“SOMEONE POISONED HIM,” I CHOKED ON my pain.
King Belshazzar murmured, “Perhaps. We don’t know that for sure yet.”
“We do.” Tears tracked down my cheeks. “I’m the Black Widow.”
King Belshazzar released my shoulders slowly, watching to make sure I could stand on my own. He ran his fingers down the side of my face, tracing one of my tears, his black brows lowering over his eyes. My lover jerked his hand away as if it burned him, and then he turned to face the others.
He ordered, “While we’re gone, run a full autopsy on him.”
Lord Otto’s hands fisted in his blond hair, elbows high and out to the side while he stared down at the dead. But he nodded his head. His voice was gruff and clogged. “It’ll be done.”
I wiped under my eyes, flicking my tears away.
Lord Cato stood off to the side, one of his hands rubbing his forehead and his lashes hooding his gaze.
Lord Xenon pointed at the glass of scotch on the bar. “We need to test that, too.”
“And the vomit,” King Belshazzar stated. “Everything needs to be done properly, including anything he has in his room.”
Lord Cato added quietly, “This is another death we need to cover up for now. Our people will want the queen to make a statement on television, and she won’t be here to do it.”
My attention snuck to the lone druid in the room.
The silent man trying to make himself disappear by standing in the shadows of the bathroom doorway.
I swallowed my misery down. “Chester?”
“Yes, your majesty?”
“You’ve shut the fuck up.”
“Yes, your majesty.” No sarcastic tone this time.
About time.
“Why don’t you come out here and join us, instead of wishing you hadn’t been dragged out of your bed this morning.”
“Yes, your majesty,” Chester repeated. He walked forward into the room and stopped next to me…only for King Belshazzar to yank me to the other side of him, placing himself between us. Chester smartly knew when not to make a joke, as he asked, “Did you need me for anything?”
I waved a hand at the man lying at my feet. “I don’t know much about your magic, but you work on the dead. Is there anything you can do here?”
An instant shake of his head. “I can’t resurrect the dead, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Can your magic do anything to help us find his killer?”
“No, your majesty. My magic specifically deals with the power of the dead. It wouldn’t help you here in any way.”
I swallowed and nodded once. “All right. You can go hide in the shadows again, if you wish.”
“Actually, I thought I’d leave. I shouldn’t be here listening in on what you discuss confidentially.”
I quirked one eyebrow, not feeling much of anything right now. “Afraid you’ll overhear something that makes you dead, too?”
“Something like that, your majesty.” He dipped his head to me and then bowed deeply to the king standing between us. “My king, may I leave this death trap?”
All right.
He didn’t always know when to keep his mouth shut.
“You may, but sign that document on the bar before you run. It proves you were a witness to the new laws.” King Belshazzar flicked his wrist. “And be out of this stronghold by tonight.”
“Yes, your majesty.” The druid signed his name quickly on the sheet and then shut the front door silently behind him as he left.
Out of the corner of my eye, I peeked at my father.
He swiftly jerked his eyes away from King Belshazzar and back down to the dead. His lips thinned, but he didn’t speak again.
I turned to face him. “Lord Cato, who are all of the individuals who have seen that list you created of my lovers?”
My father’s mouth thinned even further. “Only the people in this room. And Joshua.”
I inhaled slowly and turned to my lover. I peered up into his cold, cold ice blue gaze. My eyes ticked back and forth between his, waiting for…anything.
King Belshazzar merely stared down at me.
And it was his lack of emotion that told me the truth.
Anytime I was upset, he comforted me.
This time…nothing. If anything, he’d been gruff.
I asked, “Why?”
One word. Such a simple word to say, too.
But it was never so simple to answer.
King Belshazzar’s lips pulled away from his teeth, and he flashed his fangs. There was the emotion. He snarled with wrath, “You aren’t ready to know yet.”
My eyes perused his furious features slowly. “And that pisses you off?”
“No, I can wait for you to be ready,” he hissed. “You crying over Lord Pippin pissed me off.”
I stared, seething.
He peered down his nose. “And there will be no evidence linking me to his death, either.”
Proud. He looked fucking proud.
“Well, your secretive behavior is pissing me off! I’m trying to be patient and wait for you to talk to me, but you still haven’t said anything about…” I stuck two pointer fingers up near my forehead in a quick jerk—horns—and then dropped my arms. With the chain of the Original vampire amulet still in my hand, I swung the blood red jewel down at the lord who I had cared a great deal for—a man who was now dead. “You fucking murdered him, Bel. I need to know why.”
