"I suggest we increase military presence in the kingdom," Jean declares after a long, mostly silent walk down the spiral steps leading to the dungeon. Godric and Anselm follow behind us, Godric excited to see how I will interrogate our would-be assassin, and Anselm so angry over what happened to Gisela that I dare think he believes she is his family instead of mine. "Soldiers in every city, duchy, township, you name it. Maybe even one member of the kingsguard as well to oversee the flushing out of these vermin."

Jean is more frightened than he is angry, since this assassin was hired by him, inadvertently. It was his insistence to choose the best dressmaker in the northern city rather than just waiting for the one from Goldstone with better references. When a man showed up claiming to be the dressmaker's equally talented son, he believed him.

I suppose I can blame myself as well. When the man showed up claiming the dress I wanted for Gisela was already completed, I did not question it. I was far too eager to please Edeva, like a damn dog. But the information given to me by Kwenthrith makes no sense.

Why Gisela? How many people even know she is related to Eva outside the castle? Why would anyone attack her. To get at me?

Well, I am about to find out what is going on. Thankfully Kwenthrith left the man alive, though I need to have a word with her and Lady Aelfort about keeping her mage powers a secret from me.

I snort at that. How hypocritical... I kept my own secrets from Eva and yet I want to punish her ladies maid for doing the same? It is different with me, though. I am the king and therefore allowed to choose what I do and do not divulge to my people. I probably would have kept Kaz a secret as long as I could had he not decided to take me over when he did.

Then again, who can Eva trust in her new home if not me?

"And here is the dirty bastard," Jean calls out as we arrive in front of the cell. I share a look at Jean and Godric.

"You all may leave. I wish to speak to this man in private. Well, mostly private." The man's cell is not closed off with a door, but rather metal bars. The man has an iron collar about his neck with a chain leading to the nearest wall. His wrists are cuffed behind his back, making it quite difficult to stop Sebastian from hitting him in the face.

Bash's core abilities involve his strength. He is only using a fraction of magic through his fist but it is enough to send the man flying across the room. The only thing stopping him from hitting the bars is the collar, and I smile at the choking sound he makes as the chain pulls taut and he falls to the ground. This is good practice for Bash.

"Shall I hit him again, your highness?" Bash queries.

"No, I need him to be able to speak." Blood drips from the assassin's mouth and on to his now dirtied white shirt.

Jean seems relieved. The fact that I am allowing him to leave instead of Godric shoving him in another cell lets him know I am aware this was not his doing. Godric is disappointed he does not get to see what happens. Anselm, however, does not follow them back up the stairs.

"If it pleases you, I would stay, your highness." He says. "I wish to see the man who hurt my friend."

"So be it." Anselm's love for the girl is admirable. I look to the assassin and tsk as Anselm and I enter the cell. "I take it your real name is not Thomas Webster, son of Maeve Webster?"

The man spits some blood out in front of him as Bash pulls him unsteadily to his feet. "No."

"I would ask your real name, but it does not matter. I don't care who you are, but I do have some questions for you." I begin to pace in front of him. He is short; I am two heads taller than he is, and he's older, too. Not what I would picture as an assassin. If anything, that makes him better at his job.

"You wanna know why I did it?" He looks me straight in the eyes, almost defiantly. Almost. He wants to be unruly and annoying and yet it seems almost forced. Bash backhands the man for his insolence.

"First I want to know why her specifically. When I requested that dress, I never said the relation between the girl and the queen. Are you even aware you tried to poison the queen's sister rather than the queen herself?"

"Tried to? You mean it didn't work?"

"Gisela Hunter is alive and being cared for. The head maid is a mage healer. I admit, if you were going after the queen, I do want to know why you did not stop Gisela from putting on the dress, or did you assume she was just a member of the queen's household and no one important?"

"I am aware of who she is. She is the queen's beloved step sister."

Anselm frowns. "So it was not a case of the wrong woman going in to the dress, you really did mean to kill Gisela."

