It only takes five minutes for Auden to leave the palace and cross the grounds to the Beta barracks, where he throws open the door. Everyone inside immediately goes still, caught in the middle of a card game that absolutely should not be happening.
Or at least, almost everyone goes still. One person lounges carelessly in her chair, draping an arm over the back.
“Should I deal you in, Prince?” she drawls, her black eyes sparking as she brushes her silky curtain of black hair away from her face.
Auden narrows his eyes at Margot, the most notorious woman at court and certainly not an enlisted member of his military. “No, Margot,” Auden replies evenly, hiding his surprise as he takes a few slow steps into the room. He slips his hands into his pockets. “Though I wonder if there’s any way I could convince you to close out.”
Auden’s eyes flick to the two dozen still-frozen Betas who watch him warily, trying to figure out precisely how much trouble they’re in. “I’m sure that by now you’ve taken enough of my men’s money to buy yourself something pretty, after all.”
“Something very pretty,” Margot murmurs, her lips quirking into a feline smile. She slowly stands from the table, turning that little smile on the men still seated there and holding out her hand. A young red-haired Beta named Stephen, seated closest to her, scoops up the majority of the coins on the table and places them in her palm.
“Enough,” Auden snaps, making his men flinch. “Clean this up,” he orders, and the men jump to work, clearing the game and hurrying to hide any other illicit materials. As they work Margot stands perfectly still, her eyes on Auden even as the table in front of her is whisked away.
Auden considers Margot, honestly surprised to see her here – he would have assumed that she would be at the feast with one or another of her Alpha benefactors. However, she’s precisely the person he intended to find next. Auden narrows his eyes at this woman, his father’s favorite courtesan, and considers that he perhaps shouldn’t be surprised at all.
Margot makes her living, after all, by showing up precisely when she’s wanted and being conveniently absent when she’s not.
“Richard, Joshua,” Auden barks, keeping his eyes fixed on Margot. The two men drop what they’re doing and come forward, giving Auden a sharp salute. Auden takes a moment to look them over, trying to assess whether they’ve been drinking. But they look sober enough. “Head to the stables,” Auden orders. “Prepare three horses. I’ll meet you there.”
Joshua and Richard move out of the barracks without question. When they’re gone, Auden offers his arm to Margot and inclines his head towards the door, silently asking her to accompany him outside. With a little purr of pleasure, Margot closes the distance between them, gently wrapping her hand around Auden’s elbow as he escorts her out the door.
Auden leads Margot to a dark area beneath a little willow tree, sighing to think that if anyone saw him walking with Margot to a shadowy alcove in the dark of the night…well, that they’d get the wrong idea. And, considering the little smile that curls the edges of Margot’s lips as they walk, Auden thinks she knows it too, and finds it funny.
Margot moves away from her place at Auden’s side as they move beneath the branches of the willow, turning to face him and folding her arms over her chest. “So,” she says, her face lit with a dark glee, “where’s the girl?”
“What?” Auden asks, his stomach dropping as he realizes that Margot also noticed Everleigh’s failure to appear at the feast tonight. God, who else noticed it? But Auden does his best to play it cool, watching Margot’s every move.
Margot laughs, shaking her head at him. “The little Queen has barely shown her face, Prince,” she says quietly, “somethings up. And you need my help.”
Auden twists his lips, shaking his head at her. “Why are you always two steps ahead, Margot?” He clenches his jaw, angry to have been so easily read but impressed regardless. Honestly, Margot is a polarizing figure at court - with Lunas hating her and Alphas liking her perhaps a little too much - but he always found her dark, ready wit clever and charming. But then again, he’s not fucking her and has no wife to wonder jealously if he is.
“Someone’s got to keep up with you,” Margot replies, shrugging a shoulder.
“The Queen,” Auden says slowly to measure Margot’s reaction, “is ill. She’ll be in her room all night with her sister. She is so ill that she’s not to be disturbed at all. By anyone.”
“Anyone?” Margot asks, raising one eyebrow.
