Starved Monster: MM Medieval Romance (Cerith Kingdom Chronicles Book 2) Read online

  CONTENTS

  © 2018 Jude Marquez

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  © 2018 Jude Marquez

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:

  [email protected]

  Chapter One

  On the morning of Evander’s coronation and their wedding, Alyx woke up to an empty bed and the wrong brother staring down at him.

  “I hate you,” Cade informed him.

  Alyx rubbed at his face and blinked up at Cade.

  “Evander said that you could sleep in but the rest of us have been running around like chickens with our heads lopped off,” Cade said miserably. He slumped over into a chair near the fire and glared at it, like the fire had been the one to so deeply offend him.

  “I deeply apologize, my prince. If there is anything I could do to make it up to you-” Alyx said and sat up. The servants were already rushing about the room, throwing open the curtains and getting the water ready for Alyx.

  “When you and Evander leave, that will be enough,” Cade muttered.

  One of the servants waved Alyx over, something they wouldn’t do for any of the other royal family.

  Although Alyx wasn’t royal family; not technically, not yet.

  After the coronation was the wedding, then they would be officially wed and Alyx would bear the title of King, alongside Evander.

  Their honeymoon was scheduled to start right after the reception, after the paperwork was done and everything was settled between Alyx and the royal family. There were papers to sign, lands to agree to, terms to sign, and so much more that Alyx didn’t want to think of.

  “How is he?” Alyx asked as he made his way to the bathroom. He remembered a time, when he lived with Elewisa, that he would have woken at the slightest noise. Now Evander teased him that he could sleep through a hurricane.

  “He worries but that’s not new,” Cade said and sat down at the table.

  It wasn’t new. Alyx would have never guessed it, but Evander became a stickler for details about the coronation and a complete terror over the wedding. Alyx did not care either way, they could be married in potato sacks for all it mattered to him, but Evander seemed to want something more elaborate and Alyx was never one to deny him that. Instead, he only gently reminded Evander of his temper, his words, and the servants and planners seemed grateful for his presence.

  Alyx stepped into the bathring room and pushed the servants out. It was an ongoing battle, one that Alyx feared he would be waging for years to come. He did not grow up royal, or even noble. He was a servant in Elewisa’s house, barely more than a floor cleaner, and now to have all these people doing everything for him, unnerved him. He did not like to be dressed or washed, though the servants still tried. It was about decorum, they insisted, and Alyx would ignore them and order them out anyway.

  This morning, however, they were more than insistent. They were on orders from Evander, Gael, and Auelina and would not leave until their job was completed. They allowed him time to wash himself but there were far too many people to battle when he came out, and Cade watching over all of them on top of it.

  He seemed to be enjoying himself.

  The servants tamed his hair into something presentable, pulled his small clothes on him, and collectively, stood back.

  Alyx looked around, confused, until she saw Lin and Bianca, Auelina’s ladies, in the back. They held his clothes and Alyx braced himself, as though he were going into battle against a fierce enemy.

  “Ladies-” he began.

  “Alyx, if you try and fight us on this, Aldous, Geoffrey, Ricardus, and Michael are all waiting outside. They only need for us to call them,” Lin said.

  “I can dress myself,” Alyx insisted.

  “Not on this day. Any other day, I wouldn’t even be in here. But the royal family insisted,” Bianca replied.

  Alyx knew she spoke the truth. Bianca was the most likely to let him make a fool of himself instead of putting in the effort of helping him. But if she were given strict orders, she would never falter in them either.

  “I can fight them all,” Alyx said and lifted his chin in defiance.

  While Alyx had gained more muscle in his frame and sparred regularly with soldiers, he doubted the confidence of his own words.

  “If Evander isn’t throwing a hissy fit over flowers, Alyx is fighting soldiers to dress himself,” Lin sighed and looked to Bianca.

  “I’ll go get the Princess,” Bianca said, resigned.

  “No!” Alyx said. He had heard Auelina’s lectures on the proper manners and style of dress on more than one occasion. With visiting nobles, dignitaries and most of the kingdom gathered for the coronation and wedding, Auelina was also on her own war path. Between her and Evander, not a single speck of dust was found in the castle and not a single item was out of place. Auelina had a direct hand in all that was planned and Alyx found out the hard way that Auelina was not to be trifled with.

