3#Awakened by the Vampire Prince (Thorn) (12 page)

 “Yes.”
Cheri grabbed ahold of Keto’s biceps but the male shrugged her off. “Call them.
Tie me up, search me. Do whatever you have to do. I’m telling you, I’m
innocent.”

The
crazy thing was that Xavier was inclined to believe her.

“No
way.” It was like the bottom had dropped from underneath her. “You have got to
be kidding me. Please tell me this is a joke. No, don’t because it would be
pretty sick if it were.” Esral swallowed hard.

Xavier
slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. His warmth was so
reassuring that for just a second it felt like they were the only two people in
the room. Then she remembered that they were in Keto’s chamber and that both
her brother and York were in the room as well.

She
sucked in a breath, lifting her eyes to where Keto stood. His shoulders were
tense but he didn’t seem to care that Xavier was touching her. The tension in
his body was probably due to the events of the last few hours.

“No
joke,” Xavier’s deep voice washed over her. “No laughing matter. We had almost
given up searching Glendril’s chamber when York noticed that there was a loose
floorboard underneath her bed.” He paused. “It looked like some cheap drugstore
remedy. Glendril must’ve visited Sweetwater. The label promised all sorts of
fancy cures, which I’m pretty sure didn’t even work for the humans. That same
label also stated that it was infused with silver so it left no doubt in my
mind that she intended to slowly poison the king, making it look like he was
dying of an illness. It almost proved fatal for Katar.”

“At
least it explains why my father’s silver levels were so high. The healers had
assumed that he was more susceptible to the silver needles they were using to draw
his blood for testing. They blamed his illness for the heavy spikes in silver. Though
Lord Minogue had begun to suspect that there was something more sinister going
on.” Keto’s eyes were dark and stormy.

“You
say she confessed?” Esral asked.

York
nodded. “She sang like a little bird once we found a bottle of that stuff under
her bed. I’m pretty sure that’s why she tried to run. There were two bottles in
her cabinet, one had plain water and the other the silver infused stuff.” He
chuckled. “Seems like Gideon had her so rattled that she grabbed the wrong one
by mistake. Good thing too.”

Esral
nodded. “Why did she do it?” She couldn’t help it when her voice hitched. Her
dear father had come so close to dying.

Xavier
growled, his chest vibrating against her. “She said she wanted Keto to take the
throne with Cheri at his side. She hoped desperately that Cheri would stand up
for the plight of the elven females. Especially the lowborn ones. She was sick
of being a server, being used by the highborn, of being used by the males in
general. I’m sorry to say,” he paused. “She may have actually had a hard life
and I feel for her in that regard. I don’t think that she’s completely sane.
She had that look in her eye when she spoke of her plans. The female is nuts.”

York
snorted. “That’s for damned sure. She’s definitely not all there.”

“No
sane person would do such a thing.” Esral shook her head. “I can never excuse
what she’s done, but she is right about things needing to change.” Esral looked
Keto in the eyes.

Her
brother clenched his jaw for a long time before finally nodding. “You are right,
Esral. I will ensure that it happens.”

“Thank
you,” she whispered.

“It’s
not going to be easy and it’s not going to happen overnight.” His eyes stayed
on hers. “Don’t expect miracles. I will speak with father once he is well and
we will work towards creating a better society for all.”

Although
she moved away from the male at her side, she kept her fingers threaded with
Xavier’s. This time when she hugged Keto, he hugged her back.

“I’m
sorry I’ve been so pigheaded.” His voice was thick with emotion.

“Mmmm,”
Esral said through her smile. “I promise to forgive you if you stop doing it.”

By
the time Keto released her, he was smiling too. “I promise.”

“You
can start by finding that female that you haven’t been able to get out of your
mind all these years.”

“Which
female is that?” Xavier pulled her back into his arms.

“No
don’t!” Keto barked. “Leave it alone.”

