Disclaimer: I've copied Pixelberry in the last part!
Chapter 29
Drake
The reconciliation with Savannah was something I'd looked forward to for a while. Visiting all these stuffy nobles wasn't something I loved doing, but I'd forgotten all about it by the time I saw my sister's grin, warming up the Beaumont porch. She'd called my name happily, and she'd run up to me, wrapping me into a hug. We'd spent the evening catching up, all of us, and Savannah and Bertrand met Danny, Jake and Ron. We let them in on Ron's work, and what Danny and Jake were doing to help. Long when Danny, Jake, Maxwell, Hana and Tim had gone to bed, Savannah, Iris and I were still talking. We were catching her up on the double wedding, the assassins and we were about to discuss the assassins probably being present at the double wedding. Emma and Jimmy were talking to Bertrand about some House Beaumont business when Ron burst onto the patio. 'I'VE GOT IT, I GOT THROUGH!'
He was holding Constantine's laptop, and almost tripped over his own feet as he jumped on the couch between Iris and Jimmy. 'Do you have access to all the files?!' Iris shrieked, and leaned closer to him to watch the screen. Everyone was staring at him in sheer anticipation. Ron started searching, and looked up at Jimmy. 'We're in… Jimmy.'
Iris
'Oh my god… what does it say?' Emma asked, nervously. Jimmy, Ron and I were scanning the pages. 'Constantine seemed to have a few big files on Sons of Earth, Liberation Core and Lucretia as well. Which do you want to start with?' Ron said, looking at Jimmy. 'I'm thinking Sons of Earth, because they are our main suspects,' the latter said. I nodded agreeingly. Ron opened a file, which said SoE, and before we could see what was inside, the laptop went dark for a few seconds… until we saw Constantine's face. 'What the…' Drake said, and took my hand in his, his entire attitude protective. 'Jimmy, I'm hoping it's you who sees this,' Constantine said, and his face looked flushed. Jimmy's jaw was clenched as he stared at the screen.
Constantine was sitting in his study, and he was whispering. 'There's not much time left. I need you to know that you're on the right track. Sons of Earth is the organisation putting a stop to all this.' He paused and looked worried. 'I need you all to know that I didn't tell you the truth. Personally I hope you and Lady Emma will be very happy together, and I've seen enough of her to suspect she'll make a fair Queen. Same goes for Drake… Please tell him that I'm actually quite fond of him. Everything he's done for you, and being Jackson's son… I've always cared for him.'
Constantine took a deep breath, and I caught Drake's eyes. He looked completely confused, the same way I felt. His brown eyes were like honey, distraught and worried. 'Sons of Earth have a grip on the crown. Twenty-seven years ago, when Leo was born, they abducted him… telling us we would only get Leo back if we would make a deal.' Constantine's lips were quivering. 'Leo, or any other future King for that matter, wasn't to marry a commoner. Sons of Earth wanted Leo or any other King or Queen to be married to the Cordonian royalty. Leo's mother and I were devastated enough to make the deal, not knowing what we were to bring upon ourselves.' He swallowed, and the rest of us was waiting in anticipation. 'Sons of Earth is a constitution which is almost unable to defeat. I haven't tried, but I've tried to locate them in any way I could. It's almost impossible. I found out that the leader of Sons of Earth is working together with someone else, from the Cordonian nobility. I can't figure out who it is, but there are a lot of things we don't know about it yet.' He looked up, and looked at the screen. 'Jimmy… these people could have been the ones who killed your mother.'
We all looked at Jimmy, shocked, and his face was showing a mixture of many feelings. Worry, anger, suspicion… and most of all shock. 'Be careful with this group, they're capable of more than you know,' Constantine said, moved to the camera, and turned it off. We were still staring at the screen, almost mind blown about what had just happened. 'This is…' Emma said, her eyes big and her voice unsteady, 'a shock.' Drake nodded, and looked at her. 'So he wasn't trying to get rid of us… for us… he was trying to get rid of us to save Jimmy, Iris and Cordonia?' Jimmy clenched his fists. 'Why didn't he tell us before?' He said, his voice a mixture between anger and sadness. 'We would've understood…' I shook my head. 'The entire palace was bugged, maybe he was scared?' Jimmy sank back in his seat and I caught Drake's eyes. His face showed frustration, as if he was at a total loss.
