Betrayals of Spring (21 page)

- Dark Sorcerer
-

I followed Meliantha and the prince to
the wolf pack’s den. I expected them to be out in a few short minutes, but what
I didn’t expect was for them to try and complete their bond so soon. I could
smell the scents of lust and sex wafting out from the cavern and I almost
charged in there myself to put a stop to it, but if I did, it would ruin all
chances of my master plan. I see one of the wolves race out of the cavern and
into the woods. It only takes me a second to decide what my next move is. My
smile is chilling as I stare at my reflection in the dagger.

“This is for you, Prince Kalen.”

The wolf is on the hunt for prey not
knowing that he’ll become the prey himself. I sweep low and gut the wolf from
end to end. He only had time to give a small yelp before death took him. The
yelp was not loud at all, but I could hear the slight echo reaching the cavern.
The pack’s hearing will no doubt hear the last call of their fellow pack
member, and then they will alert Meliantha and their precious alpha.
Unfortunately, after this ordeal they will push harder to get bonded. I’ll just
have to work quickly after this.

I wait for a few minutes longer to see
if the word has spread yet, and I believe it has when I see Meliantha and Kalen
running out of the cave followed by the rest of the wolves. My distraction has
worked, and in return, I bask in the glorious taste of anger and rage floating
in the wind. The sound of Kalen’s roar fuels my enjoyment, and I revel in the
sounds of his torment as I glide across the wind and back to the palace.

Breena is packing her clothes and
throwing things across the room when I enter. I could hear her ranting from
across the palace grounds. The more attention she draws the less my plan will
work from her idiocy. Other than fucking her, she has been nothing more than a
pain in my ass.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She looks up at me and I hiss at the
sight of her face. Meliantha really damaged it when she hit her. Her nose is
swollen and her eyes are black and blue underneath. I’m surprised she hasn’t
healed yet. The princess must have used some powerful magic and force behind
that blow.

Breena scowls at me and hisses, “I’m
packing if you must know. I’ve been kicked out of the palace and I’m supposed
to be gone this morning.”

No, she will not, I think to myself. My
game is about to reach its finale and I need her help. I look at her and smile,
“You are not going anywhere. We’re going to make them
think
you have
left, but you’re actually going to still be here.”

She looks at me confused, “I don’t
understand. How can we do that?”

“I will tell you in a minute, but first,
where is the box with Kalen’s gift?” I ask. She bends down to reach under the
bed and pulls out the box.

“Excellent,” I say as I reach out to
take the box. “We have to move fast tonight. Your precious prince and Meliantha
almost bonded today, but I intervened by killing one of his wolves.”

She gasps and puts her hand over her
mouth in shock.

“You killed one of his wolves?” she asks
in a shaky voice.

“I needed a distraction and the wolf
presented itself to me, so I took the opportunity. I gutted it for all of them
to see. It was actually a glorious sight,” I boast.

Her mouth is still hanging open in
shock, but she shakes out of it. “He’s going to have your head for that. One
way or another, he is going to come after you. His wolves are dear to him.”

I just shrug and smile.

“He can try, but no magic or weapon has
been discovered that can kill me. I’m invincible.” Unfortun-ately, I know I’m
not fully invincible, but no one knows of the magic that can kill me and I plan
to keep it that way. Calista’s dagger wounded me when she stabbed me with it or
actually when she stabbed Avery with it with me in his body. It took a lot out
of me, but I soon recovered. There’s something about the mixture of magic and
fae blood in the daggers that can hurt me.

No one knows I have the scrolls with the
ancient text transcribed on them that states how to destroy my people. My
family had secured them before the legendary battle took place that killed them
all. We tried to destroy them, but we were unsuccessful. Apparently, the
scrolls can’t be destroyed. Only a few of the fae knew about the magical
scrolls, and of course they were the ones who wrote them. No one knows how they
received the knowledge of how to defeat us. Before they were able to share them
with the courts, my people had them hunted down and slaughtered. As far as I
know, there has never been a mention of them since then. I have them hidden away
in a safe location. As long as I have them secured, there’s no way they can
figure out how to defeat me. It’s best they think I cannot be killed.

Breena is done with her packing and I
should have told her it was a waste of time because she’s not going to be
taking any of that with her where we’re going.

“Are you ready to see how you’re going
to disappear? The next step of our game happens now,” I prompt.

I hold out my hand and she takes it
enthusiastically. The gleam in her eyes lets me know she is ready.

“Of course I’m ready. I am ready to pay
that bitch back for fucking up my face,” she snaps. I laugh at her words
because there is no way she could ever get Meliantha back for screwing up her
face. I’m surprised the princess didn’t kill her last night. I would have. I
pull Breena to me and I spread the darkness around my body to expand over hers.
We are now one with the shadows, so I float us through the palace and out into
the night beyond. I take us to the place where we will begin the next stage in
the game.

Seeing my wolf butchered on the ground
was the most agonizing thing I have ever seen. His name was Malachi and he was
one of the best hunters in the pack. He and Aki always accompanied me when I
took my adven-tures in the forest as a child. The loss of him has left a
permanent scar on my heart and it is not something I will ever forget.
Meliantha offered to help me heal, but I refused. I love her for offering to
help, but I need to remember the pain I felt in the moment.

Meliantha and I are in the throne room
with my parents, King Madoc and Queen Mab, and also her parents, King Oberon
and Queen Tatiana. We have explained the events of the afternoon and what we
propose as a solution. They all glance from Meliantha to me and then at each
other.

My father speaks first.

“If you want to complete the bond on
your terms, your mother and I fully support your decision, son.”

I bow my head and reply, “Thank you,
Father.” I knew my parents would be supportive and honor my proposal.

We have one family down and one to go. I
smile at Meliantha and she smiles back. I love to see her smile. It’s one of
the loveliest things about her face, other than her magnificent amethyst eyes.
Her strength will help me get through my loss.

We are sitting at the council table side
by side while both sets of our parents are seated opposite us. King Oberon
looks over at Meliantha and raises his eyebrows in question. Meliantha smiles
and nods her head in a silent agreement of sorts. I guess she can understand
what’s going on in her parent’s mind. The King smiles lovingly back at her and
turns to me in all seriousness.

“Queen Tatiana and I will support your
decision as well,” King Oberon states. He tells Meliantha, “We know this is
your path and we want you to embrace it. If bonding tonight keeps you safe,
then that is all that matters.”