They were almost always associated with dark practitioners; fae that dabbled in the darkest of magic. There was no limit to the evil shit someone could do if they had one of them on their side. Lachlan Roarke, the devil himself, had a whole clan of them.
I suppose he didn’t make for a good argument, though, seeing as he was supposed to be dead.
But Lachlan had also been a shadow-bringer, and we had intel that his sons were as well. It wasn’t surprising, seeing as many families wanted to keep their lines pure when it came to their abilities. His family line appeared to be one of the few remaining, as most others had been taken out after the war due to a rise in panic. People had seen what Lachlan had been capable of, and the witch hunt ensued shortly after. And the only reason his blood had survived was because no one had known his sons were alive. There must be some stragglers left behind, seeing as Matthew was still around.
Shadow-bringers were dangerous. Holding the ability to blend into almost any group, camouflaging themselves in the shadows in order to covet the secrets of those they were listening in on. They were the keepers of knowledge and power, often taking occupations as royal advisors due to their keen ability to seek out information.
I’m sure Matthew thought he was special. How he had swooped in and whisked her around the dance floor like a damn prince, interrupting our conversation when I was just about to tell Eva the true depths of my affections. I could still see the way his hands lingered on her skin for a beat too long, like he was drawn to her touch.
It was understandable, of course. I knew what it felt like, how intoxicating it was to simply be in her presence. But unlike him, I knew what her lips tasted like and the taste of her arousal on my tongue, and even the little noises I drew from her body as she came around my cock.
So, what is it that he wants from her? And why her specifically?
She was the heir to the Helian throne, so perhaps it was power he was after? After all, aligning with someone as powerful as she was could only increase his standing. While he carried himself like he was of noble blood, he didn’t seem to come from any kind of notable pedigree.
I briefly remembered hearing his name during the war. He was teamed up with Kalen Drake, an esteemed mercenary that led his own group of soldiers into battle. They were valuable men, going as far as earning recognition from Eva’s father, but I hadn’t been in attendance at that ceremony since I was chasing after Eva while she was on one of her hunts. Like always, trying to keep her safe while she was recklessly endangering her life.
But regardless, I knew her father wouldn’t be satisfied by her marrying anyone that wasn’t me. Yes, I might have been a bit cocky, but I met and exceeded every bit of criteria he could ever place on her husband. No one knew her better than I did, yet she was slipping away from me.
I knew what I had to do. The shadow person had been clear on that. I had to kill Matthew. Kill Matthew and she would be mine. In fact, I could look at it like I was doing the world a service. Shadow-bringers needed to be stopped. We couldn’t afford to have one out in the world, especially not when The Horde was rising again. For all we knew, he could be involved.
So, it was simple, really.
He needed to die, and I would be the one to kill him.
The question was how, though. Surely, he wouldn’t be so stupid as to come near the palace after what had happened. Eva was guarded damn near around the clock at this point, much to her utter dismay and grumbling, so it wasn’t as if he could slip in and talk to her. So maybe I needed to lay a trap. One that was too tempting to resist.
If he really did have some sort of fascination with her, if she was put into some sort of danger, then he would come running. Gods knew that I would do the same. Except, I wasn’t obsessed with her. No, it was just love. And I loved her better than anyone else could. Eva was the air I breathed, the reason I lived, and I knew she felt that way about me, too. I wasn’t going to let Matthew come in and ruin centuries worth of affection and time just because he wanted a quick fuck.
Erina had been surprisingly helpful when it came to tending to my wounds. She was attentive to the point of tenderness, the soft way she caressed my skin as she re-bandaged my burns causing shivers to run down my spine. But there was something different about her, in the way she almost doted on me. My injuries were nothing that a regular medic couldn’t have taken care of, however she insisted on treating me herself.
“I have a duty to ensure that Helia’s best is properly taken care of.” That’s what she’d told me.
It was a wonderful sentiment. Really, it was, but I couldn’t help but notice the way her eyes lingered on my body as I put my shirt back on, or the slight touches to my chest for no reason at all. I let it happen, though, so I supposed I could take the blame and brunt of her strange affections for me. Maybe I could use it as a way to ensure Eva started talking to me again. After all, it had worked the night of the ball.
Although that hadn’t been intentional, the after-effect of having Evainmy arms and on my cock was worth any bullshit I endured with Erinaonmy arm.
Either way, she would have me, or she would have no one at all. And I would pull out every single trick I knew in order to gain her favor once more.
22
EVA
Things were definitely different in the palace than they were before I left. Whether that was from the attack on Angoria or from my absence, I wasn’t sure. It had been a month since my return and nothing had gone back to a semblance of normal, as I had expected it to.
Damien and I hadn’t talked unless it was absolutely necessary, avoiding each other the rest of the time. Luka had tried and failed frequently to act on his behalf, but I didn’t want to talk to either of them, actually. And I knew I was being petty, but if Damien believed I would spread my legs for the first person other than him to show me attention, then I didn’t pity him for receiving my cold shoulder.
Honestly, he should just be thankful he was still breathing.
I think I was angrier about him hurting my feelings and not seeming to care than anything. At least, not enough to apologize to me himself. He was pissed off at me because Isavedhis ass? Well, I was pissed off at him forbeingan ass.
Matthew and I kept in contact using ravens. I had grown attached to the sweet bird we used–so much so that I had an elegant cage commissioned and brought into my room. I kept it stocked with food and water, sometimes offering little treats that I got from the kitchens. Sometimes it slept in the cage and others it only used it as a pit stop before flying off, but the door was open so that it was free to come and go as it pleased.
Council meetings took up most of my time. It seemed as if they were called nearly every day now, to my complete and utter dismay. Sometimes, we even ended up gathering multiple times throughout the day. It was absolutely exhausting, especially with tension lingering between Damien and me. Plus, Luka remained on edge anytime we were all in the same room as each other. No doubt waiting for someone to lose their temper again. I’d be willing to wager that he thought it would be me, and he was probably right. If Damien approached me again, spewing some nonsense, then I wasn’t likely to play nice.
From what I could tell, Damien had healed nicely. The fire had only done minimal damage compared to what could have happened, so he was lucky it was only a graze. It seemed like Erina had been assisting him with his healing, often showing up at our meetings to check in with him. I could have rolled my eyes at how she doted on him. Just because he took her to the ball meant nothing, especially considering what happened after he left. Hell, he had snuck intomyroom.
I was sure they all thought I was crazy after my incident with Damien. Even my father had given me a long lecture about not using magic to harm but to protect, as if I was some petulant child. I wanted to tell him what had happened, but I didn’t want him to be angry at Damien for the words he had said. That was all the sympathy that he would get from me, though. The fireball was the least of his concerns if my father would have been involved.