“No one is to disturb her,” Auden says slowly, sticking to the story and leaning forward to stare Margot straight in the eyes, ensuring that she takes his meaning. “And it would be helpful if that story were to spread, subtly, through the banquet.” The sly smile on Margot’s face grows minutely, letting him know that she understands.
“Your father will be disappointed,” she murmurs.
“My father,” Auden replies, cocking his head to the side. “Is going to be very drunk. So drunk that he doesn’t notice whether Everleigh is there or not. So drunk that he’ll be pleasantly preoccupied by the pretty girl pouring his drinks.”
“Sounds like a very nice evening,” Margot purrs, smiling fully now, understanding precisely what he’s asking her. “If not…an expensive one.”
“Can you do it, Margot?” Auden asks softly, dropping the pretense but also asking, below his words, can I trust you?
“I can,” she replies, flicking her hair back over her shoulder. “But you will be in my debt, Prince. Monetarily and…personally.”
Auden takes a minute to consider the offer and then bows to her, just slightly - the kind of formality a woman in Margot’s position rarely receives. “I will be in your debt, Margot,” he says, holding her gaze, “and grateful to be there if this works.”
“Leave it to me,” Margot replies lightly, reaching out and tapping Auden’s arm with the edge of her fingers, sending a cool chill up his arm. But then she gives him a wink and heads off towards the palace.
Auden takes a deep breath, hoping to hell that Margot’s confidence in herself isn’t false. And then, after tilting his head up to send a quick prayer up to the stars, Auden turns and heads towards the soft orange glow of the stables in the distance.
When Auden bangs through the door the young stable boys are already in action.
“Here he is, sir!” one boy calls, his voice breaking in the throes of puberty as he leads Auden’s horse around the corner. “All ready, sir!”
“Good,” Auden replies, taking his horse’s reins, but as the boy moves to hurry away Auden reaches out and grabs his arm.
“Who else came here tonight looking for a horse?” Auden demands, studying the boy’s face.
The boy hesitates, realizing that he could be in trouble. Auden, losing his patience, shakes the boy’s arm a little - nothing to hurt him, just to loosen his tongue.
The boy speaks quickly now, eager to get away. “A woman – a Celestial, I think – at least, she was finely dressed –“
“Blonde?” Auden snaps, “Young? Alone, in a hurry?”
The boy nods eagerly, his eyes going wide.
“And you let her go?!”
“I’m sorry, sir –“ the boy gasps, shrinking away. “We’re told to obey Celestial orders without question –“ his lip starts to tremble in fear and guilt.Auden just growls and drops the boy’s arm, reaching into his pocket to grab some coins, which he slips into the boy’s hand. “Tell no one that we’ve been here and no one that she left. Share those coins with the boys inside, pass the instructions on to them. If you all stay silent, there will be more.”“Yes sir!” the boy quips, his face bright now.“I’m serious, boy,” Auden continues, snapping his fingers in the boy’s face to make him focus. “There will be consequences for all of you if you disobey. As far as anyone knows, you all fell asleep. You know nothing of anyone leaving the stables tonight. Even if they flog you for it. Yes?”The boy hesitates and then nods.Auden nods back to the boy, dismissing him as his Betas come forward leading their mounts. When they’ve led the horses outside and climbed into their saddles, Auden signals f
Shit.It’s the only word I can think as I see him standing there, his eyes taking in the picture we make: me, my children, our ridiculous pet dragon, clearly ready to run. And I watch as he focuses solely on them, shock the only thing on his face as he puts together my story, the reason I ran.I’m completely frozen as I watch the man I never, ever intended for my children to meet looking right at them.I gasp, suddenly, my body forcing me to draw breath as I realize that in my panic I’ve completely stopped breathing. My mind begins to whir then, coming up with any excuse, any viable solution –The only thing I can think of is to scream at my children to run – or at least to lie -Unfortunately for me, Vivi acts first.“You stay away!” she yells, dropping Coco on the wooden floor of our porch with a thump as she points a small, angry finger at the Prince. “You get away from our house, stranger!” she shouts. Coco gives an indignant little cry but then he shakes himself and, predictably,
