“So, you’re getting married?” Sasha teased as she hurried after Elias.

  He was striding out of the castle, heading toward the large city gates. Five guards stood there, all dressed in royal green. Elias stopped abruptly and turned around.

  “I refuse to be part of their game. I’m done listening to her. It’s a complete nightmare.”

  “How long has this been going on?”

  Sasha had heard the rumors. The parties were extravagant, and even girls from her small town dreamed of receiving an invitation. She couldn’t blame them—marrying into royalty meant wealth and status, though the infamous mother-in-law from hell was an unavoidable downside.

  “Seven months. Seven parties. I hate it.” Elias looked past her at the guards. “It’s a nightmare trying to avoid all the wannabe queens.” He glanced back at her. “You want something meatier to eat?”

  “I love meat,” Sasha admitted. Shrimp had barely satisfied her, and she needed all the energy she could get. “Will those guys let us out?”

  A mischievous light flickered in Elias’s eyes. He grinned and slid an arm around her waist.

  “You’re my ticket out of here. I’d rather deal with Isaak’s wrath than endure my mother’s matchmaking.”

  “Elias,” Sasha scolded, but he only tightened his grip.

  “Play along, Rebel. The dinner will be worth it,” he murmured.

  Sasha hesitated. This was probably a bad idea. Ivy wouldn’t be pleased. And Isaak would definitely kill her. Then her stomach growled.

  “Fine. But it better be juicy.”

  Elias chuckled. “I promise you, sweetheart, it’ll be juicy.”

  At the gate, the head guard eyed them skeptically.

  “Are you sneaking away from another dinner, my lord?”

  “Yeah, it’s impossible to get real food in that madhouse,” Elias confirmed, pulling Sasha closer. “Can’t let my girl go hungry, can I?”

  The guard smirked, turning his attention to her.

  “Haven’t seen you around before, my lady,” he said, bowing slightly. “Enjoy your evening.”

  “Thank you.” Sasha exhaled as the guards stepped aside, letting them pass into the night. A fleeting sense of relief washed over her.

  Once outside, her stomach tightened again—not from hunger this time. Something was wrong. Isaak should’ve reached out to her by now. She should’ve warned Ivy.

  “Not worried I’ll run away from you?” she asked.

  “No, not really.” Elias smirked. “Not as long as I have all your magic in a neat little package.”

  “Maybe I prefer fighting dirty and need less magic and more weapons.”

  “I have no doubt you like to play dirty,” he mused, watching her closely. “But I’ve tasted your magic before. Trust me, you’ll be begging on your knees to get it back, orb or not.”

  Sasha glanced down at the wet, slippery cobblestone road. He was right—she needed her magic. Without it, the orb was useless. And worse, she felt vulnerable. Exposed.

  “So, you have the upper hand—for now.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, I had the upper hand the moment you laid eyes on me. Your mistake was trying to steal from me.”

  “I didn’t try,” Sasha corrected sharply. “I succeeded.”

  Elias whistled a tune as he led her into a narrow alley. She recognized this area—high-end, refined.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the best pub in town. And, lucky for us, I’m pretty sure the food will be free of charge.”

  As they walked deeper into the alley, Sasha’s steps slowed. She knew this place all too well. Elias noticed and adjusted his pace, leaning in slightly.

  “Would you rather go somewhere else?” he asked. “I assumed you wouldn’t mind.”

  So, he knew. Just how much had he known from the start?

  “No, you’re right,” she said, regaining her composure. “I have unfinished business with Miss Esmeralda.”

  Elias’s expression darkened. “As it happens, I’m in just the right mood to set things straight.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Sasha sighed. “I need a weapon—or at least a little magic.”

  “You have me.”

  His answer came too fast, too smooth. Sasha fought the urge to burn him where he stood.

  “I fight my own battles. Lend me your dirk.”

  “You’re pushing my trust,” Elias warned.

  “Don’t be dramatic. If you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t be here.”

  Elias hesitated, then smirked. “Fair point. But I need this fight more than you do.”

  They stopped outside the pub. He had let go of her waist, running a hand through his hair. His entire body tensed. He needed a fight. Too bad he didn’t realize how badly she craved one too.

  “Care to share?” Sasha taunted. “Ever hunted with a lady before?”

  Elias grinned. “That would be a first.”

  He opened the door, and they stepped inside.

  “Let’s rock this place,” Sasha murmured, scanning the room for Esmeralda.

  She found her behind the bar, serving a customer. Sasha scanned the rest of the pub. It was packed, but Aiden was nowhere in sight. At least not the one she was looking for.

  “Not here,” Elias confirmed.

  “No,” Sasha agreed. “But the steak and the information are.”

  They approached the bar.

  “Two lambs. Medium rare,” Elias ordered with a smug glance at Sasha. “And I believe we have something extra to collect, don’t we, dear?”

  Esmeralda twisted her hands nervously. “I’ve heard rumors.”

  “It went fine,” Sasha said flatly, shuddering at the thought of the king.

  “The food’s on me,” Esmeralda offered quickly. “But tell me—how exactly did you end up in Elias’s custody?”

  “Aiden betrayed me. Sold me off to the queen’s men.”

  Sasha clenched her fists. She needed to hurt something. Where was that worm?

  Elias set his drink aside and leaned over the bar. In one swift motion, he grabbed Esmeralda by the blouse and yanked her forward.

