Arcane Entanglement (The Mage and His Brute #1)

Chapter 35

Victoria almost vibrated with fury as she glared at him.

“I haven’t forgotten anything,” the Queen hissed. “I remember all too well the day your father came to me, begging me to overlook the fact that his son, the forgotten Prince, was a magical prodigy, the youngest Archmage this Empire had ever seen. Convincing me you would never become a hazard to the throne despite your powers.” Victoria took a shuddering breath. “The threat you pose to the stability of the royal succession if your true nature and identity came to be known is something that has often preoccupied my thoughts since that day, child.”

Evander’s chest tightened even as he laughed bitterly.

“Stability? Is that what you call this farce of a society we’ve built? Where men and women are treated as less than human simply because they lack magic? Where corruption runs rampant and the powerful prey on the weak?!”

“You go too far, Evander,” Victoria warned.

Evander was beyond caring at this point.

“I don’t think I go far enough,” he said icily. “You want me to quit the Met? To turn my back on the only real good I’ve ever done? To ignore the rot that’s eating away at the foundations of this Empire?” He jutted his chin. “I won’t do it. I cannot do it.”

“It is not your place to question the natural order of things!” Victoria shouted, rising to her feet. “You have a duty to your bloodline, to your title?—”

“ My duty is to justice! ” Evander bellowed. “To the people of this country, magical and non-magical alike. And if you can’t see that, then perhaps it is time for a new perspective on the throne!”

The words hung in the air between them, sharp and dangerous.

Victoria’s face went white, then red with wrath.

“You would threaten me? Your own flesh and blood?!”

“It’s not a threat,” Evander said, suddenly weary. His voice grew more composed. “It’s the truth. The world is changing, Victoria. The old ways, the old prejudices. They can’t last. And if the Crown doesn’t change with them, it will be left behind.”

Silence reigned for a long moment.

Evander could hear his own heart pounding in his ears, could feel the magic churning beneath his skin, eager for release. He took a deep breath, forcing it back down.

When Victoria spoke again, her voice was calm.

“You truly believe in this cause of yours, don’t you?”

Evander nodded. “With every fibre of my being.”

Victoria sank back into her chair, looking every one of her years.

“You remind me so much of your father sometimes,” she murmured. “He had the same fire in his eyes when he believed in something.”

The fight drained out of Evander at the mention of his father. He slumped into the chair across from Victoria, the heat of their argument fading and leaving him with a bitter aftertaste.

“I’m sorry. I was out of line. I shouldn’t have said those things.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not like that, at least.”

Victoria’s mouth quirked in a small, sad smile. “Perhaps we both said things we regret.” She sighed and reached out to pat Evander’s hand. “Oh, my dear boy. What am I to do with you?”

Evander met her gaze squarely then, seeing not the strict monarch, but the woman who had been like an aunt to him growing up.

“Let me do my work,” he said quietly. “Let me try to make a difference, in whatever way I can.”

Victoria was silent for some time. She finally nodded, resignation etched in her face.

“Very well. I won’t force you to resign from the Metropolitan Police. But,” she held up a warning finger, “you must be more careful. The secret of your identity, of your place in the line of succession—it must remain hidden. For all our sakes.”

“I understand,” Evander said. “I’ll do my best to be more discreet.”

“See that you do.” Though Victoria’s tone was stern, there was a warmth in her eyes that belied her words. “I worry about you, you know. More than I perhaps should, given our complicated relationship.”

A lump formed in Evander’s throat.

“I know,” he said softly. “And I’m grateful for it, truly.”

Victoria cupped Evander’s cheek in a gesture of surprising tenderness.

“We are blood, you and I,” she said. “Never forget that, my dear. Whatever else may come between us, that bond will always remain.”

Evander leaned into her touch, feeling some of the tension of the past few days begin to ease.

“I won’t forget,” he promised.

He left the Queen’s chambers a short while later, his heart and mind ablaze with a storm of emotions.

Relief at having weathered Victoria’s anger. Determination to continue his work with the Met. A lingering warmth from a rare moment of familial affection.

Underlying it all was a growing sense of dread. The attack at the church, the dark mages’ mysterious agenda, and now this confrontation with Victoria.

It all pointed to a larger turmoil brewing on the horizon. One that could threaten not just Evander’s carefully constructed life, but likely the very foundations of the society he’d sworn to protect.

Viggo’s face rose before him. His belly tightened.

There was zero doubt in his mind that he’d be dragged kicking and screaming for an audience with the Queen if their burgeoning relationship ever came to light.

He’d long suspected Victoria had an inkling where his sexual interests lay. It was not a topic she would ever broach willingly. The fact that she’d re-iterated she wanted him to wed suggested she would rather forget about it.

One thing Evander was absolutely certain of.

He would never put a ring on a woman’s finger and bind them to a marriage that would cage them both.

The guards at the palace gates snapped to attention as Evander approached, no doubt startled by his dishevelled appearance. He’d come inside the grounds in the landau after all. Evander nodded briskly to them, his mind racing ahead to what needed to be done next.

Graham and Samuel were standing outside by his carriage, their expressions betraying their concern in the light of the enchanted lamps lining the road. Rufus was with them.

The inspector’s eyes widened at the sight of Evander.

“Good God!” he gasped, appalled. “They let you in there like that?!”

Evander shrugged. “The Queen insisted.”

He glanced past Rufus to the interior of the carriage, a little hopeful.

It was empty.

Evander squashed his chagrin. “Did Viggo and Solomon go home?”

“Yes. I took their statements. Nightshade will keep looking into Noctis Bloom and start hunting for information on those dark mages. We’ve received the official approval from Winterbourne and my commander to bring Viggo’s guild in.”

Relief loosened Evander’s shoulders. “Thanks, Rufus.”

Rufus’s sombre expression eased a little. “I’m only doing my job.”

The inspector’s gaze flitted to the imposing palace as they climbed inside the carriage.

“How did things go? Did Her Majesty rake you over the coals?” He hesitated, his face strained. “You’re still a Special Arcane Investigator, right?”

Evander smiled faintly. “Yes, I am.” He glanced at the Queen’s official residence one last time as they pulled away from the pavement. “Our conversation was—enlightening.”

Rufus watched him for a moment before sighing. “Ginny was right.”

Evander shot a puzzled look at him. “About what?”

“You have cryptic down to an art form.”

Evander stared at his irritated mien before snorting.

“I’m not that bad.”

“You are, really. We should call you the Sphinx.”

They gazed fondly at one another.

“I’m glad you were there today, old friend,” Evander murmured on a more serious note.

“And I you.” Rufus looked out at the busy streets, a muscle jumping in his cheek. “I daresay Griffiths and I may not have made it out of that church alive had you not been with us.”

Evander ran his fingers through his hair and grimaced at the soot coating his skin.

“I’ll freshen up before we go take another look at Millbrook’s workshop.”

Rufus pinned him with a disbelieving stare before scowling.

“Like hell we are! You’re going home, taking a bath, eating a hot meal, and going to bed, young man.”

Evander blinked. “What are you, my mother?”

“And don’t you forget it.” Rufus crossed his arms and huffed. “You’ll get a spanking if you misbehave.”

Silence fell between them.

“Rufus?”

“Yes?”

“I feel I should make it clear that I’m not into spanking, in or out of the bedroom.”

“Shut up, Evander.”