22. Xavier

Chapter 22

Xavier

T he familiar circular room barely contained my rage as I stared at the side of my king's face. He had been one of my closest friends for more years than I could count, and yet, just looking at him made me want to smash his skull in and spit on it.

Then again, I might just be jealous.

Kian's mark on Vale's shoulder was a near-constant reminder that the pull I felt toward her was nothing more than a wish that would never come true. And after the impromptu proposal masked as an announcement, I wanted to shift into my dragon form and let my animal eat him.

"You can't still be mad at me," Idris murmured, sitting on his throne as he'd done for so many years.

"And you can't still be this stupid. You took her choices away. How could you do that after everything?"

He leaned to the side, his haggard face the only consolation in all this. "It was the only way to keep her safe."

Nope. No consolation. Just idiocy. "Bullshit. You did what you wanted, and fuck everyone else. Have you learned nothing in all these years?"

Idris stood, fury etched on every line of his face, and still, I did not care one bit. "That's not fair. She agreed of her own free will. I agreed not to stand in the way of you or Kian's claim on her. She demanded it. The engagement is to put her under the banner of my protection."

Most of it didn't make one bit of sense. "She was already under the banner of your protection, and they tried to kill her twice. No, you wanted to publicly lay your claim and maneuver her into a situation she couldn't get out of. This is Zamarra all over again, only this time?—"

His eyes flashed as the room shook. "Zamarra has nothing to do with this. I care for Vale, yes, but this time I actually know when the woman I love doesn't love me back. Arden and Zamarra were after my throne. Vale doesn't want it. She only wants her sister, and I will happily oblige. This curse made me a pawn, and sometimes what you need is a queen to right what has been wronged."

He took his throne, his face far more haggard as the minutes stretched on. "She will be my queen, she will break the curse, and I will help rescue her sister. Maybe then—" He shook his head, chagrin twisting his lips. "Maybe she'll see me like I see her."

Oh, what love-sick fools we made. "You're lucky it's me here for this and not Kian."

And the only reason he wasn't here was that he was begging Vale not to murder him for not telling her what the bite on her shoulder meant. Granted, the begging had quickly devolved into moans I couldn't listen to, but at least one of us was getting some.

"We both know I wouldn't even see him coming," Idris muttered, pinching his brow. "Did the council say why they wanted this meeting? It's too damn early for this. You'd think after a ball they would sleep in for once."

I swallowed down my jealousy for a moment. "No, only that the events of last night were concerning and needed to be addressed."

Idris snorted. "How much do you want to bet they think she's ill-suited for the throne? Like she isn't a Duchess in her own right with higher standing than them."

"It's not her title that they take issue with. It's what she is—the power she has. They see it as an end to their own power and influence. They think once this curse is broken, it will be worse than it was before. It will be like under your father's rule, where no one took into account the other factions. The writing is on the wall."

And that was the part I didn't think he understood. People wanted Vale dead because she represented the end to their power, not just the end to the war. She was the end of their ability to profit off of the strife. Desperate people did very stupid things when they were backed into a corner, and with her mounting power, it only signaled the loss of theirs.

"Why do you think I wanted to put her under the banner of the crown? This is the only real way to protect her." He let out a long-suffering sigh. "Let them in. Let's get this over with."

Twenty minutes later, I considered whether or not murdering the entire council would be a better idea than listening to them trash Vale one more time.

"She is a backwater nobody raised by our enemy," Dorian roared, his decorum lost in the weeds of his argument. "Not only can we not trust her, but she has yet to complete the second trial. We all know the curse breaker is meant to be your mate. She must complete the trials or else?—"

Golden power shot from Idris' fingers, wrapping around Dorian and raising him in the air so fast the ancient vampire could do nothing but hang upside down, his pale face now red as the blood he drank.

"Or. Else. What?" Idris growled, eyes flashing, ground shaking, his patience long gone. "I know you weren't about to threaten my intended, Dorian. You wouldn't be so stupid, now, would you?"

Dorian's face purpled. "N-no, Sire. I-it's j-just?—"

I drew my swords, fitting them at his neck. "I suggest you spit it out."

"T-there is talk," he wheezed. "That she has be-bewitched you. G-given where she came from, it will quell t-the unrest at the gates if she completes the next trial."

Swiftly, I withdrew my blades from his neck, retaking my position next to Idris.

