CASPIAN

Caspian's long strides faltered as he entered his queen's bedchamber. The room was as he remembered, vaulted ceilings with rich tapestries hanging from the windows. But now, the white marble floors were coated in red. His first thought was that she'd thrown her wine at someone; he'd witnessed such a thing on multiple occasions. However, the liquid was too thick, and the smears had grown rusty in color. He cast a curious glance about the room, spying the corpse lying across her bed, but he did not see her.

"Did someone displease you, my Queen?" he called out

"Someone displeases me everyday," she replied, stepping through the doorway that led to her bathroom. Steam billowed about her slender form, and through the cloying scent of blood, he smelled roses. He stepped over the mess on the floor and ran his hands along her damp body. "What brings you here without a summons?"

"Herrin's body has been found, though we didn't kill him. From what my spies say, he was murdered, but they don't believe it was by the Orion Pack. Our secrets seem to be safe." Caspian told her all of this while he devoured her naked form with his eyes.

She rubbed up against him as a cat would. "Finally, something positive today. Would you like to help me erase the unpleasant memory?"

"Perhaps after we rid your bed of the body," he suggested, moving to the side of her bed and flipping the man over. "Shit- this is Mac."

The Alpha-former Alpha- of the Starless pack gazed at the silk canopy above him with unseeing eyes, the gaping wound in his neck the clear cause of death. Caspian's palms went damp when he spied the bit of trachea tossed to the side. Morgan rarely used magic when she decided to kill a follower. Everytime he lay with her, his body coaxed to pleasure by her talented hands, he couldn't banish the thought that those hands could just as easily destroy him if his usefulness ended.

Morgan draped a satin robe over her naked form, leaving it untied. "He brought me the worst news today, and I may have lost my temper."

"My Queen- who shall lead the wolves now?" It would do him no good to tell her she'd undermined months of work in a moment of pique.

"I shall be inviting his Beta to my room this evening. I'll make sure he understands that Mac deserved what happened, and he'll be very willing to support me. That was my mistake in the beginning- letting Mac think he had any power."

Caspian scrubbed the image of her with another man from his mind. He wasn't so foolish as to think that she didn't use sex as a tool- it was a very useful one in her kit, but he didn't have to like it. "Care to tell me what news Mac brought you that caused his early departure?"

"Apparently, Raff Wellington has lifted the ban on breeding with humans. He made the announcement to his pack yesterday morning."

He grabbed the bedpost for support. "Wh-what? How? Why?"

"Something about not playing god, and it should be a choice...yada, yada, yada. He apologized for making a decision in his grief that affected all of his people. He did, however, urge great caution and asked the men to think of the risks associated. You don't think our little selkie princess had anything to do with this change of heart? Did she tell him she wasn't a full blooded Fae?"

Morgan sat on the edge of her bed, trailing her finger through the congealed blood while keeping her eyes trained on Caspian. Swallowing hard, he shook his head. "I can't answer that with certainty, though it's possible. She left shortly after the attack on Thorne, and my spies tell me she went to his compound. It would seem her newly acquired blessing allows her greater distance from the ocean."

The crack across his cheek echoed in the cavernous room. The fae queen quivered as she raised her hand to slap him again. Resisting his natural inclination to stop her, he stiffened, preparing for the blow, but she slowed at the very end and cupped his jaw.

"Oh you foolish, foolish mortals. This is why I wanted to do things my way, but no, I chose to listen to the suggestions of stupid men. I would've killed Raff myself, but no- I was told we needed the loyalty of his men first. So I waited, and Mac didn't deliver. Then, I was told Meribella was a sure way to trip the man up. So I waited, and the little minx made a bigger mess of things. Now, the one thing I had to sway the werewolves away from their leader is gone. I don't have the girl on my side, and I don't have the wolves. What should I do? I could just kill them both. Then I could take the girl's power for my own, and I could force the Orion Pack to follow me through magical means. But I do prefer loyalty without such spells."

Caspian's chest stopped moving at her words. "You said you wouldn't kill Meribella. Without a Star Blessed child living, Selkie Island would be exposed. My Queen- there must be some other way."

"Oh, there is.You see- I have learned something very useful in all of this. My two pawns have gone and fallen in love, but a terrible, terrible curse stands in their way. Meribella, it seems would give up the sea to be with that man. I know this because he isn't dead like we asked. And Raff, despite his removal of the ban, wouldn't touch her if he knew the truth. Poor, principled werewolf couldn't live with himself if he killed another woman."

She opened the drawer of her nightstand and withdrew the vial she'd offered Meribella in exchange for murdering the Orion Pack Alpha. The liquid moved like mercury and glittered like starlight. She'd told him it would give Meribella the ability to join the Selkies but had never offered details.

"What will that do? We offered it to her once, and she didn't follow through. We could offer it no strings attached, but she's not going to trust anything you have for her. Not after what Mariah did."

Morgan laughed, the sound sharp and unkind. "I'm going to offer it to our Alpha in exchange for backing me against the Children."

For the first time in his many years, Caspian doubted the woman who ruled the Fae. Had all of the hardships she faced finally driven her mad? When he spoke, each word was measured and calm. "My Queen, I'm afraid I still do not understand. What is this that Raff would give up everything for?"

A malicious grin spread across her face. "A cure."