"Yes, your grace. Gisela was the target."

I try to remain calm, hiding my sneer, although the collected mask I wear cracks slightly. Anselm is less composed. He grabs the man by his collar and hisses at him "She is sixteen! She is a child! How could you!?"

I do not bother trying to stop Anselm from shaking the fellow. "Perhaps you were sent on behalf of someone after Eldislav, her father? Does he have some sort of debt to some people that I should know about?I will settle the debt if need be, if I do not kill the debt holders first. If they knew Gisela's relation to Eva, and therefore her relation to me, they could have confronted me."

Once Anselm lets go of the man, he stumbles back and leans against the wall. "Your highness, no one in their right mind would come to you asking for money. You are a tyrant."

I roll my eyes. "Yes yes, I am quite the tyrant. I would not have helped them, just killed them. But what your employers think to accomplish by attacking my family instead? I have thwarted every assassination attempt on my life since I was seventeen. There have been plenty. Is that why you went after Gisela instead? Because I am untouchable?"

"It was to send a message. Not to you but to the queen."

Bash goes to hit him again for not answering my question, but I stop him. Anselm looks between us, brows furrowed.

"To send a message... to the queen?"

My eyes begin to glow, I can feel it. I give one glance to Bash, and he can see my facade shattering. Without needing a cue, he grabs the assassin with one hand and lifts him in to the air by his neck, pushing him up against the wall. I walk right over and press my palm against his chest, staring at my trembling hand for a moment before meeting the shocked man's stare.

"I will light you on fire from the inside out if you do not tell me this 'message' you mean to send to the queen. Right now."

The assassin kicks his legs out, clawing at Bash's hand. I give him a few moments to dangle there and choke until I order Bash to loosen his grip, and adjust him so he has the man by the shoulders instead. He takes several breaths before he finally speaks.

"The Queen was put on that throne to stop your reign of blood, your countless executions against innocent people, and to eliminate your undead army... So far she has done none of these things. She needs to know the people are angry, and the people want change. Who I am aligned with in particular does not matter. All the various rebel groups feel the same way."

I raise my eyebrow. The fact that it sounds so damned rehearsed would confuse me if I was not angered twice over by the message itself. "She has been by my side less than a month and that is not long enough for you? You vermin want her to implement major changes to my reign, to the point of wanting her to convince me to give up my Legio Mortis, and you were hoping she could do all of that in the span of, what, a week? And was she ever made aware of all these demands put upon her by you?"

"We should not need to give the specifics of her duty. She was supposed to be on our side!"

The rage inside me is so hot, perhaps I am the one who will combust. Yes, the purpose of our marriage was to appease the rebels, to make them believe I am not all as bad as they think I am... but that was it. And while she has done her due diligence to calm my bloodlust for the sake of my people, apparently I was not vocal enough about it for these people.

How foolish were we to ever think these rebels could be dealt with in any way but through violence?

"This makes no sense," Anselm says as he comes up next to me. "There is no way any rebels would do that. I have dealt with them for years, and they would never go so far as to murder a little girl even if she is related to Alekso. What is the real reason? Tell us the truth. Tell us who sent you and why, and your honesty will spare you indescribable pain."

The assassin shakes his head. "I do the Lord's work."

Bash drops the man as I take several steps back. "Commander Anselm, I understand you think you know what goes on inside a rebel's mind, but do not forget that these people supported Henry, the man who murdered little boys to eliminate my bloodline. These are not reasonable people... that is why they must be destroyed like the rats they are."

I hold my hand out, summoning Kaz's dark magic. This man needs to burn nice and slowly for what he tried to do. The insult of hurting Gisela, in the castle no less, right under my nose, is enough to warrant this. Make this last, Kaz.

The man watches with wide eyes as I extend my hand in front of him. But... nothing happens.

I raise an eyebrow. Kaz, you know what to do.

Nothing.