  Especially since she was pregnant.

  “Fine, let’s get it over with,” Lin said.

  She laid out the finely woven tunic, the luxurious britches, and Cade place a brand new pair of shiny black boots on the floor near the trunk that all the clothes were laid out on. Lin gestured for Alyx to step to the middle of the room and he did, waiting for them to begin.

  “First, a gift from the King,” Lin said. She pulled out two long leather cases, both etched with the sun and moon on either end and the mountain view from the keep that he owned in the south, a favorite of his.

  Lin held one and Bianca took the other and they opened them.

  Cushioned on black velvet were two forearm harnesses and brand new blades to go along with them. They were Alyx’s signature fighting weapons and just as the future King always had his sword with him, Alyx always had his blades strapped to his arms, under his long sleeves.

  He let out a long breath.

  “Custom made from the leather worker in town. The blacksmith found and worked the silver himself for days. And if you’ll notice, under the strap that goes under your wrist, there is an inscription,” Cade instructed from his seat at the table.

  Gently, Alyx picked up one harness, and there it was:

  In this life

  And on the matching counterpart:

  And the next.

  “He told me not to get him anything,” Alyx said accusingly, fondly.

  “And I’m positive you listened to his instructions,” Bianca said.

  Of course Alyx hadn’t listened. His own present was in Gael’s hands, hopefully finding its way to Evander as they spoke.

  “We have no idea how you put these on, so we’ll leave that to you,” Lin said.

  Alyx lifted one, slid it up his arm, and adjusted the strap that felt like a second skin already. Then the blade went in, followed by its mate on his other arm.

  “How do they feel?” Cade asked.

  “Like they were made for me,” Alyx said

  “Good. Because they most definitely were.”

  Alyx let Lin and Bianca do their job, imagining how he would thank Ev
ander for all that he had done for him.

  It had only been months since the fight with York, since Evander had killed him and taken his army prisoner. Some renounced York quickly and gladly.

  Others did not and now Valentine had his hands full with a job that Alyx tried to forget existed.

  He couldn’t decide if he liked the man; it seemed like he always had a secret, something that he held too close to his chest and could take them all down. But when he spoke to Evander or even of Evander, his allegiance was clear. Alyx had to take solace in that fact.

  He also knew that he would not ever want to be on the other side of Valentine’s attentions.

  The britches were laced, his boots were pulled on, and then they pulled out the tunic.

  A bold black with a blue thread and design that reminded Alyx of the ocean he saw once with Evander. Then he saw the royal crest that was to go over his heart, in gold instead of silver.

  A small thing and not well known, but only the royal family wore the family crest in gold instead of any other color.

  Alyx reached out and traced the rearing lion and he remembered the first time he had seen it, on the cloak Evander gave him the first time they met and then again on the back of the Queen Mother’s cloak when she came to visit him. Little did he know at the time, but it was the beginning of his rescue from Elewisa.

  “Alright?” Lin murmured.

  “Yes,” Alyx said.

  They helped him pull it on, laced it closed at his wrists and chest, before they wrapped a thick belt around his waist, and stood back to admire their work.

  “Well done,” Geoffrey said when he opened the door and peeked inside.

  The women nodded, pleased with what they had done.

  Geoffrey had a cloak over his arm and Alyx was familiar with this one. It was his ceremonial cloak, to be worn at all celebrations. It had been fitted and refitted a dozen times.

  The outer edges were lined with the softest white fur from an animal that Alyx simply could not pronounce. It was heavy and thick, to keep him warm in the winter. The same lion he had seen on Gia’s cloak so long ago was on this same cloak now, also done in gold. It clasped closed at his throat with a heavy lion brooch. It fit well enough that the weight of the cloak was on his shoulders and not on the brooch.

  Aldous followed Geoffrey, holding a wooden box. Ricardus and Michael followed in as well.

  They were all dressed in their best clothing as well. Matching tunics of deep green and their sword hilts shining and clean, their boots so reflective Alyx was sure he could see himself in them.

