CHAPTER 23:
I felt the harsh knocking of the cold as the ice king I knew sits down on the last free seat of the royally rounded table, "Your majesty, I hope you enjoyed my performance." He states, smiling as if it was so easy. The manipulation should've been, Alastair had more unfinished business here, but I thought he'd returned to the elemental realm. To his district which no one bothers to see but just knows that it's growing. The frost, the icy snow, the alertness of new enemies when Creed and I fought those after I'd been captured by the professor.
Nicolai glances at him, uninterested, "Quite, however, I wish not to get off topic. Athena, there are no lies here, I did love Celestine, no matter what anyone else believes." He stares her down, she waves him off, cutting into her meat, while I look over my shoulder, searching for Creed, his ember eyes were nowhere to be seen. Where the blazing hell was he?
"Love is a finicky subject. Some would say the men of the wolf-world can't express it the way others can. Say Celestine for example, you had hurt her, Nicolai. There's no denying it, and people have seen it. Your clans are wary—especially as allies. Anita's perspective on it can either rival yours with high explanations of destructive lies that colour you in darkness, or you can explain the side of the coin you." Athena suggests wisely, except that I was too busy staring at her, trying to get her to see my glare, when Nicolai—a man watching me with furrowed eyebrows, studies my expression.
I straighten, "Yes, may I get your story, your majesty? It could aid in future complications and you have my word, what is printed will be in your words, and your interpretation." I state, leaning in his direction.
He purses his lips. "The first moment I saw her, she was...a soldier to that council who ignored the pain of those and the suffering of people who did deserve it and she clung onto them. Her rejection was a series of her first offences and it's what...it's what drove me to hurt the woman I knew was supposed to be mine forever." He explains, the table stays silent and listens without interruption.
"The rejection only made me angrier. She looked at me and saw nothing worth knowing, my kingdom did the same, my whole life, I've had to watch that happen, time and time again all my life. She didn't want me based on looks and reputation. So, I refused. I wanted her to know me before she made her decision and I'll admit, there were choices I made along the way where I did wrong...you know, you have strangely familiar expression, do I know you? Personally?" He suddenly asks from where I was writing notes on a flimsy pad.
I look up and frown, "Your majesty?" I ask him, feigning confusion.
He reaches over, grabs the book and examines the page, "The i's and g's you write—have you always curled them this way?" He asks me.
I look at Athena, she frowns, "Ah, brother, I do the same." She tells him.
Robert and Reina look between us, "Why are you here, Athena?" Robert asks her.
"That's Princess to you." She says to him, nonchalantly while Nicolai—a man I didn't see watching me looks at me dead in the eyes.
"Say Martin." He tells me to do.
I furrow my eyebrows, with the infused accent, I say it aloud and he listens closely. Before slowly handing me the notebook. I simply reach for it and hitch a tense breath when Nicolai grabs my arms and holds it there. He stares deep into my eyes. The blue ones. I stare in utter worry, "Y-your majesty, I am sorry if I overstepped..."
He scrutinises me, "I've become accustomed to seeing Celestine in my dreams, do take my apologies for being forward, but something about you has my lycanthrope trying to decipher it. You said you owned Credence times, however the last I saw of it, Credence Times was a collective of old, white-haired men in ridiculous suits looking for games." He says to me.
"The board?" I whisper.
He nods, "So, you are the heiress who came to light. Very well then, if you wish to write my story, I need something in return." He says, keeping his hand on my arm.
I bow my head to him—between us, "Anything, your majesty."
"Your company." He states.
I look up, "My business—do you wish to own shares—" He cuts me off.
"No, I do mean your physical company."
I feign a blush, "To serve you..." I ask next, raising a brow.
He rolls his eyes, "No, woman. You are to accompany on the journey of these upcoming events. What I have to say about my life and...the woman who held my heart. Something that won't change." What a delusion. He removes his hand from me and I almost sigh in relief, sagging my shoulders, I nod to him, as if saddened by the fact he didn't want me for a warm bed—thank fuck, that would've revealed me far sooner than I want.
"Of course, your majesty." I bow to him again, he waves it off before four clan members from the other side of the room leans down and tells him a security breach in the top floor was located, and that there were guests present who might still be on the premises. Nicolai and Robert excuse themselves before Alastair moves seats and drops in next to me.
