A fleeting distraction."

He scoffed. "She's the first one you've fed on in a hundred years. She's the opposite of nothing."

"Once I'm married, I'll be expected to dine with my new bride. I wasn't sure if I would lose control. This way, there will be no surprises."

"Maybe not for you, but what about the girl? What do you think your new bride will do to her once your contract is signed? Welcome her new husband's lover into the bedroom on your wedding night?"

I glared at him.

Aamon crossed his arms. "Chances are, that girl will be drained dry or suffer a terrible accident before the first week is up. If you truly feel nothing for her—which I absolutely doubt—then do nothing. Otherwise, pay her off and send her on her way before she gets hurt."

A black rage ignited inside of me like gunpower, and I slammed my hand on the desk. "I won't let that happen. Who am I if I cannot protect even one of my subjects?" I jumped to my feet and paced to the window, looking out over the cursed woods. "I spend half my time in that forest, hunting and killing monsters that would make my court piss itself, yet here in the castle? What am I?" Letting my gaze drift down to the iron spikes atop the walls, I muttered, "The court plots and schemes and does whatever they wish when they think my back is turned. Perhaps I need to hang a few more immortals from the battlements."

Aamon leaned back and folded his hands behind his head, unperturbed by my outburst or suggestion. "Once you've consolidated your power, you can stake whomever you wish. There are several heads I'll help you mount myself. Until then, you need to play the game."

"I cannot stand any of it. The negotiations. The promises and double-speak. My brother was the politician, not me."

"Which is why you need to send the girl away. She is a distraction . You need to be focused on your duty to this entire kingdom, not a simple farm girl."

But she wasn't so simple, was she?

"What was it the old woman said?" Aamon continued. "If you fall in love, the woman you choose will destroy everything your father built?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I haven't fallen in love with the serving girl."

I couldn't love anyone.

Aamon lifted his brow, unconvinced, then asked, "How better to destroy a dynasty than to distract you when you're supposed to be making the most momentous decision of your reign?"

My blood simmered, but his words weren't entirely lost on me. "This kingdom will not rise or fall on the choice of a queen."

"Your father didn't build a kingdom. He built an alliance with the Triad, and if they should decide that someone else better suits their purpose…"

They'd put a puppet in my stead. There would be no one to hold back the bloodthirsty houses or guard the border. It would become a nightmare, just as I'd warned Ella on our ride.

My fists clenched. "I won't leave the fate of the Bloodvale in another's hands."

"Then do your duty. The masquerade is two days away. There will be a dozen houses represented there. If you make a strategic match and bend a few others to your will, you will have enough influence beyond the Bloodvale to get rid of the sisters and their family. If that isn't motivation enough, I don't know what is."

I shoved aside my map of the Bloodvale and flipped open the hated folder on my desk. A stack of lifeless papers that held nothing for me. Dozens of women, and on the top, a short list of names. Six. I skimmed them but felt nothing.

There was only one woman I was interested in, and she could never be queen. As for the rest of the names, they were just a jumble of meaningless letters. But if I chose the wrong one, my people would pay the price, just as the old seer had warned.

The truth was, I needed to focus—and there was no way I could with Ella nearby. The scent of her blood and the sound of her heart made my desire almost unbearable. I could have controlled myself before I'd drunk from her, but now, all bets were off. And if Aamon was right: if my new bride tried to have Ella killed, chances were that I'd take the queen's head myself.

No. Ella wasn't just a distraction. She was a dangerous obsession. She'd be far safer away from me and the court and the Triad, especially after everything I'd told her. That knowledge was tantamount to a death sentence.

I'd been a fool before, but that ended now. I threw the list of names back in the folder and shut it. "I'll send Ella away tonight."

I had her wellbeing and that of the kingdom to consider, let alone my own sanity.

Aamon slapped me on my shoulder. "Good. It's better to break her heart now than to watch her pay the price."