Seeds of Sorrow (Immortal Realms Book 1)

The sensation of Eden’s fear had swept through him like a vicious wave, making Draven feel sick and furious all at once. He hadn’t even stopped to say anything to Zryan before storming from his study. Draven had taken the time only to ask one revenant where Eden had last been seen before hurrying off to the garden.

He hadn’t been sure what he would find when he arrived. Eden was both worse and better off than he had been expecting. Blood, scratches, and bruises littered her body, but she was alive. And she was whole.

“Who did it?” His voice sounded harsh even to his own ears, and the anger coursing through his blood was enough to set the entire garden on fire if he did not restrain himself a little.

The notion that someone had dared to place their hands on Eden said that his kingdom was far more out of his control than he had originally thought. How could anyone have thought they would get away with harming her?

Eden appeared almost hesitant to tell him, and he realized he was looming over her with a deep scowl on his face. Taking a moment to gather himself, Draven released her chin so that he could step back a little and inspect the rest of her body.

She loosed a breath, then said shakily, “It was Mynata.” Still, Eden’s shoulders didn’t drop from her ears. She remained tense, and Draven couldn’t blame her.

Draven growled, his eyes darting around the garden, landing accusingly on Dhriti, who looked shamefaced and apologetic. “Where is she?”

Something like a grimace formed on Eden’s face, an expression he’d never seen on her before. “Dead.”

Draven looked down at Eden. “What?”

“She’s dead. I killed her.” It was spoken so simply, he wondered if he was hearing correctly.

Once again, Draven looked around the garden. He found no Mynata, only a steaming pile of bloody clothes.

“What did you do?”

“By the sun, moon, and sea . . . ” Zryan had stepped around them and moved over to the pile of clothes. He toed it gingerly with the tip of his sandal. “Is this all that’s left of that beautiful vampiress?” Zryan peered over at Eden in awe and amusement. “It looks as if she’s been regurgitated.”

“She was devoured by the venandi flower, sire,” Dhriti supplied.

Draven gently brushed his fingers along the wound on Eden’s forehead, seeing if the bleeding had stopped. “Tell me what happened,” he demanded.

“Mynata attacked me after saying that I wasn’t fit to be with you. She was the one who put your blood in my wine. She’s been attempting to undermine me this whole time.”

“She was trying to feed from her when I arrived, Your Majesty,” Dhriti added. “Lady Mynata was on top of Lady Eden on the ground.”

“Wish I could have seen that,” Zryan said offhandedly. After receiving a glare from Draven, he lifted his hands and walked a little farther away.

“I thought that you said you killed her? But if the plant ate her . . . ?” Draven looked her face over once more, wishing that he were able to break one bone in Mynata’s body for every mark he saw there.

Eden lifted her hand, her brow furrowing as she looked at her fingers. “I used my magic to draw it toward us. I’ve been feeding it energy for weeks; it responds to me.” She swallowed roughly. “Tulok said anything could be a weapon.”

Draven’s hand cupped her cheek, and she pressed her face into the touch, their eyes meeting. “Remind me to thank him,” he said softly. Then a thought struck him, and he lifted his head to pin Dhriti with a stony glare. “Where was Tulok? How was this able to happen?”

“I was on my way to relieve him, sire. She came upon Eden before I arrived.”

Draven growled. “What part of ‘do not leave her unattended’ did I not make clear enough?”

“Draven,” Eden called. “Don’t be angry with her. It’s not her fault. Nor is it Tulok’s. I told him it was okay to leave. I thought I would be safe here in the garden.”

“Well, you thought wrong. Do you have any idea what is going on right now? I have beasts invading Midniva as they please, vampire nobles wishing to see me unseated, and now Zryan has gone and lost the Creaturae book.”

“Hey,” Zryan interjected with a grumble.

 Draven continued as if his brother hadn’t interrupted. “Eden, it is no longer safe for you here. Your ties to me cannot keep you protected. In fact . . . they may make it far more dangerous for you to be here than it has been.”

She was frowning, as if realizing already what he was going to say. Eden’s hands lifted to grasp at his arms, but Draven stepped back, putting much needed distance between them.

“You’re going to return to Lucem with Zryan.”

“What?” She looked as if he had struck her.

“What?” Zryan echoed. Hearing his name, he stepped closer. “But her mother—”

“Damn you and her mother!” Draven growled. “I don’t care about you feeling the need to punish her mother for spilling your secrets to Alessia.”

“Draven,” Zryan hissed.

“She knows. I already told her,” Draven informed him as he watched his brother’s eyes dart to Eden’s face. “And your petty games no longer matter. I cannot keep Eden safe here.”

“Well . . . I can’t argue with that part.” Zryan’s eyes passed over the disaster that was Eden’s form at the moment.

“Draven . . . no.” Eden moved toward him once more, putting herself between him and Zryan. “I don’t want to go back to Lucem. I want to stay here. With you. Mynata was the threat, and now she is gone. It’s no longer an issue.” Her hand reached out to grasp his arm.

“Things are only going to become worse, Eden,” Draven insisted, feeling his anxiety to have her somewhere safe mounting.

“But I can help. I’ve found my place here with you, Draven.”

