He grunted, pulling around another chair for him to plop down in. “Eva, eh?” He asked, beckoning me to come closer. I did as he asked, afraid to disobey a direct order in his current state. I sat down and waited for the cursing, the beating I expected. As his hand clapped down on my back, I winced. Instead of the lashing I expected, helaughed. He actually laughed.
“Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Another slap on the back. “This is wonderful news, my boy.” He shuffled paperwork and maps around on his desk, and I glanced down at them before he piled them before us.
“What is it you wanted to see me about, Father?” I asked, hoping to get to the point and avoid what was sure to be an awkward conversation about Eva and me.
His whole body seemed to give out as he slouched back into the chair. “I have bad news… Bad news indeed. Yes, there is a blight that seems to affect Angoria’s lands,” he paused, looking back at me. “Just like before. Withthem. With The Horde.”
I froze. Unable to move a fucking muscle. The Horde. The name alone was enough to scare even your most valiant soldiers. They were not a singular entity, but a group made up of the worst people imaginable. They craved violence, bloodshed, and, above all else… Power. Their overlord, Lachlan, had once been a resident of Helia. Even rising to become a council member and a trusted advisor for nobility. He and Eva’s mother, Queen Oriana, had been childhood friends and his affections grew into something… more. The world he knew came crashing down when Oriana bonded and mated with Eva’s father, King Alric. Thus, launching both the beginning and the end of everything as we knew it. The fact Oriana and her kingdom would never be his sent Lachlan into a frenzy, consumed by the jealousy coursing through his veins. Unrequited love holds the power to drive anyone mad, often building to the point of an unhealthy obsession. Though, I don’t think that should be used as an excuse to commit the horrors that he had. Hell,Ihadn’t gone crazy yet and my love was certainly not returned the way I hoped it would be…
“Did you hear me, boy?” My father asked, staring at me.
“Ye-yeah. Sorry, I was just… processing what you said. So what? They’re back? Do we need to pull troops?”
He shook his head, sifting through his stack of paperwork and handing it over to me. I examined the sheets. The blight was contained to Angoria for now, but they were so close to our borders. As our closest allies, we would need to take care of them. It wasn’t just the ethical thing to do, but politically as well.
“I’ll be proposing it in just a few hours. There will be an emergency council meeting and I’ll go over my findings.” He looked me over. “You look like hell. Did you get any sleep tonight, or were you too busy fu-”
“Father!” I cut him off, earning a slight chuckle.
“No sense in propriety, son. Not between us.” I rose from my seat and turned around to leave before he called out to me. “Where are you headed to now?”
“Well, I was going to go back to Eva. I need to let her know. If The Horde is back…” I shivered. “Well, she has a right to know.”
He stood, towering over me for only a moment before turning away to lean on a large stone pillar. “No, you mustn’t tell her. Not yet. She’ll find out in just a few hours.”
I paled instantaneously, a cold dread washing over me. “You can’t seriously be suggesting she be blindsided? Father, this will destroy her. You know what they took from her.”
He snapped around, and I stared at his cold eyes. “You will not utter a word of what I told you before this meeting occurs. Is that understood?”
Fuck.Fuck. This was going to end badly. Most likely with my balls spiked outside the palace gates when Eva found out I didn’t tell her. “Are you asking me as a father to a son, or is this a direct order as my general?” I asked. I couldn’t ignore the latter, no matter what I wanted.
He stepped up, staring down the end of his nose at me. “That is a direct godsdamn order. You will head back to your own bed, crawl in for a few hours of sleep, then escort Eva to the council meeting. The gods know she’ll be in attendance. You will keep your mouth fucking shut.”
I couldn’t speak, didn’t utter a single word as I turned around and headed out the door. My head was spinning. Fuck. How could I not tell her? And I ached to go to her, comfort her because I knew she would be hurting. Especially after this godsforsaken meeting.
Luka jerked awake as I stormed through the doors. “Everything okay?” He asked, stifling a yawn. I felt like shit. If I had been in my own bed chambers, then he would’ve been dismissed, but because I let my cock decide… He’d gotten zero sleep. Except for whatever he got just now from standing there.
“No,” I shook my head. “Today is going to be a giant fucking disaster.”
3
EVA
Soft morning light drifted through the tall windows surrounding my bedroom. I felt refreshed despite the negligible amount of sleep I received. So I stretched idly in bed, thinking about Luka’s untimely interruption. While it gave him no right to barge in, and there was an unreasonable side of me that would always hold a grudge for the disruption and pause in pleasure… Iwasglad that we received the warning about Damien’s father’s return.
Orion had always been a stubborn man. He was ostentatious, and well, he justloveddrama. But no one could say he wasn’t loyal to his kingdom. Almost to a fault. His nose was always buried in some book or out on scouting missions. He was my father’s most trusted advisor and the leader of our armies. Damien and Orion belonged to one of the more powerful high Fae families that existed alongside mine, the Carnell’s. They inherited their roles in the kingdom, born and bred to lead Helian soldiers into battle. Chief General had been held by members of their family since the creation of our kingdom.
Orion played his part of the headstrong general well, and Damien could be considered an understudy. Both men were cocky, but even I’d admit they had a right to be. Often called two of the best warriors Helia had seen in millennia, which gave our kingdom an edge that no one else had. It would be a death wish to launch an attack on our kingdom with those two at the helm. They were wicked smart; their aptitude for planning battles was second to none. Therefore, they’d earned every right to act the way they did. Because no one could say shit about it.
If Orion was returning from Angoria, there would be a council meeting soon. Today, most likely. Gods, I hated the council meetings. They seemed like nothing more than an excuse to get hotheaded people in the same room to hash over trivial details. Seldom did we talk about anything important. Our time was often spent talking about the shipment of fruits in explicit details, and frankly, there were only so many times I wanted to discuss that. No, there were much better ways I’d prefer to spend my day, like with Damien, for instance.
Damien was the single most important individual in my life. He was only a few years older than I was, a fact that heneverlet me forget. I swore he saw it as some excuse that he held some natural edge over me or my powers.
Growing up, we were inseparable. He’d always been naturally protective of me, to a point where both our fathers thought a mating bond would snap into place. I was doubtful. To put it crudely, I didn’t see himthatway. At least… Not really. We were different and so I just never went there. Also, taking into consideration that over 300 years of companionship had passed since we were born, and still… nothing.Iknew it wouldn’t happen, but I think Damien was still holding onto hope.
No one knew how a mating bond was formed. It was a preternatural connection to another Fae that sealed your fates together. You were bonded to another person so fully, there was nothing you could do. You’d be drawn to them in every single way imaginable. Almost as if they were a single driving force for every choice you made. It sounded ridiculous to me, but I’d seen the way my mother and father had looked at each other. They were mates, chosen by the gods themselves. The love they had? It could move fucking mountains.
Damien and me? Not exactly.
