The storm king, p.22
The Storm King, page 22
part #3 of The Lost God Series
“I haven’t, but I’ve heard it’s lovely.”
“Why don’t you have a seat, Your Majesty? I’ll pour you some tea,” Cecilia said, gesturing to her chair and hopping up to pour him tea from the pot marked as safe by Sylvie.
“That’s a lovely dress, Lady Reznik,” Xander said. He took the teacup she offered and slid into her seat.
“Thank you for noticing,” Cecilia said as she squeezed in beside him. The princesses seemed annoyed at how close they were sitting, but no one else had made room for her.
Sylvie looked from Cecilia to Xander warily, sensing the tension brewing under the surface.
Cecilia was playing a dangerous game, and she didn’t even understand why. Did she want to prove something to Xander? To herself? Did she want him to pine for her? Was she really that selfish?
Xander sensed the awkward silence and started chatting with the princesses, leaving Cecilia free to notice their interactions and tune in to their feelings.
It was clear from the start that Jessamin and Eloise were the outcasts of the group. Brytta and Mayella cut them off before they could say much. The other princesses were threatened by Jessamin’s nonchalance and the fact that she came from a kingdom that was run by women. On the other hand, Eloise was exiled from the group for not being royal. It seemed the women didn’t want to be friendly with anyone they saw as having too much or too little power.
Cecilia tuned her senses into Mayella. Sharp envy and cold jealousy surrounded her, though it only intensified when she looked at Cecilia and dissipated when she was speaking to Xander.
“Truly, I’m just confused about what all the fuss is about. Lady Reznik is a beautiful woman, but nothing extraordinary. When people say she was a goddess, I just expected—” Mayella waved a hand at Cecilia. “I don’t know…more.”
Mayella’s eyes went wide at the admission, as if she hadn’t meant to say it, but that was how truth tea worked. It made people more forthcoming and honest.
Xander leaned in close to Cecilia and whispered, “Perhaps she just needs to see you naked, love. That would make anyone a believer.”
Cecilia flushed fiercely as she stirred her tea. Sylvie narrowed her eyes at them, and Cecilia leaned away from the king.
“Jessamin, that’s such a beautiful gown. All your dresses have such incredible beadwork. I’ve heard that’s a specialty in Novum,” Cecilia said, trying to pull her into the conversation.
“It is a lovely dress, though one wonders if you might be a bit cold in such a climate,” Brytta said curtly.
Cecilia had heard several of the women whispering about the revealing nature of Jessamin’s dresses, but she thought they were all tasteful and exuded confidence she wished she possessed.
Jessamin smiled. “Thank you, Lady Reznik. It is one of our proudest industries. I’m sure most of the women in this room own a dress with Novum beadwork.” She turned to Brytta. “It is so kind of you to show concern for my well-being, but our climate is prone to extremes thanks to northern tempests. I assure you I’m quite comfortable, if not from my dress, then from the warm welcome I’ve received here.”
Cecilia nearly sprayed her tea, and even Xander regarded Jessamin with surprised humor.
“I like her,” Cecilia whispered to Xander.
“She’s your pick?” he asked.
Cecilia shrugged noncommittally. She hated the idea of him with another woman. It was selfish, but true. She couldn’t quite wrap her mind around what was happening. She wanted to know why Xander had shunned her for months and wanted to prove to herself that she still had a pull on him, if for no other reason than to remind herself that what they had mattered.
But there was a part of her that felt afraid to be truly happy, as if the second she let her guard down, some villain would spring forth, ready to sweep the happiness away. Her body felt poised for a death blow ever since she’d returned from Grimon’s doorstep, and she couldn’t seem to stop herself from self-sabotaging to end the suspense.
“Your Majesty, what do you like to do for fun?” Larissa asked, leaning forward to show off breasts that were already barely contained by her bodice.
“I love to fight and train. I play cards. I enjoy chess with the right opponent. I enjoy riding and going on hunts, but I also like things like music and theater. You’ll find I’m very open-minded,” Xander said.
