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  Roland smiled. “On second thought, I think you would be better to remain by my side. I want you by my side as much as possible. You can see Daniel. If you’d like, you can even give him a smack or two. I daresay he deserves it.”

  She swallowed. She looked over at the table. She wished she’d drunk that tea now. Mavis came hurrying into the room, stopping when she saw the still half full pot of tea. She licked her lips. “Sire, if I could, well—”

  “Spit it out, Mavis. I don’t have time for your dithering. Besides, it’s not in my nature to chitchat with the help.”

  “I would like to have a bit of that tea, if it’s permitted.”

  “Of course. You know you can have whatever is left over from our meals. I am not that strict.”

  “Oh, thank you, Sire.” She walked over and grabbed a cup from the trolley. Then, she poured herself a bit of the tea, and started pushing the trolley out of the room with her one hand, while she sipped at the tea with the other. Suddenly, Mavis made a choking, strangling noise. Annabelle looked over at her to see that her face had gone completely white. Mavis dropped the cup and started to clutch at her throat. She was starting to make a hoarse coughing noise. Her eyes bulged out of her head.

  “Father, do something!” Annabelle cried.

  “She is only a servant. She must have eaten something that didn’t agree with her.”

  “I’ll say she did. She drank the tea that was meant for me! Katrina made that tea for me, and she must have slipped some poison into the teapot! Help me!” She raced to the woman, looking furtively around for the travel bag that contained her potions. When Ardal had left he must have taken it with him. Damn. “Just hold on, Mavis. You’re not going to die.” The woman clutched at her dress, she looked so frightened. “Father, please! You have to help her. I owe her my life—had I drank that tea I would have been dead. She saved me from a grisly fate.”

  “I would have saved you,” Roland said.

  “You wouldn’t have returned in time. Save her!” she screamed. She had finally gotten through to him. While Delbert looked helplessly on, Roland sank to his knees by her side. He held his hand over her.

  “The poison Katrina used is an old one. That little bitch. She knew I wouldn’t have the antidote on hand. I’m afraid I can’t do anything for her.”

  Tears rushed down Annabelle’s face. She gave into the sobs. She couldn’t let her die. Mavis was dying because of her. Roland looked at her. His eyes grew heavy. She could see that her pain was disturbing him. “I might just…”

  Mavis started to gasp for air. She was slipping away, Annabelle could sense it. She watched Roland reach into his jacket. He pulled out what looked to be a vial of something. “This might work. I keep on hand just in case…but it might not work either, Annabelle. You mustn’t get your hopes up.”

  “Just try!”

  “It’s only a bit of juice taken from a faerie cherry.”

  “Give it to her, then.”

  He popped the lid off the vial, and tipped it toward Mavis’s mouth. As soon as the juice dripped into her mouth, she started to breathe easier. Her breathing became increasingly less laboured. Annabelle exhaled the air she’d been holding in. “Thank the Fates.” She smiled. “Thank you, Father.”

  “I think I deserve a kiss.” He tilted his cheek toward her. Her stomach sunk. Leaning forward she gave him a quick kiss on his bristly cheek. She held back the urge to shudder.

  He stood up brushing the dust off his trousers. “I think I’ve done enough. Mavis, you may return to the servants’ quarters.”

  She heard Delbert rush toward them. He took her from Annabelle. “Come, Mavis.” He wrapped his arm around her, ushering her out of the room. She drew in a shaky breath.

  She couldn’t believe that Roland was going to actually let Mavis die. If she hadn’t finally affected him—she drew in another shuddering breath.

  He turned back toward her. “Here allow me to assist you.” He reached down for her, and literally picked her off the floor. She stood up, and prayed that her knees wouldn’t buckle beneath her.

  “You look quite shaken. I assure you, Katrina will pay dearly for her murder plot against you. I shall have her stripped and flogged, and then, tomorrow, she will be put to death.”

  She swallowed and wiped the tears off her face with the napkin she held. She clenched and unclenched her jaw. Her nose stung as did her eyes. Walking haltingly toward the daybed she sank down wearily on it, letting out another shaky breath.

