"It's been a while since we've seen you," Kara interjected, cutting the tension in the room. "I suppose that's your husband's doing?"
"Erebus and I have been very busy," Eve said. Busy. The way she said it made his blood crawl.
Kara smiled, but Erebus knew her enough to know it was full of malice. "I'm sure you have," she said. "It's quite a shame, you know. I'm used to seeing so much more of him."
Eve smiled, but Dimitrius leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Whatever he said made her brows furrow.
"I suppose we'll have to learn to share," Kara said quietly.
Eve ignored Dimitrius' ongoing warnings and snapped her head to Kara.
"It's really a shame that his husband chose a human over a Werewolf. That must be really hard for you, Kara. I sympathize with you, truly."
Kara growled, but his stomach flipped.
Eve was jealous.
And he liked it.
"Have your fun while it lasts, princess. It doesn't matter how deep you pierce your claws into him. He'll always be one of us."
Dimitrius was whispering to Eve again, and Erebus saw him motioning to leave.
As if his wife had to go back to her room and hide from all of this.
Erebus took a deep breath. Like he said, he was tired of people touching his things.
His feet didn't make a sound as he approached. In fact, nobody noticed him until he was standing directly behind Eve.
"I see I've been missing out on all the fun," Erebus announced.
Kara stiffened, but his brothers didn't move an inch.
"Prince Erebus," Dimitrius greeted. "We were just leaving." He stood from his chair and moved to help Eve to the same.
"No need," Erebus replied. "Eve has hardly eaten. I'm sure she'd like to enjoy the rest of her dinner. Right, Eve?"
Erebus picked up a piece of her long hair and let it fall through his fingers. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, but she didn't look at him.
"Right," she answered.
"Perfect," Erebus said, taking Dimitrius' seat next to her.
Kara moved as if she, too, were about to leave. His brothers followed.
"Stop," he yelled. "Everyone can sit here until his wife is done eating."
His brothers laughed. "Yeah, we're not doing that," Azazel sneered. This won a laugh from Kara.
As much as he hated hurting his brothers, there was a power in him that was hungry for more. It was always there, always waiting to be unleashed.
Perhaps he would give it a small taste.
Erebus blinked at Azazel, envisioning a black tendril of smoke circling his chest and tightening.
Azazel dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
Erebus cleared his vision, taking a deep breath as the hunger for power subsided. A taste was all it needed.
And it was enough to keep the others from leaving the table.
Azazel scrambled back to his seat.
"You're a coward for that," he said through gritted teeth. Erebus laughed. They all knew he could kill them all right here if he wanted to. They all knew the type of power he had access to, the type of power they would never wield.
Eve stared across the table at Azazel with a straight face, but Erebus saw a small glisten of amusement in her eyes.
Erebus didn't stop the smile that spread across his face.
"So where were we? Talking about me, weren't you?" he asked.
Kara spoke next. "Only that we heard about the attack on Eve. It's terrible news, Erebus. If there's anything we can do to help you, please just ask."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, and Eve's eyes followed it. She flinched, only for a second, before replacing her mask.
"That's very kind of you, Kara," she said. Something told him Eve had a lot of practice with shoving hatred aside, burning it deep down and replacing it with a facade.
Erebus should know. He had been doing the same for decades.
He didn't move Kara's hand from his shoulder. Instead, he placed his hand on Eve's thigh. It was a small movement, but he could feel the eyes of everyone. Erebus could feel the amusement from his brothers and the annoyance from Kara.
But Eve didn't move.
At least she didn't flinch. That much was a relief.
Kara slowly moved her hand, placing it back in her lap. He left his hand on Eve's thigh as she picked up her fork.
"That's thoughtful of you, Kara, but Dimitrius and I have everything under control. Besides, I have reasons to suspect our attacker might be someone within our walls. But I'm sure you all know that by now."
"What makes you think that?" his brother Eli asked.
Erebus eyed him carefully before answering, "A few different things. I don't see how someone could have gotten into the castle without being seen, for one."
"Surely the guards would have seen someone," Kara added.
"During the ceremony? There was so much going on, anyone could have snuck in," Rafiq said.
Erebus remembered how close Eve was to getting caught by them that night. They had wanted to meet up with her. They were trying to get her alone.
