Royal Affliction (The Anti-Princess Saga) (33 page)

“Please don’t go?”

Maybe I would stay and buy a house large enough for anyone that wanted to stay here with me.  With the Boru wiped out I was pretty sure that my father wouldn’t mind me staying.  After all, that was the reason he had wanted me to come home in the first place.

“Do you want me to stay because you want to be with me, or because you don’t want to be alone?”

“I guess a little of both.”

His words were honest.  “Then I will stay.”

He wiped the tears from his eyes and positively beamed at me.

“I will want to visit home occasionally, and when I do, I will not be able to take you with me.”  I needed him to understand what he was getting himself into.

“Got it.”

I pulled him into a soft hug.  The warmth from his body felt comforting.

When Clifton joined us, he was alone.

“Where is my father?”

“He wanted to be alone with my mother,” he said with hesitation, knowing that I wouldn’t be happy about it.

“What?  You were supposed to keep an eye on him.”

He shrugged.  “He ordered me out.  I did try Tessa.”

I didn’t even want to think about what they were doing alone in Drina’s hotel room.

“Quartessa has decided to stay!”

“I had a feeling that she would.”

I tried to smile, but it felt more like a scowl.

“Hey, Tess, look.”  Kyle was pointing up at the television screen above the bar.  The channel was showing pictures of dead bodies lying in the street, but I couldn’t hear the announcer so I asked the bartender to turn it up.

“…thousands of bodies have already been reported.  The CDC has been called in to investigate as to why so many people have just seemingly dropped dead with no clear cause at this point in time.  The CDC is urging people to remain calm until they are able to put an explanation behind this travesty.  And now here is Dianne McConnell with more on this latest development… ”

As he talked, I was inwardly thankful for the fact that when Boru die they take on their human form.  At least we wouldn’t have a mass panic of
aliens
from the public.  Countless images of men, women, and children flooded the screen, haunting me.  I had killed them all, but I had to do it.  The children bothered me more than the others.  They had been innocent, born into something that they couldn’t control.  Tears glided down my face as I watched the aftermath of my actions.

“You had to Tessa,” said Clifton as he hugged me from behind.

“I know.”

“I don’t know much about binding spells, but I doubt that you can place one on just some of them and not all of them.”

“No, you can’t.  It’s just that…I didn’t even think about the innocent.  I was more worried about whether the spell would kill you or not.  Does that make me selfish?”

Clifton spun my stool around to face him and he stared into my eyes while he spoke.  “You are the least selfish person that I have ever met, Tessa.  You put others needs before your own.  Sometimes, I think you care
too
much.  I know how you feel about me and you were willing to sacrifice me for the good of your people.  That was a very unselfish act.”

“Are you mad at me for almost killing you?”

“No Tessa, making those kinds of decisions proves that you are more of a princess than you think you are.  Giving up your happiness to aid your people is something that a King would do.”

I had always thought of myself as a girl that grew up in a royal home but was never really one of them.  I guess my brain was more princess than I was.

“Quartessa, may I see you upstairs please?”  It was my father’s voice that spoke, but I couldn’t tell where it had come from.

“Did you hear that?”

They both looked confused and shook their heads.

“I think that I was just called upstairs.”

They both looked at me like I was crazy, but followed me out of the lounge.

I made my way back up to Drina’s room with Clifton and Kyle following closely behind.  When I reached the door, it swung open.  My father and Drina stood just behind it, looking rather pleased.  The sight bothered me a little.  I didn’t want to think about the reason that they were looking so happy.

“Did you call me?”

“Yes.”

I turned and gave both of my men an “I told you I wasn’t crazy” look.  Then we walked inside.

“Quartessa, I have some exciting news.”

“What is it?”

He glanced over at Drina and then back at me.  “Drina has agreed to come back to Kortis with me as my second wife.”

My mouth fell open.  “There are no second wives in our laws.” 
What the hell was he thinking?  He couldn’t just take another wife.

“I am the King of our people, and I can change whatever laws that I wish.”

“So you can marry whoever you want and however many women that you choose?”

“Enough.”  He said it calmly, yet there was a firmness to it that made me stop.  “I am passing a law that any Zolera, man or woman, may have two husbands or wives if they so desire.  This law applies to you as well.  If you find yourself unable to choose between two men, feel free to take them both as yours.”

It was a cheap shot at winning me over and it wasn’t going to work.  “And what of your current wife, does she have a say in this?”

“She is my wife and she will do what I tell her to do.  Besides, she will still be Queen.  I am not taking that away from her.  Drina does not want the title.”

It was exactly this way of thinking that I didn’t care for and an added benefit of not going back.  I had talked to Clifton before accepting Kafkus as my Zezka.  I would have never just forced it on him as my father was doing to my mother.  But he was the King, my opinions and feelings were irrelevant.  He was going to do whatever he wanted regardless of what I had to say about it.

“So, Clifton and I are half-siblings now?” I asked using my last thought to persuade him against the decision that he’d already made.

He cast a dismissive hand.  “You are not blood, a union would still be allowed.”

“So, are you returning to Kortis tonight?”  I wasn’t going to win this fight.

“No, Avalon knew that I would disappear for a while.  I will stay here with Drina tonight, spend the day with you, and then return home tomorrow with my newly recovered bride.”

“Fine, I’m exhausted anyway.”  I turned around, walked past Clifton and Kyle and opened the door.  “I’ll be back for you later.”

********************

This had been one long day, and week for that matter.  I was ready to curl up and go to sleep but the apartment was fully alive when we arrived even though it was close to three a.m.  They were all sitting around discussing the battle.

Violet beamed at me.  She jumped up and blind-sighted me with a bone-crushing hug.  “I cannot believe that you did it.  You were amazing!  And when did you learn how to swordfight?”  She said all of this very fast.  It took my brain a moment to catch up.

“I, uh…just can.”

“Where is your father?”

“I really don’t want to talk about that right now.  Honestly, I just want to go to sleep if that’s alright with you?”

“Of course, after a day like today, you deserve some rest.”

“Thank you, Violet.”

I stood on the coffee table to address the room.  “I would really like to thank you all for your help.  Each and every one of you played an invaluable part in our success and I will forever be indebted to you all.  I am thoroughly exhausted so please do not think of me leaving as a sign of disrespect.  I just want to sleep for a whole day after the week I’ve just had.”

Though I really could have used a shower, I just didn’t have the energy for it.  I walked into the bedroom, stripped off my bloody attire, and climbed onto Clifton’s bed.  I was going to owe him some new sheets.

It felt so good to lay down, to relax.  A huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and everything was back to normal.  Well…as normal as it could be for my life.

Kafkus crawled into bed with me, facing me.  I stared into the face of the man that I loved.  It was so nice to lay with him once more.  It was something that I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do again.

“You did great tonight.  I am so proud of you.”

“Thank you, but I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You took down Lynth without my help.”

“No, you did help me with that.”

“Maybe a little.”

Clifton entered now and took his place curled up at my back.  I took a moment to relish in the feel of their loving touch.  I had two great men that I loved more than anything in the world.   And with the job done, I could enjoy their company without a care in the world.

“I am so lucky to have you both.”

“No Tessa, we are the lucky ones,” said Clifton.

“You really have no idea how special you are.  Do you?” Kafkus asked.

“I guess not.  But that’s one of the reasons that you guys love me right?  Because I’m not all full of myself and stuck-up?”

“I love you for all you are.”

“As do I.  What plans do we have for tomorrow?”

“Nothing.”  That word filled me with ease and I yawned and closed my eyes.  “Absolutely nothing.  But the day after that, we’re going house hunting.