“I’m going to kill Leo and Nix,” I muttered to myself.
Even in my drugged haze, I remembered their tone had been filled with humor when they mentioned tying me to Faith’s bed. Apparently, they’d been serious and I’d awoken with my arms tied to the headboard of a thick, sumptuous bed. Faith’s bed. Naked and with the fucking royal consort in a chair he’d pulled up beside me. The fact he was stuck supervising me burned my pride more than my current state of undress. The large video screen on the wall showed Faith, larger than life, gorgeous as fuck. Regal, confident, commanding.
I wasn’t embarrassed. Fuck, no. That was my mate on the screen and my cock throbbed to be back inside her. Just this glimpse was enough to make my balls ache, to have pre-cum spreading a wet spot on the fucking towel.
The consort heard my threat, of course, and deigned to take his hungry eyes off my female long enough to issue a warning. “I wouldn’t mess with either of them, Lord Jax. I assure you, I am just thankful to be alive. Captain Turaya could have killed me with his bare hands for touching his mate.”
I turned my head, looked at the male in his fancy royal robes. It was his job to satisfy the females of the royal family. He wasn’t keeping himself busy with Trinity and there was no fucking way he would satisfy Faith, so I would have to assume their cousin Radella received his services. Instantly, I felt sorry for him.
“You could at least cover me with a blanket,” I muttered.
I was bare except for the towel. Leo and Nix must have dumped me, stripped me and tied me up without getting the covers out from under me.
The consort stood and went to a cabinet, pulled out a white sheet and spread it over me. It did nothing to hide my obvious desire for my mate.
“That female is lovely,” he commented. I growled. He held up a hand and was about to say more, but Faith spoke. In perfect Aleran.
“Citizens of Alera. As you all know, Queen Celene was attacked twenty-seven years ago in a coup to overthrow the royal family. She escaped. Her mate, Princess Trinity’s father, your king, did not.”
Trinity stood behind Faith’s left shoulder wearing a golden gown that sparkled with every bit of light that found the dress. Behind Trinity? The citadel itself, the spires brightly lit far above them. No one else stood upon that sacred ground. There would be no argument as to Faith’s identity, nor her royal bloodline. The sisters were almost too beautiful to be real and I was held in their thrall, hanging on every word Faith spoke, as, I was sure, was the rest of Alera. When Faith looked back over her shoulder at her sister, Trinity nodded and Faith too a deep breath, as if fortifying herself.
Here it comes. The truth. The downfall of my family. And even that could not make my desire for Faith wane. My cock didn’t care about titles or wealth or honor. It wanted one thing, and one thing only – the same thing I wanted—Faith.
But to protect her, we would never have her again.
I hadn’t allowed emotion to overcome me when my mother’s betrayal broke something inside that would never heal. When she’d accidentally murdered my father and then suffered remorse so keen that she’d taken her own life. I had not shed a single tear.
But now, watching Faith, my beautiful, kind, intelligent, courageous mate, I had nowhere to go, no activity with which to occupy my mind, and the tears streamed silently from the corners of my eyes to soak her pillow. Pain gutted me, ripping my soul into pieces. I would let her go, because it was the honorable thing to do. A
nd I would have nothing.
So be it.
Her smile made me forget to breathe. “What you do not know is how our mother, Queen Celene, escaped that night with the help of two loyal guards, one of whom stands among the royal guard today, Captain Travin Turaya. He was a young man at the time, and he protected our mother, escorted her to a secret location where she transported off Alera to protect the one thing that mattered to her above all others—the future of Alera. What you do not know is that Queen Celene was already pregnant with Princess Trinity that fateful night. But she knew her enemies would not stop searching for her. She was young, and alone. So she fled to a distant planet, a planet so small and insignificant that no one would think to search for her there. That planet has been my family’s home for the last twenty-seven years.”
I started breathing again, my lips numb and tingling. The consort shifted in his seat, staring with rapt attention at the screen. This was more information than anyone had received so far, and the media and camera teams broadcasting live across the entire planet were silent. Dead silent. No one wanted to miss a single word of explanation. We’d been starving for the truth for almost thirty years.
“As you all know, Queen Celene was young and beautiful. When she arrived on Earth, she met and fell in love with another man, my father, an amazing, strong and honorable man named Adam Buchanan. My mother told him the truth about her past and he chose to hide her by assuming a new identity. Adam and Celene Jones. He knew, as we did, that the day would come when we would return to Alera and right the wrongs committed against the royal family and the people of this beautiful planet. He adopted Princess Trinity as his own and together, he and Queen Celene lived a peaceful life and had two more daughters. We were taught about duty and honor, about what it would mean to return and claim the throne. We were taught to speak the language of our home world and value the history and traditions of a proud people. I am honored to stand before you next to my sister and introduce myself to you. I am Faith Jones Herakles, of both Earth and Alera. I am Queen Celene’s second daughter, Princess Trinity’s sister. I am Princess Faith.”
The crowd clapped and cheered, the reporters began to shout questions at her all at once. The chaos was astonishing, but the barrier surrounding the citadel easily held them back as none wanted to die crossing it. And when Faith held up her hand, silence fell quickly as we were all hungry for more.
She paused then, the camera zooming in close. I’d never seen her with makeup. It only made her eyes even more striking, her lips look fuller. More kissable.
“We lived in peace for many years, planning our return. But true to Queen Celene’s fears, our enemies never stopped looking for her. And a few weeks ago, they finally found us. My mother was dragged from her bed and taken. Kidnapped. Princess Trinity and I transported to Alera to find our mother, our queen, and to bring those criminals who masterminded not only the original attack, but her recent kidnapping, to justice.”
She paused again but there was no eruption of questions this time. It appeared everyone was in shock. The consort turned to me, his eyes huge in his face and I realized just how young he was. “Is it true? Was the queen kidnapped?”
I nodded. “Yes.” I knew that much. Faith had told me much in our time together
“People of Alera, we call upon you now for assistance. Our mother, your queen, is still missing. We fear she is being tortured, or worse, although her spire is still lit.” Faith looked up into the sky as everyone else did, seeing the truth of those words. “But now, we finally have information on her perpetrator, on those behind the attack twenty-seven years ago, on a male among you who wanted the crown for himself.”
The crowd gasped, as did the consort next to me, as if such a thing were beyond their imagination. “Who?” The consort asked aloud. “Who would do such a thing? A king? We do not want a king. We have never had a king. Males protect their mates and their people, they do not rule. If males were meant to rule, the citadel would not have chosen the females among us.” He was mumbling to himself, so I ignored him, imagined that many watching were having the same reaction.
The image panned wide and I clearly saw that Faith and Trinity stood within the Citadel’s perimeter that only those of royal blood could pass without being killed. I had recognized their placement before, but this would show people all over the planet, those who had never set foot in the royal capital of Mytikas, exactly where these two powerful women stood. It proved their royal status without having to say a word. Those in the crowd—and it was a large one—gazed at her with rapt attention. I didn’t blame them. I couldn’t look away either. She was about to destroy my mother, my family, in front of everyone.
No. Not Faith. My mother had done that to herself. To us.
“Prior to our arrival on Alera, it was decided that I would remain hidden, a secret, so I could move freely among you and discover these traitors. They have now been identified and I will announce who they are. Once I do, I expect every citizen of Alera to assist us in apprehending these murderers. They tried to kill Queen Celene, murdered her mate, and have caused countless deaths among you during the resulting battles for power in the queen’s absence.”