A Court of Bones & Sorrow (Lunaria Realms #2)

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Samara

“Samara?” a voice called from down the hallway, and I held back a groan. I had really been hoping to make it to my room without anyone bothering me. Kieran had offered to come back to my suite with me, but I’d told him to go after Alaric and calm him the fuck down. Truthfully though, I’d just needed some time to come to terms with everything as well. I didn’t regret what we’d done, because being with Alaric and Kieran had felt right, but Alaric had basically fled from that room.

His expression—a mixture of anger, confusion, and regret—had hurt. I was no stranger to the pain caused by Alaric’s words, but now I’d just given him a whole new way to hurt me if he decided he didn’t want to be with me after all.

I wanted to stand under scalding hot water and let myself sob where no one could see me, because I was the Heir to House Harker. Crying in the halls over a boy was not an option.

Composing my face as best I could, I turned around to face the rapidly approaching footsteps. “Yes, Sofia?”

The fair-haired Moroi came to a halt, the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks standing out even more at the faint reddening across her pale skin. She gulped a few deep breaths before standing straighter, and I already dreaded whatever words were going to come out of her mouth.

Sofia was Yolanthe’s protégé. The sharp-minded advisor had chosen her because the twenty-year-old girl was studious and reliable. Usually nothing rattled Sofia . . . and yet she looked like she’d run up the stairs with haste to find me. Giving up all pretense, she placed a hand on my shoulder and bent over, sucking in breaths.

I’d thought I was bad at running.

“Sofia, whatever you needed to tell me wasn’t worth you passing out in the hallway,” I huffed out with laughter.

Her hand tightened, and she straightened enough to stare at me, wide-eyed. “The House Heirs are here!”

“What?” My amusement instantly evaporated, and I glanced out the nearest window that faced the front of House Harker.

“Well, not all of them,” she clarified as my gaze snapped back to her. “Neither Taivan nor Tamsen are here. Taivan isn’t that big of a surprise—the Devereux rarely leave their House. Except for Roth of course, but that’s . . .” Her hand slipped off my shoulder, and she straightened her dress. “I’m not sure why Tamsen didn’t come. It’s odd for House Corvinus to not insert themselves into any political situation. Ary and Aniela are in the small reception chamber just off the main tower entrance.”

It was suspicious that Tamsen wasn’t here, but I’d have to worry about that later because the Heirs of House Tepes and House Salvatore were downstairs.

I swore and headed towards the stairs that would lead down, all while checking my dress on the way to make sure everything was laced up right and running my fingers through my hair. Something told me there was no hiding the fact that I’d just been thoroughly fucked, but I needed to find out why two of the Heirs had shown up unannounced. It almost certainly had to do with Draven’s attendance.

“Also,” Sofia said hastily as she tried to keep up with me, “you should probably know . . . I mean, just so you know what you’re walking into . . .” We rounded the corner, and I ducked into the stairwell, picking up my dress as I hurried down the stairs. “If you want to take a moment and think about this, that’s okay. You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to?—”

I whirled on the step, and Sofia yelped as she barely managed to halt before crashing into me. “Don’t have to see who ?”

She swallowed nervously. “Demetri is here too. As the Laurent Heir, the guards at the gate couldn’t deny him entry.”

“Oh.” I slumped against the wall. “Right.” It really said something about my current mental state that it hadn’t even occurred to me he’d be here despite the fact that he was an Heir.

I hadn’t seen or spoken to my ex-husband since I’d stormed out of House Laurent two months ago. The anger had faded, mostly, and any love I’d felt towards him had evaporated over the years of our strained marriage. Now there was just . . . embarrassment? I’d let myself turn into a shadow of who I was at House Laurent, trying to fit their mold of what a perfect Moroi wife should be.

Demetri hadn’t even tried to fight for me. House Laurent had signed the papers to dissolve the marriage with zero fuss, which I still found odd. Some part of me had thought Demetri would have apologized for his actions and maybe tried to fix things between us. I most likely would have said no, but it hurt a little that he hadn’t bothered. Our three-year marriage really had been a joke.

But more strange was that his mother, Marvina, hadn’t used the request to dissolve the marriage to get better trade agreements between our Houses. She had no doubt been happy to see me go, but it wasn’t like her to waste such an opportunity. Since I was the one requesting the marriage to end, it would have been House Harker’s responsibility to offer any compensation.

“Do you want me to get Yolanthe?” Sofia asked quietly. “We can cover for you if you’re not ready to face him yet. No one will judge you for it.”

“I would judge me.” I gave her a small smile. “Besides, we both know Yolanthe is very calm until she’s not, and there’s a distinct possibility of her walking into that room and trying to tear Demetri’s head off.”

Sofia snorted. “True. She can be quite protective of those she cares about. I still have to handle any correspondence with House Devereux because she refuses to speak to Desmond even though her sister has told her she’s fine with how things ended between them.”

