Fated - Book 2

Chapter 2

I had to use the wooden table to stabilise my mind and body as the king's form of punishment left his lips. I dragged my fingers through my hair as I took a sharp, deep breath. The bastard."A public flogging; doesn't that seem too harsh, especially for a princess?"King Omar voiced his concern, as my father and I had lost our voices as we tried to process what King Novus had just said. All that was needed now was a vote from the council."I believe it's a fitting punishment for her crimes; don't you agree, young prince?"His lips were curled into a twisted smile. I was glad that my father was between me and the king, or I would be gutting him right now, but from the look on my bride's face, she wanted to rip the king to pieces herself."Are you out of your fucking mind?"She was angry and wasn't shy to show it. I felt a slight pang in my pants at the sight of my angry princess. All eyes darted towards her; she could argue, but once a High King has laid out a claim like that, all that is needed is a vote of the hands around the table."Not only is she of royal descent, but Princess Apollo is a lady, and now you want to strip her naked before the court and whip her for your twisted gratitude for making a dragon cry?"The man snickered towards her attempt to rid her of any kind of punishment, but his actions only seemed to have pissed her off further. Luckily, King Omar quickly grabbed at my bride as she lunged at King Novus."Show of hands?"The man never tore his eyes from Aurora as he continued with the vote. Riddled with rage and guilt, I pushed myself up and watched as the hands started to slowly flutter up. This was a one-sided vote; the majority of hands rose for my sister's punishment."It's settled then.""King Novus."I interrupted the proud man before he could finish off the speech about my sister's punishment. My eyes were locked on the bright lights above us. I waited for another breath before I finally spoke again."I'll take the punishment. My sister used my dragon to kill Lord Crastil and the three warriors, and she used my blade to stab my wife. So, I'll take it; I'll take on the punishment."I was met with silence; the sound of heavy breathing was the only noise that each man in the room made."Have you lost your mind?"She was fighting back tears. I slowly rolled my head to land my eyes on her softened face."Public flogging for a life means you will be whipped for every year that Lord Crastil and the warriors lived."I could only smile at her concern—better me than my sister. I turned my eyes back to the bright lights and smiled at the sight of two butterflies fluttering above the glass ceiling."Show of hands to my son, taking the punishment in front of his sister."My father's hand was heavy on my shoulder, but I welcomed the weight as I turned my eyes down to look at the hands that all rose at once. Every king and high lord voted for the change."It's set then; Prince Artemis will be whipped for the lives taken by Princess Apollo tomorrow at dusk."King Novus ended the vote and discussion with that one statement. I fell back into my seat and let out a sigh. Despite the distance between us, I could feel her eyes on me; she was frowning, most probably, and I couldn't bring myself to look at her."Now onto the next issue at hand."King Novus cleared his throat, pulling me out of my daze. Slowly, I pulled myself out of my seat. To my right were Aziel and Caleb; their eyes were wide with shock; they both had lost colour to their faces as they watched me."Villages have been found, scorched to the ground; residents have been slaughtered; not a single trace of life."My eyes snapped to Novus. Where the hell was he going with this? Our findings were kept secret from the rest of the nations; we kept it quiet due to the elves' constant desire to hunt and kill a dragon."A dragon?""No, the residents were killed.""A rouge rider?"The chatter already started amongst the other lords; the pit in my stomach grew at their words and concerns."Witches and I believe some Fae magic was found at the sites."Her voice boomed over the chatter, silencing any word about a dragon being involved. My whole body turned to face her; she was standing up now, her hands pressed down hard against the wooden table. She was holding down her tears and anger towards me."How sure are you?"One of the human kings spoke up for all of the other lords in the room."I bet my life on it. I personally found remnants of the magic in the soot."King Novus slowly ran his fingers through his hair. Something was eating at the man as his brown eyes darted around the room, and talk of a rouge dragon disappeared."The witches and Fae could have used their magic to defend the village from the beast!"One of the shifter lords spurted his words out as if they weren't his own."That is also true, but all witches, fae and mere folk, the magic users of Endora, know that no spell can be held or kept strong enough to defend against a dragon's natural flame. It's one of the laws for magic users: never waste your sacrifice against a dragon's flame."She sounded sure with her words, and it seemed to have swayed the men of the council."Then explain the burned lands. My men were at one of the ruins; the burn went beyond the surface of the earth; it went deep enough to kill any form of life living under the soil."The same shifter lord was challenging her with his questions, but his query explained why there was no life—not even a small