Page 33 of The Crimson Princess
Chapter seventeen
Ipushoffthecouchand sit on the stone coffee table in front of Toren, as if a little distance somehow makes what I have to say easier. “Like mother, like daughter. I’m here to keep peace before there is none to be found.”
“What does that mean?” Toren urges, his expression indecipherable, but I can feel his edginess. He’s not sure what to expect from me right now, but he knows it’s nothing good.
“I’m taking a huge risk by telling you this and I’m trusting you to see me as the future and not try to destroy my gales.”
His energy sharpens, his jaw flexing. “Are your gales going to attempt to destroy my vampires?”
“I wish I could say no, but there’s a problem brewing.”
“Go on,” he says quietly.
“The druids have been trying to get in my father’s good graces.”
“Never trust a druid,” he urges, “and if you want Ravengale to exist and thrive, never forget that.”
“Idon’ttrust the druids. The problem is my father trusts them over you.”
“You want to know the irony of that statement?” He doesn’t wait for my reply, anger crackling beneath his tone. “You want to know how I drank of him? We were on the battlefield, facing the druids, and I took a near fatal blow.”
“You? You almost died?”
“I’m not immortal, princess. Just hard to kill and we were outnumbered. Your father couldn’t win without me and he knew it. I was half dead when he sliced his wrist and fed me his blood. Royalblood that still runs through my veins. I was stronger and more dangerous than ever. I destroyed our enemies. Your father turned around and tried to kill me. He didn’t need me anymore.”
The words should be shocking. I should be vehemently rejecting them and him.
But I am not.
I have a deep understanding of my father, through both myself and my mother, that I often wish I did not possess. He’s trying to whore me off. It’s hard to not see him as willing to do anything for power, not to mention his extreme hatred of Toren, I suspect to be rooted in a knowledge that the vampire king is stronger than him. He couldn’t win that battle without him. And then there is Toren. There is simply something about Toren for me, something between us that allows me to feel him on a deeper level than I can anyone else around me. Iknowwhat he’s telling me is the truth. “I had no idea.” The admission is sandpaper in my throat.
“I didn’t expect that you would.” He doesn’t push me. He doesn’t comment on my easy acceptance of his history with my father. He sticks to what is near and present danger. “What’s his plan?”
“I don’t think I can tell you that.”
“I’m not going to turn against you or your gales, but if we don’t find a way to work together, my brother will destroy us all.”
“You give him a lot of credit.”
“Evil always deserves a lot of credit, Satima. I’d think you’d know that after ten years guarding a portal.”
He’s right. I do. “I feel like a traitor right now.”
His hands settle on my shoulders, warm with understanding. “All we have as leaders at times is instinct. Go with yours and if you don’t want to tell me, I’ll respect you, even if I wish I could drag it out of you. And that’s as honest as I can be right now.”
It’s more honest than I expect from him. My mother was a powerful believer in instinct standing between us and death and I have to go with mine now. “He’s decided the gales, too, have the sorceress at our disposal. I made all the arguments about yourbrother’s wrath, but he won’t listen. He’s certain that if the gales and druids are one, we can defeat not just your brother, but you.”
He just looks at me. And looks at me some more, his eyes so damn cold. “Stop staring at me like that,” I demand and it’s my turn to say, “I’m not your enemy. I do not want to be your enemy. There has to be a way to fix this and that’s why I’m here. That’s why I came looking for you tonight. Tofixthis.”
“The gales will not accept this merger with the druids easily. How does he plan to overcome that obstacle?”
I have no idea why I dread this part the most with Toren, but I do. “He’s been in talks with the druid king. They’ve negotiated and—I can’t even believe I’m saying this. He plans to marry me off to the druid prince.” Toren’s spine goes ramrod straight and I hold up a hand. “I didn’t agree to marry Bellar. I was forced to agree to a public courting, not a marriage, but I fear how the gales will react.”
His fingers flex where they rest on my shoulders. “Your mother would not stand for such a thing.”
“Neither will I, but my father is king and I have to proceed strategically.”
“Youcannotmarry him, Satima.” There’s a raspiness to his voice and for reasons that feel illogical, I think it’s personal. Which is silly. We’ve only just come to know each other, and yet, if I’m truthful with myself, I dread the day he leaves Ravengale.
