Free Web NovelChapter 34: Chapter 34
" I despise the queen. I thought you would have known this by now." Ragnar said. His approach was slow and tortuous, making her heart pound harder than it should.
Circe doubted anyone genuinely liked the queen or, for that matter, anyone else in the royal family. She doubted anyone in the royal family truly liked each other. They all merely tolerated each other out of obligation or necessity.
" But not enough to defy her." Circe said. She rose to her feet the moment she could no longer endure Ragnar’s nearness. She hated the idea of sitting while he loomed over her. But standing somehow brought her closer to him, his scent invading her senses.
He leaned in just a little bit closer, his lips a breath away from her ear. " Enough to risk being hanged for treason." Ragnar whispered and Circe’s eyes widened. " That’s right, princess. Play your cards right, and you might just get your wish to watch me die."
" Why are you telling me this?" She asked.
What game was he playing?
" Why else? You are my little accomplice now. If I go down, best believe I’m taking you with me. Wouldn’t that be romantic? Just you and I, our bodies dangling off the king’s tower."
Morbid was the only way to describe it. Ragnar must have a very skewed sense of what he thought was romantic.
" Do I look like someone who fears death?" Circe asked. She forced herself to hold his gaze. Nothing good ever came from staring him in the eye but at least he’d see she wasn’t someone who backed down easily.
" No but I know what you fear the most. The thought of leaving Rowen alone in a den of vicious vampires. Which of the nobles do you think would be the first to sample his blood?"
Circe had heard more than enough. Without a second thought, she drove her foot into his injured leg, eliciting a sharp grunt of pain as he winced and doubled over. Seizing the moment, she shoved him with every ounce of strength she had, sending him staggering backwards. She didn’t care if it made things worse, she just needed him away from her.
She darted towards the other side of the room, never once giving him her back in case he wished to retaliate. Right then, memories of him in that arena flashed in her mind, the unnatural blackness of his eyes, the terrifying shadows he controlled at will. She expected him to attack her, to grab her roughly and hurl her against the wall. She braced herself for him to come at her, but instead, he surprised her by raising his hands in surrender.
" I guess I deserved that." Ragnar chuckled but it sounded pained.
Circe’s heart still beat a frantic rhythm in her chest. " You deserved much worse than that."
He shouldn’t have mentioned her brother like that.
Ragnar grunted. " That’s fair."
Even when she knew he wasn’t going to make any sudden moves, she still watched him warily. She could never truly be at ease around him, not when she was aware of the level of violence he was capable of.
" I like how you never bother to spare my feelings." Ragnar added. He used the fact that she was across the room as an opportunity to slip into her chair. Has that been his plan all along?
" Odd, I didn’t think you had any."
Just then the doorknob twisted and Casilo pushed open the door, pausing when he saw Circe at a corner of the room, glaring at Ragnar who was sitting on the armchair she once occupied. The only thing that made the sight an unusual one was the fact that Casilo knew Circe would never willingly surrender her seat to Ragnar.
" Don’t you know it’s terribly rude to intrude on a man’s time with his wife." Ragnar chastised his second in command.
Casilo just shook his head. " Lord Tomar is in the palace. He somehow got word that you were conscious and wished to speak to you."
" Tell him I am indisposed. I can’t even walk to him. Lady Taryn would say I’m practically still on death’s doorstep." Ragnar said.
Circe had never seen Ragnar so lively, so full of restless energy. It was completely different from her first impression of him in her father’s throne room and the image she had of him in her head. She could only assume that it was the effects of the pain he was in. It was getting to his head, gnawing at his patience and muddling his thoughts. Whatever composure he usually clung to was slipping, leaving behind a version of him she barely recognized. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Casilo looked unfazed. " Then how did you end up in the chair? Last I saw you, you were still lying in bed." freёweɓnovel.com
" My wife helped me. I wouldn’t have gotten out of bed without her." Ragnar said.
Circe scowled in outrage.
" Your highness," The levity drained from Casilo’s voice, replaced by a heavy seriousness that matched the hard, granite set of his jaw. " You know how much Lord Tomar’s support would mean to us. Losing it isn’t an option, unfortunately."
" Let me tell you something, Casilo. If I have to endure Lord Tomar’s presence in this condition, I fear I might break my own leg and beat him with it." Ragnar said without a trace of humor on his face. " But if you insist. Have him wait for me in my private chambers. I’ll be with him shortly."
He was leaving. The very idea of it sent a rush of relief and quiet joy surging through her chest, loosening knots of tension she hadn’t even realized she had been carrying. For the first time in days, she would be able to breathe. Even though she knew it wouldn’t last, his absence would only be temporary.
But her happiness was cut short when he suddenly turned to her with that annoying smug smile on his face. " Try not to mourn my presence."
Circe could barely control the next words out of her mouth. " I hope you trip and fall from your balcony."
Ragnar chuckled. " That’s practically a love declaration coming from you."
Circe scrunched her face in disgust. He was mad just like everyone else in this wretched palace.