“You
promised you wouldn’t be pigheaded.” She looked her brother in the eyes. “Keto
fell in love with a vampire female some years ago.” Esral blurted, even though Keto’s
eyes had narrowed on her.

“Who?”
She could hear that Xavier was smiling.

“It
doesn’t matter,” Keto growled. “It was a very long time ago.”

“Yeah,
you’re right,” Xavier said. “She’s probably mated by now anyway.”

“She
isn’t,” he growled.

Esral
noticed how possessive Keto became. How his hands fisted at his sides and his
jaw ticked.

“Well
then…” York stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Looks to me like
you’ve got nothing to lose.”

Keto
shook his head. “Just leave it alone.” His voice held a stern warning.

“If
you ever change your mind, you know where to find us.” Xavier pulled her
tighter against him as he spoke. “As you know, we’re trying to improve elf/vampire
relations. There would be no better way than if both royal siblings were to
mate with vampires.”

Keto
made a grunting noise. “I think I’ll enjoy my freedom and concentrate on running
things around here while my father regains his health.”

Esral’s
heart soared, the healers were pretty confident of her father’s prognosis now
that they knew exactly what had been causing his affliction. They said that the
slow poisoning had been going on for some time now and that it would take weeks
possibly even months for the silver to be released from his system, but he
would bounce back.

Keto’s
eyes turned grave. “About father… I’m not really sure how to tell you this.”
His eyes went from Esral’s up to Xavier’s and then back down to hers.

“What
is it?” Xavier’s chest vibrated as he spoke.

“Was
it something one of the healers said?” Esral gripped Xavier’s hand tightly and
he squeezed her back.

Keto
shook his head. “No, it’s nothing like that. Father indicated that he still
wanted to see you mated this afternoon. He doesn’t want the blossoming ceremony
delayed. I tried hard to talk him out of it.”

She
felt Xavier tense up behind her. The hand that held hers squeezed so tightly it
almost hurt and the arm that banded around her clung even more fiercely.“No
fucking way.” His voice was low, deadly.

“We’ll
talk with him,” Esral said. “All of us. I’m sure I will be able to convince him
to delay the ceremony. Once he’s in better health we can explain the situation
to him. I don’t think we can risk it right now, he’s still so sick.”

“Yeah.”
Keto shook his head, looking worried. “He’s really weak.”

****

As
much as he tried, Xavier could not take his eyes off of Esral. She wore a gown
of the most delicate silk. It clung to her body in ways a conservative garment
had no place doing. Baring a hint of cleavage, that had his mouth watering and
his dick twitching.

His
thoughts so ina-fucking-ppropriate it was scary.

Especially
considering her father seemed to be tracking him with one bloodshot eye.
Keeping that in mind, Xavier somehow managed to drag his gaze away from Esral and
onto the king.

Katar
still looked ill. His face held a grey tinge and his eyes were bloodshot. His
lips were cracked and dry. It was crazy how frail he had become and in such a
short time. His mouth trembled and his hands shook. Respect rose up inside him
for this male who must truly have had some will to survive, to still be here.
Xavier was sure that many hardened warriors would’ve perished if subjected to
the levels of poison that Glendril had administered.

Right
now he wished that that the old king would stop being so stubborn and just
agree to postpone the blossoming ceremony. It killed him to see York at the
princess’ side. Although the male stood close, Xavier noticed that he stayed just
out of touching range.
Damn fucking straight.

Esral
pulled up the covers more securely around her father. The look of sheer
happiness that graced her beautiful face was almost his undoing. He hoped to
get the chance to see her smiling like that every single day. Lord only knew
that he would work his damndest to put one there.

“Stop
with the mothering.” Katar tsk’d, his voice just as weak as he looked.

“Nonsense,
father,” Esral said through her smile. “You should be resting.” Her eyes landed
on Xavier for a brief second. A quick, sneaky glance from under her lashes. His
heart clenched inside him.

