Page 191 of The Call of Crimson
“He told me pretty much that… except that he suspected it wasyouwho killed him.”
Aurelius’ brow furrows. “Why would he tell us…” His voice trails off, his gaze hardening before turning to Ayden.
“You know the curious thing about what he said to me, he called meclever girl,” I say, my eyes narrowing on Ayden.
The jovial expression has dropped, and he wisely keeps his mouth shut as I continue. “My father never called me that.”
“But you’ve called her that twice now,” Aurelius growls at Ayden.
The whole room is so quiet, I’m not even sure they’re breathing.
“If you have something to say, just say it,” Ayden grits out.
Standing from my chair, I take my time circling the table until I’m next to Ayden. He stands to meet me, and I bring my hand to his cheek, stroking softly as I ask, “Did you use the illusion of my dead father to turn me against Aurelius?”
Ayden takes a deep breath before answering. “That wasn’t exactly the intention, but yes. Your father’s ghost was my illusion.”
I drop my hand from his face, my eyes darting to the side. I can’t look at him right now. My gaze meets Aurelius’ stare. His expression is pure fury on my behalf as I tremble. He nods ever so slightly, letting me know he’s with me.
Curling my hand into a fist, I pull back from Ayden.
“Breyla, I can—” Ayden starts, but is cut off by the punch I throw straight at his nose. Bone crunches beneath my fingers, and I can’t tell if my fingers are broken, but his nose definitely is.
“Fuck,” Ayden seethes, hands flying to his nose to stop the blood flow.
“Breyla!” The queen shouts, outrage filling her tone as she gets up to rush for Ayden.
Ayden throws up his hand, halting her in her tracks. “No, Mother. I quite deserved that.”
Aurelius stands silently behind me, his hand resting supportively on my shoulder. “Do you feel better, little demon?”
“A little. You should give it a try.”
His grin is devilish as he rears back, landing a punch on Ayden’s jaw.
Ayden groans, rubbing at his aching jaw as blood continues running down his face. “Bloody hell, that hurt. Are we done with the punching?”
“Tell us why you’ve been fucking with our court,” I demand. “Did we not have enough going on already?”
Rowina holds out a napkin to Ayden, and he drops back into his chair with a groan.
“Your own ignorance was going to lead to your death,” Ayden starts, his voice muffled by the bloody napkin. “I had to open your eyes to the corruption in your court without directly involving myself. You wouldn’t have even known about the threat of the Fae if it weren’t for me.”
I hate that he’s right. It doesn’t excuse his actions, but it does explain them.
“So you thought impersonating my father’s ghost was the way to do it? Why not just tell me?”
Ayden sighs. “Again, I couldn’t directly involve myself, and be honest, love, would you have actually trusted a word I said?”
Until recently, I believed him to be an enemy seeking vengeance for his father’s death. “Probably not,” I admit.
“What you did was fucked up,” Aurelius says, his lip curling.
“I know,” Ayden says, rubbing his temple.
“If you ever pull something like that again, I will make sure your balls are well acquainted with my dagger,” I threaten.
“I won’t, I promise,” Ayden says sincerely.
