Page 62 of Kingdom of Crowns and Daggers

I feel her tight channel clamp around my fingers as her cream drips from her, her legs shaking as she comes.

I drink in every inch of her release, memorizing it. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful, and I know I could die a happy man right now.

She finally slumps back into the wood building, and I slide my fingers free of her channel as she watches me with a bewildered look.

I have to force myself to step back, leaving her there. She looks more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her, and it makes it difficult to breathe. For a moment, I allow myself to be weak and throw down the flag in a truce.

Licking my fingers, I groan at the taste of her cream. It’s so sweet, my teeth ache, and I know I’ll never taste anything as incredible ever again. Her eyes flash with want as she watches me, and it takes every inch of my strength not to throw her to the ground and have my wicked way with her.

“I do like fighting with you, Alyx, even if you’re not my enemy,” I admit, and her mouth parts slightly. “It’s so . . . sweet,” I murmur as I suck my fingers before grinning. “Your king is safe . . . for now.”

I disappear before I make her mine for all to see, just as yells emerge from the building about a body being found.

I cannot help but chuckle. Busy indeed.

Chapter

Thirty-Three

JOHA

Idon’t have to feign my surprise as I stare at my advisors and the captain of the city guard in wide-eyed shock. My meeting room is full of people, all of them looking as horrified as I am at the news he just relayed to us. The fact that he came all this way to inform me personally should have warned me that something serious had occurred. Usually, any information from the city guards would be passed through my guards and advisors, not given as an in-person report.

Perhaps I misheard the captain, as there is no way anything on this scale would happen. Things like this don’t just transpire in the Uppers, and certainly not the palace. My mind is spinning, my thoughts tripping over each other as I try to formulate an acceptable response. The advisors are all looking at me. For once, they have lost their haughty attitudes and seem to be frozen in horror. After all, it was one of them who was murdered.

“What?” The question slips out of my mouth, making me sound as dumb as they believe me to be. I heard him the first time. I just can’t comprehend it.

Even so, the captain clears his throat and repeats himself. “Lord Beaumont was found murdered, and his house was set aflame. We believe his family and staff were burned alive in the fire and that it was started on purpose.”

My throat constricts painfully, and I reach for my glass of water. The cool liquid does nothing to take away the feeling, and I am no closer to knowing how to respond to this.

Leaning forward in her chair on my left, Alyx clears her throat delicately, placing her hands lightly on the table’s edge. “Are you sure they are all dead? There is no way they could have escaped?” she asks quietly, her words strained and face pained at the very thought of innocents dying.

She’s a good actress.

The captain looks awkward, not wanting to talk of death and murder in front of both Queen Mother and my betrothed, but I give a sharp nod of my head, indicating for him to go ahead.

“We have found bodies, Your Majesty. All of which fit the descriptions we were given of the victims.”

Unlike most of my meetings, Alyx’s presence was requested due to the seriousness of the situation. I’m surprised they came to this decision by themselves. I assumed I would have to force the issue to have her attend. Perhaps they are realising they cannot shut both of us out.

However, the situation is unprecedented. Not only was Lord Beaumont and his family killed, but A’lan Wrynn was found dead in the bathing house in the palace. Here, on guarded palace grounds. All of us feel on edge and vulnerable. The palace is supposed to be the safest and most guarded area in the land, yet several attempts on my life have occurred, and now this.

“The house was set alight in the early hours yesterday morning.” The captain glances around the room as he speaks. “I would have come to inform you then,” he continues. “However, it took us an entire day to get the fire under control. It required all of us as we tried to stop it from spreading to other properties. Because of this, I was unable to spare even a guard to tell you. As soon as I felt it was safe, I came straight here.”

He clearly knows how to handle disgruntled nobles, as well as preempting the questions I could feel bubbling up around me. He’s a good captain of the city guard. My advisors like to be the first to know what’s happening in the city, so the fact that the house was burned and they are only just learning of it a day later is not acceptable to them. However, when he explained the situation as he did, it is impossible to be mad at him.

Orion told me that this captain was good when he was promoted, and I see now that he was right. He put the welfare of others before bowing and scraping to the Crown.

There is still quiet grumbling in the room, although as I glance around, it is impossible to tell who is making the noise. If anyone tries to berate the captain for his actions, then I’m going to snap. I’m too exhausted for that sort of nonsense.

First thing this morning, I was disturbed by Orion barging his way into my rooms. I didn’t sleep much thanks to my midnight rendezvous with Alyx. While it had been my intention to get a little rest beside her, as soon as she fell asleep, I found myself watching her. When she sleeps, her guard is down and her face is beautiful. She looks younger, less fierce, and it made me wonder what she would have been like if her life had turned out differently.

When the sun started to rise, I snuck back to my palace and into my rooms, Orion dutifully guarding me. I hoped to get a few hours of sleep before I was disturbed, but it seems that the gods had other plans for me. My head of the guard strode into my room and told me something terrible happened, which is how I ended up here, at the head of the meeting table with Alyx at my side and all of my advisors staring at me.

Firstly, they told me about A’lan Wrynn. All of the advisors already seemed to know, but Queen Mother looked surprised. It was only as we were discussing how someone had snuck past the guards and into the palace to kill him in the first instance when there was a knock at the door.

It was the captain of the city guard.

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