AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Providing my friends with a new goal was exactly what we needed to take back control amidst the chaos in the Night Realm. Endre pushed to his feet, then one by one, a vengeful, bloodthirsty grin spread across the face of each male.
“Let’s fucking go,” Vadim growled. “When can we leave?”
“As soon as possible,” I said. “The funeral is in a few days, but after that, we have no obligations.” I’d lobbied for King Zalan’s royal funerary rites to be stripped from him, given the revelations after Ruslan’s arrival at the feast, but I had been overruled at the council. We’d hold a mass funeral, honoring everyone who’d lost their lives defending their realm. As we spoke, servants were preparing the pyres in the grand courtyard in front of Este Castle, open for any Night Fae to attend. I expected most of Vaenor to turn out, especially since word of the attack two nights before spread like the plague into the city in a matter of hours.
I needed food, a bath, and sleep, in that order. I found myselfwalking to the Royal Wing, toward Izidora’s room, without thinking. The call of her rosy scent was relentless even as the distance grew between us. I wanted her beside me, to share in the crushing grief of losing my father and brothers.
More than that, I was worried about her; Ruslan did not seem like the type of male who cared about the wellbeing of females. A muscle feathered in my jaw at the thought of his hands on her. I had to get to her, and soon.
I had to save her again, because she was mine.
A servant scrambled by us as we reached the Royal Wing. I stopped him with a shout. “Please have food sent to Princess Izidora’s apartments.”
He nodded, then scurried off. The four of us entered Izidora’s sitting room, each sinking onto a couch by the hearth as we waited for a proper meal. The silence stretched between us until servants appeared, laden with trays of food that they placed on tables surrounding us. A familiar female followed, carrying two bottles of alcohol in each hand.
“Pardon me, my lords, but I have some information that might be useful.” She curtsied as best she could with her hands full.
I remembered her from the feast two nights prior. “Tamara, is that right?”
“Yes, my lord,” she dipped her head. Tamara had spoken to Izidora about her mother at the feast.
“Please, take a seat.” I motioned for her to pick an open spot.
She placed the bottles beside Endre, then opted to perch on the edge of a chair somewhat in the middle of us before glancing around the room, taking in the food and opulence that spread throughout. A sandwich caught my eye, and I reached for it, taking a small bite as I waited for whatever information she had to impart.
Remembering herself, she cleared her throat. “Queen Liessahelped me find employment at the castle, right after she arrived here. I was one of her first maids, and we became friends after I earned her trust. She was an incredible queen, so kind and generous. But she suffered living here. There were very few people she trusted, and I was lucky enough to count myself among them. I traveled with her every year during Béke. About twenty-three years ago, we attended one held at the Iron Realm.” She paused, tears welling in her eyes as she recounted her tale.
Viktor, Endre, and Vadim sat straighter, leaning in to catch every word Tamara uttered.
“A male - one of the most beautiful males I had ever seen - followed her relentlessly around the citadel. He came to her rooms every day, sometimes twice a day, during the month we were there. I asked her why we hadn’t left in our fourth week, and she revealed to me that the male was her mate. He was an Angel, from another continent. She broke down, and I had never seen her so distraught. She described what King Azim and King Zalan were making them do…” Tamara’s eyes glistened with tears, falling across her round cheeks like a dripping faucet. She shook her head to clear them, sniffling, and I handed her a handkerchief. She accepted it, drying her eyes with dainty dabs.
“They were forcing them to breed, so that King Zalan could have a half Night Fae, half Angel heir. King Azim promised that their union would produce an offspring so powerful that they could conquer Északi together. Queen Liessa was merely a vessel. She never loved him, and she was broken by his treatment of her. She asked me to help her and the Angel escape so they could be together. Of course, I agreed, knowing how awful King Zalan was. She gave me every jewel on her body to pay for assistance. I hired a boat that would spirit them away to the Crystal Realm, where she had distant cousins who could hide them both. But as they left under the cover of darkness, King Zalan spied them, chased them down, and then beat her in frontof the whole citadel before they’d even made it out of the gate. The Angel had tried to shield her from the onslaught, but King Azim had his guards pin him to the ground. The only thing that stopped him from killing her right there was that she revealed she was pregnant. So King Zalan ripped the Angel’s wings from his back to punish her. We left two days later to return to the Night Realm.
“She swore me to secrecy, and I knew both our lives and the babe’s were in danger if anyone knew what really happened. So I said nothing. She found me another position in the castle, to protect me further. But I still checked in on her as often as I could without it raising suspicion.” She hiccuped and looked at the ceiling, a new wave of wetness spilling across her cheeks. I had to lean in to catch her next words, so broken and filled with an anguish that was familiar and raw. “I discovered her body after she had given birth. Her neck was purple and broken, and I knew King Zalan was the one who killed her, though I had no proof and never voiced my suspicions aloud. I felt as if my own sister had died.”
Tamara dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. “She didn’t deserve the life that the Goddess handed her.”
The room was deathly still and filled with the sound of silence as she waited for us to respond.
Endre brought his hands together in front of his lips and reclined back against his chair while Vadim rubbed his own hands together, still leaned forward on his elbows.
Viktor broke the silence. “Did she tell you anything else? Or did you ever hear of Ruslan prior to the night of the feast?”
Tamara shook her head. “No, most of what she told me was pieced together from overheard conversations between King Azim and King Zalan. But I did hear from the Angel that he was trapped in the Iron Realm, along with many others from othercontinents, by a powerful Mage who wanted to create a race more superior than any that walked the planet.”
Vadim let out a low whistle. “So that’s why they’re always trafficking…”
A blush spread across Tamara’s round cheeks, and she ducked her head to avoid our gazes. Her hands wrung round and round before she opened her mouth to speak once more. “I only want the princess returned safely. I was so glad to meet her at the feast.”
Patting her knee, I reassured her, “We will retrieveQueenIzidora, who would love to speak with you, of that I am certain.”
She beamed as my words sank in, then hopped to her feet, dipping into a low curtsey. “Thank you, my lords. May you stay safe on the road.”
Once the door clicked shut behind her, Vadim opined, “What the fuck.”
“I’ll second that,” Endre replied, snatching a bottle of wine and tipping it back.
But this explained so much – why her magic was white and why her wings did in fact look like an Angel’s.