"Disrespect her one more time, and I will take your head and put it on a spike as a reminder to all on this council who the fuck you're dealing with." His gaze left Dorian as he addressed the council as a whole. "Vale is under my protection. Mine . A threat to her is a threat to me, and I take it as such. She will be your queen. Act like it."

Then he dropped Dorian, the ancient vampire scuttling back to his chair like the whipped boy he was. The council took the opportunity to kneel, which I thought was smart. But it wasn't until Fenwick stood, wringing his hands, did the reality of it all come crashing down.

"Your Majesty, if I may? While we can acknowledge the discourse here today has been less than ideal, it is important for the facts to be heard. If we want the unrest to be quelled, your intended must complete the trials, and soon." Fenwick stepped forward, his face tight with worry.

"There is talk amongst the townsfolk of civil war. No one wants to see this great kingdom fall. We must have her complete the trial, and soon, and it must be above reproach. Just like with all other Luxa, she must not be told of the trial beforehand. It is imperative to the success of our kingdom."

But I knew what the second trial was, and there was no way she could complete it—not without help.

"How soon?"

Fenwick's beard shivered a bit as he winced. "As soon as possible. A day at most. We cannot wait any longer, I'm afraid. Merchants are being looted, farms robbed, it is imperative strength is demonstrated in a positive way or?—"

Idris raised his hand to stop his ramblings. "Set it up. As with all other trials, I will not tell her of the details, however, you will soon find she is everything needed in a Luxa and more. You are dismissed."

"But, Sire," Fenwick sputtered. "How can we be sure you won't?—"

Idris' eyes blazed. "The bonds of the curse prevent me from saying a word of the trials to anyone. That information has been passed down from council to council for two hundred years. Are you claiming even the bonds of the curse are not above reproach for you?" Idris stood, and the council fell to their knees.

"This curse was designed by a witch determined to teach me that only my true mate can break it. I have watched thirty-five women fall to Rune's flames, thirteen fall to their deaths on the cliff, and three burn up from their powers. Fifty-one women have died—some I've cared for and some I have not. Not one of them has been told beforehand. Do you think after that much death, I would break the streak now?"

A chorus of "nos" filled the room.

"Set up the fucking trial and get your loyalty in check. Or I'll check it for you. Dismissed ."

As soon as the council left the room Idris turned to me. "You know everything I just said? None of it applies to you. Prepare her, do you understand? You swore to me you would not watch her die. Neither will I."

On that, we finally agreed.

Without looking back, I stole through the hidden tunnels, racing through the castle to get to her before the council could. We needed to get out and we needed to get out fast. By the time I got to Kian's room, I had formed a plan.

I just needed her to go along with it.

Bursting through the doors, I passed Freya, with her feet up on the dining table, half-dozing. She cracked an eyelid, saw me, and then went back to snoozing. Her help was out. Kian was likely monitoring his soldiers, if I had a guess, and disruption would cause a stir.

So that just left me.

I moved directly to the bedchamber. Naked, wrapped in a sheet, and fast asleep, Vale was curled around a pillow, her hair a mass of waves tangled around her shoulders. She looked so peaceful, and I was about to shatter it completely.

Before I could touch her, she woke with a start, a dagger in her hand and to my throat in an instant. She was getting faster. And fuck if she wasn't the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. My cock thickened with her warm naked body against mine.

"Xavier?"

I had to focus. Now was not the time to let my dick run the show. "I need you to get dressed and we have to leave. Now. They are holding the second trial tomorrow, and you must be prepared. Move quickly before someone on the council gets the bright idea to sequester you."

Eyes wide, she flew into motion, racing off the bed to the dressing room. "Leathers, please. And a cloak. It'll be cold where we're going."

Ten minutes later she was dressed and braiding her hair into a queue down her back, following me through the hidden corridors to the south grounds away from prying eyes. I'd already grabbed my spare pack, and soon, she'd learn the rest of the plan.

This was where it could get dicey.

Before we exited the tunnel, I pulled her to a stop. "You have two choices, and you aren't going to like either of them."

"You're scaring me, Xavier. Tell me what's going on."

"We need to go to the mountains and return before morning when they come get you for the trial. That means we have to?—"

Eyes wide, she backed away from me. "F-fly? No. No way. Why?—"

"The trial has to do with heights. If we don't work on it now, you'll die tomorrow and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. Now, here are your choices. I can magically put you to sleep, and we can travel there quickly, or you can fly with me and start getting over your fear now. Choose."

