Chapter Sixteen
I was back in the interview room in the moment right before I’d drank the invisibility potion. I still had the entire vial remaining to use at a later time, and I tucked it back into my pants pockets as I thought over my next move.
Dumas and Edinburg were trying to overthrow the king, and his majesty needed to know who was working against him, so I headed toward the throne room. It seemed as though Zorya at least was involved in the plot, but I still wasn’t sure if the Duchess of Mistvale played a role in the scheme or not.
While I wished I had more foolproof evidence to take to the king, what I knew so far would have to do for the moment, but I’d figure out my next step after I made sure his majesty was safe.
I traversed the corridors of the palace in the direction of the throne room, and I nodded to the sentries at the entrance to the audience chamber. They nodded back and allowed me to pass through, and then I strode across the empty room toward the dais where the throne sat.
King Frederick sat upon his throne with a bored look upon his face, but his eyes brightened when he noticed my approach.
“Sir Sebastian, are your interviews completed?” The king rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Who do you think should perform the role of court wizard for the Arginold holdings?”
“I am here on other business.” I frowned. “I told you I would look into the possible treason going on around here, and I found out who is responsible for the recent attempts on mine and the royal mage’s life.”
“Be careful, Sir Sebastian,” the king said in a warning tone. “I have already told you I require proof.”
“How about an eyewitness account of scheming to overthrow you?” I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest. “I saw it with my own eyes.”
“The accuser cannot also be the witness.” The king shook his head. “That is merely hearsay, Your Grace.”
“Look, Frederick, with all due respect, we don’t have time for that.” My frown deepened. “You need to trust me. The Duke of Edinburg and his wizard, Dumas, are plotting to make you look unfit to rule.”
“The Duke of Edinburg has been one of my staunchest supporters since I took my father’s place,” the king argued. “He and Dumas are loyal to the crown, I can assure you.”
“You’re wrong,” I countered. “They’re playing a long game, Your Majesty. They want your throne, and they’re willing to play nice for a little while in order to get what they want.”
“Then you will just have to be extra diligent in your protection of me,” the king shot back as he shrugged his shoulders and picked at a piece of lint on his lush red cloak. “I trust you to predict any attempts on my life with your abilities and thwart them before they can occur.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” I pointed out in an exasperated tone. “I followed Dumas when he fetched a potion from Zorya. It’s supposed to make you go crazy and get violent on the courtiers.”
“I’m sure you misunderstood,” the king persisted. “Now you’re accusing the Duchess of Mistvale’s court wizard as well.”
“What about the assassination attempt on your royal mage,” I reminded the king with a stubborn lift of my chin. “It was poison, right? Who better to supply a poison than one of the best alchemists around?”
“I see your point,” the king allowed in a reluctant tone. “But there is still no evidence other than your word. While I trust your judgement, your word alone is not enough to arrest a duke or duchess for treason. If I am seen as unfair or corrupt, it would cause discontent among the court and could lead to uprisings, riot, war. I require proof not only for myself but for my people.”
“Your court has been corrupted a long time ago,” I said in a hard voice. “It’s about time we take out the garbage around here and put people we can trust into the positions of power.”
“I trust Mistvale and Edinburg,” King Frederick said. “There are many enemies of the crown both foreign and domestic. The warlords of the south constantly harry our borders, and criminals often strike back against those who passed judgement on them. The assassination attempts could have come from any one of them. This is the last I’ll hear of it until you bring me physical proof of treachery.”
“If I catch them in the act, then you’ll have to believe me,” I insisted, and a wave of determination filled my gut.
I would make sure the attempt to overthrow the king was unsuccessful if it was the last thing I did.
I didn’t want the king to have any recollection of our interaction, at least not until I could produce the tangible evidence he required, so I reset back to my save point with a wave of my will.
I was back in the interview room, and I let out a deep sigh as I considered my next moves.
How was I supposed to get proof?
The question haunted me as I made my way into the main living area of my wing of the palace, and the friendly smiles of my entourage greeted me as I entered the room. It was hard to be frustrated when I had such awesome followers, so I grinned back and plopped myself down on the couch beside Riondale.
“You look upset, husband,” Elissa observed from across the room.
Eva sat at her side, and the duke’s daughter straightened as she gave me an analytical look. “She’s right. What’s wrong, Great One?”
“Ugh.” I hesitated, but then I found myself being pierced by Mahini’s ice-blue gaze. Her eyes beckoned the words out of me, and I found myself word vomiting to my followers about my current dilemma.
After I’d explained the full scope of my challenge, my women and my entourage fell into a thoughtful silence as they considered all I’d said.
“It seems as though the king is in grave danger,” Riondale said, and his eyes were as hard as flint. “We need to save him.”
