The Foxling Soldati (Soldati Hearts #2)(6)
Ezra dashed through the door, his face flushed. His grim expression didn’t bode well. The quiet, gentle healer was never flustered, and although he often appeared contemplative, he was rarely anxious. Ezra was the least likely to be caught unawares, seeing as how the Soldati Eye flowed through him. He was the voice of the all-seeing, all-powerful Eye, which was why any concern of Ezra’s became a concern for Khalon.
Khalon straightened, his eyebrows drawn together. “What is it?”
Ezra stopped before Khalon’s desk and handed him what looked like a royal message, judging by the wax seal. Khalon quickly took it. The study was silent as Khalon opened the letter and read it. The only movement in the room came from Toka as he finished serving Adira her tea, then moved on to serve Ezra.
“Blasted hell.” Khalon released a heavy sigh, tossing aside the letter. “King Pavoni is requesting a visit to our realm. He would like to bring the prince and princess with him. If accepted, they would be here in two days.”
Rayner’s blood turned to ice, and he gritted his teeth. The day had started out so well. He supposed it was only a matter of time.
Riley blinked at Khalon. “Who’s King Pavoni, and why don’t we like him?”
“King Pavoni is from the Kingdom Dell’Orso, our neighbors to the west,” Khalon informed Riley as he removed a sheet of parchment from his desk drawer.
“Orso?” Riley looked thoughtful. “That means bear, right?”
Khalon nodded. “The Orsos date back nearly as far as the Soldati and possess magic similar to our own. They were once honorable bear warriors and our greatest allies.”
“Were?”
“Several decades after I was crowned king of the Soldati by my father, Pavoni became king of Dell’Orso. Rumor has it he killed his father for the crown, but an investigation yielded no evidence of this. He has ruled the Kingdom of Dell’Orso since, with his sister, Princess Verity, and their youngest brother, Prince Merlo, at his side.”
Rayner scoffed. “King Pavoni is an arrogant, greedy bastard who believes everyone should kiss his boots. He doesn’t merely allow his warriors to behave in a deplorable manner—he encourages it. He takes what he wants and treats his servants like slaves and playthings. It’s disgusting.”
“Rayner,” Khalon warned gently. He lifted his eyes from his letter to meet Rayner’s gaze.
Rayner cleared his throat. “Forgive me. There is no love lost between us.”
Riley frowned, puzzled, and Khalon let out a sigh.
“Pavoni wished to unite our kingdoms through marriage. As I was destined to mate with a Soldati prince, that left Rayner as the next most powerful Soldati. Pavoni suggested—”
“Insisted,” Rayner corrected.
“Insisted,” Khalon acquiesced, “that Rayner marry Prince Merlo.”
“But you didn’t love him?” Riley offered.
Love? The question perplexed Rayner for a moment. Then he remembered Riley had lived among humans who chose their mates. Not everyone was so lucky. Rayner fortunately had some say in who he wed, due to his rank. He frowned deeply. “Worse than that. If I agreed to the marriage, Merlo would have power within the Soldati Realm through me, which would mean Pavoni would have power over the Soldati because Merlo is his puppet. Merlo has never had a singular thought of his own in his life. Pavoni isn’t interested in uniting our kingdoms. He wants power. I wasn’t about to give the bastard control over me or the Soldati.” Thankfully, Khalon had agreed with Rayner on all accounts.
“What happened?” Riley asked, eyes wide. “I’m guessing he didn’t take the rejection well.”
Khalon sat back with a sigh. “Pavoni is known for getting his way, always. So no, he did not take it well. Especially when someone below his station tells him he would rather, um—” Khalon winced. “—get sucked off by a demon and have his cock rot off than marry Prince Merlo.”
Toka coughed into his hand, clearly an attempt to keep from laughing. Riley had no such luck, and he was soon in tears from laughing so hard. Khalon was trying desperately to keep his frown in place, but Riley’s laughter was obviously making it difficult, and Khalon’s lips twitched up in the corners.
“Oh my God, Rayner, you said that?” Riley wiped a tear from his eye. “The dude must have been so pissed off.”
“That would be an understatement,” Khalon informed him. “As you can imagine, Pavoni has held a great deal of contempt for Rayner since that day.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Rayner muttered.
“I don’t suppose we can just say no, huh?” Riley asked hopefully.
Khalon shook his head. “Doing so would only provoke Pavoni, and I’m afraid we cannot afford to lose our alliance with the Orso. The demons are growing in number, and with every passing day, the wards deteriorate more and more, allowing an increased number of demons to slip into the human world. The Soldati are struggling as it is.” Khalon ran a hand through his hair, releasing a heavy sigh. “The Orso have been at war with many kingdoms. If we were to become one of those kingdoms, it would leave both our world and the human world exposed. We almost lost the human world once to demons. I won’t allow that to happen again.”
“When was this?” Riley asked, concern filling his kind eyes.
“Humans refer to it as the Black Death.”