bug around the site. Aurora was quiet—too quiet."My boy, we spoke about that; who or whatever is responsible for these horrific crimes imitated the dragon's flame, as we know a dragon's flame will burn until it is put down with magic-infused water. In the ruins we studied, the flames died on their own, and they died within a few feet of the village."King Omar responded to the man on behalf of all of us. I wasn't even aware of the flame's extent, but he was right; the flame grows and has a life of its own, but the ruins, the scorch marks, and the barley left the perimeter of the village.I looked at the king and flashed him a warm smile. With a small nod, he turned his attention back to the men before us. One last look at my bride, who was settled in her chair, and I turned my attention back to the men before us.My father cleared his throat before rolling his eyes in the direction of King Novus. The man was nervous; it was subtle, but I could see it in his face and darting eyes."King Novus, what are your thoughts?"My father broke the air with a heavy question."My thoughts—I have none; the matter was brought to me by my maidens and their gossip."He tried to brush it off as he waved a hand in the air."Oh, so your men were scurrying around a site under their whim and not your orders. Strange."My father worded his thoughts; they weren't a question, just a statement, and it seemed to make the younger king angry as his brows pulled into a deep frown."Right, show of hands into a further investigation run by the Shifters of the West?"All hands danced up at my father's question."It's settled that King Omar will tend to the investigations; he will have full access to the South and all of the ruins."The elderly man grinned happily towards my father, who nodded towards the man before grumpily pushing himself up from his seat."Meeting adjourned."No one fought against the man's words as they all pushed themselves from their seats and slowly ushered out of the hall. I followed suit, but unlike the others, I turned to find my bride and lead her out, but she had already fluttered out of the room and vanished beyond the heavy oak doors."Aziel."The man groaned behind me, letting me know he was there, but was either too pissed off at me to talk or was distracted by his king."I don't want to be interrupted tonight. Whoever stands at my door, tell them they can break hands with anyone who knocks."I didn't wait for a response; I pushed forward and aimed to leave the hall, but something I whizzed past caught my eye. King Novus was leaning over the table, his head in his hands, his brow hair a mess as he ran his fingers through the strands. Something my father had said clearly made the man re-think what he was up to.I was in too much of a hurry to dwell on what the King was thinking; I had something a whole lot more important to deal with: my angry bride. The halls were filled with life as the staff and slaves of the kings and lords fluttered out to tend to their masters.A guard in our uniform stood proudly at the door that led to the room where we were shuffled into upon our arrival. The man looked pale; his eyes were wide and riddled with shock."My Lord."His head nodded slightly towards me, his voice was shaky as I stopped beside him, and my fingers hovered above the door handle as I tried to prepare myself for what was waiting for me beyond this white and gold door."How bad is it?"The guard jumped slightly; his eyes darted around, trying to find something that could save him from his current predicament."I see. Make sure we don't get interrupted, no matter who they are or what they want."The man dropped his eyes to the ground and nodded quickly. The door clicked as I pressed down on its golden handle. The heavy door was light as I pushed it open wide enough for me to slip into the bright room.I closed the door behind me and locked it as an extra measure to stop any interruptions. The room behind me was eerily silent, which was broken by the hollow sound of steel breaking wood.To the left of me was a silver blade that was thrown at me from behind. It shook slightly as the weapon settled into its new home. My heart was in my throat at the sight; it was inches away from me.I looked over my shoulder to find an angry woman whose brows were pulled in tight, her jaw clenched, and she was rolling her throwing arm as she tried to ease her shoulder from the power and force she used to throw the weapon at my head."That could have killed me."I had to use both hands to tug on the weapon as I tried to pry it from the wooden door; it was stuck in there and didn't want to be released. With one more tug, I was able to free the blade and swing it between my fingers as I turned back to her.The weapon in my hand was a gift from one of my uncles; he designed it to suit my bride's form of hunting and fighting, then had it forged in the North, where they used the purest metals for their weapons.The blade in my hand was a glistening silver; it was light as I played with it. The white oak hilt gave it a good balance, allowing me to swing the blade with ease between my fingers."You son of a fucking bitch!"I looked up at the hysterical woman but was met with a pillow on my face. The thud made me stop in my tracks. As soon as the first one hit the floor, a second one was thrown at me; this time I was focused enough to hit it away from me."Are you done?"My question was with another pillow, followed by a book, then another one."I hate