“I think I’d like anything if I was doing it with you,” Larissa purred.
Cecilia bit back a laugh. She wasn’t sure if it was the truth tea or if the princess simply pulled no punches. Her approach was a bit over the top, but Xander had preferred that type of overtly sexy woman before he and Cecilia met.
She felt into the energy around Larissa, sensing prickly desire and warm lust. Yet another princess who seemed harmless.
Clare was harder to read. She seemed anxious, sipping her tea quickly like her mouth was too dry. While dry mouth was a side effect of the tea, it could also indicate nervousness. Her eyes kept flicking from Xander to Cecilia to the rest of the girls as if the conversation was moving too fast for her to keep up. Cecilia had suspected she was a bit dull, but this solidified it. She’d been plied with truth tea, but she was so simple she still had nothing to say. Cecilia looked at her with pity.
She moved on to Brytta, who was a bit more animated with a jagged feeling that Cecilia couldn’t quite place. It felt like something between anger and longing.
Next, she took in Eloise Spellman, the only non-royal in the mix. Anxiety buzzed around her, mixed with a tightness that felt like frustration.
Finally, Cecilia settled her attention on Jessamin. A slight pulsing nervousness flowed through her, but she otherwise seemed calm and happy. Her gaze occasionally shot to the doorway, where a redheaded member of her guard smiled at her. Each time that happened, Jessamin’s shoulders relaxed. Cecilia got the impression that Jessamin was simply biding her time and would have preferred to be out in a training ring with any opponent than in this room full of venomous princesses. Cecilia didn’t blame her.
“Ladies, I do apologize, but I must take my leave. Even a king must make time to train and stay in shape for any troubles that might arise,” Xander said, excusing himself.
He didn’t go far. Xander made his way out to the gardens, in full view from the sitting room where the ladies were enjoying their tea.
Cecilia watched him through the large glass windows. Evan had set up a makeshift training area—clearly for the purpose of Xander showing off since the king had access to private training rooms in another wing of the castle. Xander stripped off his fine tunic so that he was just in his white undershirt, and Evan tossed him a sword. The two went back and forth.
Cecilia watched them spar. Xander was truly a beautiful fighter. Rainer might have been a better swordsman, but Xander was a performer, and he could make anything look good. He was graceful and quick and she could tell from the way he and Evan went at one another that each of them had practiced understanding of the way the other fought. It reminded her of sparring with Rainer.
Before long, the princesses had all gathered at the windows to watch.
“Gods, he’s incredible,” Clare mumbled.
Xander finished a parry and turned and winked at the ladies. Cecilia rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Xander and the way his shirt had become transparent with perspiration. It clung to his chest and stomach, showing off his incredible physique. He took a sip of water and caught her looking. He smirked at her as if to say, “See something you like?”
She shook her head and looked at Sylvie, who seemed just as mesmerized by Evan. Cecilia supposed watching two incredibly good-looking men fight wasn’t the worst entertainment. So she stood alongside the gawking women and enjoyed the show.
19
EVAN
The festivities had barely begun, and Evan was already exhausted. He’d finally fallen asleep the previous night after hours of pacing and worrying, only to be woken in the middle of the night by a knock on his door. His men had discovered a scantily clad Princess Larissa wandering the royal wing.
Princesses were already throwing themselves at Xander. What concerned Evan more was that Larissa had either ducked her own guards or they had let her go. Both were problems considering so many visitors at their court; there were too many variables for him to control. He made a mental note to go over Larissa’s background check again to ensure they hadn’t missed something. Her late-night exploration was probably a desperate move by a princess who was under a lot of pressure, but he needed to be sure.
He’d also posted extra guards in the royal wing to keep himself and his friends safe. They all stayed in Xander’s wing since Evan didn’t trust anyone else to room so close to the king.
He walked down the hall in search of Sylvie. She was gone by the time he woke up, but she’d left a note about having breakfast with Cecilia.