**Midwinter, Five and a Half Years Ago**“Wait wait wait,” Angeline bursts out, laughing so hard she can hardly say the words. “Wait! Evie!” She puts her hands out to grab my wrists, stopping me from again sweeping my hands over my hair, which is currently a bright purple.I’m also laughing so hard that my stomach hurts as I stare at our reflections, baffled and thrilled at how well the little illusion spell is working on us.“No!” I shout, trying to raise my hands again, “I want to turn it green!”“No, the purple is amazing!” Angeline protests, grinning at me in the wide mirror in her bathing chamber. “It goes with your dress! And you have to fix mine – seriously, you have to fix mine!”And then we’re both laughing hysterically again because I really do have to do something about her hair – the last time I touched it and muttered the words to the incantation, I made it look like the ends of her hair had caught on fire and shriveled up into sad, crispy little curls. It’s amazing, real
**Midwinter, Five and a Half Years Ago**“My queen,” Auden says, bowing low to the girl he barely knows standing before him on the dais. He lets out a long breath as he holds the bow, staring at the floor, willing himself to hold himself together and be civil to this woman who took his mother’s place. It wasn’t her fault, after all.When Auden straightens, he sees a warm smile on Angeline’s face, her hands outstretched towards him.“Hey, Auden,” she says, her voice soft. “Welcome home.”And something shifts in the prince as he looks at the girl standing before him, her face open to him and full of empathy. He had thought that he’d have nothing but bitter resentment for Angeline for the rest of his life - had been fully prepared for that, even.But as she stands there in front of him, her arms outstretched, a hesitant smile starting on her face, Auden’s mouth curls upwards at one corner. Damn it, but he can’t help but like her. Just a little bit.Auden takes a few steps forward, raisin
I lean against the threshold of my front door as I watch Auden kneel in front of Vivi, who glares at him, and Niall, who looks at this gigantic Alpha with wide and worried eyes. Niall tucks himself behind Vivi a little, hiding behind her courage. “Are you really a prince,” Vivi asks, narrowing her eyes at Auden and looking him up and down, her little blue dragon sleeping across her shoulder. “Don’t I look like a prince?” Auden asks, cocking his head to look at his daughter curiously. “No,” she replies instantly, making him laugh. “What about me doesn’t seem prince-like?” he asks, and I come into the room, shutting the door behind me. My gaze flashes to Anna in the kitchen while Vivi considers Auden for a moment longer, and I quickly shake my head at Anna, asking her not to say a word. Anna nods a quick assent. “You are too tall,” Vivi decides. “And dirty. And you have no crown.” Auden laughs again, a warm sound that surprises me
My stomach twists with anxiety as our three horses approach the palace. The sun is almost fully risen, which means that soon the palace will wake up - that Mahl will wake up and have the chance to notice that I’m gone. “Can we go any faster?” I murmur, glancing over my shoulder for probably the hundredth time even though I’m fully aware that there’s no one behind me except Auden’s guard, Richard. Richard doesn’t take his eyes off the road ahead of us, but I know he’s watching my every move – that he’s been ordered to, just in case I’m stupid enough to try and run again. “If we go any faster,” Auden replies tightly under his breath, “we’ll draw attention to ourselves.” I know he’s right – and I know he’s frustrated because he’s already explained that to me twice before. Our goal right now is to look like an everyday Alpha and Luna heading to the palace with their guard for the continued festivities. They’ve dressed me for the part, too, in an elegant
King Mahl stands glaring at us, his whole body tensed with the effort of not transforming into his wolf and leaping at us. I feel my breath come short in my chest, terrified despite Auden’s assurance that he will quickly get this under control.Mahl’s eyes are fixed on me and I can see the threat in the steady flame burning there, the tension in each of his muscles. He immediately suspects betrayal and he’s ready to make me pay for it, no questions asked.That’s how Mahl rules, after all: by making sure that everyone knows that he can rip those who betray him to shreds and that he’s ready to do it at the barest whiff of disloyalty.The threat feels very real to me as we stop our horses a few feet from the King and Auden swings his leg over his horse’s saddle, dropping easily to the ground. Auden turns to Mahl, taking his horse’s bridle in his hand and giving the King a short bow. “Father,”
