19. Cain

CHAPTER 19

CAIN

"Don't believe the lies about her, my king," Duchess Amesbury begs as she once again rises from her seat. She goes so far as to press her head against the table. "Please, I beg of you, spare her from judgment!"

Her husband, Duke Amesbury and the father of the recently shunned Lady Eleanor, yanks her back into her seat with a glare. "Sit down . Our Lord has had enough hysterics to deal with lately. Let's not plague him with more than what Eleanor has already embarrassed this family with."

Steepling my fingers, I watch the exchange while I contemplate how to navigate the situation. If I had been less distracted, none of this would have become public scandal and the lies wouldn't have twisted everything out of proportion.

It took me two days to even realize what sort of rumors had been spread. By then, it was too late. So here I am, trying to pick up the pieces.

It's my fault, I lament. I should have known why he broke an anti-aging tonic on the ground.

It had left a magical signature, one that supported the rumor I know he started with unmistakable evidence.

Because no one in their right mind would discard a tonic of that value for no reason.

My beast remains silent. Not even a growl. He's displeased with me, not just because I've made matters worse. But because we haven't played in Scarlett's dreams as I had promised.

She hasn't let us back in. Not yet, but at least she's safe. For the moment, anyway.

My concern for her safety is why I am in this mess to begin with. I wrongly assumed that I had enough time to follow Earl Rinhold back to the ballroom and make sure he didn't do anything untoward to Scarlett before going back to rescue the poor girl he had humiliated. I should have trusted Bernard to that task, but I had let my emotions control me. After seeing the Earl's true colors, I needed to watch over her personally. That had been selfish.

I watched the whole thing unfold. She had lured him into isolation using blackmail and tried to seduce him, that part of the rumor was true. But the rest of it was a twisted version of what really happened.

He tore the clothing from her body, then he fucked her with the hilt of his dagger as if to prove some point.

He couldn't have just left it there. He stabbed it into the seat of a chaise lounge and made her ride it while she touched herself.

Then he dragged her onto the ground and broke an anti-aging tonic before abandoning her.

I'm the only one who knows what really happened. The public scandal story is that Lady Eleanor tried to throw herself at Earl Rinhold, who rejected her. But she had planned for it, according to the rumor, so that's why she had stolen his dagger and performed a black magic ritual to make him fall in love with her.

It made her sound manic and desperate.

It also allowed Earl Rinhold to weave a story very close to the truth, but in his favor. And after two days of circulation, the story had effectively ruined Lady Eleanor's reputation. It was an easy story to believe. Her jealousy over the fact that Earl Rinhold is betrothed to an unknown Elite recently risen in the Magic Sector ranks is real enough to make the story true.

I regret not putting a stop to it now. I'm a dream region monster, so I was able to sense her lust and enjoyment of the exchange, giving me no reason to interfere. If Earl Rinhold had engaged in true intercourse with her, it would have given me a justified means of ending his life. He would have broken the exclusivity clause in his contract with Scarlett, but he was too smart to violate that term.

My own selfish reasons put one of my citizens in danger. I regret that, even if I would have done the same thing all over again. Scarlett needs protection, and I chose to watch her in favor of Lady Eleanor.

When he left her there on the floor with no usable clothing and even announced to my presence to use her if I wished, I knew what kind of man Earl Rinhold really was.

A dead man.

But I will bide my time. Until then, I have to untangle this snarl he caused and I let happen on my watch.

Duke and Duchess Amesbury quietly bicker in front of my desk while I peer over their heads to the darkened city outside. I spot a Raven's silky black wings reflecting against the moonlight, so I know Bernard has finally returned.

Just in time.

This time he went all the way to Monster City to run an errand for me. Even if I can see through his eyes, I haven't as of late. There have been other things on my mind, so I trusted Bernard to get the job done.

Gladly, my Raven is worthy of my trust.

I see the evidence of his success in his beak. Two blood diamonds glimmer with ruby-red tones before he soars upward to the roof where he has an entry hole just large enough for a small Raven.

The purity of a blood diamond increases my effectiveness when scrying. And I intend to find a compatible breed of monster in this realm, or another world altogether if I must. I will find one, though, who can help me keep Scarlett alive when I take her as my mate.

That's next week's problem, though. I need to scry for such monsters when the portals open to hundreds of worlds in eight days' time. That'll only require one blood diamond. The other is for my current task.

Today, I need to work on cleaning up this mess and finding a way to show Scarlett what kind of man Earl Rinhold really is. Anything I do to impact her opinion of him could be considered a violation of the blood contract just as effectively as if I had killed him.

I have to tread carefully.

So I'll use Earl Rinhold's tactics of spreading rumors against him.

"Lady Eleanor is still recovering within the guest level of my tower," I explain. "She's welcome to stay as long as she requires."

They stop bickering as they glance back at me. "She's being kept here as a guest?" Duchess Amesbury asks hopefully. "Not a prisoner?"

I nod. "She was wounded, so I have a team of doctors tending to her injuries. She'll need a few more days, but she'll make a full recovery." I tilt my head. "I apologize that I wasn't aware of the rumors until now."

Bernard was in Monster City, so I had been deaf without him as my ears. Prayers don't often include rumors, only requests for help or blessings.

The monsters attending the fête only made matters worse. I am just as guilty as Earl Rinhold for abandoning her while she was naked and smelling like sex in an empty hall.

