“Or hunches,” he said, and he smiled. “This feels more like a hunch,” he said, putting both the grape and his ring into the pocket of his jacket. “But just in case, I’m glad I have them.” He patted his pocket affectionately.“I am, too,” I said, leaning over to kiss him.I loved when he was playful; his humor always put me at ease. It reminded me of when we were kids and we’d play pranks on each other. I longed for the day when we would have the liberty to tease each other and be playful again.At that moment, there were three hard knocks at the door, and without warning, it blasted open as Lex and I were still kissing. At that moment, Polonius strolled into our room, Gabrielle behind him. I could feel Lex’s body tense and his temperature rise, and my wolf knew that he was about to shift.“Don’t,” I said in a harsh whisper. “No shifting,” I reminded him.“Well, well, I can see that I’ve interrupted the two of you,” Polonius laughed. “As I thought I might.”Lex clenched his fists as he
“Oh, I trust her, too, most definitely,” he laughed. “I wouldn’t marry the woman if I didn’t.” Polonius had a strange glinting smile on his face that made me uncomfortable.“What are your plans for her?” I asked, unable to hold myself back from the question.“I, contrary to what you might believe, am a charismatic man. However, I’m elusive and distrusting by nature. I haven’t the presence I need to rule a band of nations. Aria, on the other hand, is an incredible woman. Already, she’s pulled at the hearts of the masses. I admire her strength and bravery, and what she did to activate her mage, all for the good of a people she didn’t even know. Perhaps some of it was to know herself, but who’s to fault her for that? I knew the moment I met her, she wasn’t a servant, I’m sure you did as well.” I wasn’t sure if Polonius was asking a question or stating a fact.“We’ve known each other since we were children,” I said.“And did you play with other the servants’ offspring?” Polonius asked.“N
We entered the castle from the landing strip on the roof. We did not have to go through the main doors or security; the guards marched with us as we walked into an interior solarium at the top of Polonius's castle.“I hope you don’t mind returning to your previous quarters, where you so delightfully pretended to be a mage scholar so you could be near Aria,” Polonius said. “More diplomats are coming, and we do have the very real task of helping Aria raise Onyx Rah to its full efficiency ahead. I already know you want me dead, and so I hope you understand I’ve taken measures to prevent my demise. You’ll not want to leave this room without one of my guards if you hope to live.” He kept his tone unnervingly kind and hospitable as he threatened my life.“You’ve made yourself perfectly clear,” I answered, feeling trapped.“I rather like having a jealous nemesis, so please don’t make me kill you,” were his last words to me as he walked out of the room.As soon as Polonius left, I was stunned
“You have a lot going on. You’ve put your heart and soul into standing by Aria while she did impossible work. You’re here now, at the point of Polonius’s blade, figuratively speaking. You have the right to be wary. I don’t fault you.”Cheyenne had a wondrous gleam in his eye, and my admiration of my brother rekindled. For a moment, I even considered what a great asset he’d be to Navarrah City and Tobran should he be given a territory to rule. He would make a remarkable king.“Thank you for your wise counsel,” I said, then shifted our conversation back to the tasks at hand. “Now, Polonius and I rode here on an airbus packed with ammunition and weapons. It is a lethal warship that I don’t doubt could take down an entire city from the air. If sharpshooters and marksmen were aboard, people would have no way to avoid their aim. Considering Polonius used this ship for transport, I fear what other lethal contraptions he might have at his disposal. We need to find out what weapons he possesse
“I am very excited to hear your call to service, but I believe we have servants here who would very much like for us to eat so they might clean up and find their rest. It is rather late, and I don’t want to take advantage of Angeline Falls’ hospitality.” I spoke with as much kindness and understanding as I could muster.Just the mention of food had me starving. The fruit basket was nice, but I hadn’t had anything else to eat since morning.“Oh, heavens, what time is it?” Halo asked in alarm.“Her Majesty is right. It’s nearly ten in the evening,” Bindi said.“Where does the time go? Please bring our meal,” Halo addressed the nervous little man who had accosted me.“I think he’ll be very pleased we are eating,” I said as I took a seat next to Halo.Gabrielle sat on Bindi’s other side as Halo and Bindi cleared their jumble of papers and maps.“We have a game plan,” Bindi said with pride. “As soon as we get to Onyx Rah, we’re going to send out the call. I’ll train with the troops, and we
The next morning, Halo, Bindi, two of Bindi’s soldiers, Gabrielle, and I took the airship back to Onyx Rah. On our journey, we continued to strategize the development of our new kingdom. We determined that Bindi would work with the Royal Guards to secure our borders and build up an army, and Halo would be in charge of finding ancestors and allotting them properties. Gabrielle would work with me to bring the court together as well as find domestics to run the castle.I felt good about our plans. As soon as the airship landed and we exited the tarmac, I went in search of Sire Vanoire. It was imperative that I begin training and practicing my mage abilities. With Polonius now insisting that he marry me, I needed to build my magical skills. If I were to ever have to face him one on one, I wanted to have the ability to disable him with my magic.As we walked across the airstrip, I noticed that the Royal Guards were not standing at attention. Rather, they were shifting their weight and enga
“I’ll fight you,” the first soldier said. Another random soldier, tall with deep red scars covering much of his body, came forward.“Thank you for taking on our challenge,” I said as Bindi and I squared up on our side to face the two soldiers.“Go!” Bindi yelled, and the fight began.The brawl was loud and chaotic. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Halo and Gabrielle rush to the center of town to see what was happening. I could see horror in their expressions as they watched Bindi and me fight. But this was what I was born to do. I felt more comfortable in that makeshift arena fighting those soldiers than I ever had as queen.The first soldier lunged at me, but neither of us shifted. His brawny frame nearly made me tumble backward, but my knee found his groin and made contact there with the force of my anger and frustration. The other soldier attacked Bindi, and she had him on his back in moments. Without weapons or shifting into our wolves, both Bindi and I had attacked with legs, a
Chapter 14LexI was standing on the edge of Angeline Falls. The majestic water tumbled all around me in sprays of iridescent green and turquoise blue. My heart felt light and joyous as love and joy filled me. I was attending an important event because I was dressed in my finest garments.Suddenly, the scene before me had morphed into an aisle. I was still standing on the edge of the falls, but behind me was a long pathway lined with satin and trimmed with flowers that led to an archway and an altar.Standing at the altar was Bastien Salt, dressed in black from head to toe. I knew it was a wedding; however, I wasn’t the groom, but a king attending as a spectator. Music bloomed from around us as a throng of musicians entered, playing instruments. Their song was melodious and harmonic, and I wanted to feel joy from their rousing, but couldn’t. A cold dread had filled my heart, nearly suffocating me.Then, I saw Aria wearing a white dress that fit her like shimmering clouds. Her long aub