'I don't know what our next move should be… we have to tread carefully, which isn't what we've been doing. We've been showing we're not scared of them, maybe that has only made them angrier?' Emma said. Jimmy looked at me. 'I think you and Drake should continue the tour, visiting your parents after this, then Emma and I can fly back to the palace, to look into my mother's death… maybe we can find some clues there?' Jimmy suggested. I looked at Drake, who nodded. 'Visiting Bellatio alone won't spark any commotion I think, but you should make an appearance,' he said. Jimmy nodded. 'We have to find more evidence on the murder, maybe it'll give us clues on who the leader of Sons of Earth is.' Emma looked up, suddenly. 'And, besides that… we have to find out what the rest of the deal was.' Drake and Jimmy looked surprised. 'You mean, if the deal was ever to be broken, what would happen then?' Bertrand asked quizzically.
Emma nodded. 'They went to great lengths to strike on our wedding day, what would happen if Jimmy was actually killed like intended, who would be King instead?' We all fell silent. 'It must be the Cordonian nobility person Constantine was talking about. He or she was probably added to the deal?' I suggested, with a frown. Jimmy's head shot up and he looked worried. 'If you put it like that… I may know exactly who would do that.' We all stared at Jimmy, whose eyes had darkened, until the blue in his eyes had faded and made room for an even black I'd never seen before. 'Godfrey,' he said, his voice low.
Later that night, when Drake and I were in bed, we were on our sides, looking at each other. 'I'm pretty scared of our wedding, after the revelation we had tonight,' I admitted. He stroke my cheek with his thumb and nodded. 'Me too, Valentine. We have to make sure that we know who the leader of the group is… and the Cordonian nobility.' I frowned. 'I wonder if Godfrey, if he's in on this… had planned to get Madeleine on the throne. In some way I can hardly imagine her and Adelaide being in on this… IF he has anything to do with it.' He nodded. 'I don't like Madeleine, and I'll do whatever it takes not to like her in any way, but I can't imagine her in on this either. She's too… correct, and too Cordonian, or something.'
I nodded agreeingly, 'I know what you mean.' He sighed. 'Maybe Godfrey could get something out of it, but he's probably not the leader.' He paused, then looked frustrated. 'I can't figure out what the hell they want and who would be on the throne instead.' I pecked his lips lightly, and noticed the frustration glide off his face. 'I know, Drake, me neither. We don't have enough pieces to make the puzzle.' He pulled me into his arms, and kissed me, making my stomach tingle immensely. 'I'll do anything to keep you and our baby safe,' he whispered against my lips. I smiled. 'I know you will.' I pulled him even closer. 'And I think that's really sexy.' He raised his eyebrows, his face amused. 'Do you now, Valentine?' I bit my lip and let my hand run through his hair, gripping it softly. 'I really do.' His eyes darkened slightly.
'I think you are the most handsome man I've ever met,' I whispered, and moved up so I could sit down onto his lap, bending down to meet his lips. 'And if you weren't mine already, I would've tried everything to make you mine.' His hands gripped my hips, pulling me down onto his pelvis. I felt him growing beneath me, which made me smile. I had him where I wanted him. 'How would you have done that?' He asked, his voice low but hoarse. I let my finger glide over his hard chest, feeling his abs beneath my touch. I'd never been the girl to think appearance was important, but Drake's appearance… god I felt like it could keep me going for days. His heart was beating somewhat harder beneath my fingers, I could feel it, he was waiting in anticipation.
'I would flirt with you, touch you slightly… touch your arm, your leg… your chest.' I leaned in and kissed his neck once, making him gasp softly. 'Find reasons to get close to you… be close to you. Make you notice me,' I whispered, then bit my lip cheekily. 'Make sure you never stop noticing me.' He shook his head slightly, 'I'm not sure if I could have ever been oblivious to you. I couldn't stop looking at you from the moment you walked through those ballroom doors, Valentine.' I leaned in, and whispered against his lips. 'Good.' I bit his lip softly. 'Maybe I would've walked into your room in Lythikos, thinking it was my room, showering… pretending to be shocked when you entered, but actually hoping you'd join me in the shower.' His fingers gripped my skin, almost to the point it would hurt, but I felt a pang of pleasure. His eyes had gotten very dark, and I was enjoying every little tease. 'Hoping you wouldn't be able to resist me, all wet and-' I started, but I couldn't even finish. 'That's it,' he growled, and gripped my hair, pulling me down onto his lips. He kissed me roughly, making me moan in pleasure. I loved his rough side, I could hardly get enough of it.
He flipped us, and he lay down between my legs. 'Did you have to drive me this crazy?' He questioned, his voice low and tortured. I smiled, let my nails slide over his back and leaned into his ear. 'Yes,' I whispered. 'Hell, Valentine,' he said, and to my complete satisfaction, his voice slightly cracked. I'd driven him crazy, and I loved every second of it. Just one more touch. I pecked his lips. 'We should go to sleep, though, it's quite late.' He was silent for a few seconds, his face almost frustrated with his own lust, until I giggled. 'I'm kidding. Come here and make me moan, Walker.' A grin curled onto his lips and he shook his head. 'You'll be the death of me.' I smiled seductively, and pulled his lips towards mine, kissing him, losing ourselves in the lust we had for each other.
