Page 10 of The Rat King
An exasperated sigh escaped my future husband. “That won’t be necessary. Please, Avery. Try to enjoy the life I’m offering you. You’re safe here and anything you request is at your fingertips, including my heart.” I gasped at his confession, and he chuckled. “It’s true, my bride. I’m already beginning to care deeply for you.”
Oh my. On the surface level, one might interpret the words as sweet, but his tone was decidedly self-indulgent. Like he was proud of how smooth he believed himself to be. Yuck.
“Okay,” I said, edging back in my chair until I could twist to get my hands out from between his clammy palms. I hopped to my feet. “Thank you?” I should be happy the man was developing feelings, but it had only been a week. No, that wasn’t it. There was just something off-putting about Xavier Helicanus. At this point, none of the other rat-people seemed to weird me out like he did, so that wasn’t it. It was something else.
“Listen,” I said. “You’re right. I’m still a little overwhelmed. I think I’m going to head back to my room and take a nap. Definitely send the head maid, though.” I gave him a weak smile and rushed from the room. The man sent my thoughts scrambling and not in a good way. Despite that, I knew one thing to be true. I wasn’t the type to sit around and be waited on, and I certainly wasn’t going to let this man stop me from fulfilling this role exactly how I intended to. He’d figure that out soon enough, then we’d see about his feelings.
I’d gotten myself lost again as I escaped Xavier and his feelings in the library. It flabbergasted me that he thought his approach might be effective, but that was typical with overconfident men.
How long had I been wondering around this time in this expansive building? At least half an hour. I came to an intersection of two dimly lit hallways I didn’t remember having come across previously. The one to the right was empty save for a few flickering lights haphazardly strung down the length of the ceiling. A rat-woman in a high waisted pea-green colored gown was locking a door in the other hallway to the left. I stepped toward her and she started.
As I crossed the distance between us, she fingered an auburn tuft of hair as if my presence made her uncomfortable though I had no idea why that would be the case. Unless she were doing something she shouldn’t be. I ignored her body language, pressing ahead. “Hi. I’m Avery.”
I didn’t think I’d seen her around Ravsted before, granted most everyone I saw were either advisors or castle workers. By her elegant clothing and the lifted way she held her chin, I didn’t take her to be either of those. Perhaps she was some type of Lady. Maybe an advisor’s daughter. She was young enough, but that didn’t explain why she had a key to a room in the castle.
“I know who you are.” Her eyes narrowed, skipping to the hallway behind me. “I’m Olive,” she finally supplied. “I was just leaving—"
“Do you live here?” I asked, not releasing her. That had to be it. Maybe she was a lover of Nighval’s and had followed him here from his exile.
Her lips twitched like she was trying to force them into a smile, but they wouldn’t cooperate. “I’m staying here now.”
Her ambiguous answer aggravated me. Had she met and been like this with any of the witches who’d come before me? Would she tell me? I clearly didn’t have enough to do because I was actively grasping, spinning stories to keep myself occupied.
Footsteps sounded behind me. I turned to see the warlock in question saunter past giving me and Olive a curious, somewhat unpleasant look before continuing on. Had his posture stiffened? Perhaps she wasn’t his lover then.
I turned around to see her eyes had gone almost comically wide. She feared him.
“What is it? Do you know about him?” I assumed she, like everyone else, knew about the exiled warlock former king. But maybe if she felt enticed to gossip, she’d let something about the curse slip. Then I could get her to tell me about it.
She hesitated for a moment, then stole a glance down the hallway as if she was checking to make sure no one was within earshot. “I try to avoid him. I’d do the same if I were you.”
“Why?” I pressed.
A faraway expression crossed her features as she dipped into a memory. “He’s lethal. During the reprieve, his power goes unchecked. He could do anything. That’s what we fear now that His Majesty has taken the throne. That the warlock will snap and do something awful.” She took a deep breath and seemed to gain her composure as something calculating drifted across her features. Then her gaze locked on mine as if she wanted to impress upon me what she was about to say. I leaned forward, welcoming it.
Seeing that she had my full attention, she whispered, “I heard he slaughtered an entire cult a few years ago because they didn’t follow the Goddess. He killed over thirty people in cold blood. I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to steal you away to get back at his brother. You should be careful.” She held the key between two clawed digits, slapping it into the palm of the other hand. My heart seemed to catch its nervous rhythm.
I wanted to know more. Ineededto know more, but she was bouncing on the balls of her feet now seeming eager to get away from me. “Perhaps we could have tea sometime? I feel like I could learn a lot about this plane from you.” If I flattered her enough, maybe I could get her to talk. Olive, however, looked horrified at the suggestion of tea.
A light set of footsteps approached. I glanced over my shoulder to see April swishing towards us down the hallway. “Ah, there you are. His Majesty sent me after you.”
“Yes, I got lost.” Damn it. I felt like I was finally getting somewhere only to be interrupted. When I turned back, a relieved looking Olive was dropping into a curtsey. “Good day.” As she left, I could have sworn I heard her mutter, “As if you’ll last.”
Chapter 6
Nighval
LinkandIsteppedinto Xavier’s office to find him sitting at his desk with his neck craned over a document. A week passed since he charged into the library ready to reprimand his future queen. I had fully expected the vein in his forehead to burst when Leviticus informed him of what she was up to. Whatever transpired between them after he sent us away considerably lightened his mood. He tapped his pen on the desk as he glanced up toward us, grinning.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my eyebrows arching in curiosity. The man never approached his actual duties with such interest.
“I’m working on my wedding vows,” he said.
I stifled a groan.
“Would that explain why Sir Richard Musson is still detained?” Link asked. “I was supposed to bring him back to Belfield during the reprieve.”
Link was right. Using his power during the reprieve to return Musson to his wife and two sons on the estate on the opposite side of the kingdom made sense. He was disloyal, edging on treasonous in recent months and the sentiment seemed to seep off him. The last thing we needed was him to take a cross-kingdom trip sprinkling it as he went. I should have dealt with him sooner. But if it didn’t directly affect Xavier directly, he didn’t care. And by his disgruntled expression, my brother looked like he wanted to reprimand Link for his tone. Fortunately, he’d quickly learned to strike a balance with the Council of Warlocks. Link, our other friend Eshan Moltentide, and I had grown up together, and Xavier would forever be the annoying little brother to us.