He stares at me, "You are an intriguing piece of art, aren't you?"
I felt something brewing between the air particles dancing around us, "Go suck a spear icicle." I mutter to him.
Reina raises an eyebrow, she overheard that before two women lean into her personal space and then she's asked for a shared, Daisy-chain dance at the dance floor. Alastair leans in, "Careful, you may give yourself away."
"Where's my men?" I question him, looking for Theorin and Hayden. Even Reid. None were in my sights—what the hell is going on? Athena didn't know, and I hadn't planned on telling her that Creed and his forces were around.
"Your men? How odd? Why would dragon riders belong to you? Oh, I see—you've strung along another man?" He murmurs, reaching for a brunette strand.
I hold in a snarl and slap his hand away. He grips it and ice flares like oddly cool and collected ornaments that chime around me. His ice magic was barely on and he had power thrumming in his veins. I just never anticipated this much.
In fact, I didn't anticipate him at all, "Why are you here?" I question him.
"I should be asking you that. Someone's been making problems that screw with my plans. The point tonight was to poison the son of a bitch who took my brother from me. My plans changed when a certain blondie died without fighting."
I snort and look at him, "Feel any guilt for that, you certainly were a part of it."
He narrows those blue eyes, "Guilt? You infiltrated and changed the outcome of the very reason I walked this infestation of a realm. Humans like insects that keep getting in the way. Insets may live and survive, but they cannot touch what other realms have known for centuries—even millennials. You—are something else entirely. I was wrong to use you." He says, nudging his head to me.
"You we're barely a being in my world. What's an apology to a stranger—nothing. As is your existence." I tell him, standing off the seat and moving away, fisting my hands, I draw past Serena and the clan around her, she pauses, looks over but her eyes brush over me when I mutter a small sorry—considering we weren't entirely strangers, but in this image—I was that. A complete stranger.
I would've been able to head straight to the elevator doors except Robert's form appeared behind the doors, Nicolai did too, behind him and glanced at me, eyebrows furrowed, "I didn't finish the story yet, here—we can vacate to the couches." He gestures to them.
"Actually, your majesty, I was looking for the restroom." I say to him.
He merely nods and gestures to an enforcer, "Show the lady the powder room and then return her here." He points to the lounge area that had more enforcers than planted on the rest of the walls. He and Robert move inside and then silver eyes hold mine, waiting. I turn away, the enforcer in front of me must of been from another clan, based on the colours he wore.
He turned to show me the exact room, before I grab his arm, twist it back and shove his head hard against the panel beside the cutting edge of the corridor, he drops in a heap on the floor, "Sorry, you clearly will want a new job after this." I whisper down, before grabbing the arms and pulling him into the powder room, I dump him in the toilet seat—he should be lucky I kept it closed, before locking the door and sliding underneath and walking back out.
I move up flights of stairs—knowing the elevators had cameras and search rooms based on where I could smell footsteps, "Where the hell are you, Creed?" I whisper under my breath as I move up to the top set of floors. I looked around, through every room, and office. There was nothing. No one.
Nothing.
What the gigantic hell?
I returned back to the main room, almost running straight into another enforcer before Athena slips her arm through mine and pulls me away. I follow with her, once she lets go and gives me a look to follow her, but not before grazing a muscular arm and freezing when ember eyes penetrate mine. His gaze filled with confusion and something more tender. A silent question of where I was.
I frown, before looking for a set of blue eyes—Alastair, in the spell-bound cover he had, was speaking with four men in one corner beyond the stage. Hayden was sitting at a table behind him, sipping on a glass of juice by the looks of it.
What commotion was it upstairs then?
Athena moves between two enforcers and sits at a couch seat, I glance over, silver eyes hold mine, "There you are. Are you ready now?" He asks me, taking a small sip of his drink. I sit down and nod my head, profusely.
Before hearing, "Seize her!" The enforcer, clearly wasn't as knocked out as I wanted him too. Athena, she focuses on him in the crowd, captures his mind and silences him from coming closer. Making a few clans frown when they look in his direction. Robert did too, but I tried to remain unmoving.
Nicolai glances around the room, "When I first took Celestine to the Julius territory, I sent her to the snow bears there to test her strength the way she tested my power."
Wait, what?
