Chapter 122 Deception
❀ Maeve ❀
I rolled my eyes amidst the pain. So Lilith couldn’t give Nikolai at least ten years to cool down from his vendetta?
Nikolai was stiff beside me, his face turned in Lilith’s direction.
Pain still lingered in my bones, but it was waning, leaving behind shivers I couldn’t control.
I glared at Lilith, hating the fact that she had intruded on our moment and seen me vulnerable.
“What do you want?” I snapped. I strategically held Nikolai with my claws in case he decided to charge at Lilith.
Would I even be strong enough to hold him back? I didn’t want to go back on my deal with Vladis. I was queen, but he’d lived here for possibly hundreds of years.
I wouldn’t purposely provoke what I didn’t understand.
Lilith gave an unnatural bow. Her shoulders were stiff, back bending like steel forced to bend.
I smirked. “Lower.”
She froze, then completed the curtsy too quickly.
My mate and I were naked, bodies fused. My crown threatened to crush my skull, remnants of the crimson pangs prickling my soul. My anger simmered.
“Vladis, the Crimson Warden, politely requests your audience, Your Grace.” Her voice was sugar-sweet.
I turned to Nikolai. “I strongly believe we should import ravens or crows to deliver messages around here. Random drop-ins by people I do not want to see are not welcome.”
His gaze was still locked on Lilith. And Lilith was openly taunting him by looking right back at him.
She was looking at my hot, naked mate.
I hissed viciously. “Avert your eyes. Your life stands firmly in my hands. Don’t ever forget that.”
Lilith scowled. “We know you wouldn’t want to come, so Vladis suggested I inform you that this meeting concerns something of interest to you.”
My lips drew back to show fang. “I don’t lack things of interest. Speak or get lost.”
“The wolf.”
Silence.
My heart fluttered.
Nikolai’s body teemed with palpable malice toward Lilith.
Lilith looked triumphant. To Nikolai, she said, “Drusilla demands your audience concerning the creature in the dungeons and the occurrence in town. She asks that you do so without delay.”
I gathered myself, my eyes slitted. “Concerning the wolf, I can handle it myself. Give Vladis my thanks, but I’m not interested in his little bit of information.” I turned to Nikolai. “What’s this about the dungeon?”
He finally looked at me. “It’s nothing. I took some prisoners, but they’ve been unhelpful. I’ll handle it.”
I sighed. “I’ll come with you. I have nothing to occupy me, and I don’t want to be alone.”
“Prisoners?” Lilith spoke up. “You mean the one you burned? Wasn’t that just one person?”
Nikolai gently steered my face back to him, his tone casual. “I don’t know why you would pardon Lilith so easily, but if I fail you and spill her guts across the mountains, would it be unforgivable?”
My heart melted. “Never. I would understand.”
Lilith disappeared with a silent whoosh of air.
Nikolai gathered me closer and kissed my forehead, but my heart still fluttered.
What information could Vladis possibly have on Bastian?
I stepped back from Nikolai, reaching for my dress. “Let’s go to the dungeons. I want to see the prisoners. As queen, I shouldn’t shy away from that aspect of my queendom—”
“I know what you’re doing,” he muttered.
I turned around. “What?”
“I heard your heart thunder when she mentioned Bastian. You want to go, but you’re distracting yourself with me.”
“You’re right,” I conceded. “Is that such a bad thing?”
He stepped closer to play with a strand of my hair. “No. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to put him off for me.”
My eyes widened, brows furrowing. “Huh?”
“You want me to go? To get information on Bastian? I thought you hated him and the idea of him being my mate.”
His lips curved faintly. “I do. But like you’ve so plainly said, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Oh, Nikolai…” I hugged him. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“I do,” he whispered, hand patting my back.
I smiled into his chest, excitement blooming. If I could just get Bastian to this point like I had Nikolai, my happily ever after might just work—
“Maeve,” Nikolai said in a more serious voice.
“Yes?”
“The Crimson Stone.” His eyes were tortured. “I need to destroy Lyssa’s blood, or else the stone will kill you. I can’t have that.”
“I know. You know what? Just go handle your dungeon business, and I’ll go to Vladis. When we return here, I’ll tell you about my plans.”
“Your plans?” he asked, incredulous.
I rolled my eyes. “Do you really think I’ll sit back in a gilded cage while the blood of my birth mother sabotages me? We’ll do this together.”
“Yes.” His eyes gleamed. “Together.”
I stepped back, our hands stretching with the distance until our fingers separated.
“I’ll go get dressed,” I told him.
He nodded.
I smiled shyly, feeling like a little girl about to show off her latest learned skill.
I focused my magic, imagining my castle room, the emotions attached to the space. A recent memory.
My form flickered.
Right before I traced, Nikolai’s expression made something delicious coil in my belly.
His crimson eyes blazed with hunger. Reverence. Adoration.
I pictured them both—Bastian and Nikolai—showering me with that beautiful, intoxicating divine fealty.
Nothing seemed more right in the world.