“I agree,” I sighed. “But he won’t listen to reason unless I bring him physical evidence.”
“What about the Duchess of Mistvale?” A thoughtful frown creased Mahini’s brow. “How does she play into the scheme?”
“I’m not entirely certain,” I admitted, and while I knew it wasn’t very god-like for me to confess my frustrations, I’d already decided to reset to my save point after this conversation anyway.
“You said you followed Dumas back to Edinburg,” Bron pointed out, but then the former store owner’s eyes flickered with self-doubt. “Never mind, I’m sure you already thought of everything.”
“Go ahead, Bron,” I urged. “This is a free space to say anything you think could be helpful. None of you will remember it anyway.”
“O-Oh, okay…” Bron frowned in confusion, but then his wife Sarah elbowed him to encourage him to continue. “I was wondering if you already tailed the Duchess and her wizard to see what part they play in the scheme?”
“I should have absolutely thought of that already myself,” I laughed. “That’s a good idea, Bron. Thank you.”
“What if the Duchess is innocent?” Eva bit her lip. “I’d hate to get her in trouble for no reason.”
“That’s exactly why the king is wanting proof first,” I explained. “Don’t worry. The second Edinburg or Dumas slip up, I’ll be there to catch them, and in the meantime, I’ll figure out who all they’re working with. I’ll figure out who is responsible, and then I’ll bring them before the king.”
Then I reset back to my save point with a wave of my will, and the next thing I knew I was sitting in the interview room once more while the chime sounded in my ears.
I rose from my chair and made my way down the corridors to the Duchess of Mistvale’s wing of the palace, but I slipped into a side room before I turned the corner and entered their area. Then I sipped on the invisibility potion until I felt like I’d consumed enough to last a short while, and once my limbs began to disappear from view, I continued on down the hallway once more.
I found Zorya in the room I’d followed Dumas to, and she looked up in confusion when the door opened for nobody. The alchemist shrugged and returned her focus back to the mixture in front of her, so I found a comfortable place to sit and wait.
A little while later, Dumas strode in through the open door, but he pushed it closed behind him. The necromancer demanded the potion again, and the two wizards had their short interaction before Edinburg’s court wizard departed once more. This time, though, I stayed where I was, since I wanted to find out what Zorya did with the rest of her day.
The alchemist ended up boring me quite a bit because all she did was lean over her mixture, but every once in a while she sprinkled in a new ingredient. If I could have asked questions about the potion she was creating, then I would have been more interested, but as it was, I was getting eager for something else to happen.
After what felt like a lifetime later, Zorya began to clean up her workspace, and once the room was tidied, she headed out the door. I was quick to follow in her footsteps, but I made sure to stay far enough away so she wouldn’t hear my breathing.
I was already learning from my previous attempts.
I followed the court wizard down the winding hallways, but we stayed in the same wing of the palace her workspace was in. It didn’t take us very long to reach her next destination, and judging from the intricate carvings on the ornate walnut bedroom door, we were about to see the Duchess of Mistvale Keep.
Zorya knocked timidly on the door frame, and then a woman’s voice beckoned us inside. Clara was lounging on her bed, and she had the covers partially pulled away from her plump form. Her graying hair hung loose across her shoulders, and I could smell her rich perfume from the doorway.
“Zorya,” the duchess called out in a sing-song voice. “How lovely. Please, come in.”
“Madam, the potion has been delivered to Dumas,” Zorya reported in a clipped tone, and the brusque court wizard was obviously very uncomfortable in her mistress’ bed chamber, if her stiff back and tense shoulders were any indication. “Everything is going exactly as planned.”
“So far,” Clara snorted. “We will see if the Archduke interferes again.”
“Yes, well, he wasn’t supposed to be an issue,” Zorya muttered, and my ears perked up.
So, they were both in on the plot against the king and me.
It was nice to get validation for my gut instincts, but I still needed some kind of proof before I could drag the highest-ranking nobles before the king and accuse them of treason. I didn’t want King Frederick to turn me away a second time, so I would make sure I had plenty of evidence before I approached him about the scheme again.
“You would be wise to make sure your next hired hands do not fail in their task,” the duchess warned. “Even gods have weaknesses, after all. You just need to find it.”
“We tried to eliminate his followers,” Zorya explained with a shake of her head. “I’m not sure what happened, but none of the assassins returned.”
“Obviously, he and his followers made it safely to Vallenwood,” Mistvale scoffed. “You were supposed to keep him away from the summit of nobility until after the king was ruined.”
I’d already fucked up part of their plans, but it seemed as though they’d adjusted and gone a different route. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to prove their treachery, but I listened closely to every single word.
“Have Dumas handle the next phase on his own,” the duchess instructed. “He seems to be more capable than you are, anyway.”
