Page 53 of Royal Lies

I frowned, lifting my chin, "And what of it, not everyone is as skilled as I."

Scoffing Lucarious shook his head. Before staring at me a boisterous laugh boomed from his chest. "You know I've had my suspicions, I mean you are the great Eli, with all his prestige and proper etiquette, his loyalty to family and blood, yet... why is it that I felt your rage roaring off you like the rivers of fire in the Spring court from miles away? Tell me, does she know that you have your memories back? That little show you put on really had me for a loop but let's face it the Everetta we know would never ever go near my sister without killing her. Which means either the both of you don't have your memories or only she doesn't, and I only assume this because well, you are Eli. That and no reincarnation spell I've seen completely removes your memories, at least not the most crucial ones, the ones that hold the most trauma so to speak. What my sister did to Everetta, well, that certainly would be a core memory don't you think so? If Ev ever did cast that reincarnation spell she certainly wouldn't have chosen to wipe herownmemories which means onlyonething, Ellie." Lucarious ranted, hanging all his thoughts out to dry. His eyes gleamed with victory as shards of ice covered the ground and my blood began to freeze over in my veins.

Lucarious's eyes slowly trailed down at his frost-covered loafers, a slight sneer on his lips before a beaming smile, agrin as devilish as the demon lord himself graced his face. "She doesn't know. Does she? Should I go tell her?" He asked his back already turning thumb pointed towards the entry.

In my haste to stop him, I'd cast an ice wall. "Don't you fucking dare!" I bellowed as I enclosed us in an ice dome.

Lucarious turned, smiling as he shrugged. "Fine." Popping up a flaming chair for his comfort he smiled. It was burning away some of my ice leaving a small singed patch below him.

This was not good. It was never good when he smiled like that. Why do I get a feeling that what he wants isn't going to be at all to my liking? And that he knows more than I wish for him to know. Growling I barked out, "What do you want?"

Lucarious smile beaming like the devil he was. I could see the obsidian horns sprouting from his head, "Oh, nothing too big, just a little modification to the bargains we made yesterday. You and Everettawillhelp me in regards to my status as king, and in return, I won't tell her about your little secret and of course of our dear little Flynn's situation. Though I suppose he shouldn't be called Flynn now, should he? What's more, who knows if the real deal is even alive." He chuckled as if this was all some fucking game to him!

I gritted my teeth trying with all my life to come up with a different plan. After all, no bargain could be so easily spoken. What leverage did I have against this bastard? Damn it. Damn it all to the shadows. No, no there is one thing. It'll be a stretch but- "Tell her then. I was going to tell her the truth anyway," I fibbed. Not wrong, I was going to inform Everetta of Flynn's situation, just not now. But he didn't need to know what I was referring to with those words, whether it be in regards to the memories or about Flynn.

"However, I must warn you, she is a bit unstable at the moment and we both know what would happen if she were to ever find out about him. She's destroyed everything once, shecan do it again. If she were to regain her memories now she wouldn't be able to handle it, and as you've mentioned we don't know if he's even alive." I continued trying to play on his feelings for Everetta. Lucarious only cocked a brow. Bloody hell, so much for that play.

Damn it! As much as I hated to admit it Everetta was always the better scammer, she came up with the bargains, the chips that we could play, the dirt that we had at our disposal.

"Oh, and why should I care? If he's truly dead in this life, then I could just-" Lucarious began before he clutched his heart, his nails dug into his flesh as if trying to rip his own heart out. I frowned. Was there an attack?

Sharpening my hearing I listened to the silent air outside the dome. Nothing. So what was going on? Hunching over Lucarious began coughing up blood. Gripping his chest as blood spattered across the sandy white snow like pink pearls falling from a necklace. I frowned, rushing towards him. Kneeling beside him I tried to examine his body for any traces of magic being cast, for what spell it might have been, only to find a whole assortment of magic and curses, potions, and poisons, already stitched into his very soul.

"I-I relent, I relent! I fucking relent! She's yours, for gods' sake, just stop!" He bellowed, his desperate words echoing into the air as if beseeching some unseen gods. Though I never believed in them. It appears I should perhaps rearrange my thinking as it seemed to have worked for Lucarious.

My mind raced, attempting to comprehend the events unfolding before me when a sudden recollection of my little brother's ominous words flooded my thoughts.

“So long as I live, he will feel my pain if he ever so dares to take even a single look at her, my love, my dear Everetta. He'll know what suffering truly means. If he even dares to lay a singlefinger or speak a single word for her, I will see to it that he longs for death.”

During one of my rare ventures into his study or so-calledlab, I had witnessed him casting this curse. I made the mistake of inquiring about the curse's details and how in the world he got the magic to perform such a feat, only to earn a small innocent smile back as if he was merely orchestrating a pleasant picnic, "Oh, nothing you need to know, dear brother, just that I'll finally be at peace."

The bottle containing the poison had cracked that very moment as if it too was feeling the mind-numbing chill in the air. In response, I did what any sane fae would do—I hastily grabbed the book I was looking for and rushed out of that bloody hell hole.

Returning to the present day, I observed as Lucarious rose, glaring at the blood that stained the retreating ice, "Well, I guess that solves that question." He spat.

Indeed, it did. My brother was alive, though his identity remained a mystery. A victorious smile played on my lips, for only my little brother knew of a way to craft a potion so deeply woven into a soul.

I now held the leverage I needed to manipulate a bargain in my favor. I only hope my little brother isn't too angry with me if he were to hear of what I will do and have done. But we are brothers... right?

Chapter 17

Lucarious

Fuming from my conversation with Eli I hurled my wine glass across the room shattering the ancient blue vase by the corner. Not waiting for the millions of tiny glass shards to fall I was already sending papers flying over the small desk.

"You lied to me!" I bellowed into the eerie silence.

I wasn't even sure if this so-called fae could hear me.

If what he said to me before was true, then he must have been watching us. Doesn't that mean he should be able to see me now?

"Yousaid this would work!Yousaid he would give in!" I bellowed hearing the echoes of my voice in the quiet room.

Silence.

Then a sudden frost froze the air not so much like that of Eli's wintery cold but more like the empty warmth of shadows. Those abominations always gave me the chill.

"Relax," the voice hissed with a hint of amusement. I could practically see the Cheshire grin behind his words. It made the air feel ten times thicker and annoyingly more suffocating. Glaring at nothing I observed the curtains dancing to an unseen rhythm. The windows were closed so it made no sense that the curtains should be flying around like leaves in the wind.

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