Chapter 22

My father slowed the car and looked at me in question. I didn't have the words to tell him what I was feeling. There were no words. Refusing to leave him in the dark, I let him into my mind. He saw what I saw, and perhaps he felt a little bit of it too because I heard him call Nim to us. My brother wasn't far away, but Eric was closer. Like a fallen angel he descended in front of the car. I was out of my seat before I could think of all the reasons why I shouldn't look so eager. Just gazing at him after so long made me feel as though that hell I'd been through was the dream and this right here with him was the reality.

"You should not have come," He said. "Whatever brought you here, you have to let it go."

It was like having ice water being poured into my veins. I looked at him and I wanted nothing more than to see the face I loved. I saw it, but it wasn't the same. He wasn't smiling my smile. He wasn't close enough to crowd. He was downwind as if my scent was diseased and he was loath to be tainted with it. Seeing I was just with his wife to be, that was indeed the case.

"It's you," I admitted and no matter how much pain I'd gone through I couldn't ever let him go. "It's always you."

I saw the tense expression soften, but only for a moment. "Me too..."

His face was taut as if he was fighting each word that escaped. He wanted to tell me something. He must have been under his Maker's edict. I'd already taken three steps toward him before I realized I'd moved. My father had a hand on my shoulder keeping me from going further. Eric took steps back not wanting to come in contact with my scent. That hurt, but I stayed where I was, leaning against my dad.

"It wasn't luck that you were to die by fire," Eric said.

He had somehow fashioned it that way because I could call for a faery to extract me from the house. He hadn't abandoned me to die. He had a plan. It was a plan I couldn't see but it was a plan nonetheless. I could have laughed from the relief of it. Eric was a thousand-year-old sheriff. Of course he had a plan! Hope sprang within me. It was a reckless kind of hope. There was no reason behind it, but it made me believe that I was the center of Eric's world again and I so needed to believe in Eric again. Then something clicked and just as it had come, my hope died.

"What have you done?"

Eric had said those words to me when he pulled me off Ocella after I'd beaten him to a pulp. I'd thought it to be concern for his Maker. It hadn't been. He had known that this was coming, he had to. He hadn't told me. He knew that I would have hunted Ocella; if I had found him I would have murdered him. He didn't want that.

Instead he began putting distance between us to prepare me for this. Simultaneously, he must have reached out to vampires beyond our immediate area and probably began sharing his supposed doubts about me. He would have told them what he would do to me if his suspicions were proven to be true. He had done all that while he lay in bed with me every night for months.

"In your end goal, Ocella still remains, doesn't he? Then I become Queen of Oklahoma."

Something he knew I didn't want to be…a title I had given up for him because it meant we would just be happy together. Yet, he would ask it of me if it meant saving his Maker. Then I had to wonder why I was so shocked. This was typical Eric, he had to have his cake and eat it too. It was never a bad thing because I had been the cake. I was always what he wanted most.

Looking at his face I knew I was right. He had done all that to save his Maker, put me, put us through this. He had gambled with my life in the name of his Maker and I almost died. I hadn't fought. I hadn't called anyone. If not for a vague vision from Niall and the determination of my friend, I would have burned to death. There was no doubt that he would have been destroyed by my death but it wouldn't have changed a thing. I would still be dead and his precious Maker would have survived and he would still be getting married.

Eric never had to tell me that Ocella had forced him into sex in the beginning of his undead life, and now he had sold him to a Queen under the guise of marriage. There was no doubt that he didn't want this marriage, but I also had no doubt he was trying to protect Ocella from me even now, even after everything he had done to him and to me.

I reached up to where my father had his arm across my shoulder and removed it. He didn't even hesitate and it was then that I realized he was in my head and had been in my head as my thoughts formed. He felt my rage and the coldness of my resolve.

"You have no idea who I am or what I am capable of, do you?" I asked calmly.

Of course he didn't.

"Your amnesiac mate, the one you rescued from a car wreck, the one that built her world around you, the one that gave up her family and two thrones for you, she died."

I told him. I didn't know if my words elicited any emotion from him. I literally felt blinded by hurt and fury.

"She burned to death, Eric, in your lame brain plan to save your Maker. What was left of her soul spent the following months starving to death hurting over you."

I couldn't believe that heartache alone had reduced me to that. I had suffered organ failure, I had been nothing but a bag of bones and I had lingered on just this side of the veil. I had suffered all that because he wanted to save his Maker. Now he expected me to sit aside and wait. He was going to marry this woman. I knew vampires; I knew he would have to consummate his marriage. The thought alone…

"That girl is dead. What is left is the Princess she was born and raised to be. You don't know her and I promise you; you don't want to piss her off."

"I know you are angry, but trust me," He said. "I need you to…I need that more than anything."

Nim had been there. He had arrived seconds after Eric but he chose that moment to leave my father's side. I realized why, Sai was here too, probably because he didn't trust me or anyone with his Maker so he had followed after we left home. In any case, both my brothers flanked me. Both were awaiting my signal. I couldn't give in. No, I was a sadist. I still loved the object of my torment. I gave him one more out because I was his fool.

