The Immortal King

17: Excuse Me?

Confusion mixed with anger rushed through me as my mouth opened in shock. Me?

“What?”, My face twisted in disbelief as I averted my eyes to Luis. There was no presence of charm in his eyes or amusement in his voice. He was completely serious.

Luis arms crossed over his chest and mine did the same.

“Do you have anything to do-“

“Are you f*cking serious?”, Did they really think I would go through all of this just to escape this place? If it was truly that easy the first time, why would I have gone through so much to do it again. 

The saying is work smarter not create an entire ruse with your crazy ex to make an attempt to escape again. Especially considering the fact that my mate would just find me again. 

Luis nodded as I could hear Sebastien shifting in his seat. A lump grew in my throat at the thought that he believed I would do something so diabolical, especially when there were children involved. 

What kind of woman do they think I am?

“Luis, I would never do something like-“

“-but you did know him”, He interrupted in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

My hands left my chest, “Yeah. But-“

“-How?”, He interrogated without allowing me to get anymore words in. My hands nervously clutched the fabric of my ruined gown.

“He’s my ex, but-”, Luis shook his head and a menacing chuckle left his lips. I sniffled and uncontrollable tears began to leave my eyes.

Even when I was not meaning to, I was asking to be rejected from this kingdom. It very well did seem as though I conspired this entire event for the sake of my freedom, but I would never do such a thing, especially not with Eric. 

It was crucial for them to know that.

When I got up in an attempt to clear my name, Luis raised his hand, “Enough”

I shook my head as I walked toward him. My heart sunk as words began to spill from my lips, “You have to understand, I would never do this. Eric and I are not together, I don’t even know why he was here tonight. I don’t even know how he knew tonight was my re-announcement. Please Luis-“

Luis raised his hand again and shook his head. He then uncrossed his arms and walked towards me causing me to take a cautious step back.

“Why the f*ck should we believe you?”, he shouted, speaking for himself and Sebastian, “Since day one you have been walking around here complaining, attempting to escape, begging to be rejected by your king...”

He trailed as he gestured toward Sebastien, “Would it be so out of turn for you to still be f*cking your ex?! Would it be so ridiculous for us to think that you set this whole thing up?”

Tears continued to stream down my face as I rapidly blinked. How would I have even had time to conspire such a thing when I was being constantly surveilled? Though I could understand where they were coming from, the two men were clearly not thinking. 

Luis began to stalk around me with darkened eyes before coming to a halt next to my ear. At this angle, I was able to see the back of an unmoving Sebastien. 

“Do we look like fools to you Elizabeth?”, Luis then brought his hand to my eye level allowing his long black claws to pierce through, “Well, Liz. Just so you know we caught a couple prisoners of war tonight.  So you better say something worth hearing in the next few seconds before you are forced to join them”

Hiccups began to erupt from my throat as my cries grew. Luis did not seem to care as his hand inched toward my chest in an intimidating manner.

It was scary how easy it was for him to  go from being protective of me to viewing me as his enemy. It also struck me how Sebastien had not moved an inch from his spot looking away from me.

It was understandable though. 

I should have not expected anything less from the two men. They were royalty after all and it was well-known they would do anything to uphold the security and respect of their kingdom. 

My eyes roamed as I gambled with the idea of letting the truth be known about Eric and I’s relationship. On one hand, exposure would save my life, but on the other, I would have to relive painful memories that left me lost when I allowed them to be real. 

Would a couple nights in the dungeon be so bad? 

“He used to hurt me”, I uttered, the words leaving my mouth before my inner protests could stop me. I watched Sebastien’s back twitch in his seat, but it could have very well been imagined, as I was staring at his back for awhile at this point. 

Luis did not move.

“We met when we were really young and  my father was still around. Sometimes when my father would take me to where he trained the town youth, Eric would be there. He was one of the best....”, 

I trailed as I sniffled and eyed Luis’ retracting claws, “He was there for everything including my father-“, I choked and shook my head not wanting to finish that part, “-and he was my first everything. Long story short, Eric left to go fight for his cousin’s pack across the way and when he returned, he was different. Like a switch went off in his head or something. He was more irritated. More combative. Unusually cruel. Less protective...”

The more memories that came, the more tears fell, “One day, we got into one of our regular arguments and he threw a punch at me. And from that day on, he never stopped”

Sebastien remained turned away from me. 

With Luis still standing beside me, I turned so that we were now facing one another. Luis’ dark eyes softened and it was his turn to look toward his brother expectedly.

He seemed to be speechless in the moment. 

“So tell me Luis”, I sniffled, my voice cracking, “Why would I want to conspire with a man who’s idea of love was me squirming under his touch?”

Luis’ mouth opened, but no words left his lips. He then shook his head toward me and used his hands to wipe my tears away. Luis then brought me into a firm hug that caused me to blubber in his arms.

The girl in that story was someone I wanted to leave behind along with those memories. The mere thought of Eric reminded me of how weak and stupid I was to stay with him. Though I was young and naive, I should have known better.

