Crown of Beauty and Vengeance

Chapter 4

While everyone else spent their time dancing, eating and drinking, and laughing with one another, Jai had stood off to the side for as long as he could with a wineglass in hand, which was being constantly refilled as he emptied it.  It took his sister four times to coax him onto the dance floor, but he finally swept her up and had her laughing for the entirety of the song and several others after that before dismissing himself. 

Now, when he passed a closed door that led to a small library, a giggle caught his attention.  The answering chuckle had Jai shaking his head...right before he threw open the door to ruin the mood.

One of the females from the kitchen peered over his brother's shoulder with wide eyes at the intrusion. 

"Looks like we've been caught, love," Destan huffed out against her neck, his hands pausing underneath her skirts. 

Her face was red from embarrassment then, rather than from what the prince had been saying in her ear.  She pushed him away, jumped off the desk he'd had her on, and smoothed out her skirts.  Eyes never meeting Jai's, she hurried past him with a quick curtsy and out the door. 

"Did you really have to do that?" Destan asked, leaning back against the desk with his arms crossed.  The top half of the buttons on his jacket were open. 

"And you're still taking advantage of the female half of the palace staff.  I would have thought you'd grown out of that habit once you were past your two hundredth birthday."

Destan gave him a grin that was an exact match of his own.  "Don't go on like you didn't do it in your younger years as well.  I guess I have to hit three-hundred and twenty-six before that happens, though, since that's what seemed to happen to you.  I'm just...taking over the additional duties you have neglected."

Gods above.  Was he really as bad before as his little brother was now? 

Jai couldn't help but laugh at him, Destan following suit.  Though the brothers hadn't always had an easy relationship, they at least knew how to make the other laugh.  It seemed that the older they both got, the more differences appeared, though none of them were in looks. 

They both had the same olive complexion and dark, wavy brown hair.  Though Jai wore his hair longer, shoulder-length, Destan was now sporting an undercut, which seemed to make him even more irresistible with the females.  That, and his impeccable taste in clothing, as he liked to say.  The silver embroidered dark red jacket he had on then was a favorite. 

There were a few differences.  While Jai and their eight-year-old baby brother Eamon had the same sapphire eyes as their mother, Alexea, Destan shared the russet colored ones with his twin sister, the ones they'd both inherited from their father, Emmeric.  What his brother hated most was that Jai would always have a few inches on him in height as well as muscle.  His muscled yet lanky build suited him, though. 

"Anything wrong?" Destan asked as they left the room together, heading in the direction Jai had been going before made the interruption.  "You seemed like you had something on your mind...other than ruining the mood of my quick romp."

Jai shook his head and reached up to tie back his hair.  "Nothing.  It's just...good yet strange to be home.  I've missed it.  I've missed all of you."

"And I've missed not having you around as a buffer for Laurel.  We might have shared a womb at one point, but I'm tired of her coming to me with every little thing that ticks her off about Michel."

"But she loves him.  And you.  That's why she does"

"The only reason I don't tell her to shut it is because they're mated.  He'd put a few arrows in my chest for hurting her feelings."