When he finally found her, she was in the hallway by the council meeting room, nodding as Lord Spellman talked her ear off about making sure his daughter had a fair shake among the princesses. Evan paused at the end of the hall, pretending to read correspondence a ways away so he could listen. He caught snippets of the conversation.
“My lord, Eloise is a beautiful woman. I saw the king took her riding yesterday,” Sylvie said. “I agree. They’d make a beautiful couple. Many beautiful children— Why yes, I did know that Eloise is one of five children. How lovely to be so…fruitful.”
Evan cringed. Sylvie hated when men used fertility as a selling point for their daughters. She proclaimed their kingdoms held the ideal vision of women as—in her own words—“walking wombs.” The first time she’d said it, he laughed out loud, but she hadn’t. She’d gone on to explain the hypocrisy of how women were expected to appear humble and poised, all while pleasing their husbands behind closed doors, lest the men stray. It was always the wife blamed for men’s dalliances. People whispered that it was just men being men when they cheated, saying they weren’t getting something they needed at home, but really it was just greed. That’s what ran the kingdom, despite Evan and Xander’s interventions.
She told him that even though Cecilia had practically single-handedly won a war, saving thousands of lives, most people would still consider her a poor marriage prospect simply because she couldn’t bear children. It was preposterous, but he knew that change happened slowly—much more slowly than Sylvie was willing to stand for.
He brought his attention back to Sylvie. She rested a hand on Lord Spellman’s forearm. Evan immediately went rigid. The man smiled at her widely.
“The king is so young and untested. A marriage into such an old, established Argarian family would, I’m sure, wipe away any doubts about those silly rumors,” he said.
Lord Spellman would have never dared to say that in front of Evan, but he clearly had no issue casually questioning Xander’s parentage to Sylvie.
Evan scrubbed a hand down his face. He thought they had put those rumors to rest, but if Edward Spellman thought it would be advantageous to run his mouth in front of the foreign princesses in the hopes of scaring them away, Evan had no way to disprove the allegations. It didn’t matter that there was also no evidence to prove them; spicy gossip traveled faster than bland history.
“Yes, my lord,” Sylvie said, a hint of hesitation in her voice. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll make sure that Eloise gets more one-on-one time with the king. It’s no problem at all. You know how much we all value your support, and your daughter is so poised. She’d make an exceptional queen.”
Evan was about to save her from the tedious conversation when Lord William Arvato walked around the corner and joined their conversation.
“Lady Brett, what a pleasant surprise. You look radiant today, as always,” William said, taking her hand and placing a kiss on it that lasted too long for Evan’s liking.
Evan cringed. Radiant? Is that what she wants to hear? He supposed the adjective fit, but it seemed a bit much.
Sylvie ate it up, a faint blush on her cheeks. “Lord Arvato, aren’t you a terrible flirt this morning?”
Evan frowned. Sylvie looked genuinely charmed, and he did not like that one bit.
“Not a flirt, just simply speaking truths, my lady.” He turned toward the man beside her. “Lord Spellman, I heard there was an issue with your men down at the winter market again today. I didn’t want to intrude, but it seems there may need to be some debts smoothed over at one of the pleasure houses. Please excuse me, Lady Brett, for speaking of such a topic in your presence.”
Lord Spellman disappeared in a huff, and Sylvie smiled at William with genuine relief.
“Thank you, Will,” she said.
Evan winced. He did not know they were so casually acquainted. Evan had been so busy looking for threats to Xander he’d missed a threat to his relationship right in front of his face. He studied William’s black tunic with elaborate gold embroidery. It was a bit showy, though standing side by side, he seemed well-suited to Sylvie in her stylish dress.
Evan had seen Sylvie chatting with William after several council meetings, but thought nothing of it. It was what she did. She chatted up the lords of the council in hopes they’d clumsily let something slip. The problem was that he’d somehow missed what appeared to be a blooming, genuine flirtation. Foolish of him, since William was young, unmarried, fabulously wealthy, and, according to many of the ladies at court, very handsome.
