Betrayals of Spring (Forever Fae #2)(32)
By the time we reach our destination, there are about twenty of my warriors surrounding something or someone up ahead. Ashur comes running toward Meliantha and falls down to his knees at her feet, pleading.
“She killed someone, Princess, or at least her body did. I know for a fact it wasn’t actually her that did it. You have to help her!”
He gets to his feet and turns to me, “She would never hurt anyone, Prince Kalen. It wasn’t her that did it, and I know this because…”
“Kalen!” I turn to see Breena running toward us and she throws herself in my arms. Aki growls at my feet and bares his teeth while snapping at her.
“Stop it, Aki!” I hiss.
I gently push her away and her eyes go wide and she gasps in bewilderment. She looks angry and shocked when she surveys my newly changed body.
The moment is over quickly and she screams loudly, “She killed Darius! That heartless Summer bitch killed him and I saw it. I saw everything!” Meliantha starts toward Breena looking angry and ready to kill, so I hold my arm out to hold her back. Her face is blazing red and I know that if I let Meliantha have her way with Breena there is no way she would come out alive.
I whisper softly to Meliantha, “Calm down, my love.” She’s breathing hard, but my soft words catch her attention. She gazes into my eyes and eventually nods in compliance. I can tell it’s taking a great effort for her to back away. It looks like she has grown quite a temper in the last five years.
I recall Ashur never finishing what he said. so I turn to him and ask curiously, “What were you saying, Ashur, when you were interrupted? You said you think what?”
Ashur looks at Breena with a hate-filled gaze and then back to me.
“I said I don’t think it was Elissa that killed your fae. The reason why I know this is because she said something before she collapsed, or might I say the dark sorcerer said something before he left her body. His exact words were ‘I was just having a little fun, Guardian. Give Meliantha my best and tell her I will see her soon.’ I know that isn’t something Elissa would say.” Ashur pauses and then continues, “She was also holding an iron dagger.”
Meliantha grabs my hand and squeezes.
“I believe him, Kalen. I saw her earlier dancing with a young man and her eyes didn’t look right. They looked…evil. It had to have been him in her body the whole time.”
“Well, then you’re just as guilty for this murder as she is,” Breena hisses while pointing in the direction where, I assume, Elissa is being held.
“You were too busy being a whore and stealing my prince to care about anything or anyone else, right?”
Everything happens so quickly and I couldn’t have stopped it if I tried. Meliantha’s fist flies hard and swift, connecting with Breena’s face in a loud sounding crunch. By the sound of the hit, I would have to say Breena’s nose is broken along with other bones in her face. Her blood sprays across the white snow and she lands hard in a heap on the ground. She deserves it, and I don’t feel a shred of sympathy for her either.
I grab the closest warrior to give him orders.
“Take Breena to her quarters. I want her packed and gone by morning.”
Breena jumps to her feet, blood running down her face, and wails, “But she’s the one who hit me! This is all her fault, and she needs to be locked up with her friend and executed.”
Silence has descended upon the crowd and they’re all looking at me. I have had enough of her mouth, and if she wasn’t a female, she would already be laid out on the ground preparing for punishment.
I clench my hands into fists and through gritted teeth I hiss, “If you don’t shut the hell up right now, I’m going to send you out of the palace immediately. Be thankful your father is on the council or else you would have already been gone. Do me a favor and get the hell out of my sight.”
I nod my head at the warrior, and with a firm grip he takes hold of Breena’s arm and prepares to haul her toward the palace. Her look is menacing as she stares back and forth from Meliantha to me.
Her voice sounds hateful when she sneers, “You’re going to pay for this...both of you.”
The warrior drags her away and I watch as she is escorted to the palace. The laugh she expels makes the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. Something isn’t right about her and it hasn’t been for a very long time. I just never could figure out what it was.
I command the warriors to step aside, and once Elissa comes into view, Meliantha runs straight to her. She is still passed out on the ground and not moving. Her hand looks misshapen and deformed from the poison of the iron dagger. In time it will heal, but her hand will remain badly scarred. I walk over to Meliantha and I kneel down on the ground beside her. She takes off her red, silky gloves and places them on the ground beside Elissa. I wonder what she plans on doing. I look her in the eyes and she brings her finger to her lips as a silent gesture for me to stay quiet. I nod my head in compliance and she closes her eyes. She picks up a fallen glove and begins wrapping Elissa’s hand in it. Each second she’s touching Elissa’s bare hand I see the tissues forming back together and healing before my eyes. How can this be? I have never heard of a fae having healing capabilities like this.
By the time she’s finished wrapping Elissa’s hand, her skin is completely back to normal and not misshapen at all. But why would she keep this a secret? As soon as we are alone, I plan to ask her.