Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

~ Princess Blake ~

O ne moment I’m in the water, enveloped by warmth, and the next I’m standing in a dimly lit hexagonal room. A fire crackles in a hearth in the centre of the space, and King Celzar stands beside me still dressed in a silver shirt and trousers.

“What just happened?” I blurt, looking down to see I’m still dressed in the skimpy glittering outfit, though I appear to be completely dry. Well, this isn’t weird at all.

The king is staring at a section of the wall in front of him, and when he doesn’t answer, I turn to a table where there’s an ornate candlestick. I go to grab it because wherever we are I have a bad feeling, and I plan to bash him over the head with it, but my hand passes right through the object, almost like I’m a lost spirit in the shadow realm. What the fuck?

I whip my head around, peering at the king who hasn’t moved. “Where are we, Celzar?”

When he turns toward me, his eyes flash with amusement and a bittersweet smile lifts his lips. “She would have loved you, you know.”

“She?” I take a step closer to him.

He faces the wall in front of him again, and I follow his gaze. There’s a large frame there, and before my eyes tiny shards of crystal move together until I can make out the image of a young female dressed in long robes. Her hair is dead straight, reaching down past her hips, and her eyes are soft and kind.

Curiosity gets the better of me. “Is she your mother?”

He chuckles, and then his smile turns solemn. “Try my lover.”

I’m about to crack a joke about that being impossible because he’s clearly heartless, when I note the flash of genuine pain in his eyes. He blinks and the emotion is gone, but it’s enough to shock me into silence.

When I don’t speak, he goes on, “Her spirited nature was what drew me to her, and it wasn’t long before I was lost and entranced with her. She made me forget all I had lost, and for a time, it was enough.”

I frown in confusion, staring at the flickering flames of the fire, and scanning the small room. On each flat section of wall there’s another frame, though the others are all blank. “We’re still in the water, aren’t we?” I say, somehow still feeling the warmth of the water sliding over my skin, even though my mind isn’t in the lake anymore.

“Your body is,” King Celzar confirms. “And while we’re here it will be as if no time has passed though eons could go by.”

I grimace at the idea of spending eons in this room with him, and he smirks. “You flatter yourself, demon. I have no wish to keep you here for eternity.”

“Then why am I here?”

His gaze softens, and when he walks to one of the empty frames, I follow him. Again, tiny shards of crystal appear in the frame, this time forming an image of the same female. Her arms are in the air, and her robes are twisted to one side as she spins in a circle.

“I never bothered to tell my other brides about her. They were too broken by the time I found them, so lost from the absence of their power, that they were more than happy to surrender to me. All for the chance to feel their power again, even if it was only for a moment before I took it all away.” He turns to me, and there’s a vulnerability in his eyes that makes me uneasy.

“Look, I don’t need your life’s story—” I say, because I still fully intend to kill him when I get the chance, and I don’t want to feel any sympathy for him.

Before I can finish, he cuts me off. “But you…you’re an outsider. And behind that,” he swirls a finger in the air, “ harsh demeanor, I get the feeling you understand the struggles of responsibility.”

I want to argue that while that’s true, it’s obvious he doesn’t, but I don’t. It’s painfully clear he’s in a talkative mood, so I figure I’d better let him. If he wants to use me as his therapist, I’ll play along, and maybe I’ll learn something useful.

“Okay, so you had a lover,” I say. “And then what? She died? It’s a sad story, but it doesn’t justify what you’re doing to your kind. Let me guess, the witches stole her from you? Or was it?—”

“Me,” he replies abruptly.

“What?”

“She died because she loved me.”

I stare at him blankly, not liking where this is going.

“I never was good enough for them, my mother and my siblings. The royals of Perstalia. While my siblings thrived under mother’s gaze, I was the black sheep, the outcast. No matter what I did I was never good enough,” he says bitterly, and he walks to another frame where the image changes to show a younger Celzar crying with his head in his hands. “And then the day came when my mother named my sister as her successor rather than me, her eldest son. And I, despite all that I had done and given, was banished from the kingdom…”

I listen, not daring to interrupt.

“But I didn’t leave empty-handed. One of my mother’s most powerful advisors had just created an enchanted object. He became fanatical and swore that it would lead to new lands, and new opportunities for allies. But mother wouldn’t have it. She banned the object and forbade it from being used. Of course, I knew that was a mistake.”

A new object? My gut churned. “So, you used it? And you found her?” I say, referring to the female he’d been talking about.

“Yes,” he replies with a small smile. “Yenna was the one who found me wandering around that foreign forest. She called herself a witch, though at the time I didn’t know what that meant.”

My stomach plummets. A witch? One-hundred questions pop into my head.

“She lived in the forest, you see,” he goes on. “She helped heal me on the inside, and for the first time in a long while, I was happy. Those were the best months of my life. But then came the day when she told me she had to return home. I was desperate to keep her with me. Marry me. I asked her. And when she agreed I could have sworn the stars themselves danced overhead.”

