Page 32 of Royal Lies

From the corner of my eyes, I watched as the girl's cheeks got rather bigger as the seconds passed. A light chuckle now and then passed her lips like a breeze flowing past an open window, barely noticed by anyone not focusing on her.

As I have mentioned time and time again the girl was bizarre.

What was there to laugh about?

The king blinked, puzzled.

Keeping my emotions caged I tried thinking over the conversation. In hindsight it was brilliant. The boy already knows the king doesn't trust us, having my brother confirm our exist- ence meant shit. Not after what the king said next. So in pleading ignorance the boy not only acknowledged that our titles as ambassadors were a farce to hide that we were really just the help but, it also helped make the king believe the possibility. In more blatant terms he also bought us more time. Still, a few weeks wasn't much. What’s more for what? Why a few weeks? Was his plan always just to buy time? And why did my brother confirm our identity if the king was already suspicious, unless-.

It had to be a test by the Winter King, for my brother to have him confirm our identities. In doing so my brother would show where his alliance stood. So then why did my brother not rat us out? Wouldn't he know that by agreeing with us he'd be dooming himself? And why did the king need my brother's allegiance?

Unless. I looked over to the king. His ice-cold blue gaze stared down at his son, speaking words too incoherent for my ears.

My brother seemed to be the only one to realize the small realization I had. A small nod was all I needed. As much as I hated the man, he was my brother and the only man who could read me. Calming my breaths I narrowed my gaze on my brother. He knows something.

Something the boy, girl, and I have no clue of. But what? Would he tell me?

As we left the room and the enormous iced doors slammed shut, I dragged my brother into another room. Ensuring our privacy first I scanned the room with magic. You never know who could be watching and listening even if it wasprivate.

"What in the name of gods’ are you planning?" I started narrowing my gaze on the man in blood.

The King of Blood and Fire, the Murder of Thousands, King of Blood and Shadow, he went by many names, was called many names, and all names he deserved for the masses he had killed. My brother smiled leaning against the ice beam decorated in all shades of sapphires beside him.

"I don't have a clue what you could be claiming." My brother said, smiling like a cat. He was practically preening for attention.

Despite the blood and horror behind his deep red tourmaline eyes most girls still fell for his looks and charm. Call it the bad boy phobia or whatever those humans dubbed my brother’s persona. I always rolled my eyes at how easily those women swooned over his shoulder-length brown hair. It wasjusthair.Our parents had always called us complete opposites yet both the same.

Our appearance for one was like looking at a sweet blueberry and sour raspberry. Whereas he had brown waves like our fathers, mine was the spitting image of the purple strands like our mothers. My brother inherited everything from looks to personality from our father. Except I supposed his eyes had changed from garnet to tourmaline.

I, on the other hand, took after our mother the most: her nose, her hair, her waves, and her galaxy blue, purple, and black eyes. Most say that's why my father married my mother, for her eyes, her eyes that can see the whole universe and the time that flies.

I think my parents were made for one another. But, not in the sweet charming way most people would fall in love with. They were both corrupted, and insane. It only makes sense their kids grew up just as twisted as they were. Both me and my brother hated them. We hated the looks that reminded us of them, the two who brought us into this messed-up world of bargains and glamour.

"Don't lie." I hissed as I cast a bubble of my magic around me, oozing out like tar. It was so our voices wouldn't be heard. Whenever me and my brother talked it was never quite, to say the least. And I don't intend for this one to be either.

My brother frowned. The curl of his self-assured grin twisted upside down as he sighed. He never liked my choices in life after what he did to me, after what he did to my lover. I'd taken up dark magic, to be more exact I submitted to spells and potions not the natural magic in our bodies but those of the dead. Those of the witches. Perhaps that's why my magic can't fully function. When I used to use normal fae spells and ruins my magic was still plenty enough I could honestly call myself aROYAL. Not anymore now and I wouldn't change it. No one else knows aboutthis side of me but my brother and Flynn. That's why I couldn't use it with those blond freaks near me.

Flicking his hands my brother's flaming magic coasted across my own. Vanishing both types of magic in the blink of an eye. We never could fight with one another, our magics always canceled each other out. Mother and father believed it was because we were supposed to be one person but somehow split into two. But it's not like we were twins. I was seven sun cycles younger.

"Lies? I have never lied in my life, at least not to you. Besides, fae can't lie." He rolled his eyes as he pushed off the beam. His tailored black suit and elegantly puff tie wrapped around his neck in a gentle caress, as if even the tie had fallen for his charms.

Gritting my teeth I seethed through my flaring nostrils. "Never? Never lied to me you say? You killed my lover after assuring me no harm would come to me!" I felt the cool slimy magic called from the depths of the ground surge into my palms and arms. In a second my limps had turned into thick slimy tentacles as I wrapped them around my brother's ankles. He always was the only one who could get me to lose my control, to drop my emotionless act.

With a sneer on his lip and a roll of his eyes, my magic dissipated into small flecks of ash coating the air around us as if singed by his fires.

"I didnotlie. I didn't hurtyou, did I?" Lucarious growled as he inched closer to me, reaching a hand to caress my face. And where once I might have found comfort in the action. The warmth of his tanned sienna skin against my own, burned. Reminding me of what I could never have. What he took from me.

"You killed him!" Red blurred my vision as I batted his hands away.

"I did, but I didnotharm you, dear sister." He reiterated as he huffed out a breath of warm air as if I was the one who had hurt him so many years ago.

"Just because you didn't lay a hand on me doesn't mean you didn't hurt me, brother." I glared against the narrowing swirl of black I saw reflected back at me from my brother.

"You will heal. To think after all these years you still cling to that man as ifhewas something worthy of your attention." My brother scoffed playing with his gold garnet cuffs. As if my love was nothing but words on a piece of paper.

"Youkilled him!Iloved him with all my heart! I begged you, and you ended his life right in front of me!" I spat the words still gutting my chest as the memory assaulted me. I tried to flick away the tears to banish them, but one still managed to slip past me.

"I hate you, more than the remnants of our parents," I spat, turning to leave having achieved nothing. But I couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't not mentally anyway.

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