“You will do no such thing. As a matter of fact, it suits my purposes in a much better way since she is willing to spend more time away from you.”
“That is exactly what I need to prevent, you miserable bastard,” I accused, trying to shift and escape.
Rhylan rolled his eyes, finally taking the seat in front of me. “Such dramatics,” he sighed. “Honestly, you two act like the next best thing since Romeo and Juliet,” he waved his head in disapproval. “And of course, I cannot hurt one without hurting the other, so I am stuck in a fairly unpleasant situation.” He grabbed the bottle to serve himself a glass and after he took a long shot, Fear Gorta started scratching his ear, caught in deep thought.
“What is your plan, Rhylan?” I demanded, analysing his every move.
“I mean to kill the queen,” his voice sounded inside my head, through whatever new connection he had forged against my will. I remained silent to the confession, watching him take another sip of his drink. My eyes went wide, I expected him to say anything else but this.
Fear Gorta remarked on my reaction, this time aloud.
“Yes, it is rather complicated indeed, and a far longer story than what I plan to tell you. And not because of lack of time,” he pointed out,” but because I simply do not care for you enough to waste my precious breath.”
I ground my teeth but said nothing, only scanned him, his features, trying to read his lies.
“To do that,” he continued as if nothing, “I need Anwen. For various purposes, but the most important at the time being is to distract my target,” Rhylan confessed, uttering the words carefully.
“And what makes you think she will help you?” I pressed my words.
“You,” he admitted. “The fact that whatever you did yesterday, made her docile enough to engage in my plan and play her part. So I am to ask you to continue doing whatever it is until Autumn Solstice.” Rhylan stopped and took another drink, awaiting my reply.
“You had your males torture me for four solstices to get information about the tear and now you change your mind and want to keep me alive to help you. What changed?”
Rhylan knew or must have guessed that he did have to waste enough breath to explain this, because he responded with a fair amount of tension, enough to allow me to see the truth in his words.
“I finally have someone to take her place.”
Seeing, or maybe realising that I did not possess enough background information on the queen to help me reveal the meaning of his words, he continued, “They are a direct descendent of the god, same as me. And there is a certain amount of energy that I can hold, so even if I have craved this disappearance for the past two centuries, I didn’t have a place to store all that energy she will leave behind when she fades. Not until now.”
Rhylan served himself another drink and chugged its contents before speaking again, this time back into my mind. “I need the queen dead, prince. I can’t take it any longer, and I have the perfect replacement.”
“What about her husband?” I did not dignify him with the title, especially not in front of Rhylan. And not in a kingdom that kept me and my mate prisoners.
“He’s a small creature, easy to dispose of once she is no more. Cut the connection loose and he is doomed,” Fear Gorta waved a hand as though to reassure me killing his own leader was child’s play. I wanted to spit in his face, not because I was affected by his plans, but because I felt disgusted by his lack of loyalty. Appalled by a general who had no honour, or innate need to protect his leader.
“So what, you expect me to help you kill her so you can then have free rein to keep torturing me until I die or spill the information? Information that no longer takes priority for you? I've been trained better than this, Fear Gorta,” I scanned him up and down, freely showing my distrust.
“All you need to know, my liege,” he replied with his usual mocking tone, “is that I recently received information, which places the conversation we’ve been having for the past year as a second priority, due to some very fortunate turns of events,” he replied with delight.
“And what makes you think I will help you?”
“I assume a male in love, such as yourself, would do anything to gain his lady’s freedom, would you not?” he asked as though it was the most obvious question.
“You will free her?” My heart-pumped desperately in my chest. This was it, this could be my chance to get Anwen out of this misery.
“I will, on the account that you work with me and do as I require.” As soon as he spoke the words, the invisible cliff released me, allowing my chest to inhale deeper, my arms automatically moving to rest on the table, towards Rhylan.
“When will she go free?” My gaze pierced to his, drilling into that immortal blackness of his soul.
“Autumn solstice. As soon as my plan is fulfilled, she will be returned to her world,” he promised.
I knew better than to hope for myself, for my own freedom. The fact that he offered to return Anwen to her family was more than I could have hoped.
“I need a blood oath.” I knew better than to blindly trust Rhylan, especially after all the lies and tricks he had played on us.
“I expected no less of you,” he smirked wickedly and used a sharp ring that looked like a claw, the same one he had cut Anwen with to rip a slit in his palm and allow dark red liquid to escape.
“I, Fear Gorta of the Fire Kingdom, swear onto you, Prince Ansgar of the Earth Kingdom, the safe return of your mate, Anwen Odstar back into the human realm on the date of Autumn Solstice of the current year, untroubled and unharmed, upon completion of my plan to defeat and kill the Queen of the Fire Kingdom and in exchange for your help and cooperation with all that I require.”
