Fated - Book 1 (Completed)

Chapter 5

"Now the king's brother has called for a council meeting, a room with stuffy old men huddled together to discuss, gods know what."The man rambled on about his duties as he tugged his pants back on. I knew that he was smiling as his pride boiled to the brim. He took pride in his small seat in the Dragon King's court."Oh, silly Crow, it is such a pity that you must leave me."Stroke any man's ego, and you can rule the world. They have been the same since the dawn of our world. Using his pet name, turned the man into putty in my hands."Just think about how you can poison the council further and soon have the royal family replaced by your family, just as we have planned."Play the fool by the fiddle and tease him with what he has wanted for centuries: power over the south, the largest city in the world, and its centre.The old crow grinned at me with his pearly whites and protruding canines. Lord Crastil only held a small seat in the council; it was the power that he held over most of the trade routes that made him useful—well, useful for now. He was tasked with keeping the prince busy and away from what the elves and humans were doing.Like all vampires, his skin was pale—a pale shade of ash to be exact—and his eyes shimmered under the dim lights littered over the walls of my room. Under the light, they looked like dark red, but I knew that they were a light shade of red. His lips were thin, and his grey hair was brushed back into a tight ponytail.Unlike the others, he was easily manipulated. I never had to use a spell; I just had to offer him what he has always wanted: the dragon's throne."It's a pity that the boy went through with the wedding."The sound of his grumbled voice made my dancing Drosera hiss at me. My poor plants could tell that I was angry; the bond between the dragons and Freyda was an issue to the elven king, but to me, it was a simple bump in the way.Wanting my peace, I tugged on my lace gown and turned dramatically to catch his attention so that I could chase him away. My red lips curled into a devilish smile. I knew the sight of me excited him as he stood at the foot of my bed with a childish grin on his lips."Oh, there is no need to worry about his bride; some ditsy princess won't get in your way of eliminating the prince; you can chop her up once he is gone, my Crow."Butter him up, play with him like my favourite toy, and he will do his job right and leave soon. Something was different, though, as I played my words; his brows furrowed as I danced over to him. Lazily, I ran my hands over his covered chest and sighed in his ear."What's the matter, my love?"I needed to eliminate any form of doubt in his mind before his return to the South."You are not worried about the fact that he married Morgana's daughter."The room around us fell into a cold silence as that name rolled through my mind. My anger rushed through my body, suddenly sending crackles of magic through the air. The dangling lantern flames flared as the large fire in the fireplace grew in size, and the flames fed eagerly on my rage."The pain of my sister's betrayal is still fresh, but no, my love, it doesn't worry me."Morgana, one of my coven sisters, left her only home as she fell in love with the King of the North, a man who she was supposed to kill, but she betrayed me by falling pregnant with that bastard's child, a half-breed."The girl has nothing to do with the council or the princes' duties; her only use is to keep the boys' bed warm and carry their offspring."I trailed my fingers over his cheek; my smile was a weak one as my mind raced about the child. Maybe her presence in the prince's life could benefit our working plans."I will, however, need you to keep an eye on her since she is part witch; there should be some resentment between the two of them. I need you to draw a bigger wedge between them."I stood on my toes and pressed my lips to the corner of his lips. His hands eagerly danced to my hips as he tried to lean in for another kiss, but I gently pulled away and smiled up at him. His desire to have me proved how enthralled he was in me."The girl doesn't seem to be too bright, so it would be easy to slip a tale or two into her ear when the prince isn't around; should I still push our original plan with the roads?"What a moron. I flashed my sweet smile and fluttered my lashes up at him. He became a puppet when I looked up at him with my bright amethyst eyes."My sweet crow, we keep on track with our plan, but we will need to destroy the bond they have; that way, when she runs away from him, it will be easy to sway her to the side of her sisters; we could do well with Morgana's daughter."A toothy smile looked down at me as I ran my hands over the man's chest. He hummed as he leaned in for a light kiss."As you wish, my High Priestess, Queen Rowena."A delightful shiver ran down my spine at my title; it inflated my ego and made me purr like a kitten. Everything is going according to plan, and soon I will have the prince's beating heart in my hand for me to devour, giving me the power and youth to rule over Endora.