Her heart thundered in her chest, her pulse point trembling with each breath. "Are you sure this is the only way?"

"I wouldn't put you through this otherwise."

Steely resolve straightened her spine. "I want to fly with you."

The faraway shouts of guards meant her absence had been detected. If we didn't get out unnoticed, we'd be dead in the water. "After I shift, I'll lower myself. Climb on my back. At the base of my neck is a deep indentation behind the last fin. Sit there and hold onto the spines. Got it?"

Those shouts grew closer. We didn't have any more time left.

"Fin, spines, got it. Shift. I have your pack."

I peeled out of my leathers, and she stuffed them in the bag as I walked into the open space of the grounds before my bones snapped and cracked, the shift taking me over. I was still recovering from the pain of the transformation when Vale climbed onto my back, seating herself exactly where I told her to. Her body was so much lighter than I expected, and I worried whether she'd be able to stay on my back.

"Please hold on tight."

Her grip tightened, and I launched us off the ground, darting into the low-hanging clouds, my white scales blending easily. I had hope no one saw us leave, and as soon as I could, I broke west, heading for the cliffs where her trial would take place. The path by carriage would take hours, but this way it was only minutes, the sharp cliff face already in view, the falls casting prisms even in the low light.

"Almost there."

In minutes we landed, and Vale leapt from my back, her whole body shaking. Falling to her knees, she gulped in air, her fists curling in the shore of the winding river that led to the falls. The water here was freezing, mostly mountain runoff, but it pooled at the bottom of the cliff into a natural hot spring. It was one of my favorite places despite the horrible connotation.

My shift was quick as I gave her the information she needed to know now that no one could hear us while throwing on a pair of pants.

"The trial tomorrow is supposed to test your connection to Rune. The curse breaker has to be able to speak to him mentally for this work. You're the only one who can do that, so there is no problem there."

Shuddering, she stared up at me like I had two heads. "Why do I need to be able to talk to Rune, Xavier?"

It was more accusation than question, and I had a feeling if she could stab me, she would have. I did not like the odds for my balls after this.

"The trial is you walking off this very cliff blindfolded. To complete the trial successfully, Rune has to catch you. The only way you will survive this is if you are mentally bonded to him. That's not what I'm worried about. I'm pretty sure it's the heights problem that might screw you over."

"You're pretty sure?" Her laugh was half-crazed, but she stood straight and tall. "And how is taking me up here going to cure my fear of heights, exactly?"

She had a good point, but it was all I could think of on short notice. Maybe if she tried it and didn't die…

"Now this plan needs some work, but I was considering blindfolding you and having you walk like you would in the trial. Because I'll already be shifted and nearby, I will easily catch you just as Rune will. It'll help prepare you for the?—"

"Sudden fucking drop?" she offered, and then let out a hysterical laugh that chilled me to the bone. "Who came up with these trials? And why… why me?"

"It's not as bad as it sounds."

"Says the man who's never fucking done it. It would be like asking you to jump off a cliff and shift mid-jump. Are they crazy ?"

Yes, but the council didn't come up with the trials. Zamarra did. It was as much a punishment for him as it was a way to never release him from his curse.

"Crazy or not, this is still what they're going to make you do. As soon as we return to the castle, they will sequester you, take you up to this very cliff, blindfold you, and make you walk off of it. By knife point if necessary. You wouldn't be the first one who doesn't want to walk off a mountain to almost certain death."

"Great. Fantastic. I love this for me. It's not my worst fear to fall off a mountain or anything."

I reached for her, knowing she'd hate it, but my instinct was always to comfort her. Reluctantly, she let me pull her into my arms. "I'll catch you. I'll always catch you. Do you trust me?"

She rested her forehead against my bare chest, clutching me tight. "With my life, apparently. Do I have to do it blindfolded the first time?"

Twenty minutes later, Vale was finally walking toward the edge, her pale face and shaking legs moving at a turtle's pace. A sudden gust of wind had her crouching on her hands and knees as the wind whipped at her tears.

"I'll catch you, little Luxa. I promise. You can do this."

Even though she couldn't hear me, I hoped she still managed to get the message. Her head darted up, meeting my gaze almost like she could. Heaving a breath, she stood, determination stamped on every line of her body.

And before I could say another word, she launched herself over the edge.