  “He’s your man,” Elias growled. “You sent him after Sasha, didn’t you?”

  “Stop it, Elias,” Sasha cut in.

  “Stop it Elias”, Sasha interrupted.

  “Yes. It was me”, Esmeralda hissed. “Couldn’t think of him betraying me. I’ve worked with him for a long time and he has never misused my trust.”

  Elias laughed bitterly. His eyes shone in the dark pub, focused solely on Esmeralda. She wriggled under his hands, trying to get away but not being able to get away from his scrutinising gaze.

  “You sent one of this country’s best witches in the arms of Aiden, and a young good looking one as well. Don’t play games with me Esmeralda. You know he feeds the queen.”

  “I’m truly sorry Sasha”, Esmeralda looked pleadingly at Elias, “really, I’m fond of the chick, I wouldn’t send her to such a fate.”

  “Where is he?”

  His eyes were pure yellow now. Esmeralda looked like she was in pain, and by the heavy magic flowing she probably was.

  “I”, Esmeralda wetted her lips. “Let me give you something to eat and then tell me exactly what happened. I′m as pissed off as you are.”

  Elias let her go and she crashed down at the floor, her rather heavy body bouncing towards the bar counter, the boobs doing a dance of their own. They hadn’t stopped wobbling before Elias had dragged out the dirk Sasha had asked for before.

  He took a good grip of Esmeraldas hand with the other hand, sticking the dirk into the wood just inches beside her.

  “Spread your fingers. We are going to play. I haven’t missed one in the last month”, Elias said.

  “Please. I didn’t plan on it, I really wasn’t”, Esmeralda pleaded.

  Elias smiled, and then he took up the dirk.

  “Let us count to one hundred, shall we?”

  Esmeralda let out a small cry and spread her fingers as wide as possible. The sound of the dirk making marks in the wood was all that was heard in the suddenly deadly quite pub.

  “Count for me”, Elias pressed and increased the speed.

  Esmeralda counted. With shivering lips she counted. Sasha wasn’t keen on watching the show. He was making a scene, their chances of catching Aiden with surprise decreasing for each zing of the dirk. She went into the kitchen and started frying the food. Juicy he had said. Well, she sure was going to make the food real juicy. Then she would burn one of the lambs until it tasted charcoal.

  “Seventy-five.”

  She heard the mob shouting. The potatoes were almost ready, golden crispy. They just needed some extra heat and a lot of molten butter. Suddenly she heard a cry cutting through the air. She hissed under her breath.

  “Charcoal, you maniac.”

  It was not long after the yelling that she saw two persons entering the kitchen, one of them with blood dripping down at the floor.

  “I want the food served in the private corner”, Elias said and threw Esmeralda in front of him. “Make it classic. Then we will talk.”

  Sasha took two plates and put them on the small table behind the kitchen. She rolled her eyes and threw a tablecloth to Esmeralda.

  “Not my idea”, she said.

  “Pumpkin pie”, Esmeralda said and winded the cloth around her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

  Elias sat down on the chair, looking at the food in front of him. He sighed.

  “Come here” he said and waved at Esmeralda. ”You will need that hand of yours if you are to give me a proper meal.”

  Esmeralda looked like a big scared rabbit, but she came closer, laying her stabbed hand in Elias hands. He started muttering something, softly stroking what he had just sliced through.

  “The pain will subside, and will start to heal real fast. You will be pretty tired tonight, so I recommend you to close this place early.”

  “I, well, I will not say thank you, your highness”, Esmeralda answered.

  “Never, ever do something as stupid as that again”, Elias said. “Now, bring me some food.”

  Elias cut Sasha’s lamb in two with the dirk and started eating.

  “Really juicy”, he said, “just as I predicted.”

  Sasha ate in silence. She savoured the dish, preferring it several times over the fine dining at the castle. And as irritated she was to be kept out of the fight, a small part of her approved of Elias punishing.

  “What do you got on Aiden?” Sasha asked when Esmeralda came back.

  “Not much, he goes his own ways. Haven’t heard of him since you two left last time”, Esmeralda said, “the slippery bastard.”

  “What are the rumours then?” Elias sliced the lamb with the dirk. Esmeralda had made him a new one, more rare than medium. Half of it was now on Sasha′s plate. He brushed the dirk towards the linen, and handed the weapon over to Sasha. “It’s your time to play next.”

  “We will not catch him after your scene”, Sasha shrugged and picked up the dirk. It was a fine piece and the weight felt precisely perfect in her hand. She could do miracles with this one.

  Esmeralda looked towards the bar, the customers were waiting and they weren’t complaining silently.

  “He always spends his money fast. Wait a couple of days, and then he will be back here.”

  “That would be stupid”, Sasha said.

  “No”, Esmeralda and Elias said simultaneously.

  “There is nowhere else where they let him drink on credit Sasha. Believe me, he will come.” Esmeralda smiled faintly “And no one would notice the prince company dear. It’s not like it is the first time he has an outburst.”

  “He did my mother’s bidding, why would I bother if he did catch you?” Elias clarified.

  “Yeah”, Sasha sighed. “Why would you?”

  Esmeralda shook her head.

  “Come back, I will serve you a real dinner next time”, she said and disappeared.

  Elias leaned closer and he took her hand in his.

  “You look pretty nice, for a mud wrestler”, Elias said, “I care.”