The image before us changes, showing the two of them dancing. Yenna is now wearing a flowing dress covered in flowers, and their smiles are so big and joyful it makes me grin as well. I stare at the side of King Celzar’s face, and for once there isn’t cruelty in his expression. Now, there’s something soft tinged with sadness.

“But it doesn’t last,” I say slowly.

His smile falls, his expression becoming hard again, and I almost regret saying it. “That night as she surrendered herself to me, as she took her vows to become my wife, I didn’t understand what was happening. Her power leeched into me as I held her, and she grew limp and cold in my arms. I was desperate to give it back. I thought I’d do anything to keep her with me, but then I felt the rush of it. The power swelled inside me, and I knew I could do great things with her magic at my fingertips. I realized then that while my wife was gone, her love was a gift, and I would not waste it.” A manic gleam enters his eyes, and if I wasn’t in this weird ethereal state, bile would have crept up my throat.

“You’re talking like you’re glad she died. I thought you loved her?” I question.

His eyes sparkle, the same cruel king I’d come to know, returning in an instant. “How could I be sad? With her power, I could do so much good. I could do…anything!”

“Good?” I ask incredulously. “What good have you done? Perstalia is destroyed and your kind are underground!”

“I saved them!” he snarls back. “I had no idea that my Yenna was one of the witch anchors.”

“Anchors?”

He nods. “It turns out she was one of three witches with the power of their ancients. It was through their rituals that the power filtered to their people. And when the witches came to find their sister dead in my arms, they didn’t understand it had been an accident. They didn’t give me a chance to explain my own power, one which I had not known about. No, they attacked, and I was forced to flee or waste my Yenna’s sacrifice.”

Wait, what? I can barely speak. Can barely utter the words. “And the witches followed you back to Perstalia,” I say, almost in a whisper. “All because you’d taken the power of their ancients, and they wanted it back. You stole their power.” The room spins, and I can hardly breathe, even in this prison of my own mind. “Y-you’re the reason for all of it. You didn’t save the Perstalians, you doomed them!” And you doomed the demons.

King Celzar doesn’t look the least bit remorseful. “Mother didn’t have the power to stop the witches when they descended on the city, and they couldn’t be reasoned with. Even my brother, the so-called ‘Defender of the Realm’ as he was called by our kind, couldn’t stop them. While Mason led our warriors into battle and was overwhelmed on the battlefield, it was I who had to take control and save those who were left. With the power I had, I was able to create an underground haven for us. A new world where we could escape the witches. I couldn’t match the power of the two anchors they had left, but I could give us a chance.”

I try to place my hand on the wall to ground myself, but I end up touching a frame and the image flickers, this time showing an intense battle scene littered with bodies. A centaur male stands with a sword in his grasp, surrounded by witches on all sides. His large wings are spread wide, arrows embedded between the feathers, and there’s such sorrow in his defeated expression that it makes my heart hurt. The shape of his chin and coloring of his hair are the only features marking him as a relative of King Celzar.

“So, you stole what was theirs and you hid,” my words are quiet, like I’m afraid to say them, because I can’t believe this is true. I think of the graverobbing back in Seral. Of the great war and how the witches had fought to steal our power. How many demons had died? I tried to imagine what life was like for the witches without the power of one of their anchors. I hated them. My entire life I had been told to detest everything about their kind. I’d assumed they were power-hungry monsters, intent on dominating the realms. They tortured demons to figure out how to harvest our power, and no matter what King Celzar is telling me, I can’t ever excuse that, but for the first time in my life, I realize there’s more to their story. So much more.

“You should have told the truth,” I tell him, sickened by what he’s telling me. Sickened by the idea that he would let his kind suffer for his mistake. I think of Pask and every other trapped being in The Haven. “Why didn’t you return the magic?”

“Return it?” His gaze darkens. “Now, why would I do that?”

I stare at him like he’s an imbecile. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe to prevent a war? To prevent genocide?”

“Everything happens for a reason,” he replies, his voice devoid of emotion. “Yenna gifted me her power, and I wasn’t about to squander it.”

“Gifted?” I scoff. “You stole it, and you murdered the female you supposedly loved!”

He juts out his chest. “War was merely an opportunity to elevate my kind.”

Elevate? It seems a strange word to use when he quite literally brought them underground, but it’s clear this guy isn’t going to see sense no matter what I say. “If you were so keen on helping everyone, then why cuff them? You say you’re stronger. Why not let everyone have their abilities in The Haven?”

He tilts his head, observing me. “Not everyone who’s given power has the ability to wield it properly,” he replies coldly. “Just like yourself. You let those males all fight over you, when going by the power I felt radiating off you when we were on the surface, I’m guessing you could have done something to put them in their place. No, I’m not going to let anyone ruin my utopia. This way, there is guaranteed peace.”

“Peace?” I snort at the ridiculousness of the statement.