My father would not have wanted that for me nor should I have allowed if for myself. Vile rose in my throat as memories of me pathetically begging for his love continued their invasion in my mind. 

Luis caressed the back of my head as I coughed and choked into his blood stained shoulder. 

As I remained in his arms, I could hear Sebastien aggressively get up from his seat. I watched, barely getting a glimpse of the quick figure, from the corner above Luis’ shoulder as a steaming Sebastian made his way out of the office. 

 There was a long pause and the air grew unbearably tense as Luis looked towards the door in confusion. 

With little words said, Luis abruptly removed me from his grasp and sent me away to Sebastien’s room as, I assumed, he went looking for the beast.  

With emotions obviously running high, I decided to use this opportunity to take the well needed bath I had been craving. The thoughts were non-stop as the guards walked me to the "King's Bathing Quarters", silence still invading the kingdom walls.  

When I arrived to the quarters, my thoughts were halted for a split second as the aesthetic immediately sent a wave of serotonin to my brain. Attached to Sebastien’s room, was his bathing quarters, which was beautifully designed. 

The tiles were a marble white color while the walls contrasted to be a marble black. When one first walked in, on their left stood a two sink set in front of a huge long mirror. Across from the sinks stood a wide transparent shower with eucalyptus handing on the shower head. Directly parallel from the entrance of the bathroom, which was my personal favorite, was a wide porcelain bathtub. Above the bathtub was a gorgeous arch that had vines hanging from them. Behind the tub was a large window with a beautiful view of the outside garden.  

From the garden, it was almost impossible to see up here or know which room was Sebastien’s being that the palace held so many windows. 

A smile crept on my lips as I entered, but it quickly went away, as not even this beautiful fantasy could take me away from the very real events I experienced tonight.  

As I stepped into the already prepared bath, courtesy of the maids, my thoughts drifted to tonight’s events.  I wondered if Josie, Juliet, and everyone else was okay.  

I wondered how Eric was able to get involved in such a thing as invading the kingdom, especially with witches.  I wondered who Luis was talking about when he said prisoners of war.  

Of course, in all my wondering, the topic of Sebastien came up and took priority above all other things. I could not help, but wonder what his true feelings were about everything that occurred nor could I stop thinking about his whereabouts.  

He disappeared on me twice in one night. I mean, in his defense, the first time was more so a team effort, but it occurred nonetheless.  

As I lathered myself in soap, questions of concern flashed through my mind. 

What happened to him after we separated? Was he hurt? Did he genuinely believe I would betray him for Eric? Did he believe that Eric hurt me?  

What did all this sudden chaos mean for my rejection?  

I bet it gave him more of a reason to push for it honesty. I mean, even if he did believe me, I had been apart of more problems than solutions in the little time I had been in his life.  

With all my thinking, I must have thought Sebastien into existence because within a couple of moments, a partially shifted Sebastien stormed into the bathroom. He wore the same clothes he left the office in.  

This time, though, his dress shirt was basically pieces of fabric clinging to his sweaty body and claw marks were healing on his torso. In addition, chunks of bloody meat were apparent on his claws, hair, and body. My eyes met with his pitch black ones for a brief moment before he made his way toward the shower and turned it on. 

Without any words, he began to remove his clothing and I turned away with an embarrassed blush.  

As if I had not seen him in that way before.  

Though no words were exchanged, his presence in the same room as me was oddly calming in comparison to how I felt when I was alone. Thoughts of tonight, Eric, my pain, etc no longer haunted me as Sebastien showered only a couple feet away. 

My thoughts soon drifted from concern to about how an agitated Sebastien was in the shower so close to me and how much closer I needed him to be. 

As I rinsed myself, I could feel the familiar heat that came with thinking of Sebastien invading my body. 

As a result, I decided that it was time for me to finish up and leave before my subconscious got any ideas. 

After an awkward walk out of the shower, attempting to avoid the fallen blood on the marble floors and a pair of following eyes, I made my way into Sebastien’s room.  

When I arrived, it dawned on me that the two of us would have to sleep in the same bed. I soon came to the conclusion that if Sebastien was willing to do that then that meant he believed my story, or at least enough of it, and did not see me as a threat to this kingdom. 

My heart fluttered a little at the thought, but it was short lived when the realization that I was most likely going to be rejected anyway crept in my mind again. 

When I approached his bed, I noticed that the maids did not provide me with sleeping attire tonight as they usually did. I did not blame them. With everything going on, the last thing anyone was thinking about was sleeping clothes fit for a queen. In response to tonight’s lack of services, I walked over to one of Sebastien’s dressers and got one of his casual plain black shirts.  

The sound of the water cutting off called for me to quickly put on the shirt, cut the lights off, and climb into his bed. Luckily, my hair was not too wet because I made the decision of keeping my head above water. 

I did not want the chance for any awkward interactions to occur when he arrived from the shower.