“Yes, my lady,” Zorya said, but I could see the urge to argue in her eyes. “Who is the next target?”
“Have them kill all those pretty girls the Archduke surrounds himself with,” the duchess said, and she waved her hand dismissively. “That is all. Thank you, Zorya.”
Oh, hell, no.
That bitch was trying to target my women? There was no way she was going to succeed, but she’d just signed her own death warrant by showing just how low she would go.
I was torn when the court wizard departed her lady’s bedchamber. I wasn’t sure if I should stay and collect more information on the Duchess of Mistvale, or if I should follow Zorya and see where she went next.
It seemed as though the court wizard was the one actually performing the acts of treason beneath her mistress’ supervision, so if I wanted proof, I should follow the alchemist.
These damn nobles didn’t know who they were fucking with if they thought they could get to me, my women, or the king.
Zorya meandered through the corridors to the northern wing of the palace where I already knew Edinburg and his retinue were staying. The alchemist made her way to the room where Dumas and the duke had revealed their plans to me, and she knocked softly upon the portal’s surface.
Dumas opened the door, but his eyes flicked up and down the hallway. When he saw only the alchemist before him, he beckoned her inside the room. It was a little tricky for me to slide in behind her without being detected, but I’d started to get the hang of the invisibility thing.
“Why are you here?” Dumas frowned. “Our business is concluded. It will only raise suspicion for you to be here.”
“My mistress sends word,” Zorya explained to the necromancer. “She instructed me to have you send another attack after the Archduke, but this time remove his women. This will weaken him and make him easier to take out.”
“Plus, he’d be too distracted by his own grief to help the king,” Dumas mused, and he nodded his head in agreement. “Yes… I can do this. Tell your lady it will be done.”
“I knew we could count on you, Dumas,” Zorya breathed, and a wave of relief crossed over her face.
“Fear not, sister,” Dumas said in the nicest voice I’d heard him use yet. “Soon, we will be free of these noble overlords, and we will hold the power of the kingdom within our own grasp.”
Oh, shit.
Plots inside of plots. Not only were the two court wizards helping the duke and duchess undermine the king and attempting to remove me from the equation, but the two of them were also scheming behind their lord and lady’s backs.
I was intrigued so I leaned forward in an effort to hear them more clearly, but my hand brushed against a paper sitting on the desk.
Both court wizards’ heads swiveled toward me, and they peered in the spot where I stood for a long silent moment. When they found nothing, they shrugged off the odd sound and resumed their discussion.
“Are you certain this attempt will succeed?” Zorya’s voice belied her worry, and I realized she was the weakest link among the schemers. She was the one who seemed the least sure of her reasons for doing this, but maybe there was more to her than met the eyes.
“If it doesn’t,” Dumas insisted, “then I will go kill the Archduke’s women myself.”
“We must remain free from the shadow of suspicion,” Zorya pointed out. “We cannot get directly involved. You know better, Dumas.”
“I know, I know,” Dumas said, and he held up his hands to ward off her verbal attack. “Trust me, that would be a last resort only. I just want them dead like they were supposed to be a long time ago.”
“Racine was worthless,” Zorya scoffed. “No wonder his lord killed him.”
“They were both out of their minds,” Dumas agreed. “Although, I’ve had a feeling ever since I heard of their demise that things are not as we are being told.”
“What do you mean?” Zorya frowned.
“I believe there was someone else involved in their deaths,” Dumas explained. “Someone who urged them to kill each other.”
“Could have just been their own weaknesses getting the best of them.” Zorya shrugged. “There is no evidence of anyone else being involved. Clara had me look into it personally. She felt she would be next.”
“She still might be,” Dumas replied in an ominous tone, and he tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robe. “But we’ve spent too much time together already. You need to leave, and do not return to this area of the palace again. We will meet elsewhere in the future.”
“Very well, Master Dumas.” Zorya bowed her head, and she turned to leave. “Let me know how it goes.”
“Oh, I’m sure word will sweep through the palace swiftly enough for all to hear,” Dumas chuckled, but the sound held no mirth.
The hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end, and a heavy feeling settled into the pit of my stomach as I came to the realization they wouldn’t stop until they either died or got their way.
Still, I was confident that if anyone could throw a wrench in their schemes, it was me. I may not have been in this magical fantasy world for very long, but it already felt like my home, and I wasn’t about to let a couple of assholes fuck it up for me.
I followed Zorya around a little more, but she mostly just kept to herself and worked on her potions. When I was sure she was done scheming for the day, I reset back to my save point in the interview room.
I wore a thoughtful frown on my face as I made my way out to the living space of our wing of the palace, but the friendly smiles of my followers pulled me from my thoughts. I plopped down on the couch, and I glanced around at the good people who surrounded me. I was determined not to let anything bad happen to them, but I had no idea when the assassination attempt would occur.