  Before she could react, he waved his arms. She felt as if she were floating. When her vision cleared, she stared around her.

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “We are in the throne room…or at least the makeshift throne room. And, you are sitting right where you belong, by my side.” She mustered a weak smile for him. He beamed back at her. Glancing toward the entryway, she sucked her in her breath.

  “I hear the sound of chains rattling…”

  “Aye. You’ll be seeing Lord Daniel soon, and then, I’ll have the pleasure of showing you Katrina. I’m having her dragged from Blackburn’s rooms as we speak. She’s his little whore, you know. He has the most unusual sexual appetite…and she indulges him.” Roland winced, she raised her eyebrow. She didn’t want to know what went on between Blackburn and Katrina. Soon, her enemies would be dealt a swift blow—they were destroying themselves. Roland sighed again. “Shame really. She’s been hoping to move from Blackburn’s bed to my bed—of course, I wouldn’t want to touch that dirty little slut with a two foot pole,” he laughed. “She’s been around the mulberry bush a bit too much.”

  All she could do was nod her head in agreement with him. He seemed to be pleased with her response, because he reached over and patted her hand. She fought back the urge to jump up and run from him. He was the man that had brought Thaliana to her knees. He and he alone. He was not controlled or manipulated by Blackburn. All that Roland had done—all that he had ordered his men and women to do had been by his own hand. She had to face it. She was dealing with a monster.

  And then, she was met with a sight that made a scream grow in her throat. Two warrior warlocks walked into the room, hauling a beaten and bloody mess of a man. She almost stood up, and then remembered her place. Relaxing, she gripped the sides of her chair so hard that her fingers hurt. Daniel’s hair was matted with blood, but she could tell that if it were washed, it would be the same shade as Gabriel’s.

  “Lord Daniel. How nice of you to grace me with your presence,” Roland mused.

  The defeated wizard looked up. Her eyes widened. She gasped. She was looking straight into eyes the same as Malachi’s. Her heart drummed in her chest.

  “You traitorous bitch.” Daniel’s insult did not go unrewarded one of the dark wizard guards pushed him roughly down to his knees. Her eyes withered. If she weren’t careful, she was going to betray herself.

  Steeling herself so that her voice would not break, she smiled serenely at Daniel.

  “You should really learn to hold your tongue, Lord Daniel. You are not the commander of this castle.”

  Roland smiled indulgently at her. Annabelle stood up, walking down the steps toward him. She breathed in deeply, and grabbed a hold of Daniel’s chin, jerking his face upward so that he was looking her straight in the eyes. “You may look upon my beauty…they say I am an enchanted beauty.” She stressed the word enchanted, hoping against hope that he would understand what she was trying to say. Something that resembled the spark of understanding flashed in his eyes. Then, in order to keep herself above suspicion, she cuffed him across the jaw. His head snapped back. She forced down her cry. She had to remain strong. She had to look like she was completely on Roland’s side. The guards sniggered. They seemed very impressed with her show of force.

  “Father, I do believe it’s your turn.” Turning her back to him, she walked toward Roland. He stood up, and walked down the steps to meet her. He gallantly offered her his hand.

  “I see that you take after
me in more ways than just one. We will have so much fun together, Daughter.”

  She laughed gaily. If she hadn’t been staking so much on this—she already would have fled the castle. When she was with Roland, she felt as if the walls were closing in on her. She had to fight in order to keep from being crushed.

  “You will rue your actions today,” Daniel threatened, still able to look defiant despite his woeful condition.

  “You are looking upon, my daughter, Lord Daniel, you should feel as if you are blessed to be in her divine presence. You are staring at your future queen, as she’s my heir, and my wife’s heir.”

  “Pity,” Daniel muttered.

  Roland let out a bellow of rage and raised his hand. Daniel went flying across the room. She clapped her hand over her mouth to still the scream waiting in her throat. He slammed against the far wall, and crumpled to the floor. She prayed he was still alive.

  “You do not talk like that about Princess Annabelle. You should show her more respect she is after all, your brother’s wife. And, soon, soon, she will be his widow.”

