CHAPTER 19

FELIX

KRAESHIA

Felix woke up with the urgent knowledge that something was terribly wrong. If only he had any idea what it was.

He tried to ignore it, though, because life had never been better for him. He’d earned back King Gaius’s trust. He’d traveled beyond the shores of Mytica for the first time ever, to the beautiful empire of Kraeshia. And a gorgeous princess had invited him to share her bed for not one, but seven nights.

Seven. In a row.

Felix’s life had become so shiny and bright, so why did everything suddenly feel so damningly dark?

He crawled out of Princess Amara’s huge feather bed, draped with green silks and diaphanous veils of pale gold, and hastily got dressed.

His stomach grumbled. Perhaps he could attribute this dark feeling to hunger—ever since his arrival in Kraeshia, he’d consumed too many fruits and vegetables and not nearly enough red meat.

“Felix, my pretty beast . . .” Amara said sleepily. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he sat on the side of the bed to put on his boots. “Leaving me so soon?”

“Duty calls.”

She slid her hands down his bare chest. “But I don’t want you to go yet.”

“The king might disagree.”

“Let him.” Amara pulled his face to hers and kissed him. “Who cares what the king thinks, anyway?”

“Well, me for one. I work for him. And he’s very strict.”

“Leave him and work for me.”

“And be what? One of your lowly manservants?” He was surprised by the amount of poison in his voice. Where had that come from?

He knew theirs wasn’t a relationship with any potential or future. Amara was a princess with a large appetite and a short attention span—nearly as short as his own. But of course he wasn’t complaining. Amara was beautiful. Willing. Enthusiastic. Double-jointed.

So what the hell was wrong with him today that he wasn’t thanking the goddess for his enviable current situation?

He cast a wary look at her as he stood up and her hands dropped away from his body.

“Oh, dear,” she said. “My pretty beast is grumpy this morning.”

He wasn’t sure he liked that nickname, but knew enough not to correct her. “You know I’m not the grumpy sort.”

Amara leaned back against the pillows and watched him put on yesterday’s shirt and coat. “Tell me,” she said, her tone less playful now, “what will happen if my father refuses the king’s offer?”

They hadn’t spoken a word about politics all week, which was fine with Felix. He wasn’t the king’s advisor or confidant, nor did he have any interest in being anything more than his muscle and brawn.

“Don’t know,” he said. “You think he’ll refuse?”

Amara raised an eyebrow. “Do I think my father will refuse to hand over half his empire for a shiny bauble and a threat of magic?”

When he’d watched King Gaius wave the air Kindred under the emperor’s nose, Felix had been certain the Silver Sea had risen up and crashed over him right there at the banquet. It had taken every last sliver of his strength to keep his expression neutral. “It does sound pretty crazy, doesn’t it?”

Felix didn’t know much about the crystal, but he knew enough to be sure that it didn’t belong with an emperor who would use it to conquer the world.

Amara draped her long dark hair over her shoulder, absently twirling a tendril of it around her finger, as if lost in thought. “Is it true that King Gaius is in possession of all four Kindred?”

“He says he is, so he must be,” Felix lied. “But I’ve only seen the moonstone.”

“I wish the king had offered it to me.” Amara smiled conspiratorially. “Then perhaps you and I could rule the world together.”

“You and me, huh?”

“Can’t you imagine how incredible that would be?”

“Look, princess, you don’t have to say these kinds of things to me. You don’t have to make me any promises. I’m perfectly happy with our arrangement, just as it is, for as long as you need me. However, with respect, my days belong to the king.”

Without giving her the chance to change his mind, he left her room. Once outside the door, he leaned against the hallway wall, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Is that a sigh of sadness or relief?”

Felix looked up to see Mikah, a palace guard he’d met upon his arrival.

“Look at you, just lingering out here in the hallway,” Felix said with displeasure. “You weren’t listening in, were you?”

Mikah cocked his head. “Why? If I were, would I have heard anything other than sighs and heavy breathing? I’m quite accustomed to the princess’s casual dalliances.”

“Happy to hear the two of you are so close,” Felix said with narrowed eyes as he started to walk away. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—” Mikah grabbed Felix’s arm, his grip tight enough to hurt. “Let go of me,” Felix growled.

Mikah didn’t smile, didn’t flinch. “Tell me,” he said, “have you fallen in love with her yet?”

Felix blinked. “What?”

“Answer the question.”

“Ah, I get it. You’re a former dalliance, are you? A jealous one? Don’t worry, there’s nothing permanent between us. I’ll be moving along soon so you can continue to moon over her. Now let go of me, or we’re going to have a problem.”

Mikah studied him intently for another long moment, then released him roughly. “Good. Wouldn’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I can take care of myself, but much gratitude for your concern.”

• • •

“The king wants you to go check on the ship,” Milo told Felix later that day. “Ensure it’s suitable for departure at a moment’s notice.”

“And he sent you to give me the order?” Felix eyed the other guard skeptically.

Milo shrugged. “Just passing along information. The king is busy.”

“His majesty wants a swift escape, does he?” he said aloud.

Milo nodded, his expression pinched. “The swifter the better, it would seem.”

The two hadn’t discussed the king’s offer—or, rather, ultimatum—to the emperor, but they’d most certainly exchanged worried glances during the banquet. After all, they were the ones responsible for saving the king’s neck, even when he’d willingly bared it to a known enemy’s blade.

Felix lowered his voice. “Does King Gaius really think the emperor will simply let us sail away without consequence?”

A muscle in Milo’s left cheek twitched. “I’m not aware of the king’s thoughts. . . .”

“Nor am I.”

“But if I were . . .” Milo continued, his expression as grim as Felix had seen it since their first meeting, when they set sail from Auranos, “I would start to prepare for a very hasty departure.”

What would the king expect his bodyguards to do if the emperor chose to answer with wrath rather than agreement?

Assassinate the most powerful leader in the known world in his very home and expect to walk away unscathed?

Finally, he nodded with a firm jerk of his head. “I’ll check on the ship immediately.”