“You are going to be more of a target tied to me. The unrest will only grow with Mynata’s death. There is no choice. You must leave with Zryan when he goes.” Draven kept his voice cold. He pulled his arm free of Eden’s hand and stepped back once more, turning from her.

“Draven,” she said firmly. He recognized that tone from the night he’d been drunk, and she’d browbeaten him into submission. “I am going to stay here. This is where I want to be. I’ve seen every side of you, and of Andhera. I know what is waiting for me here and I wish to stay. I belong with the man that I love. With you.”

It took all of his control to keep his face devoid of emotion as he heard those words coming from her lips, a plea for him to admit that he wanted her here at his side as well.

“No, you don’t,” he replied coldly.

“What?” It was barely a whisper.

“You do not belong here. You never did. Andhera is not a playground for you to frolic and play around in. It is a serious, dangerous land. And it will be the death of you.” Draven kept his face turned away from her, his eyes focused on a plant in the distance.

“Draven—” Zryan began, but Draven lifted his hand to cut him off. He didn’t need to hear whatever it was his brother thought to add to this.

“Why would you—” Her voice started out soft, pained, but Eden cut herself off. “Do I even get a say in the matter?” she asked, tone hardening.

“No,” he said simply.

“No? That is all? Simply, no.”

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth. “Simply, no.” It didn’t matter what either of them wanted.

Andhera was not a safe place for her to be. It never had been, and Draven had allowed himself to foolishly think for a moment that perhaps he could forget all that. That Eden could be safe here with him if he surrounded her with protection and allowed her to see the true darkness of Andhera. But he had been fooling himself.

This land would never allow him to keep someone such as Eden.

“You know . . . I had allowed myself to believe you were better than Ludari, better than all those who told such horrid tales of you. But you are no better. You lie and manipulate, just like everyone else. Expecting everyone to bend to your will but never compromising.” The words were cold and bitter, and he hated hearing them come from her.

The spot of sunshine he had found here in Andhera was now slipping out of reach. Hidden behind dark furious storm clouds of his own creation.

Draven turned his head to look at her face. Her green eyes swam with angry tears, and her hands were clasped in fists at her sides.

“Are you surprised?” he asked. “I am my father’s son after all.” He hissed the words at her, then turned to Dhriti. “Take her to her chamber to be cleaned and her wounds tended to. Then have Loriah pack her things. She and Zryan will be leaving before the fall of the day moon.”

“Draven,” Zryan began. “I can’t leave yet. We haven’t even had a chance to discuss the book!”

Draven shot him a glare as he turned from Eden and the harpy, already starting back across the garden. His brother fell into step beside him.

“You were a little hard on Eden, were you not?”

Draven did not respond as he stepped into the castle once more. There was no room for softness when a man was destroying his own happiness in one fell swoop.

“Draven . . . rethink your decision. Anyone can see you care for her.”

It didn’t matter what he wanted for himself. It never had. There was always someone to protect. Someone to safeguard from the dangers of this world that never seemed to end. He had been foolish in thinking there could be any light in his days. Draven may have been freed from the dungeon, but he was still trapped in that cell, and he always would be.

He spun on Zryan, forcing his brother to take a step back in surprise. “And that is the reason she must leave. My feelings for her will only drive my enemies to destroy her. It nearly happened in my very own garden! If I cannot keep her safe in my own walls, how can I keep her safe at all?” He snarled viciously. “You will take her back to Lucem, and I will keep an eye out for that damn book.”

Storming away from his brother, Draven found Seurat and ordered him to summon Mynata’s family. They would have to sort out this latest disaster before anyone could be sent home.

They were all assembled in the throne room. Draven stood before his throne, Eden at his side but far enough away from him that the separation was noticeable. While her clothes were no longer torn, and the blood had been washed away, her injuries were still obvious and even more numerous now that he could clearly see them all.

Mynata’s mother and father had been brought before them, led into the room by a reserved looking Seurat, who remained by the door, ever attentive, ever watchful. Captain Channon and his pack lined the sides of the hall. Though they sat back casually on their haunches, Draven knew from experience each was primed for attack should this go badly.

Lord and Lady Perfidiae gazed up at him, their expressions calm but bewildered.

“I have called you before me today to inform you that your daughter, Lady Mynata Perfidiae, was found guilty of treason. She admitted to the theft of my blood, which she then gave to Eden against her will. To make matters worse, today she attempted to feed from and kill Lady Eden.”

Lord and Lady Perfidiae stilled, their eyes filling with understanding and dawning fear.

“Where is our daughter now?” Lord Perfidiae asked.

“She is dead.” Draven watched Lord Perfidiae’s face blanch, and his wife’s eyes shut tight. “She was eaten by the venandi flower.”

Lady Perfidiae gasped. “Why? Why have you taken my daughter from me in such a manner?”

Before Draven could respond, Eden was speaking. “Lady Perfidiae, I am sorry that it happened in the manner it did, but in that moment, she earned such a death. She left me no choice.” Eden spoke gently but firmly.

Draven watched her from the corner of his eyes and could admit only to himself that he was proud of her. Had this been another time, and another land, she would have made a wonderful queen.