A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire(32)

“I did.”

“I must be honest, when he told me, I thought I might’ve drunk too much last night. I didn’t believe him when he said he was marrying, especially the Maiden.”

“She is not the Maiden,” Casteel cut in swiftly. “Not anymore.” He let go of my hand and moved it to my back again.

I felt an inexplicable warming in my chest, one that left me greatly unsettled.

Alastir cocked an eyebrow. “I would imagine she’s not,” he said, and my eyes widened slightly. “But she was the Maiden.” He shifted his attention to Casteel. “Who she was may be in the past, but that does not change that past.”

The hand at my back flattened as Casteel replied, “The past is irrelevant.”

“Do you really believe that?” Alastir mused.

“What I believe doesn’t matter.” Casteel’s palm slid off my back, leaving behind a shiver. He took my hand once more. “What does matter is that everyone else believes that.”

“Spoken like a true Prince. Your mother and father would be proud.” Alastir grunted out a short, dry laugh as his gaze roamed over me once more, lingering on the side of my neck, where my hair had fallen over my shoulder. There was no doubt that he saw the faded marks. The line of his mouth tightened. “I’m glad you’re here, Penellaphe, as we’ve only had a few moments to speak, and I have many questions.”

“I can imagine,” I murmured.

Casteel tugged gently on my hand. “Sit with me?”

Nodding, I started for the seat I’d just risen from, but Casteel moved to the chair at the head of the table. He sat, and it only struck me then where he planned for me to sit. Not in a chair but in his lap. I hesitated. There was no way I was sitting in his lap. Over my shoulder, I saw the others take their seats while Kieran moved to stand at Casteel’s left, and Alastir took the chair to his right, where I’d been seated earlier.

Casteel looked up at me, the twist of his lips softening. What now filled his gaze was a challenge. My eyes narrowed, and he arched a brow. There was nowhere else to sit. The only other option would be to stand behind him like a servant, and I refused to do that. There was a space at the end—

“Would you like this seat, Penellaphe?” Alastir offered.

Knowing that seating at tables was often a demonstration of one’s position, I knew I shouldn’t accept the offer.

“My fiancée is upset with me,” Casteel announced, surprising me enough that I turned to him.

“I can’t imagine Penellaphe ever being upset with you,” Kieran commented, and I had the strongest urge to lean over and punch him.

“I know.” Casteel’s smile was wider now, more real. The dimple in his left cheek was starting to make an appearance, and the hint of fangs caused my stomach to dip at the same time my ire spiked. “But I admit, I deserve it.”

I stilled, unsure what he was about.

“You’re not even married, and you’re already upsetting her?” Emil chuckled. “That’s not a good start.”

“No, it’s not, which is why I must rectify this immediately. I’m sorry,” he said, the smile fading as his eyes met mine. “Truly. It wasn’t planned.”

My skin pimpled. Was he apologizing for me not being prepared for this, in front of others?

Casteel shifted, curling an arm around my waist. So caught off guard by his words, I ended up sitting sideways in his lap. He dipped his chin, and his lips brushed the curve of my ear as he whispered, “I thought I would have time to speak to you first.”

I nodded slightly.

His lips were a featherlight caress across my cheek, and then he said louder, “I didn’t plan the proposal, and to be honest, it wasn’t the very best, as many within Haven Keep witnessed, even those at the table. She actually told me no at first.”

“That was not the only thing she said,” Naill commented with a chuckle. “Told him he was out of his mind. Told him a lot of things.”

Did that Atlantian have a death wish?

Casteel laughed. “It’s true, but I won her over, didn’t I?”

The answering masculine chuckles caused my skin to prickle with irritation. My tongue moved before I could stop myself. “That was after I threw a knife at your face.”

Alastir made a coughing sound as Kieran’s and my plates were removed and replaced with food. “Excuse me?”

“Yes.” Casteel’s eyes were like warm pools of gold. “That was after you threw the knife at me. I haven’t been the best of suitors,” he continued, lifting my left hand. “I promised her the largest diamond I could find as soon as we return home.”