The next morning, Jimmy, Emma and Jake left quite early. Jake accompanied them to help them do some research on Sons of Earth in the palace library while Jimmy and Emma searched Eleanor's, Jimmy's mother's, old bedroom. Drake was having a hard time not being able to support Jimmy, as he knew that Jimmy was struggling with the idea of having to search his mother's belongings. He'd never come to terms with her death, as she was poisoned, without anyone knowing why, how, or by whom. Drake was trying to divert his mind by helping Savannah with breakfast, as Maxwell, Hana, Tim, Danny, Ron and I were discussing last night's events. Bertrand came in, holding Bartie who cooed once he saw his mother. I smiled up at Drake, who immediately caught my eyes as he smiled at me too.
Maybe we would have one of those little ones around within a year…
'So, we can try to do more research, but I'm thinking that we'll all have to lay low, right?' Tim said. Hana and I nodded. 'We have to pretend like we're just touring around, Jimmy and Emma being MIA is suspicious enough,' Maxwell agreed. 'Okay, so we'll just be walking around here for a while, and in three days we'll visit Bellatio?' Danny asked. 'Yeah, that's the plan. Bellatio is the final stop. We'll be there for about one and a half weeks, to arrange the wedding and make sure everything is perfect,' I said, then frowned. 'Or at least… pretend like it's perfect. Assassination attempts aside. We have one and a half week to find out who the leader of Sons of Earth is, who the Cordonian nobility is, and what they're planning… and most of all, we have time to protect ourselves this time.'
It was quiet for a little while, until Drake and Savannah put breakfast on the table. I chuckled as I saw what they'd cooked up. 'Let me guess, you were raised at a ranch?' I teased, with a smile on my face. Drake shot me an amused look. 'Well, yeah, how can you tell.' He pecked my lips and winked. Savannah nodded happily. 'Down at the ranch we had breakfast like this every day, eating eggs, meat and greens to make sure we'd be fuelled up throughout the day.' She grinned. 'And you guys have to be ready too, because we've got a lot in store for you!'
I looked up at her, and raised my eyebrows inquisitively. 'What are we going to do?' I asked happily. Savannah and Bertrand shot each other a look, then smiled big. 'We're driving up to a farm nearby. Bertrand really wanted to get a hold on "ranch life" as he's unfamiliar with it, and as you're marrying Drake, Iris, maybe it'll be fun for you as well!' Savannah explained. A big smile spread on my face. 'Really? I can't wait!' Drake's eyes caught mine, and he smiled lovingly. 'And Tim and Maxwell have to get used to it too, being family,' Bertrand said, with a small smile to both guys. Tim and Maxwell nodded happily and Tim rolled up his sleeves. 'Reporting for duty, right Maxwell?' Maxwell grinned and agreed. Hana giggled. 'Yeah, laugh, Hana, but if you marry Tim… you're family too!' I said, cheekily. Hana blushed slightly as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling up at Tim. 'We're not getting married any time soon, but I'd love being your family, guys.' 'Awww, Han!' Maxwell and I cooed, jumped up and hugged her. She laughed and wrapped her arms around us.
Once we'd finished breakfast, we went up to our rooms to change into a set of "farm clothes" as Savannah had called it, so we could get dirty. The moment Drake and I entered our room to change, our phones buzzed at the same time. I grabbed my phone, and he stood behind me, putting his hand on my hip as he kissed my neck and looked at the screen of my phone, probably expecting it to be the group chat.
It, however, wasn't.
It was a video of a masked man, all over the news. 'Oh my god,' I muttered. Drake's grip on my hip tightened. 'What the…' I pressed play, and the man started speaking. 'Cordonians, you all need to take a long and hard look at your King.' His voice was altered, and he sounded terrifyingly angry. Immediately, goose bumps spread all over my body. 'He isn't able to protect his own court, as well as court's most prized possession.' The man took a step backwards, and pulled something from behind his back. I gasped and Drake growled. It was a Cordonian Ruby, from the apple orchard. It had blackened, and was charring. 'I hope to make the message clear. The destruction of the apple orchard is our way of telling you how weak your government is. Divided. And soon…' He crushed the apple in his hand. 'The government will meet the same fate as the Cordonian Rubies.' He paused and dropped the crushed apple through his gloved fingers.
'It will cease to exist.'