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“I am afraid the pregnancy is taking quite the toll on me, so I will leave you all to speak of war while I rest,” she said, and we jumped to our feet, Queen Immonen, Domi, and Liliana congratulating her, and waited to retake our seats until Queen Viktoria glided out of the room.
“Shall we move to a more comfortable location to begin planning?” King Consort Geza offered, all plates cleared and glasses empty.
“Lead the way,” King Airre motioned.
“We will stay here by the pool,” Queen Immonen grinned, rolling up the sleeves on her light dress and stepping into the sunlight, followed by Liliana and Domi. Vadim nearly choked when Liliana hiked her dress up over her thighs, sunning herself and showing off every inch of skin possible. She bit her lip as she looked at Endre, causing him to gulp, and I snickered, bumping his shoulder as I walked past him, following the group into the breezeway.
Kaztar grabbed my arm, forcing me to walk beside him. “Why did you not tell me that Izidora is not King Zalan’s daughter before? That seriously changes things about the line of succession, since he did not specifically name her heir apparent. And she killed him,” he hissed. “That is regicide. She could be executed for that.”
“Why do you think I left that detail out? Don’t pretend to be all high and mighty now, Kaztar. We both know she would make a much better queen than he ever was a king. Besides, he went on and on about her being his daughter for years, even more so after she arrived at Este Castle. Whether she was his blood or not is irrelevant when he claimed her as such,” I seethed.
Kaztar ground his teeth, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “While you are right in your assessment, I am still pissed. I trusted you, and you lied to me. Who else knew?”
“Viktor, Vadim, Endre, and I were all there when Queen Liessa’s former maid found us. I am sorry for breaking your trust, Kaztar, but I will do whatever I have to do to protect my mate. She is my priority in all of this.”
“The prophecy says ‘the ones who are part of all’ and then refers to mates later. Who is to say that it is you? What if it is Ruslan?”
His words echoed the fears hammering in my heart, and brushing against that bruise was all it took for red and black to coat my vision. I slammed Kaztar against the wall, a threateninggrowl ripping from my throat as I braced my forearm in his neck. Black rope began caging him, and my chest heaved with the force of my fury. Hands pulled on my shoulders, and in the distance someone yelled my name. But I only saw the male who dared insult me, and the male needed to die because he’d suggested another deserved my mate. His lips were moving, but I heard nothing other than the blood rushing in my ears, a song of darkness filling my heart, and vengeance calling my soul.
Hard metal crashed against the side of my head, and I stumbled to the side, dropping the male and my magic. I landed flat on my back, cracking my head on the hard-packed ground, breath leaving my lungs with a whoosh.
“Stop!” I brought my hands over my head to protect it from the next blow as Viktor raised a vase to strike me again. He lowered his hands but did not release his makeshift weapon as he eyed me warily. I touched my temple, hand coming away bloody.
“Shit,” I groaned as I realized I had lost control again. “Is Kaztar alright?”
Viktor glanced behind him, and I looked beyond his knee to see Endre healing a deep cut in Kaztar’s side. Viktor held out a hand to help me up, and I grasped it, a stone settling in my gut at the fact that I had hurt another friend with this deadly gift that I was starting to think was more of a curse. Kaztar glanced up from where he watched Endre work, and I met his gaze. “I am so sorry, Kaztar. I completely lost control.”
He winced as Endre finished the last of his work, then stood eye to eye with me. “First – when the hell did you get binding magic? Is this another secret you’ve been keeping from me?”
Running a palm across my face, I admitted the truth. “At the Crystal Realm. I discovered it then and almost killed Endre when I lost control. But I only shared it with Viktor and Vadim today.”
“Goddess damn it,” Kaztar groaned. “Binding magic is incredibly dangerous. You need to get a grip, Kazimir.”
“So I’ve been told,” I gritted out.
“But, I did challenge your claim to Izidora. So I will accept partial responsibility for provoking you. I would have been pissed if someone had claimed I did not love Domi, and a mate bond runs much deeper than that,” he conceded.
“Can we let this go and promise no more secrets between friends?” I asked, wanting to repair everything that had just broken with the male who was quickly becoming a true friend.
“Let’s do it,” he said as he clasped my hand, sealing our words.
“No one saw what happened other than us. Vadim rushed the rest of them forward with some excuse,” Viktor added as we walked in the direction of baritone voices.
Endre touched my forehead, and I hissed as he began healing the cut there. “Thank you both,” I said when blood no longer dripped down my face.
We passed a fountain, and I doubled back to dip my hands in the running water, washing the blood from my face and hands, wanting to be presentable while we talked of war. Endre waited for me while Kaztar and Viktor joined the rest of the group. “I am glad we won them over. I thought you were going to lose your shit in front of everyone in there.”
“I almost did. I need to get a handle on this, Endre,” I sighed. I hated this side of me that was ready to snap at a moment's notice. Izidora needed me to be calm and level headed, yet the mere thought of her sent me into a desperate rage, unable to think and only wanting to act. My fantasies, my obsession were only fueled by the promise of binding and unleashing fear upon those who stood in my way.
“We will figure it out – together,” Endre promised.
I did not deserve a friend like Endre.
The war room held a table with a giant map of Északi, its four corners weighted down by white stones and figurines splayed across it, marking major locations and troop movements. The kings stood over it, adjusting the positions of our armies until all was right and we were ready to begin.
It was time to plan Ruslan’s, and the Iron Realm’s, downfall.
***
