Thor
My blood ran cold. The truth was obvious now. Every gruesome bit.
“It was you,” I said, kneeling before my mother. From my position, I could also see my father, only a few feet beyond. I could no longer hear his ragged breathing, no longer see his crest rising. He was dead.
My mother had killed him.
But that death, the poison she’d drunk, wasn’t meant for her mate, my father.
It had been for Faith.
I glanced up at my mate, my body filled with horror at the shock of this. My father, dead. My mother, a traitor to the queen, to the throne, to my mate.
To me. She’d betrayed us all in a relentless pursuit of power. And for what? Did my father not provide enough for her? All these years, all the business deals I had overseen, the wealth and properties and armies. None of it mattered to my mother. She wanted power. And recognition.
I had no doubt now, that if she could, she would have placed herself on the throne and walked around with the crown on her head.
And Faith? Goddess. What was she thinking now? I had protested my innocence, sworn to her that my family was not involved.
I’d lied to her. Been wrong. My own blood had tried to kill her, under my roof. Under my care. And my mother had very nearly succeeded.
Faith stood looking down at my mother. Frozen, her face wide-eyed with horror. She knew.
Mother’s breathing was becoming more labored, her forehead now dotted with sweat. Whatever poison was in the vial, it was fast-acting. It hadn’t been more than five minutes since my father ate the meat from Faith’s plate. And now he was dead.
And so the clock was ticking. I had to get the truth out of my mother, the fucking traitor, before she, too, was dead.
My heart shattered, torn in two. How could I love my mother, and hate her this much? “Mother? What have you done?”
“I told Zel what to do. It was me. I’m sorry.”
She gave orders to Zel to kidnap Trinity? “Goddess, mother. Why?”
This made no sense. I knew her to be ruthless in protecting her own, but this? Trinity had nothing to do with… anything.
“Lord Wyse promised me a place in the new government.”
“New govern—”
“Lord Wyse is the queen’s first cousin,” Faith said, cutting me off. “But his daughter failed to light a spire.”
Holy fuck. “Lord Wyse kidnapped the queen? He hasn’t killed her, the spire is still lit. So, he went after Princess Trinity as well? Why?”
Mother’s breathing became more ragged. “Yes. Lord Wyse.”
Lord Wyse, the fucker. I’d kill him myself. Hunt him down and strip the skin from his body. Kill him slowly. Make him suffer. For this. For the death of my father. My mother. For trying to kill my mate.
“Why did you do this?” I asked, knowing her time was almost up. “Why?” I asked, ready to shake her for the answer.
“Son. Love you. Only the best. For you. Sorry. Forgive me,” she wheezed, then fell unconscious.
Faith dropped down across from me, took Mother’s hand. Not that it mattered now. She wouldn’t awaken, not if she passed as my father had done. Wouldn’t know Faith was touching her, holding her as she died.
I stared at both my parents. Dead and dying. Poisoned. Faith was the one to be unbreathing on the floor, not either of them.
“Lord Wyse wants the crown,” Faith said. She was looking down at my mother, but thinking aloud.
“Mother was the traitor in the Jax household,” I replied, stating the obvious, now that she lay seconds from death between us. “While you’d been snooping about, she’d been the one to contact Zel, help him to kidnap Trinity—most likely to take her somewhere and have her killed. She must have been the one to send Zel along with the other guards to collect you from the transport center.”
“She didn’t know who we were, that was obvious. If she knew I was a princess, she’d have been thrilled for us to be mated.” Faith’s words rang true and a bitter pain settled in my chest. I was not worthy of this female. A traitor’s blood ran in my veins. I was what Leo had feared, a traitor to the queen. A danger to Faith, and her sisters.
I laughed, although it was completely without humor. My parents were dead before us. What a ruthless plot that had just unfolded. “Mother wanted power. She’d been greedy for it. And yet she had it before her all along. The highest power of the land. She’d done it for me, but all she had to do was love you. She didn’t even know her son was mated to the princess.”
Faith was quiet, for my tragic words couldn’t ring any more true.
“Lord Wyse must have known who you were,” I said, finally, thinking of that bastard.