"Tell me you want him gone and I will make it happen," I offered. "I promise."

An edict was much like a Fae promise. There were holes. I hadn't used Ocella's name or the fact that I would snuff out his existence slowly. My words were ambiguous so he could answer me. I knew he could by the way his face twisted from a mask of cool to one of anger. He could answer but he knew I wouldn't like his response. I honestly didn't think Eric could hurt me anymore, but he just succeeded.

"You told me you trusted me more than you trusted yourself." He countered.

And he told me I would never be free of him but here we were.

"Leave this state, Viking, take your betrothed with you and never come back." I told him. "If you do, nothing can save you, not even me." In that moment I wasn't sure I would even want to.

I knew he wanted to argue, but his time with was short. He needed to get back to his wife-to-be. She was his priority now and I wasn't even second fiddle. No,I was too good to be anything other than first place. It had nothing to do with being a princess. I was his mate. There should be no line that Eric wouldn't cross for me. He hadn't even toed it. When push came to shove he chose his Maker and he thought he could place me on a shelf until...I had no idea when. I refused.

Eric left and I watched him go feeling so sick that I could scream. Nim got in Sai's car. I took the driver's seat of my father's car and raced my brother back to home.

"I changed my mind, Daddy," I told my father during the drive. "Eric doesn't need to be rescued. Like Ocella and Freyda, he needs to be taught a lesson."

"As you wish, mija," he said with a nod. "I will say this, the thought of you being Queen appeals to me."

"I will be Queen, but it will be as my father intended, I will be a Queen without rival, in this world or the old." I replied.

When we arrived home I went straight to my lab.

"How was your vacation, Princess?" Fin greeted.

"Long," I replied smiling at the holographic projection. "Let me in."

I wasn't sure what I thought my father would have done to my work space after he banished me. The logical thing to do would have been to sell the equipment, much of which cost at least six figures because no one else here used it. Yet, the room had looked just like it had that day when I shut it down for what I thought would be the last time. The memories brought so much heartache. I had given up everything just to be with Eric. He'd done the same thing.

I'd been so floored that he had gone to such great lengths, getting an injunction from the Pythoness so he could take me home. He had risked life and limb walking into the heart of my father's territory to get to me. Eric had willfully defied a powerful King in his own court. He had been prepared to spend the rest of forever running just to be with me.

Yes, he had done all that but when it came to Ocella he did nothing. He was giving up everything to safeguard him. The first thing I did was try to get eyes on Freyda's known places but I was blind, literally. I was tapped into the feeds of Oklahoma City traffic cams but damned near all of them had been obscured. It wasn't done by any written codes that I could tackle.

Freyda knew how I operated because Eric had told her. I knew he would have given up information about me but to see the results of it…there were really no words. I knew he didn't do it freely, but the feeling of crushing betrayal that I knew he had willingly committed I couldn't see the difference.

I remained in the lab and catalogued every conversation I'd ever had with Eric. There were so many. So many happy memories. I detached myself from every single one. There was no sentimentality, this was cold hard math. I needed to know how much damage he could do to me and my family. The results were unfavorable but not catastrophic. He knew many of the 'whats' but not the 'hows' to match.

Much of the information he had was emotional, he knew how I felt about things I did or could do. So while he knew what I'd done for the Fae, he had no idea how. He just knew how I felt about it. It was the same for the serum. The few things I knew for sure was that Ocella, if not Freyda, now knew were: I had an ally in the Sky Fae; my family were daywalkers, and my mental and physical abilities. Unfortunately those were my biggest advantages and they were as good as useless. Much like the move with the cameras she would be ready. Considering how bad it could be, this was nothing. Already I had the plan forming in my head.

My Fae BFF was never far from my mind, but after he had seen me at my worst, I didn't want to reach out until I was better. I wasn't better, but I was well enough to face him again. I wanted him to see that I was okay. The lines connected and for about a half hour Caspian cried, and I gushed at hearing his voice again. Then he told me something disturbing.

"Niall has stopped funding for my lab."

"Shit, Cas, I'm sorry." I told him.

"With our numbers growing again, it makes sense. He doesn't care about the human-centered work I do, again can't say I blame him, still; it just feels weird not having that. So I am now just a lowly professor, still hot and brilliant, mind you."

I laughed. It was the first time in weeks that I'd heard that sound, but Caspian's derisive tone and the fact he was still the same when so much had changed was good to hear.

"Come here."

"I wish I could, but for any faery to settle safely in a place with vampire regents, we have to petition the sheriff, negotiate rates, and without Niall, I do not have the clout."

I smiled. "Princess trumps sheriff, and the sheriff is my brother, so just get your ass over here. I'll handle the specifics."

I wasn't hungry but when the timer on my phone beeped I went up to eat. I was halfway finished with my meal when I heard the rest of my family begin preparing for their night. The first person I saw was Sai. Since I'd been up and about he had laid off me. Our relationship was back to normal. He validated me with a slight nod but that was all. Sai was never chatty unless he was being a dick.

"You are right, big brother." I told him. "I do so love setting trends."

"Good for you." He said.

