AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Auberon turned just as Eamon rounded the corner. The prince stopped, the two Kostori guards at his back nearly slamming into him. The goading, smug smile fell from his lips, replaced with a sneer. “What doyouwant?”
“A word.”
“So you feign the duke’s signature and get one of his men to deliver a message for you?” Eamon crossed his arms. “I thought such games beneath you.”
“Not when I’m discussing my future Empress’s safety.”
Eamon laughed. “Your Empress? Don’t you ever give up? I know losing Lady Riona to me was a blow to the ego for a mighty prince of Erduria, but now it’s just getting embarrassing. And here I thought you a fool when you punched me in the face.”
When Auberon spoke, his voice came out as cold as the depths of the Tranquil Sea. “Who did you tell about the theater?”
“What?”
“The night I punched you, you threatened to tell the court that Lady Riona and I had been meeting in secret in the Royal Theater. I want to know who you told.”
The prince waved a dismissive hand. “What does it matter? So there are some rumors about her virtue. I’ve won her hand in marriage, sorumorsare what they shall remain.”
Auberon took a step forward, and Eamon’s guards edged closer to him, setting their hands on the swords at their hips. He couldn’t keep the fury from his voice when he spat, “What does it matter? She nearlydied, you fool!”
“She—” Eamon froze, his mouth dropping open. “What?”
“Last night, she took a dagger to the chest because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut,” Auberon growled, stalking toward the prince. “Because you wanted to score cheap points with the king and court by calling her virtue and my integrity into question.”
“What integrity?” Eamon shot back, but he looked shaken. “The concept is as foreign to you as kindness.”
“Funny you should say that.”
One of the guards let out a strangled cry, and Eamon whirled as a blade opened the man’s throat from ear to ear. The other one followed. Blood sprayed from the wounds, splattering across Eamon’s stunned face as the guards gurgled and slumped to their knees, revealing two elven servants standing behind them with bloody daggers in hand. Identical obsidian pendants hung at their throats.
Eamon tore his gaze from the dead guards just as Auberon seized the prince’s throat and slammed him into the wall. Eamon winced as his skull cracked against the stone bricks. Auberon unsheathed his sword and leveled it at the Kostori bastard’s neck. “Next time you plan to assassinate someone, you’d better make sure to dispose of their loyal supporters, as well,” he snarled. “Or you’ll find the next throat they cut is yours.”
“I don’t know anything about an assassination,” Eamon sputtered. Auberon dug the edge of the blade into his skin, relishing the fear that flashed through the prince’s eyes when a slender red line opened up across his neck. “I swear it.”
“Unwitting or not, you gave the king and his men the information they needed to ambush us. I should gut you for it.” Auberon cast an icy glance at the bodies of the guards, their blood pooling on the stone, then turned back to Eamon. “But I think this serves as enough of a warning for a coward like you. You haven’t won Lady Riona’s hand in marriage. In fact, the second I release you, you are going to go to the gatehouse, send for a carriage, and leave this kingdom. The rest of your guards can pack up your belongings and meet you on your ship. Have I made myself clear?”
“You will pay for killing my men. The king—”
“The king will be lucky to still wear his crown once the night is over. And if my future Empress is feeling particularlyunforgiving, he’ll be on his knees in front of the executioner’s axe come dawn. Do you really want to pin your hopes on a man who may be dead by morning?” He smiled. “Or perhaps the better question is whether you would care to join him. What do you think Lady Riona will do when she discovers your part in the attempt on her life?”
The prince lifted his chin. “She will see that it was acoincidence. I may not have wanted to lose her to your brother or Valerian, but I certainly don’t want her dead!”
“Let me put this in simpler terms so you’ll be certain to understand,” Auberon drawled, watching a droplet of blood well along the edge of the blade and roll down Eamon’s neck. “You’ve lost. Leave the castle now, or end up like those guards. I’ll send my condolences to your father later.”
Eamon’s gaze slid to the guards, then to the servants standing over them. Auberon felt the moment the tension left the prince’s body. “No bride is worth this. Enjoy watching your brother marry the woman you love. I hope she kills you both in your sleep, and then your wretched father.”
“One can always dream,” Auberon said as he stepped back and lowered the sword. Eamon lifted a hand to the cut in his neck, wincing, and then shot him a hateful look as he turned and walked down the hall. He carefully stepped over the bodies of his guards, not even sparing them another glance. Auberon gestured for the servants to follow him.
Shortly after they left, Ophelia rounded the corner, trailed by two servants. The young men at her back rushed forward and took the bodies by the ankles, the blood leaving a dark smear across the tile as they dragged the guards away. “You could have made it easier for us to clean,” Ophelia said, watching their slow progress down the hall. “It’ll already be difficult enough to move the bodies without anyone spotting us.”
“It wouldn’t have had the same impact. I needed him terrified.”
Ophelia rolled her eyes, and Auberon smiled, surprised by her lack of decorum. “You’re just lucky there are so many hidden alcoves and passageways through the castle. Otherwise I’d have leftyouto deal with the bodies.”
His grin grew. “I think it more likely you’d have left my corpse beside them.”
Despite her clear dislike of him, a mischievous sparkle lit her eyes. “Don’t test your luck, Your Highness.”
Ophelia walked over to him and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. After wiping his sword clean, she knelt and began to swipe at the trails of blood left by the bodies. He raised a brow. “You’re going to need more than that to clean up the mess.”
