Chapter Eight – Drums of War
The heart monitor beeped regularly. The doctors had assured Benjamin that his mother's heart was strong and since she was breathing on her own, there was no need for a ventilator. But she still hadn't woken up. Tests had shown electrical activity in her brain. The doctors couldn't figure it out. The queen should be awake. She just . . . wasn't. Her temperature was high and so was her white blood cell count, as though fighting off infection, but there was no other sign of that or of any sort of poisoning.
Benjamin stroked her hand, his gaze on his feet rather than her pale, sleeping face. She was too strong for this. Maria had been queen for almost three decades, and on her own for twenty years. Benjamin's father had died when he was only a young Dragon and there had been pressure on Maria to step down as queen since she didn't have a mate and taking a new one would have been scandalous. But she was too strong for that and had moved on to make the kingdom what it was today.
Benjamin wiped his eyes. She had fought so hard and he was wrecking it all. The stress was too much. "I'm going to make this right, Mother. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but I am going to fix what I've done. I've sent official apologies to Caitlyn and promised that at my next press conference I will make a public apology."
No response. Not that he expected one.
"And as for the women . . . It stops now. I'm not going to have women come in and out of my rooms anymore. I will pick someone and I will court her properly." A smile crossed his face as he thought of Julia. "There's this one girl. No, not a girl. She's a woman in every sense of the word. She's a housekeeper, but I don't care about that. She has this way about her – like she can look at me and cut me to the core. She makes me think that I'm ready to stop hiding my true self. I don't know if there is a future between her and me, but there is certainly a present . . . I wish you could advise me on what to do."
Benjamin stood. He tucked his mother's hands under her blankets and strode from the room, trying to leave his heart at the door. While it was understandable that he would be emotional, he had to give an illusion of being utterly in control. Now that his mother was in such a state, if the generals sensed any weakness, any hesitation, then his rule would be over before he was even crowned king.
The council room was already a flurry of discussion and activity when he arrived despite his being a half an hour early. Benjamin frowned as he took his spot at the head of the table and glared at the white-haired generals until they quieted and sat.
"What is this ruckus about?" he demanded, keeping his voice even.
General Karl, the oldest of the generals, frowned at him. "You need to keep yourself up to date. You should know about this before we do. Queen Caitlyn is marching towards our borders. We've received reports of her strongest soldiers in battle gear headed this way. Marching, not flying, so we have time to respond."
As if this day had to get worse. Benjamin thought for a moment. He could respond in the like, but to react aggressively would only mean that hostilities would escalate. He needed to cool things off, not excite them.
"Evacuate all the settlements on that border. Bring them into the heart of the kingdom and set up a blockade." His first inclination was to march out against Caitlyn, to decimate her armies and drive her to her knees. But that would only encourage other kingdoms to rise up with the war on their minds. "I want a press conference set up at once. Caitlyn's aggression cannot go unchecked. I want—"
"There are other kingdoms following her lead. Her closest allies have all flown to her kingdom, no doubt to make agreements to help her destroy us," Karl interrupted. "Press conferences aren't going to do much about that."
Flames rose up Benjamin’s throat and he turned away, fighting to swallow them back down. They burned hot, making his eyes water. Smoke leaked from his nose and between his lips, but he managed to keep the fire inside.
The generals all stared silently as he turned back around. They waited for him to speak, but Benjamin wasn't sure they'd listen to what he had to say. While he did think they liked him, it was hard to respect an unmated Dragon – particularly one that showed no interest in taking a mate. It was made even worse considering that he was going to be the king and yet had no queen or heir.
If he ordered their armies to march, they would march. And he so wanted to . . . He didn’t want to roll over and play the submissive one. They were a relatively small kingdom, though, and how many of his citizens would die if he let his more violent tendencies get the best of him?
"I am not going to let this evolve into an all-out war. My mother is not going to wake from her coma to find the kingdom in ruins. Evacuate the settlements near the border and set up that press conference. Caitlyn is not going to destroy everything that we've built here."
Karl nodded. "It will be done."
Benjamin nodded. Hopefully, it would be enough to get them some breathing space.
***
This was worse than he thought. Benjamin pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to snarl. Caitlyn had stopped her march when he issued his apology for the personal insults he had delivered, coupled with a condemnation of her hostile actions. She had refused to withdraw her armies, but at least he was able to open a dialogue with her.
The same could not be said of her allies.
He looked up as Julia entered his room, yawning. She held little Henry and he smiled as she passed him the baby. With everything that was happening, he found a great deal of solace in her presence. They rarely saw each other when she was working, but she spent a few minutes with him at the end of her shift every day.
"Did you give me the baby just so I'd change his diaper?" Benjamin asked, wrinkling his nose.
Julia collapsed on his bed and kicked off her shoes. He liked the way she looked there. She didn't respond, so he quickly changed the dirty diaper and sat next to her, rocking Henry. The baby smiled a gummy smile at him and made cooing noises. His heart lifted slightly, although not by much.
"I heard that there were a few small attacks on the border this morning." Julia propped herself onto her elbow, her lower lip clenched between her teeth. It was a look that he had come to recognize as meaning that she was trying not to show any emotion. "Anything about your day you can tell me about?"
"There have been attacks," Benjamin confirmed. "We haven't identified who is behind them just yet, although I have my suspicions. I spent most of the day in a video conference with Caitlyn and several of the kingdom's allies. She wants me to marry her still."
Julia scowled. "But that bi—" She glanced at Henry. "—bag lady doesn't even like you. What does she want to marry you for?"
"Henry's too young to understand what you're saying. It's okay to swear in front of him."
"No. Yesterday in the market, I heard this kid using all kinds of language and I don't want my son to end up like that. So, it's self-censorship for me. Don't think you'll get out of answering my question, though."
Benjamin had to smile at that. It was hard not to fall in love with her every time he saw her with her small son. It was clear that he was the center of Julia's world and, after hearing about the massive debts she'd incurred to ensure that she could keep him, his admiration for her only grew. Julia was a rare person and he wanted to get to know her better. He had a feeling he'd just barely scratched the surface.
"Caitlyn wants to marry me because it's a good political match. It'd strengthen us both and she's in the same position as I am. A single monarch? Her councilors will be pushing her to marry just as mine are. And if you can't marry for love, why not marry for politics and wealth?"
"You're not getting married," Julia muttered savagely. "All those people can go get their eyes poked out. You're just fine like this."
Was that a hint of jealousy that he heard in her voice? Benjamin tucked Henry between a couple of pillows to make sure he wouldn’t roll off the bed, then caught Julia around the waist. He pulled her tight against him and ground his hips into hers. Her body shuddered and she wrapped her arms around his neck, a sexy grin appearing.
Benjamin nipped at her lower lip. "Marrying is off-limits, huh? Says who?"
"Says me. The girl you're sleeping with."
"And what if I wanted to marry you?"
Despite his teasing tone, Julia froze. Her eyes went wide and her face paled. Her whole stance went rigid and Benjamin winced.
"I'm just a housekeeper."
He opened his mouth to tell her that it was just a joke and he didn't expect her to marry him – certainly not, since they hardly knew each other – when the door opened. The two of them sprang apart as Natalie rushed into the room.
Her jaw dropped when she saw Julia, although Benjamin had thought that the blonde already knew what was going on between them. She swallowed hard and turned to the prince.
"Forgive the intrusion. I just ran into your PA and I thought I would deliver the message myself. Queen Maria has awoken from her coma."
Benjamin's heart jumped to his throat. He glanced at Julia and she nodded at him once. Without another word, he bolted for the door. His mother, awake. That had to mean she was going to get better now . . . right?