“Dammit, you’re not ready to know yet!” His nostrils flared in fury. “I’m sorry, Gwen. But I’m not going to screw it up by telling you too early.”
I tapped my fingers on my legs. “Screw what up?”
King Belshazzar growled at me.
“Goddammit!” I shook my head and rubbed at my forehead with my free hand. “I am so goddamn mad at you right now. You make my head spin.”
Another growl.
“Growl all you want. I’m fucking furious with you.” I started pacing back and forth. “You’re damn lucky you voided those Original laws.”
My lover snorted. “Do you really think I’m the first person to kill a Royal and live afterward?”
Under my lashes, I tossed a glance at my father. Only he could see it with the way I was turned, but see it he did. His eyes narrowed slightly at the implication I silently threw his way. I turned and paced back in the other direction.
I shook my head. “I’m sure it’s happened before.” I pointed at the other lords. “But no one blatantly says they did it in front of others. So, yes, you’re lucky the law doesn’t exist anymore for instant beheading by the queen or king.”
He hummed. “It was good timing for him to have a congratulatory drink for us with his preferred scotch.”
In the silence of the room, I kept moving.
A single tear slipped down my cheek. I swiftly wiped it away, and argued, “You said you were an honorable man.”
“I am an honorable man.”
“Killing an innocent man is not honorable.”
He snorted. “How many of us are ‘innocent’ in this room? Everyone here who shouldn’t be charged at least once with a death sentence, please raise your hand.”
No one moved.
My lover lifted one lone eyebrow. “None of us are innocent, Gwen. We wouldn’t have made it to our positions in life if we were.”
I narrowed my eyes and demanded again, “I need to know why you did it. Fucking tell me! No more secrets.”
King Belshazzar hissed in frustration, and stated very, very slowly, “You aren’t ready to know the truth. I won’t explain it right now.”
“You do realize that I’m now the sole ruler of the vampires. And Lord Pippin was a vampire. Mine. You have unashamedly told me that you killed one of my people.”
Lord Otto muttered under his breath, “Fucking finally. That took her long enough to say.”
Both of my brows rose at my lover. “See? Not everyone is going to be happy with the choice you made. In fact, you may be the only person happy with your actions.”
“So be it.” King Belshazzar shrugged his left shoulder. “And if you want to charge me with his death, then that is your choice. As it is theirs. See? Honorable. That one I can explain easily enough if you don’t understand how that action is honorable.”
“Cut the smartass shit,” I muttered, tired.
He crossed his arms over his chest. Silent.
Damn. He actually listened.
I scratched at my cheek with my free hand, while I swung the chain back and forth and watched the amulet swing softly through the air. I did this for a full ten minutes while I processed everything that had happened and all that was said here.
Eventually, I spoke clearly, “Does anyone want to charge King Belshazzar with Lord Pippin’s death? And before you speak, this will be your official and only statement.”
Lord Xenon stated, “No, I do not want to charge King Belshazzar for the crime of Lord Pippin’s death.”
“No, I don’t want to charge King Belshazzar with Lord Pippin’s death,” Lord Cato grumbled in offense.
Lord Otto stared down at the dead. Tears welled in his eyes and started to fall down his cheeks. He whispered, “Yes, I wish to charge King Belshazzar—”
I drew my gun and fired before he could damn us all.
The back of Lord Otto’s head blew off, his brain splattering the bar and wall and liquor bottles. His body tipped backward while a small trail of blood traveled down to his nose from the bitty bullet hole in the center of his forehead. His body landed on top of Lord Pippin with a thump.
I calmly placed my gun back into my holster and returned my attention to my lover. “You were correct, Bel. No one in this room is innocent.”
Just like the dead fucking moron who would have killed us all by charging King Belshazzar—and then me having to kill the king since he was guilty as sin. We had to get to S’Kir, survive in S’Kir, and find the Breaker, after all. King Belshazzar was needed for the survival of the druid and vampire factions. He couldn’t be charged with shit…but as their queen, I had to ask.
Fucking. Idiot.
King Belshazzar’s lips twitched at the corners. “Lord Xenon and Lord Cato are going to be very busy while we’re gone.”
“Yes, that is going to be unpleasant for them.” I averted my attention in their direction. Both had utterly blank features, not showing any emotion whatsoever. I cleared my throat, and murmured, “I’m sorry I made your jobs harder. But it had to be done.”