I didn't forget a single word he had said to me while I'd been damn near catatonic in bed. I knew why he did it, but still…I slapped his bottle of blood out of his hand and into the sink. The glass broke, blood splattered the sink, a few drops hit the wall, but most of it was on his crisp yellow button-down and the suit jacket he wore.

Yeah, he had a weird thing with suits, nice suits. Always had which I didn't get because he was always ready to do violence. He had the severe looks of the marauding Moor he had been, but in handmade Italian suits. Don't get me started about his designer loafers and belt collection.

Before his furious roar left him, I was out of the kitchen and halfway up the stairs. By that time he started cursing my name I was by my father's study.I walked into the room and there was a question on The King's face. We could both hear Sai threatening to kill me. I shrugged and for some reason, that made him smile, a smile he kept for just me.

"In his own way Sai missed you," He told me.

I arched a disbelieving brow. I would wager that particular sibling would suck ash and burnt blood before he let himself miss me. I was the bane of his existence, well, at least I tried.

"He was bored. No one can torment him the way you do."

I grinned. "I am happy to do it."

I sat down and we talked. It felt like the good old days except it wasn't. It was better. I wasn't afraid of losing his love. I'd fallen as far from grace as I could and here I was. It made me more honest. While I had no trust to give, I trusted him. He was a man I'd loved and trusted my whole life and so far, he had never betrayed it.

He filled me in on his affairs of state. Not much had changed. I told him my plan in getting Eric back. His job was to poke holes in it every step of the way. He knew me well, knew how my mind worked when I was being methodical. He could account for things that he knew with my personality I might miss. No matter how well I thought I had things figured, he always found something. This time we knew the fight was personal and we tried to shore up those weaknesses as well.

"I would need you to unlock the trust fund," I said.

Truth was I was broke, again. The first time I'd gone broke was to emancipate my states. I no longer had access to the money I'd earned working for Niall. Ocella was kind enough to have Eric close my accounts. For what I was planning I needed a lot of money. My trust fund held enough money for the ransom of two Kings as did all my brothers' and father's. I only needed a fraction of that.

"I would prefer not to," He replied. "Forever is a long time and you will always need currency through every single day of it," he said.

He would know I supposed.

"We do not borrow against the crown and the funds from my business accounts will take too long to clear. Ask Nim, he has it or call in your favors with agent Lattesta and the CIA idiots. They owe you a lot of money."

Not anymore they didn't. At that point I told him about Matthew Ward, the man that had murdered my mother. In the tale, I implicated Nim, but my father didn't seem to mind.

"I should have killed him," He said.

I shook my head to disagree. From what Tom had found my mother wasn't the first woman to be raped or murdered by Matthew Ward. "You did to him exactly what he deserved."

I tapped into Nim's mind and asked to borrow a hundred million dollars. He was the minimalist in the family because of his human life. He had been a slave and he seemed determined not to let himself forget. His room was almost a jail cell with its décor or lack thereof. He wore plain clothes. Sai said he used to own horses but since he learned to fly he hadn't bothered with cars. He had the money to spare.

'You are not going to use it to leave,' He asked.

'No,' I replied confused.

Where else in the world could I go? In my heart I knew I wouldn't leave home for a long time. Where else would I find this amount of love and support than with my family? He showed me memories of what my absence had truly done to my family.

'Zee wanted to go after you; bring you home, father forbade it,'

My father and Zee were having a full blown shouting match. I'd never seen my father out of control, ever. Zee never got angry. The fight continued and it peaked when my father slapped Zee. I saw that he regretted it instantly but when he reached for him again, Zee recoiled and left.

'He has been gone, refusing to speak to father or come home. Ollie went with him so he would not be alone. It was just us again.'

I saw the memories. Sai, Nim and my father went about their routines. It wasn't much company. My eldest brothers could go weeks without a word. I saw Nim's memory when he ran into Sai at the gym in the house one day. They had looked at each other and just left. Had all of us been home, it would have been a good time, full on roughhousing. I'd missed home. I'd missed my father and brothers. I missed Amelia and Genie and my lab. This was the first time that I had to acknowledge that I'd ripped my family apart and for what? Nothing at all.

'I'm not going anywhere, I promised.

'Then take whatever you need to make this right.'

I blinked out of his mind and found my father looking at me in question. I'd all but forgotten about him.

"He said yes."

With the funds procured, all I was waiting for was time.

"I have one final question. What are you going to do with Eric once he is returned to you?"

That was the one question for which I had no answer. I couldn't lie or make excuses. I refused. My emotions had led me so astray. I knew I couldn't trust them anymore, especially where Eric was concerned. I was his mate. I loved him but he'd hurt me, so badly. It didn't mean I didn't love him, but I felt angry and betrayed. I resented him and a part of me, a small part, hated him. I knew that I wanted him with me, but I also wanted to take everything away from him the way he let Ocella take it from me. I wanted him to watch his precious Ocella die, slowly. I wanted to hurt him, make him suffer. It was what I wanted, but I wasn't sure if I had the stomach for it.

"God help him, Daddy," I said honestly. "I don't know."