Page 21 of Caroline the Cruel
Felix’s body vibrated as he fought against the invisible restraint, color sapping from his tan skin.
Caroline huffed a laugh. “I wouldn’t physically harm a pregnant woman. What type of monster do you think I am?” She shook her head and motioned her hands forward, urging Jaine to give her permission.
The woman squeaked, “Yes.”
“Has it started moving yet?” she asked, placing her hands on Jaine’s stomach.
“He has, Your Majesty. Kicks most often in the mornings, like he’s waking up with me.”
“You’re calling ithe?” She raised an eyebrow at Jaine in question.
The woman flashed a loving glance at her virile husband. “Well,” she stammered. “Felix is so strong, such a man. I thought he must produce a boy.”
Caroline snorted. How could he have chosen such a pathetically smitten woman over her? It was ridiculous.
“Very well. You could name him Angus.” She patted their robust captor on his chest, to which Angus half grumbled, half laughed.
As the couple stood, antsy, nervous energy radiated off them.
“If you aren’t going to kill us, then why are we here?” Felix asked, clenching his fists at his sides as Caroline released him.
He was sweating now. The perspiration, a sign of his nausea, the result of him fighting her hold. “You need to learn better manners.”
“Please, Felix,” Jaine pleaded.
“Your Majesty, may I please ask why we are here?” Felix kept his tone neutral and lowered his eyes to the floor.
“Better.” Caroline smiled. “Because I’d like to offer you and your new bride a home and assistance with the birth, of course.”
The couple’s heads whipped toward each other.
“You wouldn’t refuse me, would you?” They didn’t answer, so she continued. “You see, Felix. I’ve grown rather attached to you. Made you, so to speak. And now you’ve made a baby. I’m interested to see how it all turns out. I wish you would have come to me with this.” She ran a hand across her forehead in mock frustration. She wasn’t frustrated. She was livid. But they didn’t need to know that yet.
“Please, make yourself at home. Angus has had your things moved. Felix…” she said, walking back out the door, expecting him to follow. She gestured at four trunks which had been placed outside. “Take your time, unpack, then I’ll see you both at dinner.”
She took a few steps across the courtyard, but turned around and sashayed to where Felix stood outside the door. She dragged her eyes up his muscled chest and placed a hand over his heart. Caroline eyed her ex-lover from beneath heavy lids, giving them a flutter in emphasis. “I wish you would have told me what you needed. We could have worked something out. You’d want that, wouldn’t you?”
Before he could answer, she looked away and hurried back the way she came. Angus’s loud footsteps pounding the stones as he trailed after her.
A satisfied smirk took residence on Caroline’s face. He’d taken the first seed she’d planted. The glimmer in his eye all the evidence she needed. His overconfidence was her least favorite thing about him. A brimming confidence was sexy, but Felix thought he was invincible. That fact evidenced by his recent actions.
She hoped she wouldn’t need to plant too many more before she could act. Her skin crawled as she thought of the time she’d need to spend with them in order to enact her plan. She’d have to rely on that confidence of his, then she’d strike.
Chapter 6
JohnnethfollowedCarolineonthe long winding path from her wing to the section of Roskide housing the main kitchens and dining hall where she’d been meeting with the doomed couple. If only he could tell them to run and never look back. But saving them whatever misery she had planned wasn’t why he was here. He must maintain a singular focus, despite how hard that was around her. Still, his curiosity and her relentless drive toward whatever goal she’d set for their punishment drew him in, like how the crowd in Veetula gathered to watch the monthly executioner swing his axe.
“It’s been almost two months now that you’ve been dining with them, Your Majesty. What are you up to?” he asked, knowing each question, each time they spoke, was another crack in his effort to bring down the wall she kept up between her and everyone but Angus. And it was a dangerous line to walk.
It wasn’t the same with Felix since she hated him. This was about punishment, and while he didn’t agree with her methods, something had to be done to send a message.
She chortled. “What would you have me do—forgive and forget? You saw where leniency got my father. He should have taken Veetula when he had the chance. He wasn’t ruthless enough, that’s what I learned from him in the end.”
Johnneth was glad he was a step behind the queen so she couldn’t see the strain sprout across his features. Caroline stopped abruptly and turned as if she sensed his betraying thoughts. He fixed his face as a blank slate and lowered his eyes to meet hers.
“Shall I release them, Johnneth? Is that what you think would bejust?” Caroline blinked up at him as she studied his face.
“Of course not. I’m still learning the… sacrifices it takes to rule, Your Majesty.” It’s only that Johnneth didn’t see why she needed to drag it out. He understood she was waiting for them to become complacent, and whatever she aimed to do would be far worse than any physical punishment.