"Your highness?" Bash says quietly after a good 30 seconds of me standing there pointing at the prisoner like an idiot.

Kazaxon, sometime today would be nice.

No.

I blink a few times. ...No?

That is what I said.

What do you mean no?

I mean no, Alekso, I am not going to burn the man for you.

A snarl escapes me. "And why the fuck not?" I say out loud. Anselm and Bash do not look confused, but the assassin sure does.

Because you are not going to let me see her again.

Oh, are you fucking serious, Kaz? You are still angry that I am going to block you from Eva? You scared her half to death! You cannot just show yourself to a woman like that, not especially my woman.

Our woman! She is mine as much as she is yours! And if you will not let me see her, then I will not burn the little man. Or anyone, for that matter. In fact, this is a breech of our deal, is it not?

Don't you dare, Kaz!

You will get nothing from me, Alekso. Not until I have her.

I want to know why Kaz would let a woman come between us, but I somewhat understand. Eva is not just any woman, after all... Still, I did make a promise to her. Like a petulant child, I block Kaz again and slam my fist in to the assassin's nose, watching him slump against the wall and slide down.

"We are leaving," I say to Bash and Anselm as I storm out of the cell. "Let him rot here for a little bit before I decide how I am going to kill him."

***

I do not see Edeva for very long over the next few days. She is still angry at me for lying to her, and so she does not share my bed. I have several guards posted at her door and Kwenthrith stays in her chambers with her now. I have elevated Kwenthrith to be Eva's personal body guard, and Gisela her ladies maid. I can't punish Kwen after saving Gisela and Eva's lives, though wearing the heavy armor of a kingsguard until armor better suited for her body size is finished can be punishment enough.

All the punishment... Kaz is getting his, too. I know I cannot stop him from taking over unless I block him first, and I cannot block him for long periods of time. At least Kaz has not made any attempts to force himself to the forefront and seek Eva out. I think he finds cutting me off from his power and draining me of my strength is a better idea. I suppose it has worked out that my time with Eva is shortened considerably. I would rather her not see me arguing in my head with Kaz.

This, of course, is not helping that whole 'keep Alekso calm' demand by the rebels. My sexual appetite has not decreased from Eva being mad at me. If anything, I just crave her more. No woman in her right mind has ever refused me, and one would think that she of all people would be too frightened to consider displeasing me. I did kill her father and force her in to hiding, after all. But that seems to make her bolder. She refuses to look at me as an enemy, and certainly not as the king of her country. To her, I am her mean old husband that will not get his cock wet until she decides. My poor, poor cock.

I would try to hide my smile when we are in the throne room. She hass till been sitting in my lap because her throne is not ready yet, but she treats me as though I have been demoted to nothing more than her personal chair. I love it. I love the sass when I set my hand on her thigh and she smacks my face with the trumpet of her sleeve, or when she talks over me when we grant an audience with a courtier she does not particularly like. Considering most of them were against her father, she does not like many of them.

She cannot avoid me forever, though. While she refuses to directly speak to me at the council meetings, she has plenty of opinions at council she wishes to give. Lord Bron is still not keen on the idea of a woman speaking, but keeps his own mouth shut. The rest are all charmed by her and let her say her peace, and take everything she suggests in to consideration. Usually when we are finished, she briskly walks away and I see her later at court or at supper, still dealing with the cold shoulder, but not this time. I follow after her and grab her by the arm, turning her to face me.

Before she can say anything, I grasp her chin and pull her in to a deep kiss, my lips practically crushing against hers. She does not fight me, although there is a gentle push at my chest which I wholeheartedly ignore. It is not until I feel her squirm that I let go and give her some air.

"I have decided we will spend the rest of the summer and autumn at Goldstone palace," I declare as she takes a few breaths, her lips slightly swollen and her eyes hooded. Even if she wants to continue her silent treatment, I can tell she misses me.

"Really?" Eva's eyes light up. "We are going to leave this dark, dingy castle for Goldstone?"

