Basil went with the search team and went around the house revealing all the telltale signs of a hidden safe. There were several hidden throughout the mansion and with a few looks at the logbooks, he gave them every code he could. He had the servants detained and opened every hidden door and passageway with burning red eyes. The knights who had gone with him reported back that it was a bit like working with a less frightening, though far more angry, version of Adolph. Adolph wasn’t surprised that Basil was taking the lead in the investigation. It was probably a deeper wound than he realized yet to know that his family members had been stabbing him in the back all these years. After all, Basil was a Mirabelle, but above that, he was the heir to the throne. Every act of treachery could have jeopardized that. “Will he be okay?” Raven asked over lunch. Laurel grimaced and swirled her tea as Adolph shook his head, “I can only let him prove what he needs to within reason… But no. I don’t
Basil was packed to leave before breakfast the next morning. As promised, Adolph only had him stay long enough to eat breakfast and say goodbye. He was surprised that Irene hugged him close. “You’ve grown so much,” she said before drawing back and grinning, “Looks like there’s some Raymond in there after all.”He gave her a phantom smile before taking the bag of food from Raven and another hug. Henry clapped him on the shoulder. “See you soon, Basil.”Basil didn’t agree, but he accepted their well-wishes and placed the food in his saddlebag. Adolph was the last to bid him goodbye. He pulled him into a tight hug and whispered the same prayer his father had said over him when he went to the border. Basil looked up at him a bit dazed and Adolph grinned. “This in no way makes you any less my son,” Adolph said, pulling back and cupping his face. “You have come far, and I am proud of you. I’ll see you soon.”Basil nodded shakily before mounting his horse and leaving with the escort. Ad
A few days after the executions, there was a minor lull in the torrent of things that needed to be done. Laurel threw up her hands and started stripping just after breakfast. Adolph chuckled, heading into the bathroom ahead of her to run her a cold bath as she struggled out of her gown. “I told you to just wear the simple gowns.”“But it’s not queenly!” Laurel huffed and growled. “Stupid ribbons!”Adolph left the bath to run and returned to save his young wife from her queenly gowns. “I’m so young barely anyone takes me seriously even now.”Adolph shook his head and caught her hands before she ripped the ribbons. He kissed her pouting lips and began to work the ribbons free. “You caught a treasonous noble and made it possible to clean up the kingdom in one fail swoop. Plenty of people take you seriously,” Adolph soothed, undoing the knots and pulling her dress apart. “I certainly take you seriously.”Laurel flushed and worried her lip, stroking a hand over his chest and he licked
Adolph sighed into the open air as the carriages were prepared. Laurel tottered out of the castle towards him and he led her down the steps. She pouted and Adolph knew she was going to protest his care for her again. She was so stubborn lately though it was clear that she couldn’t move around the way she was used to.He had always been under the impression that a pregnant woman would appreciate being doted on and spoiled, but Laurel had always managed to surprise him.“I am just fine,” Laurel said. “I can walk on my own, you know?”“I let you walk from the stairs to out here on your own,” Adolph teased, “From our bed to the bathroom… the bathroom to the parlor—”“Enough,” she stuck out her tongue at him. “You’re not funny.”“I think you are just not in the mood to find me humorous,” Adolph said and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Let’s get going, hm?”She allowed him to help her into the carriage and he climbed in after her. He still wasn’t completely used to riding in a carriage after
Laurel woke up, frozen in terror in bed. The last time she’d had a vision of the moon goddess, she’d been pushed off a cliff. She wasn’t sure if hearing that her husband’s late wife put a curse on him was better or worse. How bad was the curse now? How much longer did they have? Could she break it? If she couldn’t, what would happen to him?Her stomach turned as she turned over to see Adolph sleeping peacefully beside her. The days of his insomnia seemed to have caught up with him all at once. The strain of the days seemed to be gone now as he slept.His scent was just as bloody and lovely as ever, but that blood that she had once found just a bit sexy seemed tainted with danger now. It wasn’t just the scent of someone who had seen a great deal of war, but it was affecting his mind. An alpha werewolf like Adolph could be dangerous if they lost control of their strength. She knew that Adolph was much stronger than the average wolf. Was it anything like going rogue? Would it kill him?
Taliesin sent the message off with a heavy heart. While his judgment was sound and he knew he wasn’t wrong, the likelihood that it would all go to plan was slim. Curses laid by the dying or the dead were harder to get rid of than living curses and he was not an expert in such dark magics. He had no affinity for creating or breaking them. His late brother and twin, Merlin, had no such limitations, but he had gone into Eternal Repose after his wife, Viviane, had been killed in the war against Morrigan. Merlin could not help them.Taliesin couldn’t blame him. The war had taken so much from all of them and raising the barrier had taxed them both greatly. There was little hope that he would ever wake up, and Taliesin had accepted that centuries ago, focusing on raising Merlin’s daughter as if she were his.“Nimue?” Taliesin called as he returned to the meeting hall. She was seated on the old stone bench, looking up through the canopy of the ancient oak trees that were always in bloom. Hi
Basil had tried to keep his mind focused on the path ahead the next morning, no matter how Nimue’s scent had seemed to take over his senses and make him dizzy with need and desire. She smelled like fresh blooming flowers, fresh earth, and a hint of fresh sweet bread. It was a distracting, comforting, and maddening scent. His wolf growled in contentment and want whenever she grew near, so he took to riding further ahead to try and keep his mind clear. *I hate you*, his wolf huffed and growled. *You and your stupid pride and fear and…**Not now*, Basil thought, stubbornly. *Focus on getting back to the capital, okay?*He huffed, *And your need for distraction instead of facing the truth…*Basil sighed, tuning out his wolf’s whining. This wasn’t the time for thinking about such things. Adolph and Laurel were supposed to be staying at the temple until the baby was born. There was no reason they should have called him back unless the baby was early or something had happened to his father
Adolph watched Basil leave. Nimue winced.“I… would like a moment to speak with my wife,” Adolph said slowly. Nimue nodded, “I’ll… go after him.”She left wincing. That had been a fucking disaster if she’d ever seen one. As she exited the room, she followed the trembling confusion, fear, and anger down the hall and around the corner. The thing about magical compatibility between fated matches was that it worked like a homing beacon. She found him in a parlor sitting on the couch with his head in his hand. He lifted his head and shot to his feet as she entered. “You—You can’t just say things like that!” Basil said, “You can’t just accuse her if you—You’re a healer! How would you know something like that anyway?”Nimue watched him, his shoulders heaving as he held himself still. “I am a healer,” she said. “But I am not just a healer. Sit down and calm yourself.”“Look me in the eye and tell me the truth,” Basil said, glaring at her. “Tell me you know for sure my mother did it. Tell