Page 26 of Glass Hearts
“Well. That was unexpected. A stepsister to the Baudelaires, with a damned curse. This is getting messier by the second, brothers.” We all nod. “But we need to remember our duty. Not only to the crown, but to our isles. Waiting back home for us.”
“If Duchess wants to stay here, I may just move over here permanently. Father rules the fire from afar, so I am sure I can manage. It seems like these are her people.”
Sylas pinches the bridge of his nose. “Gray, this has gone on long enough. You can’t seriously want to marry the servant girl. First, the Crown Council would not allow it. Second, she is a thief and a liar. We can’t trust her. Being a queen comes with responsibility.”
“I’m tired of you guys underestimating her. Did you not see how she worked the crowd in Harsekeep?! She’s a beacon to the subjects we always have a hard time connecting to. There is a fire in her I have never seen in a potential life partner. I don’t just want to fuck her. She. Is. Mine.”
Koi bristles at Grayer’s confession.
Grayer makes a good point about her connection to the people, but she is still a liar. “Grayer, you and I should head to the pleasure district. I will find you a blonde with blue eyes, and you can get her out of your system. I agree with Sylas. The council will never allow it. They would rather remove your position as the prince than let a lowly servant girl be a queen. Plus, it appears your brother may want her too, by the way he has been white-knuckling his whiskey glass this whole time.” As if on cue, Koi’s half-empty glass shatters. “It appears I am correct.” I can’t help but smirk.
“So why do you have her bandana in your pocket then, Arch? If she is just a lowly servant girl, then why keep it? I saw you put it in your pocket, and I see you regularly checking your pocket to see if it is still there.” Koi sneers at me. That fucker. I rose, ready to unleash my fury, but Sylas, like a wall, stepped in before I could get close.
“Brothers! Stop this right now! Look at what she is doing to us. Yet another reasonnoneof us can have her. Clearly, there is a part of each of us that is drawn to the little vixen. But our brotherhood comes first. Our people come first.”
Grayer clutches his heart necklace, which also holds his glass orb from Arabella. He says nothing. I am never jealous of Grayeror Koi for the females they choose to warm their beds. But Grayer had my jealousy in full swing as I watched him carry Arabella up the stairs to our tower of the castle, collecting her giggles and smiles. I think we all looked a bit longingly at the view.
“While we are on the subject, one of us should always keep a watch on her—from afar.” I direct this last sentiment to Gray and Koi. “The idea of being our prisoner for the first few days is something I think she will like. I imagine her stepmother never gave her a break. But she is a spitfire. I don’t imagine she would enjoy being cooped up for too long.”
“What, take her out at night so the other women and her deranged stepfamily don’t see her?! Her stepfamily will be suspicious, especially,” Koi replies, a chill crawling up my spine at the thought of their inevitable inquiries.
Sylas nods his head, crossing his arms but bringing his finger to his chin. “We will have to think about this further. For now, her being sequestered in her room will have to do. But Koi’s question brings up another thing we have been putting off in place of chasing the vixen. Now that we invited the selected females, they will be here tomorrow. They will expect us to court them. This means you too, Gray. We have a few weeks to make a final selection. I know we have always rebelled against it, but we have no choice. We weren’t born to marry for love, brothers. I suggest we all make peace with the fact that this is our lot in life. That’s why we have each other and our bond.”
Grayer’s eyes darken, and he broods. I think he is about to say something, but he decides against it, instead choosing to leave the room altogether. “We will have to keep an eye on Gray,” I shoot directly to just Sylas.
Sylas nods. “Only I have the key to her room.”
Koi sighs, leaning his head back on the couch to look at the ceiling. Our conversation reached a natural conclusion. None of us are feeling any better.
* * *
“I’m getting Arabella some food. I doubt her stepmother fed her that well, and it’s been many hours since we locked her up,” Sylas sends down the bond.
After putting on loungewear, I put the bandana in my pocket. I am keeping it only as evidence. Or at least, that’s what I tell myself.
I catch Sylas as he also leaves his room. We head down to the kitchen in silence.
“Good evening, boys!” Margie, the kitchen head chef, coos. Margie has been here since day one. She is a delightful, plump lady who tells it like it is. She also never treated us like princes, much to the council’s dismay. We have had to fight to keep Margie on plenty of times after she presented herself in a ‘non-royal etiquette’ manner. “What can I do ya’s for?”
“Can we get today’s dinner selection on a tray? With dessert. Maybe a bottle of wine that would pair well with it.”
Margie, the ever-nosy cook, cocks her hip.
“Entertaining a lady love, are we? Made her ride your cocks too much, the poor girl is spent?” Again, no filter.
Sylas laughs. “Not quite, Margie. Please keep this under wraps. We may have a prisoner in one room in our tower. She will not have access to the castle just yet, but we will need to provide her with regular meals.”
“I see. And why is she near you and not in ouractualdungeon?”
“She’s not that kind of prisoner,” is all I can find to say.
Margie cackles. “You boys like her.” She cackles more. “This is going to be fun to watch.” She scoops the stew into a bowl, adds a side bun and salad to the tray. She goes to the fridge and picks out a few assorted petit fours and adds them to the silver tray.
“It’s not like that, Margie,” Sylas corrects.
“Sure, boys. Be sure not to blunder this one up.” Margie just pats both of our faces, then hands me the Merlot she selected for the earlier dinner service. “I think I am going to want to meet this one, especially since you lot are already putting up a fuss for her.” She continues to cackle away, going to her next task in the kitchen, dismissing us.
By the time we get to our wing, Koi and Grayer are already leaning up against the wall outside of Arabella’s room.