The
plan was to try to talk the king out of holding the ceremony right now and if
all else failed, they would explain the situation to him. Esral would not be
mating with York today or any other day. His hands clenched at his sides and he
had to will them to unfurl. Xavier rolled his shoulders, trying to ease some of
the tension.

He
only hoped that the old king listened. Although her brother was onboard with
the plan, both Keto and Esral wanted to avoid telling Katar if at all possible.
After seeing the king, Xavier could understand their concern. He was barely out
of the woods, his recovery would be long and arduous. The healers had warned
that he may never get fully back to his previous health. The silver had taken
its toll.

“I
want to see my daughter mated to the male she loves.” His eyes drooped shut for
a few seconds and for a moment Xavier thought that he had drifted to sleep, but
then Katar took a deep breath and his lids cracked back open. He blinked once
or twice. “I will not stand in the way of your happiness.”

“Father…”
Her voice held a stern edge. “I will be happy once you are resting. I am in no
rush.” Her lips were full and raspberry kissed. Her cheeks lightly flushed from
the heat of the fire that slowly crackled in the sealed furnace in the corner.
He would wait a lifetime to be with this female. Hell, he would follow her into
the afterlife if need be.

“Listen
to Esral, father.” Keto stepped forward. The male had taken up a place next to
York with Xavier on the opposite side of the bed. “Let’s give it a few days”—he
shrugged—“a week at the most. I’m sure that York will understand.”

His
elite warrior nodded. “Completely.” The male’s deep baritone voice filled the
room.

There
were beautiful flowers embroidered onto the bodice of her robe. Intricate and
delicate, much like Esral herself. Even the fine spun ties around her narrow
waist were exquisite in their design. His eyes roamed the length of her,
starting with the soft leather boots on her feet until finally locking with her
bright, blue orbs. She gave him a shy smile that hurt him from the need to be
at her side. Her teeth indented her full bottom lip as she bit down. His mouth
twitched in response. Just then, the old king turned to look at him stopping
the smile that had started to form.

It
was difficult to school his emotions when the female of his dreams was just a
few feet away and so very nearly in his grasp. He could almost feel her lush,
feminine curves in his hands.

“What
are your feelings about all of this?” Katar asked, his gaze never wavering from
Xavier. The male might be gravely ill but intelligence still shone within his
watery eyes.

Xavier
grit his teeth for a second. “I want whatever will make the princess happy.”
The
fucking truth.

Katar
nodded, seeming satisfied with his answer. Clasping his still trembling hands
over his lap, he turned back to Esral. “There will be a blossoming ceremony
today.” Katar’s voice was stronger than it had been in the longest time. “That
much I can say.”

A
vee formed between Esral’s eyes which widened up a whole lot. “But, father—”

“No
buts.” Katar put up a trembling hand.

Xavier
couldn’t help but to take a step forward, his eyes firmly on a distraught
Esral. Everything in him screamed to go to her, to comfort her.

“Please
listen, father.” Xavier could hear the concern in Keto’s voice.

Katar
reached for Esral’s hand. “Hush child.” He squeezed. “Let me finish.”

Xavier’s
heart raced at about a mile a fucking minute. His teeth were clenched so hard
he could taste the metallic tang of his own blood.

Esral’s
chest heaved, but she put on a brave face and nodded to her father.

Katar
kept his eyes locked with the princess’ so it was difficult to see what was
going on inside the king’s head. “I might be old but I’m no fool.” Xavier could
hear that Katar was smiling. The king shook his head. “Your mother would look
at me in a certain way and throughout the years I could always count on that special
look. The one that spoke of her love for me. It was the same look that I saved
especially for her. She was the light and love of my life.”

Esral
smiled, her eyes filled with unshed tears. Xavier had to look away for a few
seconds to restore the willpower that kept him from going to her and sweeping
her up in his arms. He needed this whole charade to be over with. That way, he
could give her the comfort she needed, be there for her.