you! How can you do this to me?"She was crying through her screams as she grabbed for something heavy on one of the decorative tables in the room. Not missing a beat, I closed the gap between us and grabbed her wrists before she could grab the object."Now, my princess, I don't mind the pillows and books, or even the blade, but please not that horrid piece of art."She was fighting against my hands around her; she wasn't holding back as she finally broke free. Her feet were planted stiffly under her body, which caught my attention. Before I knew what she was doing, I felt it.Her knuckles were soft against my skin, but the force behind her punch rattled my mind for a few seconds. My lower jaw stung where she made contact, and I had to roll my jaw to make sure she didn't dislocate it or chip a tooth.Annoyed with her tantrum, I grounded my feet and looked her right in the eyes as a growl left my lips. Her bright green eyes widened with fear, but her pink lips curled into a playful smile.Neither of us skipped a beat as she turned on her heels and bolted for the bed. I followed hot on her heels and grabbed at her waist before she could escape my reach by jumping onto the bed.She was laughing as I pulled her into my arms. My arms wrapped around her, and she was laughing as loud as she could. The melody of her sweet laugh filled my ears, melting away my fears and anger."My princess has a great right hook, but now it's my turn."I growled into her ear, which only caused her to laugh even louder. My smile faded as her laughter slowly broke into heavy sobs, which caused her small body to shake in my arms."I hate you; I hate you for making me love you like this. I fucking hate you!"Her words made me smile once again, and despite her pain, the words she was shouting out were utter lies. Every night since she told me she loved me, she has made it her mission to tell me that before we slept, she would even mutter it in her sleep.I hadn't had the strength to tell her how I felt; the words sat in my throat and burned as I tried to voice them, but my fear would take over and make me swallow those painful words.Although I have never said them, she would look me in the eyes, smile, and kiss the tip of my nose before whispering she knew."I hate you! I hope that tomorrow is your last day, you bastard. I pray to my gods that they take your last breath and torture you for the rest of eternity."She was screaming utter nonsense at me now. I was holding her up as she sobbed her pain away; her legs gave in under her, and now I was all that was holding her up and off the cold ground."I hate you."She muttered the words over and over. It was a weak attempt to replace her love with something easier to deal with."I know, my sweet princess."We stood there as she sobbed and cried her pain away."I can't promise you tomorrow, but I can give you now, my love."I muttered the words once she finally quieted down in my arms."I don't want just now; I want the rest of our lives together."Her voice was a raspy whisper, and guilt washed over me at the cost of her pain."I want that as well, my love, but...""But nothing, Artemis!"She pulled out of my arms and spun around to face me; her cheeks were stained from her tears, and her eyes were swollen and red as she looked up at me."You promised to stay by my side until our last breaths, as in old age, not by you being whipped to death!"There it was—the root of her anger, the punishment I was taking on behalf of my sister."What would you prefer that they whip Apollo?""NO!"She shouted at me as more tears broke out from her bright eyes."I would have it that no punishment is delivered! That my husband doesn't get beaten for something he had nothing to do with."I cupped her cheeks before gently wiping her tears away. I truly hated the sight of her crying."I deserve this punishment for what I have done to Apollo."Her eyes were glowing as she looked up at me. We had already spoken about the time that she was asleep, but I never told her what I had done when I felt the life leave her body, even for those few minutes."You died in my arms, princess; I was so enraged that I burned the field we were in, and I ordered the arrest and execution of my sister without a single thought into my actions."Her body stiffened under my hands, and my eyes darted down to her lips as I traced them gently with my thumb."I deserve this punishment after I ordered the execution of my twin and after I burned the field that housed not only my men but the vampires' lords and warriors. It took them days to put the flame out. I deserve to be whipped for what I have done."Her small hands rested on my wrists as she held me. I felt a cold, wet tear roll down my cheek as we stood there in silence. I never told her how I fought with Aziel as he tried to protect my sister from me, how I nearly took Apollo's life all for the sake of her, for the love I have for her."I still hate you."She pouted up at me, making me smile."I'm sure I can change that, my princess."My hands jumped from her face and onto her waist, allowing me to pull her in closer. Her brows pulled in tight as she looked up at me."You can do as you please; I don't care.""Anything?"I growled into her ear before running my lips down her neck. My fingers lazily danced around her waist and onto her lower back."Y-Yes, anything; I don't care what you do."She was a terrible liar."Good, because all I plan on doing is bending you over and reminding you who is in charge."