Cecil chuckled, throwing his head back in the bright golden sunshine.
"I got a distressed call from your fiancée. She said you thew her out of the house." Cecil gestured with his head at Talia's direction. "And now I know why."
"Stay out of my business Cecil," Cedric snarled.
"I would have if your fiancée hadn't involved me in your sordid affair and asked me to intervene. You can play around, but try to do it behind your fiancée's back, Little Brother, not in front of her."
Cedric's eyes were sharp like razor blades.
"Keep your nasty thoughts in check. I have not touched Talia."
"Oh you haven't???" Cecil's eyes widened with surprise. "Well, in that case, she's fair game."
"Don't even think about it." Cedric's eyes narrowed in warning. "She is off-limits."
"Awww, Cedric. You have a beautiful fiancée waiting for you. Why would you want this small little Earth female?"
Cedric narrowed his eyes in warning. Cecil was King and also his oldest brother which meant he was the Alpha of the kingdom, but they were not in Faria, and Cedric was no joke.
"I'm really liking this girl Cedric. Give her to me."
"You have a wife and a half dozen consorts. What could you possible want with her?"
Cecil smiled and kissed the tip of his finger.
"She can be a part of my concubine group and she will never have to do another day's work ever again."
"Now you're being ridiculous." Cedric exhaled with disgust.
"Okay fine. I'll make her my seventh consort and shower her with so much luxuries that she will be very happy." He turned back to Cedric with a wolfish grin.
Cedrick growled, baring his fangs at Cecil.
Cecil smirked. It was like that, eh?
"Tell you what, Cedric. I'll take her off your hands for a very good price. How about Langerfield?"
"Go home." Cedric turned and walked away.
Cecil's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
Langerfield was a very desirable region adjacent to one of Cedric's holdings. With it, he could control the railways that connected the beach to the more far-flung areas east of the mountains.
And yet, Cedric had just walked away from one of the most lucrative offerings Cecil had offered, all for one small female who looked as if she could barely satiate his sudden hunger for female flesh.
Cecil smirked. This was starting to get more and more interesting!
He had made the trip to Cedric's house simply to discuss the situation regarding Evelyn and her sudden predicament, fix things to everyone's satisfaction, and then go back to Faria.
It was supposed to have been a mildly annoying morning of nagging at Cedric to behave around his fiancée. Instead, he had found a water nymph frolicking in the water and playing around with what was obviously a tiny wolf-child.
The child had changed back into his boy body within the arms of the water nymph, which meant the girl knew intimately about the changing states of a werewolf. This alone elevated her into the inner circle of the were-people.
He was about to turn away and go find his brother, but then the water nymph rose out of that azure blue water with her slender curvy body wearing nothing but four tiny red triangles that hid almost nothing.
As he gazed at her long wet raven hair, those huge crystal blue eyes gazed back at him with fearless curiosity, and Cecil felt his heart skip a beat, only to resume pounding so hard, he could hear the sound thundering in his head.
All of a sudden, his body raged at him to devour this young piece of Talia flesh until he was satiated.
Cecil snapped his fingers.
From several trees overhead, a handful of attendants dropped in front of him, bowing in deference.
"Your Majesty." They all called out in unison.
"Find out who that girl is. I want to know everything about her."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Smiling with delicious anticipation, Cecil headed into the doorway that Cedric had disappeared into. This was going to be so much fun.
Cedric was in the library working on a tall stack of paperwork when Cecil walked in.
"Brother." He waved a bottle of aged scotch whiskey at Cedric and placed two rocks glasses onto the desk.
"Take a quick break and drink with me, eh?" He smiled.
"I'm working."
"Quick break." He popped the cork and poured a measured amount into each glass.
"Come now. I'm your Big Brother, and your King. I order you to pause your work and drink with me for a few minutes."
Cecil's tone was light, but his eyes were serious. A King never left his throne and traveled just for fun. This was important business and his brother needed to give him the respect he deserved.
Cedric stood up and moved away from his desk.
"Bring your drink over here then, before you splash all over my work documents." He waved at the seating arrangement by the fire.
Cecil smiled and grabbed the bottle and glasses and plopped himself down onto the large leather couch, spreading his long legs across the oriental rug with aplomb.
"First things first, Brother." Cecil slouched onto the sofa and took a sip of his whiskey. "Evelyn Larabee is not a woman you can just casually dump."
Cedric narrowed his gaze. "I didn't want her in the first place. You and Father dumped her on me and expect me to carry the weight of Faria's trash. I didn't even know she was my fiancée until a year ago, right before I left."
Cecil sighed. "You're not carrying any more trash than I am. Father made me marry Gertrude when I was seventeen, don't you remember?"
Cedric shrugged. "You could have said no."
"And turn down Crown Prince position? Do I look stupid to you?"
"Are you saying if I marry Evelyn, I get the Crown Prince position?"
Cecil waved his hand in protest. "Of course not, my ten year old son is already the Crown Prince. What you will get is the assurance that you will remain Grand Duke of Faria for the rest of your life."
"Don't need it."
"Cedric. It is your duty to the Crown."
"How fair is that? You marry a witch, you get the Crown Prince position. I marry a witch, I get nothing."
"Life's not fair. We still have to do what we have to do." Cecil shrugged.
"Why don't you marry her then?" Cedric threw back.
"Her father will not accept a Seventh Position Consort for his only daughter. You're the only one who will be able to take on this task."
"I'm not going to marry her."
"She brings with her the entire power of the western nations. If you don't, they will be a constant threat to the throne."
"Then raise up an army and annihilate them." Cedric waved a dismissive hand.
Cecil leaned forward and stared into the blackened fireplace that, at the moment, didn't have a fire in it. He threw back his head and finished the entire content of the lowball glass in one gulp.
"It's an option, but a very bloody one." He stared at the empty lowball glass in his hand in thought.
"To save lives on both sides, which are all citizens of Faria, it's easier just to marry a regional princess or countess. Problem solved."
"I will not be blackmailed into marrying Evelyn. Nothing you can say will change my mind." Cedric's face was deadpan.
"How about this. Pretend to be her fiancée for awhile." Cecil held up one finger. "I just need for you to pretend for one more year."
"What's going to happen in one year?"
Cecil smiled. "In one year, her brother will take over as the successor of the old Count and we can renegotiate at that time. The guy is a softie and a pacifist. You can then dump the old bird Evelyn and get on with your life."
"No."
Cecil narrowed his gaze. "If you can't do me this one favor, then I guess the favor you asked me to do is going to be cancelled as well."
He pulled out the document from his breast pocket.
"You pretend for one year. You get this document."
Cedric snarled and snatched the document from Cecil's hand.
"One year only."