Faith shook her head. “No. That makes no sense. He would have said as much in that interrogation room. He knew I had no Aleran records, but not that I was from Earth, or that I was a princess. God, he’d have killed me right away if he’d known.”
And to think, when I’d arrived at the station, he’d been taking her away, to some level of the Optimus building meant for the worst criminals on Alera. Had he really intended to take her there? Or somewhere to kill her? While Faith might not have talked, upon her death, her spire would have gone dark. He’d have known then, had probably been willing to risk an innocent life for the chance to kill a royal. To remove anyone in the way of his gaining the throne.
“Or later, when he came to my apartment to find us.” I avoided sharing my other thoughts. “But it was empty, so he must have ransacked it looking for a clue as to where we went.”
“You think Lord Wyse did that?” Her face was pale, her eyes haunted.
“Who else?” Who the fuck else?
“Then if Lord Wyse doesn’t know I’m a princess, then there must be someone else in on all this.”
“Zel, dead. Mother, dead. There are many people in play here. Lord Wyse, too, perhaps is just a pawn. This is more sinister than I ever imagined.”
Faith set Mother’s hand down, laid it gently on her unmoving chest.
I looked to my father. Dead. The pain was great, but I was too numb. Too overwhelmed. Mother was part of a master plot to overthrow the crown.
And I was mated to that crown. To Faith.
The Jax name was destroyed. I glanced at Faith. My mate.
I was like the plague for her. If she touched me, if she claimed me as her own, she’d be ruined. The planet would hate my family, what my mother had done.
If she stayed with me, she would be judged harshly. We would not be left in peace. Not ever.
No. I couldn’t let that happen. I would protect her with my life, and that meant cutting her from it.
I stood, albeit shakily.
“Call your sister. Leave.”
She looked up at me. Frowned. “What?”
I put my hands on my hips, my heart aching, tearing in two. “I am not worthy to be your mate. Look at this!” I said spreading my hands out. “My parents are dead. Poisoned. My mother is a traitor to the throne. To you. You can not align yourself with me, or my family. You must go and tell no one of our mating.”
Faith hopped up quickly, came over to me, but I held my hand out, keeping her at a distance. I couldn’t let her near me. Never again. I would destroy her.
“What are you talking about? You’re my mate!” she looked frantic now, unshed tears making her eyes glassy.
I pointed at the table. “You almost died! Goddess, if you’d taken a bite of that meat, you’d be dead. Do you know how close you came? I can’t let that happen to you.”
“You didn’t do it, your mother did,” she replied.
The knife dug deeper. “Exactly. My mother.”
“And… and I’m sorry, but she’s gone. Thor, I love you. We’ll get through this together.”
I shook my head. “No, we won’t. We won’t be able to say Lord Wyse was involved. You, the lowly maid. Me, the head of the ruined house of Jax. It will only make me and my family name look worse, trying to pass the blame on someone like the Inspector Optimi. My family land, the title, the money will all be stripped away. I won’t even have the honor of my name left. You shouldn’t be tainted by that.”
There was no honor left in the Jax household. But I would give what was left of mine to Faith. I went over to the wall comms unit. Called Nix.
“What are you doing?” she cried, coming to me, grabbing my hand. Squeezing. Her eyes were pleading, tears streamed down her face.
“What’s happened, Thordis?” Nix’s voice came through the unit clearly. I would only contact him if something bad happened. He knew it. I knew it.
“Come to the Jax household at once,” I replied. “Protect Princess Faith.”
At that, I ended the call, cupped Faith’s jaw with my hand. Felt her heat one last time. My thumb swiped away a tear, then I couldn’t help myself. I stole one last kiss, one last touch of her lips against mine, one last teasing breath of her flower scent.
And then I strode through the door and out of the mansion. Out of Faith’s life, for I would destroy her. Perhaps I already had.
Ready for more? Read Ascension Saga, book 6 next!
The traitor within the Jax household has been found, and the repercussions are staggering, with Faith barely surviving and their mating destroyed. But Faith has always been unpredictable—just ask her sisters— and nothing will stop her from getting what she wants…and she wants Thor. Even if it kills her.
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