His Red Queen

Chapter Four

Blank. Blank. Blank.

I shut my eyes tightly and try to will my mind into blankness. Elara cannot know that I know her plan. Though, I should have seen it in the first place. She killed her own husband; she'd have no remorse ending me before I could become queen.

She stares at me intently, her blue eyes so much like Maven's. "You're afraid, little lightning girl."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Elara laughs. Although we are simply in the dining room, waiting for Maven to meet us for breakfast, she is dressed really in blue, the color of House Merandus. Jewels bedeck her neck and a crown sits on her head. My dress is red, of course. Maven loves red on me and what better way to show off his red trophy than by putting me in red?

He walks into the room and sits at the head of the table. A part of me relaxes to see him but another panics. Maven and I are really getting married and it is not to cover up my red blood. He's the king and this is one more way for him to tell Cal that he's won.

"Good morning. Mare, did you sleep well?" Maven genuinely asks. I hate to acknowledge it but he looks well rested. Nothing like backstabbing and murder to help him get a good night's sleep.

Looking down at my cup of coffee, I sigh. "No."

Maven furrows his brow. "What was wrong? Worried about Cal?" That earns him a laugh from Elara. "Forget about him. He's a traitor, Mare. He never cared about either of us."

I push off the table, my chair scooting back with a screech. I turn to leave the room but am stopped by an Arven guard. Putting my hands up to show no sign of lightning, I back up a few steps.

"Mare," Maven chides behind me. "Sit down."

I point to Elara. "Tell her to leave first."

Elara's face flushes silvery white and looks at her son. He is king and if I am to be his queen, I want Elara away from me. I know she is capable of making people see dark things. Things dark enough to break them to pieces. She was in my head last night; I felt it. All I saw was my parents' faces when they found out Shade was dead. Over and over again, it played in my head until I woke up, drenched in sweat, hyperventilating.

Maven waves her off. "Leave, Mother." Maven keeps his eyes on her as she leaves without a word, obedient to her king. "Now, sit down, Mare." Maven points to my seat across from him. I sit down hesitantly. He observes me for a moment before the Arven guard leaves us alone. He folds his thin, white hands on the table. "What was wrong?"

I shake my head, casting my eyes to the floor next to me.

"Don't play games with me," Maven snaps.

"Fine. I overheard your mother and Evangeline talking about what happened to Coriane and saying the same will happen to me. What did she do to her?"

Maven pales, eyes narrowing. "I'll make sure they stay away from you." He gets up, slowly walking over to me. "We'll get married tomorrow and then, we're leaving this place to go to the summer palace. Just the two of us. And nevermind about Coriane." He adds the last bit quickly.

I don't know which is worse: being alone with Maven or letting Elara come along. And he obviously does not want to talk about Coriane. So, I nod. "Okay."

The rest of breakfast is silent. Maven stares at me and I pretend I don't notice it by seeming extra interested in the scrambled eggs on my plate. When I am done, he picks up a small box and puts it on the table.

"For you," Maven says. I get up, going to his side of the table. "I want to ensure that we're both safe."

I furrow my brow. "What do you mean?" I want to tell him again that neither of us are safe. His mother wants to kill me and so does House Samos. Not to mention if the Scarlet Guard attacks us.

He opens the box slowly, eyeing me, amusement written on his pale, sharp features. He reveals two silvery bracelets, much like his and Cal's spark maker bracelets. Looking up at me, he smiles a bit, taking them out and holding them out to me.

"No." It finally occurs to me what he is doing. He can't take my lightning away. He's taken my freedom, sent Cal to die, and now he wants to take the one thing I have left. He nods, raising his eyebrows. "Maven, please," I beg.

Maven put a hand out to cup my face and I blink back tears, covering his hand with my own. Quickly, he takes hold of my wrist, clamping one of the bracelets around my wrist. I try to jerk away and even summon electricity but only a faint spark from my hand without the bracelet comes. It dies quickly, shriveling into nothing before I can do anything.

Maven clicks his tongue. "Oh, Mare, you should have seen this coming." Giving up, I let him put the other bracelet on my other wrist. "It's better this way."

"How?" I breathe.

"I need to know that you aren't going to turn on me." When he says that, I let out a cold laugh, making him silent.

"You know why I am here," I say through clenched teeth. I try to slide the bracelets off, noticing that they are a little loose, but to my dismay, they cannot slide off of my wrist. They're locked, tight enough that even if I dislocated my thumbs, I might not be able to take them off.

"You chose me," Maven responds.

"I chose my life and the lives of my family."

I storm off though he shouts at me and tells me to come back, eventually begging me. I turn around at the door, seeing nothing but a broken boy. No threat. Something inside me tells me to go to him and apologize.

"I'm sorry," I say. He hugs me tightly, and for a moment, I feel safe in his arms. Behind him, at the end of the room, I see the drapes move a bit. But it's probably just the wind coming in from the window.

He buries his head in my neck, his black curls tickling me. "Mare, say you chose me."

"I chose you." The words feel like poison in my mouth, bubbling up, threatening to kill me. He's not the only one who can be a liar. "I am here because I choose you, King Maven."