216

On one side of the bed lay Nicu, his throat torn to shreds. I had killed the crown prince and I swallowed down the bile that rose in my throat as Echo licked his lips trying to come out to eat his liver. In front of the bed lay Dorin, blood pooling from his nose with his neck angled to one side. It was him I had stumbled over.

“What the hell happened here?” It had taken Milo seconds to get here and he looked around the room, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“Nicu found Dorin in my room. He overheard our conversation. Dorin was telling me that he couldn’t fight the bond anymore, that he’d sneak me out of the palace to safety so we could be together. He didn’t even see Nicu coming. He broke his neck and then his nose as he slumped to the floor.”

“Shit Abby.”

“Nicu slapped me and pushed me down on the bed. He told me that he was done playing nice and that I’d give him his dues tonight. That’s when Wynter came in and killed Nicu.”

Milo had Abby in his arms and he stroked her back as his one hand stilled on her head. She cried into his shoulder and he just held her. This was probably the biggest mess of my life and I had to think quick. Nobody could find either Nicu or Dorin in Abigail’s room.

Abby was starting to hyperventilate and her sobs grew louder. Milo tilted her head back and then he kissed her. I watched him in fascination as he kissed my sister and the hands that had been against his chest went around his neck.

Even Echo tilted his head as he watched them make out. Abigail’s eyes snapped open and she slapped Milo hard across his face. “Ouch.”

“You can explain that one later. We have to get rid of these bodies.”

Abigail wasn’t looking at either one of us and her cheeks were red with embarrassment or fury. I was betting on the latter. “In the bathroom behind the full length mirror is a secret passage that leads to the library.”

“Milo grab Nicu, I’ll take Dorin. Abby, I’m sorry but you’re going to have to clean the blood.”

Abigail nodded her head as I headed to the bathroom and moved the mirror. I found the hidden door and went back for Dorin. We pulled them over our shoulders and listened to Abby closing the hidden doorway and putting the mirror back in place.

“What the hell was that kiss about?”

“Hey, I didn’t give you any shit when you screwed Ally.”

“So …”

“She was freaking out and I did the only thing I could think of to get her mind off that.”

“Right.”

“Piss off and let’s get these bodies out of the Palace. I’m surprised the whole Palace isn’t up yet because the King would’ve felt his bond snap.”

We headed across the dark library to the other hidden passageway and within minutes we were outside in the fresh air. The Palace was surprisingly quiet and Echo separated from me quietly. He didn’t flap his wings or stretch because if we were caught, we would be dead.

“Do something with Nicu, something that will leave a message but not point to us.” Milo nodded his head as I climbed onto Echo’s back and he took off into the dark night without making a sound.

I’d been to Sorin’s house once but I knew the way and so did Echo. My heart broke for him because Dorin had been a really good guy, a good warrior and I knew Sorin would be breaking, knowing the bond had snapped but not what had happened to his son.

Echo landed in a clearing next to Sorin’s house and I could hear the screams of his wife. I placed Dorin over my shoulder again and walked up to Sorin’s front door and rang the bell. It took him a few minutes to open it.

Sorin grabbed me around my throat and Dorin’s body fell to the ground. He looked down and a sob escaped his throat as he let go of me and knelt down next to his son. He cried openly and I could feel my own tears as they ran down my cheeks.

“What the hell happened to him?” Sorin’s voice was loud and angry.

“Let me bring him inside and I’ll tell you. He doesn’t deserve to lie here on the ground.”

Sorin seemed to realize as he pushed himself up from the ground and I picked Dorin’s body up. Sorin showed me to a sofa and I laid Dorin down respectfully and folded his arms across his chest. Dorin’s mother was kneeling next to him, holding him and crying so pitifully that my heart broke once again.

“Nicu found him in Abigail’s room. I walked in with Nicu’s hand around her throat and him pulling his zipper down. I didn’t even realized I had killed him until after I’d done it.”

“Nicu’s dead?”

“Yes.”

“May his body rot and his soul never reach Typhon.”

“I’m so sorry, Sorin.”

“Is Abigail hurt? Did Nicu … did he hurt her?”

“She’ll be fine, he didn’t get far.” Sorin nodded his head as more tears gathered in his eyes.

“She always treated me with respect. I’m sorry for her loss as well, to lose a bonded half is immensely painful. Thank you for bringing my son home but you need to be with Abigail now. She can’t break down over Dorin.”

I left Sorin’s house and flew back to the Palace where everything was still quiet and peaceful. I sneaked back in through the library and knocked on the wall in Abigail’s room. I’d been gone less than an hour and Milo opened the hidden doorway for me.

“Is she okay?”

“I gave her a sedative. She wouldn’t stop crying and no I didn’t kiss her again.”

“Go back to the room, Maya’s in your bed, told me that she likes you. I’ll stay with Abby tonight.”

After Milo left her room Echo pushed forward again and I scanned the floors for any trace of blood. Milo would’ve done the same but I wanted to make sure that nothing would ever be found in here to tie any of us to his murder.

