The walk in the garden was pleasant, their pace slow and easy and she was beginning to wonder when he was going to start on her. They made their way around the corner of the castle when he turned on her and she noted dryly that he had waited until the guards could no longer see or hear them.
"Why did you marry him?" he snarled, furious.
"I don't recall having much of a choice. I do however recall drugs being involved," she said sarcastically, turning to face him when he stopped.
"Get it annulled then."
She blinked, her lips pulling down into a frown.
"Is that possible? He's the prince. You're the only one with the authority to do that," she was very wary of his intentions with their discussion.
"I can, but it would require agreement on both sides. Your other option is to seek out the priest," he said thoughtfully.
"Why are you so interested in who I am married to? Or is this brotherly concern?"
His face twisted and she had to smile inwardly at the sight.
"I don't care who he marries, as long as it's not my princess."
Anger flared up in her, burning like acid.
"I am not your princess. Nor have I ever been," her tone was harsher than she intended and she flushed at his indignation. It didn't make her words any less true however.
"You were my princess since the day you set foot in this city. No, since the day you were born," he said with righteous anger.
It took a moment for what he was saying to sink in and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to keep from shouting at him.
"I am not the princess of your prophecy, Alaric. Prophecies don't exist," her eyes opened and she found him glaring at her with fanatic zeal.
"My destiny was foretold, I am destined to be the king of legend with a great queen at my side who will bear the greatest dynasty in history."
Tilting her head slightly to the side, she studied him in his pride and insistence that he was the king.
"You may be that king, but I'm not the queen. I am married to your brother, I am carrying his child," she tried to say it gently, but it was difficult to face such blind devotion calmly when it was your life on the line.
Her words seemed to hit him like a physical blow and he stared at her hard, thinking.
"No, perhaps you are right," he said with a calm that she found even more disturbing. Men like him did not change their minds like that, it took weeks to just chip their resolve and then longer to get them to stop clinging out of sheer stubbornness.
"Thank you for the walk, princess, I hope to do it again in the future," he said and turned away, leaving her there alone and confused.
Deciding not to go back to Epharis, she instead headed out in search of the twins in the hope that they could shed some light on the situation.
Making her way into the rooms she had been held in, she knocked gently on the door at the bottom of the stairs.
Kai opened the door a moment later and his face split into a wide smile.
"Etani, we weren't expecting you for a few days, please come in," he pulled the door open and she stepped inside.
Jaia and Versalis were playing a game of chess, both men intent on the board however Jaia's hand was immediately on hers when she approached as though they were magnetised.
Settling close at his side, she watched as Jaia moved a piece that she didn't know, both looking up but Versalis was looking at their joined hands, their closeness.
"Your turn," Jaia said, refusing to let go of her even under the scrutiny.
"You told me you didn't bind her," he said with a calm none of them expected.
"He didn't, a deal was struck," Kai said slowly, wary of the calm.
Kai had come to stand behind her, his hands gentle on her shoulders but she knew he would be ready to rip her from the seat of the need arose.
"We were able to come to an agreement Versalis" She said gently, not fully grasping the situation but she felt coming there so soon might have been a bad idea. "I didn't mean to intrude, I can come back another time."
She meant to move but Kai's hands on her tightened and she knew better than to try and resist. He wasn't detaining her, only keeping her in place while Versalis struggled with whatever it was going on in his head.
Jaia was tense at her side, everyone was waiting for someone to make a move, everyone waiting for everyone else.
Finally Versalis managed to get himself in order and lowered his eyes back to the game.
***
Looking up at Kai, she offered him a weary smile before he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead.
Everything would be fine, she knew it. She had Jaia and she had Kai, so long as Versalis didn't pitch a fit they would be able to live together comfortably.
The game went on for almost an hour, the two men murmuring quietly to each other but she didn't understand what it was they were playing, nor what one had to do to win.
It seemed that one had to get their tallest piece to beat the matching piece of the other colour, but she wasn't entirely sure.
"It's called chess," Kai said gently as he sat at her side, intent on the game.
Nodding, she had heard of the game but had never seen it played before, watching as Versalis grew angrier by the second and finally threw his pieces down and slumped back against the couch, defeated.
Jaia grinned and scooped up the pieces, packing them carefully away into little velvet bags and collecting the board to put it away.
"So what did you do to her?" Versalis asked.
Looking up, she found him watching her.
"We came to a deal," she said slowly, unsure of his mood.
"Did you sleep with him?" he snapped, still angry at the loss.
"No," Jaia said, Kai shifting slightly at her side. He looked confused, especially given what he had seen in the room. "We didn't have sex," Jaia repeated for the sake of his brother who relaxed slightly.
"But you thought they did?" Versalis asked sharply.
"They… Naked in bed…" Kai blushed, squeezing her hand gently.
Her cheeks had flushed with colour as well, looking into his tender black eyes before she rested her head against his shoulder.
"I know how it looked, but we never got that far. I couldn't bring myself to do it, even after…" he took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "Even when she was begging for it, I couldn't take advantage like that… Not after what Epharis had done."
Looking up at him, she knew she would have wanted him at that point, the flood of desire that left her aching for him, she wasn't surprised that she would have begged him for more, the need was incredible.
Dropping her eyes, she reached for him as he reached for her, pressing her lips against his fingers as he ran his free hand over her hair.
A knock came at the door before Versalis could speak again and everyone went still, looking around towards the door.
Kai stood and crossed to it slowly, unsure and wary of who it might be.
Opening it, he was shoved back to reveal Epharis, the man fuming as he searched the room for her and then seemed to relax.
"Did he hurt you?" he demanded.
"No, he only wanted to talk," she said slowly, studying the man as he glared back at her, angry and frustrated but he seemed to calm down with her words.
"Come for a walk, we need to talk."
Lifting her brows at the demand, she glanced at the others before she sighed and pushed herself to her feet, kissing Kai's cheek as she passed him and allowed Epharis to draw her back up the stairs.
He didn't speak until they had reached the garden again, turning on her and glaring.
"You are being reckless," he snapped. "You are not putting only your life at risk Etani."
"I was perfectly safe," she lied, turning away from him in frustration and continued down the path, forcing him to follow.
She heard him sucking in a breath but a sickening thud pulled her eyes around, seeing the man crumpled on the ground.
Turning, she didn't get to see what had happened as something crunched and everything went black.