In War, There Is Love

Blind

Demetrius threw one of his many black coats on his shoulders and walked out of his chambers to the Throne Room as fast as he could.

One of his guards had informed him that the Queen had demanded—shouted—in the hallways for a meeting with their Small Council, even though it was the middle of the day and most of them were resting.

Something strange twisted inside his chest, something that felt a lot like worry.

What had happened? It wasn’t like his wife to come around screaming and acting on impulse. She was too calculative for that.

But as he caught sight of her on the other hallway, entering the Throne Room while dragging behind herself a man in his guards’ uniform, only by using her powers, that twist on his chest only grew stronger, more painful.

What the f***k had happened to her and why did he know nothing about it?

He saw her throw the door open still by using a wave of her golden magic, and instantly he ran to her.

Please, be alright, Demetrius heard himself say in his head, like a mantra, over and over again. He didn’t even stop to think that that was strange, that he wasn’t supposed to care about her. Worry about her. Worry so much that it was suddenly hard to breathe.

Only when he was inside the Throne Room he stopped, and the first thing he noticed were his lords and ladies standing in front of Maya, looking at her with huge, shocked eyes.

She had her back to him, probably still not knowing he had arrived, but a soft veil of golden magic flew around her constantly, making her long, almost white hair float at her sides.

It took Demetrius a second or two to notice the guard lying on the floor, groaning in pain.

His eyes were completely white. Like he was blind.

Demetrius had no blind guards in his court.

At least until now.

“Who did this?” his wife demanded to the members of the Council, her voice sharp and angry like he had never heard before. He didn’t blame some of his lords for taking a step back and lowering their eyes in fear. They could feel the power radiating out of her just like he did. But it looked more than fear. It looked like submission. “WHO WAS IT?” she shouted. “Was it you?” she pointed at them one after the other. “Or you?”

Lilith and Anthony joined him, looking as clueless as Demetrius was.

Gavin was the only one that took a step towards her. “My Queen, we would never even think of doing something like—”

“Wouldn’t you?” Maya laughed, a sound almost painful that twisted that thing inside his chest again. It was like a knife constantly piercing his heart, but he wanted to see this play out at first. He wanted to get a grip on himself before he lost control and hell broke lose. “So none of you would want to get rid of the faerie that became your Queen? Is this why his tongue is cut so he cannot confess who ordered him to attack me?”

Attack her?

His eyes zeroed on the teared fabric on her shoulder.

The rage Demetrius felt suddenly was so strong, he saw dark. The urge to kill intesifying like never in his life before.

Only Lilith’s hand on his shoulder brought him back for a few moments. And then Anthony did the same on his other shoulder, both holding him back with meaningful stares.

Someone had hurt his mate. While he was in his room, drinking. The self-loathing was almost as strong as the urge to murder almost everyone in the room. And it seemed they both knew it.

“I have put our differences aside to be the Queen you deserve. I have done everything in my power for all of you to like me when I should have known all along who I had in front of me!” Her magic grew larger as she spoke, her voice echoing the room. “At least show your face! Or was it my husband?”

Everyone’s eyes were suddenly on him, and only then did Maya turn her head to look at him. Her eyes had turned completely a golden yellow, her wings free and graceful.

“Close the gates,” Demetrius ordered his brother, his voice not leaving it up from discussion, never once moving his gaze away from her. “No one is going to walk out of this castle until we find who is responsible for hurting our Queen.”

“But, my Lord,” another of the lords objected, “we aren’t prisoners here.”

“Yes, you are.” Demetrius could feel his eyes turning red out of anger, his hands shaking. “If you want to act like criminals and attack your Queen, that means you’re prisoners in this Court.” He stared at everyone, until they had no choice but to bow their heads in submission. “Perhaps I’ve grown soft on you these past few years. Perhaps I’ve trusted all of you a little too much that you’ve forgotten who are the monarchs and who are the servants.”

“Demetrius,” Lady Gia complained, and Demetrius couldn’t help but notice the way Maya’s strange yellow eyes travelled from him to her. He had made little mistakes in his life, but having Gia as his lover many years ago proved to be one of them.

“Take them,” he ordered the guards, his words being followed by several gasps. “Send everyone to their respective chambers. We’ll interrogate them there.”

“You cannot do this—” Gia cried, but immediately stopped when he showed her his fangs.

“Shut up before I throw you in the dungeons myself.”

Others started to complain too, but Maya was the only one that kept her back at him, her body visibly shaking. Instantly Demetrius realized she was trying to control her powers—and failing.

As if by instinct, he walked to her and touched her hair first. He didn’t turn her to face him, he didn’t demand an explanation, anything. All he did was wrap his arm around her chest softly, and draw her body to his, his fingers caressing her naked skin softly.

