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Rylec lowered his cup and leaned back in his chair, all pretense of civility gone. “What do you want, Calanthe?”
“Can’t I have tea with my stepbrother and his wife and not want anything else but their company?”
“No.” Inez lowered her teacup, too. She hadn’t drunk a sip of the liquid and there was no reason to pretend for her daughter’s sake any longer. “What do you want, Calanthe?”
Calanthe’s gaze widened. “Oh, my. Rylec, what did you do to my little dove? She was so tiny and meek when I gifted her to you.”
“I didn’t do anything to her, Calanthe. I let her be herself.”
Inez’s heart panged. He truly had let her be herself. Rylec had never demanded or chastised or threatened. He had let her be and let her grow. That was why she had fallen in love with him. It was why she loved him still. Her heart nearly burst. She had stomped down on her emotions for so long. It was the only way to survive the separation. But now, Inez let herself feel everything.
“Egh, boring.” Calanthe reached across the table, her hands like a striking snake. She gripped both Inez and Rylec. Inez recoiled, but her disgust melted away in a second, replaced by a burning fire of desire in her core. By the way Rylec stiffened, hefelt it too. “Where’s the passion? Where’s the heat? You two are married, for the gods’ sake.”
“No offense,” Rylec gritted out, “but your presence entirely ruins the mood.”
The burning desire whipped into an inferno. Inez bit her lip to swallow a groan. Calanthe grinned and purred. “Does it now?”
Inez dug her nails into her skin, trying to cut through the sensation. “Let go, Calanthe.”
“Or what, little dove? You’re my prisoners. With Rylec cuffed, he can’t stop me. You never could. I can do whatever I want to do.”
“And what do you want?” Rylec gritted out.
“Oh, quite simple.” Calanthe pulled back suddenly, cutting off her connection. Inez slumped in relief, the desperation in her core fading. Across the table, Rylec didn’t react, but relief sparked in his eyes.
And then Calanthe opened her terrible mouth. “I want you two to make me another baby.”
Chapter 11
His stepsister had finally lost what little sanity she had left.
Inez clearly agreed. Her jaw had dropped upon Calanthe’s announcement, but she managed to snap it shut. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, little dove. I want another baby. Soriya is the perfect daughter, and it’s about time I have another.” Calanthe leaned toward Inez and whispered conspiratorially, “I promised her a sister, you know. Keep that in mind.”
Rylec had no words. His star-wife looked at him with a wild panic in her eyes. Rage flared to life within him. If Rylec weren’t cuffed, he’d snap Calanthe’s neck with a single thought for the things she had said and done to his mate. But Rylec couldn’t access anything more than a wisp of his magic. “You’ve lost your mind, Calanthe.”
Calanthe leaned back and rolled her eyes. “So they say.”
Inez pushed from her seat. “I’m not—we’re not—”
“You’re not what? Pregnant? I know. I hoped. That would have made this much easier, but I guess not even you can impregnate a female in one day, brother.”
Rylec twitched. There was a time he considered Calanthe his sister. Their parents had married when he was young. Calanthe’s mother had as much interest in her daughter as Emperor Oriel did his son. But time and experience had made her cruel. He didn’t begrudge her when she seduced his father and took the crown. That was the Sollirian way. But what she had done after, to Inez and so many others, was inexcusable. In his mind, his sister died the moment she first sat on the throne. “I’m not your brother, Calanthe.”
Calanthe went still and silent, her kaleidoscope eyes focused on him. Rylec didn’t back down from the glare. In some ways, the empress was like a wild animal. Turning your back on her only resulted in an attack.
After a long moment, Calanthe shuddered, coming out of whatever madness gripped her and picked up that infuriating little bell. With a ring, a Sollirian in the red of a doctor entered, pushing a cart of tools and gadgets. “This is my personal physician, Doctor Camden. What do you have for us today, Doctor?”
“The pills you requested, Your Majesty.” Doctor Camden plucked a tiny bottle filled with green pills from his cart. “Nanite-based pills to ensure conception.”
Rylec clenched his fists. Nanite pills? Calanthe was desperate.
Inez pushed back her seat. “No, I’m not—”
Calanthe grabbed Inez’s hand. His wife went down with an agonizing cry. Rylec launched from his seat with a snarl. His magic strained at his cuff, but though he could feel the power, it was out of reach. Calanthe’s guard rushed forward, but Rylec’s elbow shot back, catching the male in the chest. Nothing would keep him from his mate.
Calanthe spun, putting Inez before her like a shield. “Come any closer, Rylec, and I’ll kill her instantly.”