I held Abby in my arms all night and I rubbed her back when she cried in her sleep. I had no idea how it felt to lose a bonded half to death but I knew the pain of rejection and I wished I could take it from Abby, to spare her this.

She woke up at six am, her eyes red and puffy. Her hand went to my cheek and my eyes opened immediately. I kissed her forehead as a single tear escaped from her eye. I wiped it away and pulled her closer to me.

“I’m so sorry Abby but you’re going to have to keep it together. I don’t know what Milo did with Nicu’s body but I think it’s going to be something big. Sorin knows, I took Dorin home to him. Whatever happens you didn’t see Nicu last night. I came to your room and we spent half the night catching up and we fell asleep.”

“Okay.” Her voice was small and I could hear the infinite sadness in it.

“Go shower, put some eyedrops in and get dressed. I’ll order coffee for us.”

Abigail moved on auto-pilot, going into the bathroom and a few seconds later I heard the shower go on. Coffee arrived ten minutes later and still there was no uproar in the Palace. ‘Shit,’ I thought to myself. Nicu wasn’t the King’s son and the Queen couldn’t be his mother because she would’ve felt the bond snap too.

Milo knocked on the door half an hour later just as Abigail finished her first cup of coffee. She had taken another sedative, not as strong as the one from last night, but strong enough to calm her nerves and let her get through the day.

“Thank you for letting Milo stay with me last night.”

“I really don’t mind Maya, I was with Abby the whole night.”

It was good that Maya thought Milo had been with her the whole night and when asked she’d have to say I was there too. We had solid alibi’s and since I was with Abby I knew Maya would say that we were all together in her suite.

I pulled Maya closer to me and ran my hands over her body. I rubbed my cheek against hers and then against her neck, kissing her slowly as she relaxed in my embrace. “What are you doing, Wynter?” I was arousing her but I had another goal in mind.

“You smell like Milo and we can’t have that.” She nodded her head absent mindedly and when I pulled away from her, her eyelids fluttered open and she looked flustered.

“I think we should all head down for breakfast.”

Milo placed his arm around Abby’s shoulder protectively and I saw her visibly relax under his touch. Maya’s look of jealousy had me smiling and I took her hand in mine just as the elevator dinged and opened.

“Where have you all been?” King Florin’s voice sounded angry and Maya tightened her grip on my hand.

“We were in Abby’s suite the whole night. Wynter wanted to catch up and then we started talking about the baby. Why?”

“Something’s happened. I need Wynter and Milo to come with me.”

“What’s happened Daddy?”

“We found your brother’s body near the eastern gates twenty minutes ago.”

Maya gasped and looked like she was going to collapse so I held her upright as tears gathered in Abby’s eyes. They rolled down her cheeks as if on cue and the King’s eyes softened as he looked at her. “I’m sorry Abby, I know you loved him and he loved you very much. We’ll find whoever did this.”

Abby could only nod her head and now she was crying for Dorin under the guise of crying for Nicu. Maya’s old room was closest and we led them in there. I placed Maya on the bed and Milo led Abby to the sitting room.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You need to find whoever did this to my brother.” I could only nod my head as she buried her face in the pillows and I heard Abby’s soft cries from the sitting room.

The King had waited for us in the hallway and we followed him into the elevator. He aggressively punched the buttons but didn’t say a word. He led us outside and I glanced over at Milo. He looked serious as if he too wanted answers.

We neared the eastern gates and I had to swallow the bile down as we rounded the corner and I looked at Nicu’s head impaled on the palisade. His body was slumped on the ground below him and next to him the heads of the two warriors that patrolled this area was also impaled.

“They found them when the dayshift warriors came for shift change.” The King’s voice was adequately sad and he seemed forlorn as a few other warriors removed their heads.

“When did this happen?”

The King looked at me as if deciding if he should answer me. “He wasn’t my biological son nor the Queen’s. We don’t know exactly when this happened.”

“Someone has some serious balls to pull this off and leave you a message like this.” Milo sounded pissed off and I couldn’t believe that he’d done this. It was a message all right.

“We’ll have to do his ceremony quickly and quietly. It can’t come to light yet that the Prince is dead.”

“The sooner the better my King because I’m taking my family back to Mintia and that includes Abigail. Someone came onto your territory and killed your son, where were his warriors? How did they get to him because this clearly can’t be the work of one man.”

“I agree, Wynter, it’s not safe here at the moment. You’ll be better able to protect them in Mintia.”

We agreed to load the sleeping women into the SUV and start driving back to Mintia. King Florin would keep Nicu’s body in the morgue for as long as possible before breaking the news of his death. He wanted to wait and see if someone claimed responsibility or tried to attack again.

Two hours into our drive they woke up within minutes of each other and started crying again. I explained the situation to them and called ahead to double the warriors at the castle. It had to look like I was taking precautions against this unknown threat.