“What are you doing?” his wife whispered, but her magic was slowly softening, even though she kept shaking in his hands.

“Calming you down,” Demetrius whispered in her ear. It was working, he knew it was. He could feel it like it was his own magic, his own body. It was strange, but he couldn’t help but crave more of that connection.

“I’m perfectly calm,” she objected, but her voice came out weak now.

He sighed. “You don’t know how to control your magic properly. That’s okay.”

“Of course I do.” She struggled to get free, yet it took him just a kiss on the top of her head for her to stop. Demetrius didn’t even know why he had done that. He didn’t go around kissing females on their heads. He wasn’t soft.

But just the thought of someone hurting his wife, of her suffering, alone, woke something protective inside of him.

He slid his lips on her hair softly. “You’ve blinded him, Maya. Permanently. And I don’t think you did that on purpose.”

She stiffened, but despite everything, kept her chin high. Goddammit, had he started admiring her this much?

“He deserved it.”

“He deserves worse,” Demetrius agreed. “I’ll give him worse.”

She didn’t answer that, but nor did she walk away from his touch. Like she wanted it, craved it, the same way he craved her in his arms now.

But Demetrius wouldn’t push his luck right now. She was only allowing this because she was terrified. It didn’t mean she hated him any less.

Silently, he inspected the bare skin between her neck and her shoulder. There were scratches on her neck, but the guard hadn’t been able to draw a lot of blood.

Demetrius would enjoy killing him slowly and agonizingly, until he had no force to scream anymore.

“This is the last time you blame me for hurting you, Maya,” he whispered against her hair, furious that she had considered that, but not really showing it.

“You’ve promised that you'd be the only one to hurt me.”

They were both whispering now, even though the room was empty.

With every passing second, Demetrius hated himself a little bit more. “Not physically,” he said. “If I wanted to, I would’ve hurt you, darling.”

“That means you don’t want to?”

His lips slid from her hair to her naked shoulder, where the scratches were. And he left a soft kiss there, wishing he could leave another, and another, and another. “No.”

The door opening behind them caused her to walk away from him.

Demetrius cursed the timing internally, but then he saw the worried looks on his siblings’ faces as they looked at Maya.

Lilith rushed to her first, inspecting the scratches. “Are you alright?”

Maya nodded even though they could all say she wasn’t.

“We’ll find who it was, Maya. We’ll bring you justice.”

She tried to smile, but it was fake. Forced. Suddenly, Demetrius missed her genuine smile even though it was never directed at him.

Anthony rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her body, but suddenly Maya stiffened, and he let her go instantly. “I’m sorry.”

Shaking her head, she held his hand and tried to reassure him. “It’s okay, it isn’t about you. And it isn’t about what happened today. I just don’t hug.”

Demetrius exchanged a worried look with his siblings. “What do you mean you don’t hug?” Lilith asked.

Maya shrugged, trying to play it off. “I just don’t. It’s not that weird.”

Demetrius was afraid he was losing his mind today.

“You mean you don’t even let people hold you?” Anthony sounded even more surprised.

Shaking her head, she walked to the door. “Nope. I can hold myself just fine.” She smiled that faked smile again. “Now excuse me, I have to go and change.”

“What has happened to her?” Lilith asked when they were left alone.

“Something I’ll find out sooner or later,” Demetrius heard himself answering.

He didn’t know what he’d do with that information. Nor did he know why it was so important to him to figure her out, everything about her, her past and present, but he could blame it all on curiosity.

And he would be lying to himself.

“Do you think it was Silas?” Anthony broke the silence.

Demetrius shook his head, unconvinced. “Silas doesn’t look like the affectionate type, especially not to his bastard daughter, but I doubt he would hurt her. She wouldn’t be here, actually married to me, if he had. She’s more prideful than that.”

“But who, then?” Lilith let out a deep breath. “And who was behind the guard today? Do you think it was really one of our Council members?”

“It could be possible,” Anthony agreed.

“Yet they don’t seem to hate her anymore,” Demetrius concluded. “So it is strange for them to want to hurt her.”

“You should go after her,” Lilith told him. “She needs you.”

“She doesn’t.”

“Demetri!”

“Do you think Maya wants pity? She’ll throw me out,” he said. “Besides, what am I supposed to say? Do I seem like the comforting mate to you? I’ll probably scare her more.”

Anthony chuckled, but it was humorless. Full of sarcasm. “You are totally clueless.”

He made a move to go after Maya himself, but Lilith stopped him. “Let me,” she said. “She’d be more open to some girls-only conversations.”

Demetrius strongly doubted it. Both his sister and his wife weren’t the affectionate types, but it was better than if he had to go.

Instead, he made his way to the dungeons.

It was time to hear some screams.