Page 12 of Cages and Crowns
“Pig.” She spits and I gasp before rolling on top of her, holding her down with my thighs.Her small frame is lean, comprised of honed muscles that makeher lethal. I’m not afraid to admit that she would win in the ring. She’s trained her entire life to be a weapon, and a weapon she is. Awraithas her father calls her. The greatest weapon in his arsenal.
“That’s quite rude and unladylike.”
“You are very heavy, my prince. Maybe consider a diet?” My eyes widen and she freezes. “Don’t.” She warns. I don’t hesitate, my fingers find her armpits and she squeals so loud she could rival a hog. “Nithe, stop!” She half-screams half-laughs as I tickle her. Her body bucks underneath mine as she tries to get free, but I keep her pinned.
“Take it back!” I can barely hear myself over her screaming as my fingers tickle any part of her I can touch.
“Can you guys maybe shut the fuck up?” I jump as a snarky, feminine voice erupts from behind. Whipping my head around, I see Scarlett standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Her jaw is clenched, brows furrowed, and eyes narrowed so much she could rival a cat. Her brown hair is in a messy braid, the blue dress she’s wearing hanging off her awkwardly. She’s lost a lot of weight since she was first brought here, but I suppose an all-liquid diet tends to do that. I roll off of Emery and prop myself up against my headboard.
“Better?” I snap. She has a habit of being annoying at the most inconvenient times. Well, it’sneverconvenient for her to be annoying.
“You two are disgusting. If you insist on being in a room next to mine, the least you can do is keep it down when you are doing whatever it is you are doing.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest and squints her eyes in my direction.
“Don’t be such a prude, Scar. We weren’t doing anything.” Emery is breathless, and I can almost hear her heart pounding in the awkward silence. She sits up, propping her elbows up behind her as she brushes her golden tendrils from her eyes.
“I am the farthest thing from a prude, asyouknow.” Scarlett scoffs, but a glimmer of amusement flashes through her brown eyes. I glance between thetwo of them. Emery is sucking on her teeth and Scarlett is staring her down. I can almost feel the tension radiating off of them.
Oh.Oh.
I can barely contain my laugh as I slide off the bed with widened eyes.
“I’ll leave you two alone, just stay off my bed.” I chuckle as I push past Scarlett, exitingmyroom.
“I don’t know what you are thinking, but you’re wrong!” She yells after me, which only makes me chuckle louder, the sound echoing off the bare walls.
Good for them. I think Em could do better, but honestly Scarlett needs to blow off some steam if she’s ever going to become a productive member of this group. Which she needs to become soon, or my father will push her out of the palace. Scarlett is stubborn, strong, but she couldn’t survive out there. Not when we are on the brink of a war.
My footsteps echo off the wooden stairs as I descend to the bottom floor. I head towards the council chamber, hoping to get my father alone. He doesn’t withhold much, but he tends to be more secretive when there are others around. And ever since Thel left, he’s been holing up in there with Kass, not allowing any of us to join them. I know the three of them are old friends, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my father was trying to find a way to absorb Rakushia as his own country. Although that shouldn’t be his priority, Elaenor should.
I have questions, complaints, concerns, all of the above, in regard to Elaenor and his plans, and I’m hoping he’ll answer at least one of them. The one that will also affect me.
Like I expected, the Labisian King is in the council room, pouring over the map like usual. The council chamber is a small rectangular room that holds a table big enough for ten. Golden banners line the walls, showing off the Rakushian flag. A yellow background with a bundle of purple wisteria in the center tied together with a rope. Why they chose yellow to compliment the purple flowers, I’ll never know.
It’s not the most attractive color combination.
However, the rope is an ode to how this country started. These lands were once slave territory, and the continent’s ancestors forced those who were magicless to do hard labor. They worked in mines, chopped trees, and more. All for a few bites of bread a day. Each slave was tethered to the next with rope so tight it sliced through their skin. Hundreds of years passed with that being the norm, but King Jahara was a savior and Rakushia became a beautiful country again. I think everyone expected it to stay that way until King Jahara III and his nephew were murdered, and King Evreux took the crown. With how Tobias is, I’m not too sure that the continent’s weak will be safe.
“Father.” I announce my presence as I make my way around the table to peer over his shoulder.
“He’s moved more of his men to the border, I wouldn’t be surprised if he pushes through within the next week.” My father mutters. He’s moved a few rose shaped pieces on the map closer to Rakushia.
“How many men does that make?” I ask. Each rose signals 100 people and I can currently see seven pieces on the map, with two rolling in his hand.
“Nearly seven hundred and eighty, if our intel is correct.” His voice is quiet, disinterested as he thinks.
“Do you know if Thel got to the palace?”
“Yes, he did. I received a raven from Ren. He said he met with Tobias and Elaenor this morning.”
“So she’s alive?” We haven’t had eyes on her in weeks. Ren tries his best to send correspondence when possible, but it’s hard. If he got caught, he’d be executed. Last we heard, he hadn’t seen her in days, unsure of where Tobias kept her. She hadn’t been to any of the court holdings, any of the royal meals or events. She was gone. For all we knew, she was dead. But I knew he wouldn’t kill her. He wants something from her, and he wouldn’t risk losing it. He has to have somewhere in the palace that others don’t know about. A place he could keep her close without being seen.
The plus side to Ren’s collaboration with us is that we have Elaenor andTobias’s wedding certificate. It never even made it to the vault in Noterra after their wedding. After it was signed, it was sent off that same day by Donovan. They are still legally wed, but all we have to do is burn it in the presence of a reverend and it’ll be annulled.
Why we haven’t done so yet, I am not sure. Maybe they want to do it once Elaenor is here, so she can be a witness? Or so Tobias doesn’t have a chance to force her to sign another before she’s rescued.
Ifshe’s rescued.
I’m hoping they opted to wait to give her a choice in the matter. Let her make the decision to end her marriage and enter a new one. I know Thel would be on board with that, he loves his niece, but I know it isn’t something my father would agree to. But this isn’t our decision, it’s hers. Maybe she loves him? I can’t imagine that she does, but how would any of us know what she’s feeling right now?