  Her heart stopped, and she forgot to breathe.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “My dear, you are holding your breath in anticipation. I like that.”

  Annabelle exhaled the breath she was holding when she heard Roland’s pleased voice.

  “You will be the one dying.” Daniel’s raspy voice made her heart surge with relief. Thank the Graces that he was alive!

  She wanted to go to him, and offer him her assistance. She might as well have been wearing magical chains for how confined she felt.

  “You do have spirit, Lord Daniel. I thought that by now, my men would have broken you. Perhaps, I have to put you through a few more rounds.” She looked furtively between them. She had to do something—she couldn’t see her father attack him again. He was unarmed for goodness sake! She couldn’t believe how dishonorable Roland was.

  “You have me. The bargain you made has been fulfilled, even though Lord Markham didn’t give me up willingly, I wish you would still hold to your promise. You said yourself that Lord Daniel was near death. Let him die on Hawthorne ground. Let Malachi see him in his final hours. I beg of you, to allow me to know that my beast of a husband had to suffer the greatest tragedy—he had to see another one of his family members die.”

  “You are right, my dear. You are always right. We shall allow him to leave. I have his twin—and his sisters. If I wasn’t married, I would already be all over his sisters.”

  She closed her eyes, why did Roland continue to bait Daniel? Daniel roared with rage and in a swift wave of energy, he sprang to his feet. The chains he wore creaked. He was obviously fighting the spell that kept him chained. She looked over at Roland. He didn’t seem surprised in the slightest. In fact, he smiled.

  She stood up. He was allowing Daniel to free himself so that he could destroy Daniel in his weakened state. Roland knew that Daniel would only be able to fight for so long in his weakened state, he had goaded him on purpose. He wanted to kill Daniel.

  She had to do something!

  “You vile filthy man. You look just like your wretched brother. Do you Hawthornes all look alike?”

  “Stay out of this, Annabelle.” She ignored her father.

  “If I had been trained, I would kill you where you stand for what your brother did to me. He humiliated me, did you know that? Well, of course, you wouldn’t.”

  Daniel’s chains creaked again he was about to make them snap. She swallowed. Standing up, she walked toward him. She had to make Daniel stop. Somehow, she had to make him see that if he did free himself, Roland wouldn’t allow him to leave alive.

  “I’m going to kill you, King Roland.” Vehemence filled Daniel’s voice. She had just stepped down the first step when Daniel finally broke free of his chains. The room lit up with ruby red magic. The bright light swirled around the room. She felt slightly disoriented. She fought the urge to wretch, and continued to walk toward him. Sapphire blue coloured magic swirled to mix with the ruby red magic. Her heart beat faster.

  “I’m going to throttle the life out of you, Lord Daniel!” She lunged at him. Surprised, he dropped his hands to his side. He was about to attack Roland, and in turn, Roland was readying to serve him with one final deathblow.

  “You can’t win! I am going to win!” she shouted. If ever, she needed her veiling magic, she needed it now. She recalled Malachi telling her that even Roland wouldn’t be able to sense her using her veiled magic. She wrapped her hands around his neck. Hoping against hope, that Roland would believe she was actually strangling him.

  “When you turn invisible use your magic to leave the castle. You must get back to Malachi. He needs you alive. If you die, he will die.” Her voice had dropped to the faintest of whisper so that Roland and his guards wouldn’t hear her above the sound of Daniel’s grunts.

  Daniel looked at her in stunned disbelief. She closed her eyes, putting all of her strength into what she was doing. “In about two seconds, create an explosion. I will try to do something harmless with my magic so Roland thinks I did it, as he can sense when I use my powers. Then, you’ll be untraceable. I don’t know how long the magic will last though…so work quickly.”

  “I can’t leave,” Daniel argued stubbornly.

  “You must.” In the next second, he created the necessary explosion and she made her father’s banners flap as if a breeze had gone through the makeshift throne room. He was gone. She waited, hoping against hope that he was taking his leave. She hoped he would be strong enough to get back to Malachi. Where was Melody when you needed her? She shook her head. She fell to her knees.