“Well,” Alastir drew out the word as he picked up a fork. “That is something that can be easily fixed upon returning. Our Queen has just what you need in safekeeping.”

His mother had a diamond ring? For Casteel? For when he married? My spine couldn’t be more rigid. Why had I brought up the stupid jewelry? I didn’t even care about it since I…well, I’d never been allowed to wear any beyond the golden chains of the veil.

“Casteel hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with information on how you two met.” Alastir bit into his sausage, not taking the time to slice and dice it as Kieran had. “I wanted to ask when we last spoke. How did you end up in the incorrigible hands of our Prince, Penellaphe? I imagined someone of your…status would’ve been hard to reach, especially by someone like him.”

Casteel let out a low laugh. “You should have more faith in my abilities to achieve what I want.”

I tensed, feeling like those words were meant more for me than Alastir.

“Be that as it may,” Alastir said with a wry grin, “how did he find a way to you?”

Wondering how honest I was expected to be and precisely what kind of rumors he’d heard, I decided to be as truthful as possible. In the past, I’d learned that most lies were successful when the little information given was the truth. “He became my guard.”

“Well, that’s not how we met initially.” Casteel’s hand that rested on the curve of my hip moved, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. “It was actually at a brothel.”

Someone at the table sounded as if they choked on their food. I was betting it was Emil.

A fair brow rose as Alastir chewed slowly. “That was…unexpected.”

“The Red Pearl isn’t just a brothel,” I corrected, turning a narrow-eyed glare on Casteel.

He grinned. “It’s not?”

“Card games are played there.”

“That wasn’t the only games being played there, Princess.” His thumb moved along the inside of my hip, causing my stomach to whoosh. “Penellaphe had a habit of sneaking out and exploring the city at night.”

I nibbled on the inside of my lip as I tore my gaze from Casteel. Had he known how often I did that? He had said that he’d been watching me for longer than I realized.

“What I know of the Maiden—and, yes, Casteel, I know she’s no longer the Maiden, but that was what she was,” he added before Casteel could correct him. “The Ascensions of the others were tied to yours, weren’t they? And again, I am sorry that you were raised in such a web of lies told by the Ascended.”

Several at the table cursed at the mention of the Ascended.

“Thank you. And yes, you’re right.” I frowned slightly. “Or they were. I don’t know if their Ascensions will be carried out now.”

“Hopefully, they won’t,” Delano remarked.

“I agree,” I said quietly, thinking of Ian.

“Do you?” Alastir asked. “Truly?”

“I do,” I admitted. “I didn’t know who or what the Ascended really were. I, like most people within the Kingdom of Solis, only knew what I was shown.”

“Then I expect many are blind to what is right in front of them,” someone commented, a younger man with rich brown hair toward the end of the table.

“Many live in fear of being ripped apart by the Craven or displeasing the Ascended and angering the gods,” I replied. Casteel’s arm tightened around my waist, his hand squeezing my hip gently. Was that some sort of message? I had no idea, nor did I care. The people of Solis were victims just as much as the Atlantians were. “Many are also more worried about providing for their families and keeping them safe than they are about questioning what the Ascended tell them.”

“Are they so distracted by their daily struggles that they don’t question handing over their children to the Court or to gods they’ve never seen?” Alastir asked. “Or are they just that submissive?”

“I wouldn’t confuse submission for distraction, and I wouldn’t mistake obedience for stupidity when it’s apparent that you know very little about the people of Solis,” I stated coolly.

Alastir’s gaze swung to mine.

“What they have been told about the Atlantians, about the gods and the Craven, is all they know. Generation after generation, they’re taught to believe in the Rite and how much of an honor it is for their third sons and daughters to serve the gods. Raised to believe that only the Ascended and the gods stand between them and the Craven. I was raised the same way.” I leaned forward, a little surprised to find that Casteel didn’t stop me. “The gods belong to the people of Atlantia, do they not? Do your people believe in them even though they’ve never seen them?”