I write notes—mainly just bullshit while I'm forced to listen to him share more fabricated lies to see exactly what he would give away to anyone who listened. He ran his eyes over members of the room, talking about a few of them and how some reacted to...well, me. The spell-ring somehow stopped him from sensing me at all. He picked up something before, but when I felt my wolf bury deeper into my mind, he'd let it go. Thank fuck for that.
When he tied it down to the trials, the games...people or rather clan members were asking to speak with him. Reluctantly, he asked if I would return tomorrow to discuss more and to wait on revealing the article.
*******
Returning back to the room. I felt rather than saw Athena step in. I remove the cover on me and straighten, feeling my body come back into place and breathe out in relief. She gives me a look, "What the hell was that?" She demands I answer.
"I should be asking you that. Why did you make him talk about that? I need information on these events, those he's targeted—not him trying to control the story of a so-called dead girl he believed was his." I retort, searching the room. The comms were down, so speaking with Creed was near impossible.
I frown, looking out the window when I felt some strange concoction of being watched, and down below was...Credence. I thought he hadn't come, "You know what? I need some air."
"You're playing a dangerous game if you think he will speak about events to a news reporter. You almost blew your cover before. Fighting out in the open, you want this to work, you need to trust me, and start talking." She points at me, I twist the ring and shiver at the change.
I look at her, "Trust is as hopeless as sitting in denial. You are about as trustworthy as sitting in a room with Valkyrie and demanding they follow your orders." I tell her.
She slides her hands to her hips, "Been there and done that. How do you think they were in the simulations?"
I pause at the door, "You helped in those trials?" I ask slowly.
She stares at me, "I have a duty to that school and I will stand by it. That doesn't mean I'm your enemy." She purses her lips when I open the door.
"But you're not an ally." I mutter, slamming the door closed before teleporting outside and behind the alley. Credence sensed me and moved around the brick hotel with darkness covering the area.
"What are you doing here?" I ask him, skilfully moving the jacket over me.
He gestures to me, "You called me."
I blink at him, "What? How could I even call you?" I ask him, stilled.
He freezes, "Where is Creed? And the others? I can't sense them here and Rakon started going shit-ball crazy, he and the others flew out of their quarters and headed south to the cold storms rumoured to be growing. Something else is going on here, Rakon wouldn't suddenly spear off to the skies like that." He explains to me.
"Shit, it's because Alastair is here. He was inside...son of a bitch, it wasn't Creed who looked at me before I fucking left, it was Alastair...he did something to Creed and the rest of Legion with him. They were there and then all of a sudden they disappeared for half an hour before I saw them again. I thought it was them. He must of done something. I can't access comms or anything and Creed isn't popping up the way he does." I gesture to the floor or any surfaces around us.
He violently curses, "This is bad, Alastair wasn't on the radar here. Creed said based on Elias's interrogations that implied Alastair was occupied in the elemental thrones in our realm. If he's here, if he had something to do with transforming some sort of portal, he likely sent Creed and the others to...shit." He breathes out, hand in his hair.
I grip my heart, I can't lose Creed.
"We have to return. We have to go back." I whisper.
He stares at the wall, thinking, "You complete the mission here, they'll have specialised warriors on the search now that I know. I have to go back and demand the search." He says slowly.
I grit my teeth, "You'll get Rowan involved?"
"He already is, he and bloody the Darkling professor have been sending each other information through private securities. I'm forced to return her to the realm, Rowan's been called back into service by the high king now that certain changes in the south bring about problems. Hale told me Athena was summoned to. Not any elemental could tell that in this sticky realm." He gestures around him, as if the earth's humidity was somehow the problem too.
I purse my lips, "Do it, I'll work here and keep an eye on Alastair." I affirm.
He shakes his head, "That's the problem. Reports say that Alastair is bloody there, in his territory. The high king himself does have forces in action surveying the growing zones. Alastair's using...his own portal maybe, or something else. Here, you take these private comms. I'll get Athena, infiltrate what I can and send reinforcements once it isn't traced." He hands the devices over.
I pocket them, "Go, but stay in touch." I tell him when he nods and moves away.
His worry spoke scary volumes. But learning about Creed and the suspicions that he might have been dragged into the clutches of the ice king...it makes my stomach clench when I couldn't move from this bloody pathetic mission. If only I could simply lock Nicolai up. The last day, I got close enough to do so.
Perhaps my next chance will be the only one I needed to be rid of him.