  Roland clapped his hands. “Delightful. Well, I’ll have to tell Malachi just before I kill him that his brother went out with one hell of a bang.” She looked up. Roland thought that Daniel had blown himself up. Well, that was an unexpected but not unwelcome reaction. “Come my dear, I trust you didn’t get covered in his dust?”

  She really felt as if she was going to throw up now. Pushing herself to her feet, she looked over at Roland. She winced. Pain throbbed behind her temples. She was worn out. She had to get some sleep—or else she was going to end up fainting again.

  “You look utterly exhausted. I order you to go to bed.”

  She couldn’t fight that order. “I only need to know where my bed is.”

  He smiled. “Allow me to give you a bit of a helping hand. Tomorrow, we shall breakfast together, and I shall fill you in on my plans for taking the rest of Thaliana.”

  “I look forward to it.” She struggled to remain upright. Through half lowered lids she watched him wave his hand, and then, she was magically transported into her quarters.

  “I must say, it is about time.”

  Annabelle turned to see Ardal standing with Mavis and Delbert.

  “Why aren’t you with Daniel?” she asked.

  “His parents are accompanying him on his journey home.”

  “How bad are his injuries?”

  “I think he can be healed. I hope he can be healed. He’ll have Malachi attending to him. The only way he would have perished is if he had continued to be refused medical treatment. Now, he has a fighting chance.”

  “Thank the Gods.”

  “You shouldn’t be feeling so relieved yet, Annabelle. The battle is far from over. Your father is more of an imposing adversary than even I had reckoned,” Ardal said.

  “Thank you for giving me that oh so insightful deduction,” Annabelle grumbled.

  “Ardal is speaking the truth, Annabelle. You can’t win. You must just mind your business and feel thankful that you are in the king’s good graces.” Delbert seemed to believe the nonsense he was spouting. Mavis slammed his arm with her fist.

  “You hold your tongue, Delbert. She must fight the king—there is no other way. If he does win—all hope will be smothered. He is a powerfully stubborn man, set in his old ways. Thaliana will never recover. Do you know that he has put the rightful lords and ladies of
this castle down in the dungeons along with the other prisoners?”

  “Mavis is right. We must do something. I ventured down into those dungeons and the suffering of the prisoners is great,” Ardal sighed.

  “What do I do?” Annabelle asked.

  “First of all, we must set about freeing Shaylah and Larissa. They are in great jeopardy. As we speak, your father is planning to marry them off to two of his sickest men. He is doing this to gain retribution against Malachi.” Ardal’s eyes were haunted with grief and worry.

  Annabelle nodded her head, and slumped down into the nearest chair. “I don’t suppose I could get some sleep first, huh?” The strained look on Ardal’s face told her the answer she already knew. She had to do something now—now was the time to act. She now knew what it felt like to be truly shattered.

  “Who are these men?”

  “Does it really matter? They are dark warlocks they will treat their wives like the lowliest whore. I will not have Shaylah treated like that!”

  “I know, I know. Try to calm down, Ardal. If you don’t, you’ll be shifting back into your Elvin form. We will find a way. Even if you have to free them, and turn yourself back into your true nature. If you must leave with them, I will understand. In fact, I highly endorse the decision.”

  “I can’t leave you at the mercies of your father.”

  “She’ll have us.” Mavis’s soft pledge surprised her.

  “I can’t involve anyone else,” Annabelle argued.

  “To hell you can’t. We will stand by you, Annabelle.” She looked over at Delbert, astonished that he had taken such a firm stance on the subject.

  “Delbert, Mavis, I appreciate your loyalty, but I will be fine—I don’t think I have to fear Roland.”

  “Aye, but you might have to fear what he’s capable of. Do you know that upon the morn, he plans to start moving his troops toward Malachi?” Ardal asked.

  “No. No. We can’t let that happen. Queen Zara will not arrive on Malachi’s lands for at least another few days. I must stall him at all costs.” Annabelle’s head continued to throb.