Mahl walks me steadily to the door of the Queen’s apartments in silence.“I’m afraid I gave your sister a bit of a scare this morning,” he informs me, making me jump even though he keeps his voice low. But then, realizing what he said, I snap my face up to his, surprised. Honestly, I’d forgotten all about poor Calli – my mind was on other problems.“Is – is she all right?” I ask, hesitant.“She is fine,” Mahl replies, nodding and coming to a stop outside the door. “I do not appreciate being lied to though, wife. Or you asking your family members to lie in your stead.”“It was Auden’s idea,” I say quickly, throwing him under the horse’s cart a bit but willing to let him take the blame. “He didn’t want to worry you in the night – if you…if you came to visit me. She was to tell you I was ill.”Auden told me, of
Auden looks down at me with a frown. “Seriously?”I frown too, shaking my head. “Yeah, Auden. Seriously.”His confusion increases. “What the hell does that old man have to do with anything?”I laugh. “Auden, he’s younger than your father –““Yeah, but he acts like he’s about eighty. Eighty and content to sit in his tower all day, counting his coins. He’s not a threat, Everleigh – why on earth would we need to talk about him in secret?”“He’s…not a threat?”Auden shrugs. “Wood’s desires always lean towards the largest profit. He’s predictable and easy to appease. Why would you care that he’s here?”A slow smile spreads across my mouth when I realize that…Auden has no idea. But even as I grin my heart sinks because…those first three months of my pregnancy being h
Auden narrows his eyes, turning fully to me, his hand tightening on his wine glass. “You can’t seriously think I’d change my mind about this, Everleigh.”I just stare up at him, anger starting to stir in me. “You haven’t let me in on anything –““And the first thing you jump to is that I’ve quit? That says much more about you than about me –““Hey,” I growl, stepping closer, lifting my chin. “There is no reason to make this personal, Auden –““You did that!”“I asked a question! You’re the one who got mean!”He snaps his mouth shut and turns away from me for a moment, looking down at the ground. I exhale slowly, glancing inside, not wanting the kids to have noticed mom and dad fighting. But luckily, they’re still distracted by their treat.Even if Co
I settle in next to Auden, handing him the glasses of wine we set on the bedside table forever ago and promptly forgot about.“This is nice,” Auden murmurs, glancing at me before taking a sip of his wine. “I used to do this with my mom. It’s…nice to do this again with them.”Warmth spreads through me at that idea – I love that this little activity lets him relive such a pleasant memory. And again, I wish quite desperately that I could tell him the truth…But. I don’t know. Even after my failure, a big part of me realized that opening that secret to Auden would be very complicated. How would I even convince him that my words were true – that he is their father – if he has absolutely no memory of that night?Would he just…write me off as some kind of madwoman? Or my attempt to convince him of his paternity as some kind of new scheme?I would
Vivi’s eyes are wide as she watches the chocolate melt slowly in the little copper bowl that Auden holds out over the fire. He uses long tongs to keep the bowl suspended so that the flames just barely lick the bottom. Niall watches closely, his eyes moving between his father’s steady hand and the bowl itself.My daughter stays concentrated on the treat. “Can we eat it yet?”“No!” I say, laughing as I kneel next to Auden, likewise watching, loving this. “It has to get all melty, and then we can add some cream, and then dip the fruit into it –“I gesture over to the plate of fruits that I ordered up to the room, ready and waiting on a towel spread on the floor. Coco lays next to it on a pillow that Vivi set there for him, innocently pretending that he’s not sneaking a strawberry every time we turn our eyes to the fire.“Nooo!” Vivi moans, her hands balled into lit