Lord Xenon jerked and stalked three steps to the pile of dead, and started kicking Lord Otto’s body, again and again, shouting, “You stupid motherfucker! Goddamn piece of shit! Why the fuck did you say that? Oh sure, let’s take away the one man who can save our people? You goddamn moron!”
I guessed everyone grieved differently.
Lord Cato lifted a black brow—the bellowing and kicking didn’t stop from the other lord—and stated calmly, “I believe Lord Xenon is upset that we won’t be getting any sleep until you two return.” He lifted his right hand and made a shooing motion at us. “Go. And get back…fast.”
I nodded and grabbed my backpack full of clothes and weapons that King Belshazzar had instructed I pack. I tossed the Original vampire amulet to King Belshazzar, and he caught it with one hand while bending and grabbing his own backpack. I shoved my arms into the straps of my overloaded pack and adjusted it so it fit properly.
“Lord Cato, please sign that document and make it official, and put it in the vault,” I ordered.
“Yes, your majesty.” My father signed as the vampire witness and folded it, placing it in his pocket. “Your signature looks like mine.”
King Belshazzar and I had hurriedly signed the official document when we’d arrived in the room. I probably should have read over it better since he stuck that ‘children’ rule in there.
I snorted. “You mean, yours looks like mine?”
My father simply laughed.
I muttered, “King Belshazzar, how do we get to S’Kir? Where are we landing at?” Judging by our backpacks, it wouldn’t be luxurious.
King Belshazzar strolled toward me as he adjusted his own straps on his backpack. “We’re making a pit stop before we travel to S’Kir.”
My eyes snapped to his. “What?”
Lord Xenon kicked Lord Otto’s body again.
“Yes, I agree. What?” Lord Cato growled. “You have to hurry. There is no time for pit stops.”
King Belshazzar snorted. “It has been three thousand years since I left S’Kir. And language is fluid, ever-changing. While I may be able to communicate with the oldest people there, the queen won’t be able to speak the language at all. We’re going to see Lonzo in Edinburgh first, the druid language expert.”
My father glared. “Don’t smoke anything there.”
“I see you’ve met Lonzo before.” The king chuckled softly.
Lord Cato peered down his nose. “I can’t recall.”
“I’m sure you can’t,” King Belshazzar droned. He lifted the Original vampire amulet into the air in front of him and glanced down at me. “You’ll need to put your hand on me while I make the portal. The magic will knock you out otherwise.”
“I already know that.” I sniffed. “And I still don’t want to touch you.”
His blink was slow. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t want to touch you. And I don’t want you touching me,” I clarified further. “I am still highly furious with you. Until I start getting some fucking answers from you, it’s hands-off time.”
The king stared. “I think you’re serious right now.”
“That’s because I am!” I shrieked, and threw my hands up into the air, my cool mien vanishing. “I killed Lord Otto to save our people. I still don’t know why the fuck you killed Lord Pippin. So I am mad at you! You’re not communicating with me, Bel. I need words that make sense to come out of your mouth at some point. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Lord Xenon groaned loudly. “Quit fucking arguing and get the job done.”
King Belshazzar cast a glare over his shoulder. “Shut it. She’s upset.”
Lord Xenon groaned and turned to my father, bemoaning deeply, “My god. They are going to take forever. We’re going to be sleepless zombies in a war, and they’ll still be arguing in a faraway land. Do something about your daughter. I beg you.”
Lord Cato snorted. “She has a point. And I’m not stepping into that shit.” He scratched at his cheek. “Unless King Belshazzar hurts her. Then I’ll step in.”
The king growled under his breath in irritation and then turned his head back in my direction. He tempered his voice, speaking softly, “Gwen, I understand you’re upset. I would be, too, if I were in your shoes. But I’m not sorry that I killed Lord Pippin, and you’ll eventually understand why. I give you my word of honor.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip and placed my hand on his shoulder. I sucked in a large lungful of air, and stated, “I’m touching you to get a job done. I’m not touching you because I’m happy with you. Understand?”
He lifted one black eyebrow. “That’s something, I suppose.” The king looked over his shoulder again. “You two should go into another room for this. You won’t be able to handle the power either.”
The Overlords grumbled quietly, but stepped outside into the Royal hallways and shut the front door behind them.
King Belshazzar instantly chanted under his breath, and the Original vampire amulet glowed blood red as he started forming a circle in the air, making it wide enough for us to fit through side-by-side. Red flickers flew out of the air wherever the Original vampire amulet went, like the sparks from a welding machine.
He grinned at his work when he was done, approving of the size.
I gripped his shoulder tighter with my small hand.
As one, we stepped through the portal.