Worse, William Arvato did the very thing that Evan regularly failed to do. He lavished Sylvie with compliments and his rapt attention publicly.
In some ways, it was an intentional choice to withhold his affections. If Evan showed his feelings for Sylvie, she could quickly become a pawn in someone else’s moves against him. It was also unintentional. Evan had not had a single serious relationship and spent most of his life around hunters. He didn’t know how much women enjoyed such affirmation and attention, and he didn’t want to be another man fawning over Sylvie just because she was beautiful. He wanted to compliment her mind as much as the rest of her, which he did by giving her genuinely important assignments. Clearly, that wasn’t enough, and he needed to figure out how to do more.
Vulnerability had never been his strong suit. Of all of life’s mysteries, it baffled him most how someone who had been trained to fight his whole life could learn to willingly give another person the means with which to ruin him. Even if he could suppress the years of training, he’d had no instruction whatsoever on how to explain what he felt. It was a strange mixture of respect, lust, and possessiveness.
Evan couldn’t take another moment of flirtatious small talk. He stalked down the hall.
“Lady Brett, Lord Arvato, nice to see you both this morning. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have a matter to discuss with Lady Brett,” he said, not taking his eyes off Sylvie’s sly smile.
“Of course. I’ll leave you to it.” William took Sylvie’s hand. “Lady Brett, you make every day brighter with your very presence. Enjoy the rest of your morning.” He kissed her hand again and disappeared around the corner.
Evan sneered after him. “I don’t like him.”
Sylvie rolled her eyes. “You liked him just fine before. What do you want?”
He hesitated.
“Nothing then? Perfect. So I just let you make me look weak in front of a council member for no reason.” She crossed her arms.
Evan frowned. “I was hoping to save you from Arvato’s nonsense, not make you feel weak.”
“I am done being someone who needs rescuing,” Sylvie said.
Evan arched an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“It is. And I hardly think I need to be saved from a handsome, wealthy man who wants to tell me how lovely I am. I’d prefer you worry about yourself, Evan. If you’re not careful, one of them might steal me away.”
She was teasing, but it was what he feared, and he couldn’t muster a smile.
“I’m kidding, gods, lighten up,” she said. “You should worry about yourself, though. Who will save you from all these foolish men?”
He grinned at her, holding out his arm. She took it, and his shoulders instantly relaxed. He’d never met anyone who had such a calming influence on him.
“You work too hard,” she sighed.
“I could say the same to you,” he countered. “How was tea?”
She sighed heavily. “Xander was not on his best behavior, I’m afraid. There was quite a bit of flirting with Cece. What’s worse than the flirting, though, is the way he can’t take his eyes off of her. There’s no way these women don’t notice, and that’s not exactly the kind of thing that a lady wants to see when she’s considering a suitor.”
Evan feared that might happen. He was beginning to doubt the strategy of inviting Rainer and Cecilia. While he trusted them implicitly, he did not trust Xander around them. He relished every opportunity to infuriate Rainer and flirt with Cecilia. Cato’s influence was gone from Xander’s mind, but his obsession with his ex-wife remained.
“Cece could have done a better job of deflecting his affection. She can be reckless. I think she likes pulling his attention,” Sylvie said.
Evan cursed. “I was counting on it from him, but not her.”
“I know.”
“Did anything interesting come out of the truth tea at least?”
Sylvie shook her head. “Honestly? Nothing more than a few sharper words than normal. It seems the princesses are used to being painfully honest with each other. Court cruelty is a second language for a princess.”
They walked down the hall and into Evan’s chamber sitting room. Sylvie poured them tea from the waiting kettle. Evan felt restless in her presence. He’d always been a caretaker, and he was unaccustomed to someone taking care of him, but he liked it.
“You have to stop juggling like this, Evan. It’s impossible to keep every ball in the air. One is bound to drop, and you’re killing yourself for a king who seems to resent the very position you work so hard to secure for him.”
