Page 3 of A Kingdom of Lies
My hand pressed between us and ran down the dampness of his stomach until it tickled across the bulge in his pants. I grabbed it, asserting my dominance for this moment before it truly got out of hand. “A storm? How poetic you are, Erix. But I think it’s wise we calm you down. All good things come to those who wait, after all. Anyway, I’d rather have something entertaining to look forward to this evening.”
A flickering of disappointment pinched his brow, but it was only fleeting. “What if I told you I could manage it twice?”
I released his cock and patted his hardened chest as though he was a puppy. “How very valiant of you, and how lucky I am to have you as my guard. Always looking out for my best interest… and your own.” I said the last part through the corner of my mouth. “Then again… wecouldgive them a show–”
“Robin!” My name echoed loudly across the grounds. We both looked towards the visitor to see the bobbing of poppy-red hair atop the tall frame of the Cedarfall princess. She was dressed in similar clothing to me, material which hugged her body and was perfect for training, except hers was crafted from an ivory material that had her red hair standing out starkly against it.
“Bit early, isn’t it?” I raised a hand to shade my eyes as I called out to her. Mine and Althea’s magic training never began until after lunch had been served. She was usually tied up with courtly matters in the morning whilst I fooled around with Erix.
I expected a sharp-witted response from her, but she remained silent. That was when I noticed her pace was frantic and her cheeks were flushed as red as her hair.
Something was wrong. Erix shifted beside me as though he recognised it too.
“You are required in the throne room, Robin.” Althea reached us in seconds, her face pinched with turmoil. “Both of you.”
“What has happened?” Erix said, asking the question before I had gathered the courage to.
“I think it is best you both come and see.” She referred to both of us, but why did she not stop looking at me?
I stood my ground, fists clenching in trepidation. “Althea, tell me. Is it Doran?”
It was not a command, but more of a request. If she said nothing and expected me to follow her then she was truly deluded.
Althea nodded. Her curved brow pulled down into a frown as she nibbled on her lower lip. I waited, with bated breath, for her to say something to put my mind at ease. Yet I knew that my worst nightmare was a mere few words away from being revealed.
“We have received word from Oakstorm regarding your father,” she began, words careful as though she didn’t want to break me with them. “This morning another letter arrived, but this was not full of the usual demands others held. It had something… else alongside it. Something from Doran, for you.”
In a single moment the sun was covered by dense, grey clouds. I didn’t need to look skyward to know the storm brewed, conjured from nothing until hardly a spec of blue remained. Winds picked up around us, shifting the hairs around Althea’s face and blocking her worried expression from view. Our breaths fogged past our lips in puffs of silver smoke, greeting the sudden drop in temperature that enveloped us.
“Is he…” I couldn’t find the words to finish my question, nor did I need to. Althea read my silence and answered for me, although it didn’t award me any calm.
“Alive, we believe.”
Erix bristled at my side. “What do you mean you believe he is alive? The answer is rather simple to give, is it not?”
Pain echoed in my head as more of my magic spilled into the air, lowering the temperature to match that which ruled within me.
“Robin,” Althea said, reaching for my hand and taking it. Her thumb traced circles on the back of my hand, trying to console me.Why do I need consoling? “You need to come and see for yourself.”
I drew back, leaving her hand outstretched before me, pale skin glowing in the darkened light of the storm. I watched intently as flakes of snow fell upon her skin, hissing out of existence from the flame hidden in her blood. Cedarfall power.
“Please,” she said, stealing my attention away from the falling snow. “I promise we will help.”
“Help?” I managed to repeat, echoing the word in a tone that suggested I didn’t recognise the definition of help. “Weeks have gone by already. I don’t think yourhelpis doing much to get my father back.”
Althea refused to lower her hand as I snapped at her. Instead, she kept it raised, waiting for me to take it again. I might not have the ability to read minds, but I knew something had worried her. I read it in the lines across her face, in her hunched posture as if the pressure of secrets weighed heavy on her. “Together, Robin, we promised we would do this together. Now please… come. It is only right that you see this.”
CHAPTER 2
Blood stained the round marble table before us, a puddle of dark gore that reflected the sconces’ light. The copper tang was faint, but still toyed with my nose, lathering the back of my throat with its lingering taint.
And the red liquid seeped from a package, small enough to hold a ring, which waited on the table’s centre for my arrival. And all I could do was look at it. I was vaguely aware of Erix’s presence behind me. Althea waited patiently beside her parents, Queen Lyra and King Thallan Cedarfall, who had given me nothing but painful looks of sympathy since I arrived.
There were others in the council room, old and young. Some dressed in similarly decorated uniforms to Gyah whilst others wore the outfits that marked them as serving staff.
I had an audience, one who flinched as my wild, winter winds ripped at the outer walls of the castle and caused the glass windows to rattle in their frames, like bones in a casket.
“Read. It. Again,” I demanded, although my words were broken as I forced them out. All the while, I didn’t remove my eyes from the bloodied package.