I grin, thinking that they very much would. And that I’d die of anxiety watching them hurl themselves around on it, worried about them falling and breaking their bones.“Does it really get cold enough to freeze it solid like that?” After all, Mahl and his court come south to this winter palace because it’s more temperate than the north.“Oh, I’ve got methods to help it along,” Margot says. I turn back to her and she gives a little wink. “I’m a poor little winter girl at heart. I’ve got my methods of having fun.”I tilt my head, smiling at her, betting that she’s right.“So!” Margot says, giving me a bright smile. “How are you feeling about the Night of the Stag?”I groan again and she laughs.“Honestly, Everleigh,” she murmurs. “Don’t you enjoy anything?”“I enjoy peace, quiet, and…predict
“Are you…are you serious,” I whisper, snatching the pamphlet up and holding it close to my face like getting a better look is going to change the words or something. “He’s…is this true!? Is he coming here!?”“Looks like it,” Margot says. I lower the pamphlet to see her grimacing a little. “I can take it that…you and your ex didn’t leave things on pleasant terms?”I groan, dropping the pamphlet and again burying my face against the blankets. Because…bad terms is not an adequate phrase to encapsulate what happened when I called off my engagement to Alpha Wood.Catastrophe would be better. Brink of war? Threats of eternal damnation and the destruction of my family? Each of those is…closer to the point.“Oh, baby,” Margot murmurs, patting me softly on the back. “What could it possibly matter? You’re going to be a Queen now, and you’ve got Mahl behind you. No one can say a word against you. No matter what Wood says or does, you’re coming out with the upper hand.”I take a deep breath, real
I’m about to turn to him and plead to be let go when Margot turns her face to me from across the room and gives her head a subtle shake. I hesitate for just a moment and then pause, considering that she may have a better plan than me.Margot laughs at one final thing an Alpha says before she detaches herself from his arm and saunters over to us, the silk of her dress flowing gorgeously over her hips. Mahl and I watch her come, his arm tightening around me, slipping lower so that his hand grips my ass – probably pretending it’s hers.“Highness,” Margot says, dipping into a curtsy and giving Mahl a coy look. “Thank you so much for this fantastic party –““Of course, Margot. I’m so glad you’re enjoying yourself. Though, I can imagine some ways for you to enjoy yourself more…”Margot smirks at Mahl and turns to me next, murmuring “darling” and reaching for me, pulling me into a hug. As she presses a kiss to my cheek, she whispers, her words falling swiftly from her lips. “Just go – I’ll h
Auden keeps his eyes on his father, ignoring the Alphas, knowing that this is a briefing, not a discussion. The King bangs his fist twice on the table. What murmurs there are in the room fade to silence.“Our armies will move to the Western border with Venda,” Mahl growls, looking around at his Alphas. “We’ll draw our troops back from the Eastern allies to move in force. We will take our time with this, let the Vendans sweat, think we’re moving slowly because we’re bullying them and intend to call for talks at the last minute. But no talks. We will strike.”It’s Auden’s plan, not Mahl’s – one the Prince dwelled over for hours on the road while the children slept. But the way Mahl speaks it with such confidence, he probably does think that he came up with it by this point.“In the intervening months,” Mahl growls, still looking around at all of his men, “we will celebrate our Kingdom’s power and imminent victory. This celebration will culminate in my wedding.”He gestures over to Everl
“Nice room,” Margot says, turning in a small circle and nodding appreciatively. “Yes, I think I’m going to like it here!”“You haven’t been in here before?” I ask, pressing the door shut and waving my friend toward the bed as I move to a little cupboard built into the wall next to the fireplace. As I open it, a little table conveniently unfolds from within, creating just enough space to mix a cocktail while the shelves above hold a variety of wine glasses and space for more bottles.Margot gasps, delighted. “This is so cute!” she says, leaving the cheese plate on the bed and scurrying over to me as I pull out a corkscrew and take the bottle from her hands. “And no, of course I haven’t been here. I wasn’t at court in your days, and Beth was…disinclined towards those of my profession.”I grin at her, opening the bottle with a pop. &ldq