A lump rose in my throat as I imagined waking up to all three of my women dead, and I had to shake my head to dispel the image.
“What are you guys up to?” I asked in an effort to distract myself from my dark thoughts.
“We were trying to cheer Eva up,” Elissa informed me with a soft smile.
“What’s wrong?” My gaze shot to the duke’s daughter, and she flashed me a sad look.
“It’s okay, really,” Eva insisted, but there was an unusual heaviness to her voice.
I’d been too distracted by my thoughts during my previous run through that I hadn’t even noticed she was distraught, and I chided myself for being stuck inside my own head too much to be there for the woman I loved.
“Tell me who hurt you,” I insisted, and while I wanted to demand it in a hard voice, I kept my tone soft and encouraging. “They will suffer the consequences.”
“Some of them nobles,” Jax offered, and he gave me the most uncomfortable expression. “I been tryin’ to make her laugh, but she don’t want to.”
“Thanks.” I nodded. “I wish I’d known sooner that you were upset. Will you please tell me what happened?”
“There were some ladies at the banquet,” Elissa explained, and she rubbed Eva’s back affectionately. “They made fun of Eva for being your lover.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” Now, I was pissed. Not only was someone trying to hurt my lovely ladies, but someone else had already hurt one of them. She might not be dying, but she wasn’t happy, and I wanted to wring the neck of whoever had caused her to feel this way. “It should be an honor to be on the arm of the Archduke.”
“It is for Mahini and Elissa,” Eva explained with a sigh, and her smokey-gray eyes were troubled when they met my gaze. “Your marriage to Elissa makes her an Archduchess, and Mahini is your blood-bonded shield maiden. I am simply your lover.”
“Are you…” I frowned. “Are you saying we need to get married?”
“I just wanted to explain what was said.” Eva shook her head, and a red hue rose to her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to press you into anything, Bash…”
I had a sudden moment of clarity, and I realized what I needed to do to fix the situation. While I wasn’t sure how to save them from an assassination attempt that could happen at any moment, I knew how to turn a woman from a lover to a wife. So much had happened since we’d arrived in Vallenwood, and not a lot had been good things, but I was about to change that.
I sank down onto one knee in the middle of the room, and everyone in the room let out startled gasps.
“Evangeline Bullard,” I declared in a loud and clear voice that rang with confidence. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“Is it possible?” Eva’s hands leapt to cover her mouth, and her smokey-gray eyes welled with emotion. “This can’t really be happening…”
“What do you say, beautiful?” I grinned. “Wanna hitch your star to my wagon? Wanna be mine forever?”
“Say yes already!” Caelia squealed, and everyone laughed out loud.
“Say something, at least!” Elissa urged as she shook Eva by the shoulders.
“I-I-I,” Eva stammered out as she shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t know what to say… ”
“How do you not know the answer to that question?” Mahini frowned. “This is a good thing, silly. Just tell him yes.”
“Of course, I want to marry you, Bash!” Eva laughed as tears began to stream down her face. “I have wanted this to happen since the first moment I met you. I’ve loved you from the moment I knew you existed. Yes, yes, yes!”
“First thing tomorrow, I can go get you a ring,” I informed her in a decisive tone, and I gave her my most charming smile as I reached out to take her hand. “You can even go with me and pick out which one you would like.”
“Oh, that doesn’t matter to me at all!” Eva gushed, and she suddenly threw herself into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her damp face in my neck, so I wrapped her in a tight embrace and held her against me while her shoulders shook.
I’d never seen her so emotional, but it seemed as though I had managed to lift her spirits a little. All it took was a marriage proposal.
“That reminds me,” I said as a thought crossed my mind. “Mahini and Elissa, do you two want actual wedding rings as well?”
“What do you mean?” Mahini’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “You gave me a silver ring from the burial sanctum in Lake Balerno. That is more than enough for me.”
“You gave me a gorgeous green gemstone necklace during that same quest,” Elissa added as she flipped her fiery hair over her shoulder. “But I wouldn’t mind getting a new ring, if you’re handing them out to all your wives.”
“I can if you wish,” I laughed. “I just want to make all three of you girls happy.”
“Oh, trust me,” Mahini snorted as she crossed her arms over her chest. “We are more than happy to be yours.”
“I think you deserve a real ring, too, Mahini,” I insisted.
“Let’s all go ring shopping together,” Eva suggested with a bright smile as her smoky-gray eyes danced with delight. “It will be fun!”
I wondered briefly what the rules were for having multiple wives, but then I decided I didn’t care. I would shape the rules to fit me. I was the Archduke, the God of Time, and the Dragon Slayer.
If anyone could have a bunch of super-hot wives, it was me, right?