Conveying that information to Helia was one of Bernard's tasks. I've spent the majority of my time monitoring prayers and communications to ensure Scarlett's safety, as well as all the other tasks I must take care of during the busiest time of the year. While I've let the humans rule themselves even more than usual, I've almost forgotten that there are monsters to keep in line, too.

Monster justice is Helia's territory. Maintaining the humans of the Elite City is mine.

"What kind of injuries?" the Duke asks while he fiddles with the frill of his shirt. He pretends not to care about his daughter, but I know he does. The Amesbury Elites stick together. They are more of a middle- to lower-class family who scrape by on enough points to survive in the Magic Sector, which is no small feat in and of itself. Their daughter had simply found a currency that served her well in such circumstances, until now.

"That is still under investigation, but I can confirm that she suffered extreme blood loss," I say.

The Duchess's face blanches. I can tell she wants to confront me on why this information hadn't been disclosed sooner, but she doesn't.

I'm still their God. Whatever reasons I have for the way I do things are mine alone. I sent word to her parents that she had been taken into the tower, and they were the ones who had chosen not to respond until I sent an invitation.

To be fair, my first correspondence had been informative, not requiring a response.

"Was she violated in… other ways? By the monsters, I mean?" she asks instead. The tremor in her voice betrays the nightmares I can taste dancing around inside her mind.

She's always worried about her daughter attracting the wrong kind of attention. Luckily, most monsters aren't rapists. But taking a human's blood without permission is almost as unforgivable a crime. They will pay, once they are found. Hopefully, Bernard has good news for me. It was my assumption that the monsters we are looking for boarded the train for Monster City to prepare for Monsters Night.

It could be why they fed against the rules, too. Mortal blood is a coveted resource, but monsters must obtain it legally. That can take time, and with Monsters Night in just eight days, maybe they didn't want to wait.

There are many different types of vampiric species within Helia's city walls who seek her favor to earn time with a willing blood donor or be given a small supply to live off of for a while.

Feeding off of Elite citizens is frowned upon, to say the least.

If my followers don't have my protection, what good am I to them?

"No," I confirm. "At least, your daughter says they didn't do anything else to her but feed." I'll still explore their minds when they are found and discover the truth.

I decided against scrutinizing Eleanor's nightmares. What little I could see was darkness and screams. She wasn't recovering with such heavy nightmares tearing open her mind.

So I ate them.

"Can we see her?" Duchess Amesbury asks.

"What of the rumors?" her husband interjects, cutting her off as he taps his fingers on the table. "No one will do trades with us, and merchants are refusing to sell us wares. They can't have their reputation damaged and risk other families boycotting them, you see. This can prove difficult just days before Monsters Night."

"Do you not have confidence in your selections?" I ask.

Amesbury Village isn't much to look at, but it's a pretty little place by the sea. I know of it because I've stopped there before to enjoy the scenery. With the infertile land, though, pretty is all it could really be.

The Duchess gives her husband a frightened look while he takes a deep breath. "I need to buy one from another family for us to reach our quota this year," he admits. His wife makes a strangled sound.

Shadows grow against the walls as irritation crawls up my spine. "I approve the sale of breeders and resources between villages. Not selections," I warn him. Even if I know the underhanded practice happens, I often pretend to not notice.

I let the Elites manage themselves, and it doesn't hurt to have a little blackmail over them now and again.

"I know," he says, bowing his head. "But it is how we've survived this long, King Cain. And I promise you, once we get through this rut, we will serve you well."

Bernard enters the room, pausing by the doorway as he taps his boots on the ground. He could be silent if he wanted to be, but he's trying not to startle my guests.

I wave him in.

"I sent my Raven to Monster City to pick up a gift for you," I inform Duke and Duchess Amesbury. They both glance up at me with wide eyes. "The fault lies with me. I am responsible for the magic tonics that are permitted within your sector, and their use should be properly divided. Therefore, I will officially pardon Lady Eleanor. She will remain here until I have found the monsters who fed on her, for her recovery, and in the meantime, I give you this."

I hold out my hand and wait for Bernard to retrieve the blood diamond. He drops it into my palm.

Presenting it to the Duchess and Duke, I place it on the table.

I lean back while they stare at the gem that sucks in the light around it. "If anyone refuses your trade, pray to me. I will hear you, and I will come."

"Th-thank you, King Cain," Duke Amesbury says as he picks up the treasure and examines it. Bernard had done well. The quality is impeccable.

The Duchess bites her lip, then looks down.

Darkness swirls around her, tormenting her, because I'm not entertaining the rumors she knows are lies.

I know they are lies, too. But it doesn't mean I can do anything about it.

This, though. This is what I can do for them.

This is how I clean up Earl Rinhold's mess.

After closing pleasantries and slightly lifted spirits, I send Duchess and Duke Amesbury on their way. I consider the matter closed after providing the servants with orders of Lady Eleanor's care, and I turn my attention back to Bernard.

"The other one?" I ask.

He nods and produces the second blood diamond. It's even more perfect than the first.

"Helia sends her regards with the finest blood diamond ever created, as well as her vote of confidence," he says as he hands it to me. "If there are monsters compatible with you out there, my king, you will find them."

I hold up the gem to the moonlight and examine its symmetrical facets.

"I hope you're right," I murmur.

Because if I fail, it won't matter what kind of man Earl Rinhold really is.

Scarlett would still be safer with him than with me.

Eight days, I promise myself.

Then the nightmare really begins.