"You're right," Erebus replied, keeping his composure. "Many things can happen in the chaos of the wedding ceremony. I'm only glad I was there to protect Eve from the threats this time."
He squeezed Eve's thigh lightly, and she dropped her fork.
"Sorry," she stammered. "It, uh, slipped."
He looked up to find Kara staring at his hand. And she was done hiding her emotions. "You should be more careful, Eve. One mistake will get you killed in the Caliphate. Your husband should have warned you of that. Humans aren't supposed to be here."
Eve opened her mouth, but Erebus spoke first. "Is that a threat, Kara?"
Kara knew better than to challenge him, but jealousy was a great motivator. "I'm just making sure Eve knows what she's getting into. If you're so worried about her safety, maybe she shouldn't be here."
He stood from the table. "Are you questioning his ability to keep Eve safe? Because I assure you, I am more than capable of eliminating any threat. Any threat."
Kara shook her head in disgust. "For a human?"
Erebus motioned for Eve to stand next to him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist. "For his wife," he growled. "Let's go, Eve."
She nodded and followed him out of the room. He didn't let go of her until we were alone in the hallway. Surprisingly, she played along until we were alone, and shoved him away.
"This is your game now?" she hissed. "You ignore me for days then show up to be a possessive asshole?"
Erebus held in his laughter. Eve looked wild. Her long, black hair was messy and unhinged. Her clothes hung awkwardly off her body, and her eyes seemed larger than the last time he had seen them.
Saints, he had missed her. He had actually missed her the past few days. Although he was never going to admit that.
"Possessive asshole?" Erebus repeated. "You forget I am the next king. They should respect you more."
"I can handle myself, thanks," she replied.
"Oh really? You seemed to be doing a great job out there. Dimitrius shouldn't have let you leave."
"Because I'm your prisoner, right?" she asked. "I'm supposed to sit in his room like your property, and not leave until you tell me to? Is that right?"
He opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't speak. Yeah, that was right. That was exactly what he wanted from her. Because she wasn't safe here. Even his bedroom wasn't safe, but at least I knew where she was. At least he knew what she was doing.
"I can't risk you waltzing around the castle. You're a target."
She gave a 'who cares' motion with her arms, and let them fall to her sides. Her big eyes glistened, but the rest of her face was drenched in anger. "I don't want to be here," she said as she took a step closer to him. "I can't just sit in there and watch his life waste away."
His chest tightened, but he didn't budge. "It isn't safe, Eve." I'm sorry, Erebus almost added. But he stopped himself. He wasn't sorry for protecting her. He wasn't sorry for wanting to keep her alive.
A single tear fell from her eye, but she didn't look away. "I want his life back," she said.
She was pleading with him. He knew that. This was probably the closest thing to begging that Eve would ever do.
But it didn't make a difference. Erebus didn't care. Giving into her meant risking her life.
Erebus opened his bedroom door and motioned for her to enter. Her jaw clenched and her nostrils flared. He knew she was holding back her emotion. Her mask was cracking. But hope was deadly in the Caliphate, and Eve was holding onto a life she would never return to.
He leaned in close to her as he whispered in her ear, "What life, princess?"
And he shut the door, locking Eve in.
"I wasn't going to let them hurt her," Dimitrius said from behind him.
"I know you weren't."
He smiled. "Although you sure know how to put on a show."
"You think they had anything to do with this?" Erebus asked him.
He shook his head. "I don't know, but they seem to know more than everyone else about the attack. And Kara's trouble. We both know that."
Erebus agreed. "I'm only keeping her in here until I know she'll be safe," he explained. He didn'tn't know why he felt the need to explain himself to Dimitrius. He was never the type to question his decisions. He would follow him anywhere, he would do anything he asked him to do.
But still. Something in his expression made him continue, "As soon as I find out who's trying to kill her, she'll be free to roam the castle."
"I know, brother," Dimitrius replied. "I get it."
Erebus nodded and started to walk away.
"You can't keep her safe from everything," he yelled after me. "A human will always be a target in the Caliphate. As much as we wish that weren't true."
He didn't turn around. Erebus didn't acknowledge his words.
He was right. He knew he was right. Eve had a lot to learn if she was going to survive in this Kingdom.