“Nobody holds a grudge like Yolanthe.” I shook my head at the memory of listening to the advisor rant about all the things she was going to do to the House Devereux Heir’s brother for how he had treated her sister. Most of the threats involved cutting his dick off in rather imaginative ways. For someone who was usually quite prim and proper, Yolanthe had a real mouth on her sometimes.

“I’ll be fine.” I pushed off from the wall and did my best to channel Carmilla. She was always confident and steadfast no matter the circumstance. I would be the same. “Do you know where Prince Draven is?”

Sofia shook her head. “I haven’t seen him since this morning.”

Well, that didn’t bode well at all.

I drew in an even breath and willed myself to be calm. “Can you track down Alaric and Kieran and let them know what’s going on? ”

“Of course. Anything you need, Samara.” She shot me a mischievous grin. “Even hiding the body of a certain piece of shit Heir.”

A sharp bark of laughter leapt from my lips. “Appreciate the thought, but I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

“Kieran might feel differently,” Sofia said slyly before darting back up the stairs.

She was right. I had no idea how Kieran would react to Demetri’s presence here. On one hand, he was better than me at hiding his true feelings behind all those masks of his, but on the other hand, he was fiercely protective of me. While I was happy to be back at House Harker and finally be with Kieran in the way I’d always wanted . . . Demetri’s betrayal had still hurt.

The memory of walking down the hall that day towards the sound of pleasurable moans played in my mind. My fingers curled into fists as I remembered what it had felt like to see Demetri in bed with someone else, displaying so much more passion than he ever had with me, at least in the last year of the marriage.

It was starting to feel like the moon had cursed me. As if I didn’t have enough problems just existing in Lunaria and trying to keep my House in order. Now I had to deal with a potential secret alliance between the wraiths and our queen, a wicked but ever so charming prince, and piling onto all of this were a bunch of Heirs who were no doubt here to push their own agendas. And they all may or may not have allied with the Moroi Queen and whatever she had going on with the wraiths.

“Love it,” I muttered to myself as I started making my way back down the stairs. “Absolutely love the life as an Heir. I mean, sure, I could be living the simple life at one of the outposts, maybe the one with the hot springs, but who would choose sitting in perfectly heated water every night while you relaxed from the toils of the day over dealing with a bunch of backstabbing, spoiled bitches. I mean, that’s not even a choi—fuck!”

“I mean, if you want to fuck, I’m not going to say no.” Draven grinned from the step beneath me. I’d almost reached the bottom landing when he’d stepped into the stairwell and cut me off. “Given that I’m basically an Heir, just with a fancier title, do you lump me into the category of ‘backstabbing, spoiled bitches?’”

“Yes.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re basically their leader.”

“Harsh.” He gave me a wounded look that I didn’t believe for one second. “May I escort you into the den of vipers?”

I stared at the arm he offered and raised my chin. “No, thanks. I can walk just fine on my own.” Pushing by him, I exited the stairwell and made my way towards the front of the main tower. Everyone I passed shot me relieved smiles. It wasn’t that everyone disliked dealing with the Heirs—all of the advisors had met with them at one time or another—but they’d come here without any warning, and with the Moroi Prince here, also unannounced, everyone knew a political game was underfoot, and none of them wanted to deal with it.

Sadly, that was my job since Carmilla wasn’t here. Even if she were here, I would still be involved, but at least I would have been able to let her run the show and just provide support instead.

Draven drew even with me, an amused smile playing across his lips. “This is your fault, you know,” I hissed under my breath at him, even as I kept a confident expression on my face. As the Harker Heir, it was important that I always presented a solid front, no matter the turmoil I was feeling inside.

“Whatever do you mean, my lovely betrothed?”

“Don’t call me that.” I ground my teeth. “They’re here because you’re here. It’s rare for you to visit the other Houses. At the Sovereign House, they have to contend with your mother, but now, they can get to you directly and whisper whatever they want into your ear, and they no doubt want to know why you came to House Harker so they can use that information in the future.”

“Thanks to the friendship between your aunt and my mother, there’s already an established relationship between our Houses.” He shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ve visited your home.”

We were almost to the room when I stopped and stared at him. “Did you tell anyone why you were coming here?”

“No.” Draven cocked his head. “Would you like me to?”

“Absolutely not!” I lowered my voice after taking a deep breath. “Do not mention your ridiculous proposal. If the Heirs learn of it, they’ll become determined to hammer through as many trade deals and arrangements as possible because they’ll think my House will be directly tied to the Sovereign House. And I do not. Have time. For their bullshit,” I enunciated.

Draven just smiled at me, and I threw up my hands in frustration. “Argh! Do not speak,” I ordered, knowing it was pointless because the prince would do whatever he wanted. He didn’t follow me when I started walking again, but I somehow doubted he was just going to walk away. No doubt he was plotting something I wouldn’t like.

I didn’t allow myself any hesitation as I strode into the room, feeling three sets of eyes landing on me.

“To what does House Harker owe the pleasure of not one but three Heirs visiting?” I smiled sharply. “Unannounced as it may be.”

