Page 49 of Of Realms and Chaos

“Ah yes, and this is Bellamy Ayad, Prince of the Demon Realm,” Shah said rather dismissively. I did not miss the shake in her voice as she said the word demon.

Genevieve’s eyes openly roamed over me, her pink tongue darting out to lick her blue painted lips—the color matching the line of cosmetics on her lids. If Asher had not been schooled in diplomacy, she probably would have combusted on the spot, but—unfortunately for us all—she had been. So, instead of ripping the mortal girl to pieces, Asher simply latched onto my hand with startling force, her nails digging into my skin.

“Believe it or not, I have heard some rather enticing rumors about The Elemental. The most exciting being about what wicked things you can do with that power in your veins. Tell me, is it true that you once made a woman reach completion with only water?” Genevieve’s taunting did not hit the mark she was aiming for, because Asher remained firmly planted in her chair, though I could hear the way her teeth ground together.

Instead, the Princess of Maliha’s mocks left Henry hunching forward, his laughs echoing across the vaulted violet ceilings. Asher snorted beside me, the aura of her magic pressing into me. Whatever she was stealing from the minds around her, it had to be comical.

Genevieve rested her glare on Henry next, her lips turning down in a frown as she watched the Sun catch his breath. He reached a finger up to swipe away a stray tear, his laughter slowly dying out.

“Sorry, I heard something funny and could not help myself,” Henry said, not caring to elaborate further.

“Well, that is quite rude,” Genevieve stated with a scrunch of her button nose.

I rolled my eyes, not interested in hearing her somehow play the victim during this strange dinner. “You just inquired about my sex life and openly flirted with me in front of my—” I cut myself off, not knowing exactly what to refer to Asher as. Would she be upset if I said she was my future queen? My lover? My wife-to-be? My reason for existing?

Genevieve’s gaze lit up with excitement, something sneaky in the brown depths that I had not seen before.

You just played right into her hand. She can spin this in her favor, Bell. She will make me out to be a liar and a fool—an unfaithful wife. If it were just Shah, it would be different, but this is Sterling’s sister.

Bristling at her mental tone, I crossed my arms and offered a curt nod to Ash, letting her know that I was going to play the part of a good little prince. Well, I would try.

“It is very nice to meet you, Genevieve. I am afraid I have not heard much about you from…Sterling. What brings you to Behman?”

Genevieve’s eyes formed slits, her thin lips taking on a sort of pout and her face flaming. Since she already knew what Asher was to me, I let a toothy smile loose on her, leaning over to absently twirl one of Asher’s loose curls. It was more than likely that I was annoying Ash, but oh was it fun.

“I am visiting my close friend, not that it is any of your concern. Though I am quite eager to hear all about whatever it is you are here for. Especially since you are supposedly with my brother as we speak.”

That had me tensing, Asher’s brown hair slipping from my fingers. Henry, ever the open book, let out a soft gasp. Daring a look at Asher, I found her face as blank as ever, nothing in those eyes but boredom.

“Yes, I am also curious, Princess Asher. Is there a reason you have brought demons to my doorstep?” Queen Shah’s question was not filled with the same malice that Princess Genevieve’s was, but I could still sense that fear and distrust in the darting of her eyes and uneven beat of her heart.

None of them had filled me in on exactly what their plan was to win over Shah, but I knew that Asher felt fairly confident that this would be a successful night. Genevieve threw off the balance of her plan, but I had a feeling Asher could still manage this.

My princess, gods bless her, offered Shah a soft smile, her hands releasing mine and absentmindedly straightening the red fabric on her lap. Sparing a glance at Henry, I noted how he too watched Asher’s hands, his brows pinched.

“I am sure you have heard about the coming conflict between the fae and the demons,” Asher said.

Queen Shah’s eyes went wide, Callahan coughing beside her. Servants came out then, carrying trays of what appeared to be some sort of meat and potato dish, the scent of gravy heavy in the air. Our cups were filled to the brim with wine, the color of it the same red as the table. Before Asher could drink hers, I swiped it, sniffing at the liquid. Not poisoned. At least, not with one I could scent.

Asher gasped when I lifted the cup to my lips, aiming to take a sip of hers first. I was planning to make sure that if one of us were to die tonight, it would be the least important of the two, but Henry snatched the glass from me, causing a splash of it to hit the table.

His eyes met Asher’s, and then she nodded. Witnessing how close the two of them had become these last few months was hard, but seeing how that had somehow grown into silent conversations and inside jokes made me hopeful that she was slowly healing.

And, I will admit, it also made my fucking skin crawl.

“Do drink up, Genevieve. I would not want you to become parched as you listen to my tale.” Her voice was clear, the haunting tone of her magic demanding obedience as Henry held out the cup to Genevieve. Callahan seemed to shrivel at the sound of it, Shah also noticeably shrinking into her chair.

Genevieve snatched Asher’s cup without hesitation, a blank look in her eyes as she dumped back well over half of the glass. Everyone waited, no one daring to breathe while we watched for any signs of poison. When a full minute had passed without Genevieve so much as wincing, we decided it was worth the risk and began partaking, Henry digging into his food with a passion.

Under her breath, I heard Genevieve murmur “pig” and choked on my wine. She was not wrong. I took another long sip of the sweetest wine I had ever tasted, a sort of cherry flavor there in its depths.

“I will not play coy, we need your assistance for what is to—”

Shah cut in before Asher could continue. “We? Who does that consist of, Princess Asher? Your kind, or theirs?” she said with a tone of ice, her head nodding towards Henry and I. This time, I had to physically restrain Henry, pressing my hand into his leg to keep him seated.

“Do not interfere. Trust her to accomplish what she came here to do,” I whispered to him, the words too low and quick for the mortals to hear.

Henry bristled, crossing his arms over his chest and slouching back into his chair much like I had minutes ago. Genevieve watched him as he did, those keen eyes seeing too much.

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