One moment he’s standing before the frame, and the next he’s in my face, towering over me. “I’m not sure why I thought you’d be different to my other brides. I expected you might be one of the few to understand. With your power, I thought you must be able to view the true world. That you would understand the weight of responsibility when it came to ruling a kingdom.” His eyes soften, resignation seeping in. “But I guess, in the end it doesn’t matter. You’ll fade like the others did. Just like her…”

Unfortunately for him, I really struggle to feel sympathy for kings who are this deluded. “Why do you need me? You said yourself, you’re powerful and juiced with witch magic. Why keep stealing from others? And why bother with marriage?”

He grows thoughtful then. “I might be powerful, but my power is not infinite. While my lovely Yenna, was able to draw on the power of the ancients, once I took it from her, that connection was cut off.”

“So the more power you used, the more of it you depleted,” I supply for him, keenly interested in this part of the conversation. “And while her power was great, you’ve now started taking power from your new brides.” I hesitate, thinking through my next move carefully. A moment passes before I force myself to relax and smile. “But…what if you could have your bride and more power?”

He frowns at me, clearly suspicious of my dramatic change in attitude. “You’ve made it abundantly clear you want nothing to do with me, demon.”

“Well, that’s true,” I tell him bluntly, “But that was because I hate being imprisoned, and it was before I realized just how powerful you are. What if we come to a mutual agreement? I don’t want to die, and you said yourself, you were the happiest when you were with Yenna. I’m not her, but I can be more than a fleeting sacrifice.” I rest a hand on one hip, subtly jutting out my breasts, and a hint of interest touches King Celzar’s eyes.

“It can’t be an accident what happened with Yenna, and it’s not an accident that I’m here now,” I say. “Lady Fate has plans for us, and maybe this time, your bride can live.”

Saying the words ‘your bride’ makes me want to gag, but I keep my posture relaxed. I think of his past lover. He hasn’t explained why he always tries to make his new victims his brides, but I wonder if it’s because in a way he’s subconsciously trying to replay the past. Even though, he knows it’ll always end the same way.

“How so?” he asks cautiously.

“What if, instead of dying, I become your queen?” I say, giving him a coy smile. “A real queen. Not a prisoner in your palace, but a partner.”

He still stares at me suspiciously. “Now why would I want that?”

I shrug. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because it can be damn lonely being the only powerful being in a kingdom. And maybe, because I’m way more powerful than you realize.” I lick my lips tentatively. “You weren’t wrong. It was near insufferable having those males fighting over me, and I was close to wanting to end the lot of them, but it wasn’t just a competition for fun. For my kind, we have predestined mates. And when we bond with those mates, our power increases exponentially.” I pause for emphasis. “ My power will grow far beyond what you felt before this cuff was placed on me.”

His eyes get so light they almost glow.

“So they are your fated mates,” he mutters.

“Yes,” I nod. “But I don’t think you understand the real reason I want them alive. You see, I need them to seal the bond so I can unlock my power. Once I have that power, you could imprison them for eternity, and I wouldn’t care. But when I’m that powerful, you can take most of it, making you strong again, and instead of killing me, leave me a little and let me rule by your side. As long as you let me keep enough to be comfortable, and you don’t keep me locked away, I’m happy to be yours.”

His gaze drops then, and instead of staring at me with the same scrutiny he has used since the first time I’d met him, this time I see longing and desperation. His chest rises and falls as he considers what I’ve said, and when I see that longing, I almost feel bad for him. Almost. Until I remember the horrible things he’s done, including to his first wife, let alone all the ones after that.

“I can’t guarantee that I can stop when the power transfer begins,” he says.

I smile reassuringly. “Sure you can. What happened with Yenna was a long time ago, and I’m sure you’ve perfected the art of using your magic by now.”

He crosses his arms, his expression becoming thoughtful. “And bonding with these mates of yours. What does that entail?”

I give him a saucy smile and bite my lip. “Well, yes, you will have to learn to share just this once. But on the bright side, let’s just say you should enjoy the show.”

His pupils dilate. “A mating ritual? It’s been so long since my kind have encountered fated mates. I’d forgotten this was part of it.”

“It is in a way,” I reply. “Let’s call it a basic ritual to unlock my power.”

His gaze shines with hunger, and I have to force myself not to cringe. Truthfully, I’m not sure if he’s lusting over the idea of more power or the idea of me with my mates, but either way, my proposition seems to be getting the job done.

“So,” I say, still making a point to tease my bottom lip. “Will you marry me, my king?”

His eyes sparkle in the light. “I suppose there would be no harm in letting myself have a true queen for as long as you remain useful. But you must know if you cross me, I’ll make you and your mates suffer fates worse than death.”

“Like I said, the only reason I care about them, is because I need them to unlock my power. After that, I have no loyalty to them.”

King Celzar’s smile stretches wide. “Well then, let’s see about this bonding ritual, shall we?”