Ary scoffed, his back to the painting he’d been pretending to admire. The Tepes Heir was a little unkempt from his likely fast ride here. House Tepes was in the northern part of the Moroi realm. His midnight black hair that was shaved on both sides was pulled back into a messy bun, and he was sporting some stubble on his usually clean-shaven face. It was a two-day ride if you hauled ass and rode through the night directly through the wilds instead of sticking to the safer roads. Ary was definitely crazy enough to do that, which meant he’d somehow caught wind of where Draven was heading before the Moroi Prince had arrived.

The same basically applied to the other Heirs. Salvatore was also a two-day ride, although there was a road that went directly from our House to theirs, so it was less treacherous. Laurent was fairly close to us, the ride easily done in a day. If I had to guess, I’d say Demetri had been waiting nearby for the other two Heirs to arrive. He’d probably suspected I would have thrown him out if he’d arrived on his own.

He wasn’t wrong.

“Don’t be coy, Samara,” Ary said in a deep, decadent voice. His light violet eyes shone brightly against his rich brown skin. The Tepes bloodline was the only one that shared purple eyes with the Harkers. Although ours were so dark, they looked almost black in dim lighting. Ary’s were light and reminded me of lavender blossoms.

The rough-natured Heir would have probably found the comparison amusing. I’d always thought he was more suited to be a ranger than an Heir with his wild personality. He was built more like Alaric, tall and lean rather than broad and bulky like Vail. When we’d been growing up, his relatively small frame had led other Moroi to underestimate the Tepes Heir and challenge him to fights.

Ary had walked away unscathed from every one. Usually while whistling a jaunty tune. If there were anyone better than me with knives, it was Ary. He was fast and lethal in a fight—and loved every second of it. Despite his ruthless nature, he had a sharp mind, and I couldn’t afford to forget that.

“Okay.” I bared my fangs at him. “What the fuck are you all doing here? ”

“There she is.” Aniela laughed.

Out of everyone here, the beautiful, red-haired Salvatore Heir was the one I was most wary of. I was fairly confident House Salvatore was not allied with Queen Velika and the wraiths, but I knew almost nothing about Aniela. While I’d been growing up, Selene—Aniela’s cousin and Dominique’s sister—had been the Heir, then Dominique’s parents and sister had died, and she’d risen to be the ruler of House Salvatore. She didn’t have any children of her own yet, so she’d named her cousin, Aniela, as Heir.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind right now, Aniela.” I walked to the center of the room and took a seat in one of the high-backed chairs. “So how about we cut the bullshit and you all tell me why you’re here? Then I can tell you that you wasted your time so you can leave and I can get on with my day.”

It wasn’t Aniela who answered. Instead, it was the Heir I’d been avoiding looking at since I’d entered the room.

“We’re here because Prince Draven is,” Demetri said smoothly, taking a seat directly across from me. He looked good, much to my annoyance, the sunlight beaming into the room lighting up the golden highlights of his chestnut brown hair. My former husband had always had a sensual elegance about him. It had appealed to me, but now, I just found it rather tedious.

“I admit,” he continued, “that when I heard the news, I thought the prince was coming to court you, and yet here you sit”—his hazel eyes traveled possessively down my body—“reeking of two other males. Rather interesting, considering how harshly you judged me, wife.”

“Not your wife anymore, Demetri,” I said in a bored tone while I held his accusing stare. “And the difference is that I’m not being unfaithful to anyone. I do this thing called being honest .” Aniela snorted, and I amended. “In my personal relationships anyway. I think I’ve had my fill of marriage for a while.”

“So you deny it then?” Demetri’s reproachful, hazel eyes remained focused on me. “That the prince is here to ask for your hand?”

“Oh, I’m definitely here to marry Samara.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and counted to ten in my head, hoping it would help.

It did not.

Draven strolled the rest of the way into the room and perched on the arm of my chair, leaning possessively into me. I glared up at him, but he just shot me a flirty grin.

“Prince Draven,” Aniela purred, leaning forward enough to put her ample chest on display. “I had no idea you were interested in marriage.”

“I’m interested in Samara,” Draven said evenly.

Silence reigned while I fumed. Both because Draven just had to open his big mouth . . . and because I was pissed off at myself for the flash of jealousy I’d felt at Aniela flirting with him.

Aniela immediately turned her attention to me, not the least bit concerned about Draven’s mild rebuff of her, which told me she had no real interest in him that way. Now she and Ary were both staring at me like I was a juicy piece of meat. Meanwhile, Demetri was staring daggers at Draven.

This was exactly what I didn’t want. I’d been hoping to make it clear to all of them that there was nothing between me and Draven, and whatever they’d thought they’d come here for had been pointless. Now it’d be harder for me to get them to leave. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t just kick them out. Being blunt or rude was fine, all of the Heirs played our games with each other, but actually throwing them out would have political consequences. Every House controlled unique resources, and I couldn’t afford to alienate any of them .

Plus some of them could be potential allies against the Sovereign House, assuming they weren’t allied with them already.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and we all turned towards the doorway to watch Kieran and Alaric burst into the room.

“Greetings, everyone!” Kieran cheered, holding up a bottle of wine. “What did we miss?”