"Yes, my sweet."

"And I will get to see the gardens and the city?"

"With an escort of guards, of course. I will not have a repeat of the other day, even if the assassin was not after you specifically."

Eva tries not to pout. I know she values her quiet time, and probably believes Kwenthrith would be enough protection, but I am still weary. Goldstone is the capital of Mercia and a very large, densely populated city, and while it is staunchly my city, it is large enough that I never was quite able to get rid of the rebel presence there. Anselm does not believe this man was part of any organized faction, but I will take no chances with my queen.

"I assure you they will not bother you, Eva. It will be as if they aren't there at all."

She smiles at me and then sucks her bottom lip between her teeth. Oh how I love it when she does that. "I am excited to see Goldstone. It has been so long; I think I was ten! I wonder how much it has changed since..."

I don't have to ask Edeva why she suddenly goes silent, no longer playing with the buttons on my tunic. Her entire body stills. We both know she left the beautiful Goldstone palace for the fortified walls off Cliffside Castle here in Ustria where Henry felt his family was safest. Here he made his last stand and here he died; more specifically here is where I killed him.

"Who will be joining us at Goldstone?" Eva changes the subject, much to my relief. I take her arm in mine and lead her down the hall.

"The council, I'm afraid, but their families as well. Commander Anselm elected to stay here for the time being. Jean practically jumped for joy at the chance to get out of here. Bishop Lambert, as well."

"Bishop Lambert? But doesn't he have to stay here for... well..."

My head tilts back as I laugh. "His presence is not needed for the crypts underground. He checks on them, sure, but he will assign one of the clergy here to do it in his stead, and he will take over watch of the crypts at Goldstone."

Edeva pauses and turns towards me. "Wait... there are crypts there, too?"

"Yes, love. The Legio Mortis is everywhere I need it to be. Why do you think it is taking me so long to build it? It is quite large. By the time my army is complete, I will have crypts in every major city in Mercia."

"Quite an undertaking..." She quips, my smile widening.

"Jean does not like it either. He finds the crypts unseemly and is afraid one day the magic will fail and the country will reek of the dead."

"He and I have a bit in common then!"

I tense, the feelings of possessive anger prodding at me. Does she like Jean? I rarely see them together, but that does not mean Jean isn't sneaking behind my back to get close to my queen, and he was very handsy with her on our wedding night. The idea of snapping his neck flashes in my head before I dismiss it and scoff. "Not that much in common. He is a scoundrel with men and women, you know. A real heart breaker. Uses them up and spits them out. He acts as if he is the wisest among us yet he is barely in to his fortieth year. And he is not even that handsome."

When I finish my petty rant about my uncle, I look down to see Edeva's hand clapped over her mouth and her eyes sparkling.

"What?" I tweak an eyebrow. "It's all true. Also he has terrible taste in clothing. His jewelry is always so gaudy."

"Oh my goodness," Edeva finally cannot contain her laughter. "You have no need to be jealous of Prince Jean, Alekso!"

"... I am not jealous of him."

"You are! You are jealous!" Her laugh is infectious and though I try my damnedest not to join in, I can't stop the grin spreading to my face. She pulls away and walks ahead of me, shaking her head.

"Edeva, do not walk away from me." I growl as I follow her. She simply laughs, ignoring me as she picks up her pace slightly. What does she thinks he's doing? I walk a little faster as well, now feeling somewhat insulted she can brush off my command so easily. I am the feared tyrant, King Alekso Aurelian with the undead army and the diablerie. I am so scary she hid from me for years. We married because the people are hoping she can make me less scary. So, if I issue a command, one should follow it without hesitation.

Apparently Edeva no longer fears me.

I growl a bit louder, and Edeva turns around a moment too see me catching up to her. She laughs more, spinning around and breaking in to a run down the hallway. Almost on instinct I give chase, my cape billowing behind me. "Oh, you want to play, do you?" I call out. She responds with another peel of laughter.