  They must have all bathed this morning as well and Alyx wondered if Auelina had gotten to them too. Their hair was neat and none of them sported fresh bruises on their faces.

  She must have spoken to all the knights and seen to it that they would be fit to attend the wedding of their King and brother in arms.

  All these thoughts ran through Alyx’s head but his eyes were glued on the box in Geoffrey’s hands.

  “Is that it?” Alyx asked.

  Geoffrey nodded.

  “Do I wear it now?” He asked.

  “Typically, no,” Auelina said from the doorway.

  Alyx looked up and for a moment, forgot about the box and the other people in the room.

  Auelina blinded everyone else. She was more beautiful than anyone that Alyx had ever seen and if this is what she looked like, then what could Evander possibly look like? Her gown was maroon, with a gold bodice and tight sleeves that flared out at the wrists so that when she held her hands together in front of her, as was her habit, the sleeves fell into folds over the rest of the fabric of her dress. Her own crown was braided into her hair, the gold almost disappearing into her tresses.

  “But Evander requested that you wear it now. He wants the visitors and the kingdom to know who you are and who you belong to,” Auelina said.

  “I’m sure that there will be no doubt,” Cade said.

  Auelina smiled at Cade. “Would you like to do the honors?”

  Cade looked up at his sister. “Can I?”

  Auelina nodded at him.

  In the months that passed since the fight with York, Cade had grown more serious, a better fighter, and a more studious soldier. Evander and Gael were forced to admit that their baby brother was no longer a baby. In fact, he was a man with his own battles to fight and his own thoughts to be considered in the politics of the kingdom. So it came as no surprise that Cade stood up and unlocked the box that Geoffrey held with a key that Auelina passed to him and paused as they all looked down.

  Alyx’s crown was not as great as Evander’s, that would would have been unseemly, but it was still something to behold. Gold with five blue sapphires inlaid in the five half arches, each one symbolizing one of the royal children, Alyx included.

  No one but the Queen Mother had seen it so far.

  “Wow,” Cade whispered before gently lifting it out of the velvet and holding it up. “It’s heavy.”

  “As is the weight of royalty,” Alyx, Auelina, and Aldous replied. They had heard it far too many times from Evander already.

  Cade placed it on Alyx’s head and Alyx had to agree. It was very heavy.

  All around him, the knights, the royalty, the servants, all fell silent and still.

  Then Auelina rushed for the bathroom and vomited.

  “Don’t take it personally,” Aldous said and patted Alyx on the shoulder. “The new child is hard on her.”

  Chapter Two

  Evander paced the length of Gael and Cordelia’s room.

  “You would think, as King, I could say when this damn thing starts,” Evander muttered.

  Keilan babbled away to his mother and father and they exchanged looks.

  “Are you nervous?” Gael asked.

  “I just want it to be done and over with,” Evander said.

  “So, yes.”

  Evander glared at his brother who grinned back at him. It had taken a few months for Gael to forgive him for everything that happened with York, but Keilan melted Gael like nothing before. Gael as a father was one of the greatest things that Evander ever had the privilege of seeing.

  Gael stood and met his brother in the middle of their rooms. Evander paused and Gael pulled a long case out of cloak.

  “What is that?” Evander said suspiciously.

  Gael didn’t answer. Instead he passed the case over to Evander and said, “It’s from Alyx.”

  “I told him not to get me anything,” Evander muttered but smiled when he opened it.

  There was long chain there, thick enough to survive going into battle. At the end of the chain was a two headed eagle, the old symbol of Alyx’s house, before his father had died. It represented authority, victory, wisdom and power.

  “Turn it over,” Cordelia said.

  On the back, there was an inscription:

  Have faith, my love.

  Evander rubbed his thumb over the ridges of the eagle and then looped it over his head. He tucked it into his shirt and smiled.

  Cordelia and Gael exchanged a look and Gael rolled his eyes before sitting again next to his wife and son.

  “Not everyone is seated yet and we haven’t heard from Auelina if Alyx is even ready himself yet. You know how he puts up a fight about being dressed. He hates it,” Cordelia reminded him.

  “He does. I do it on purpose,” Evander said.

  “Why is he marrying you?” Gael asked and shook his head.

  “Because he thinks me worthy,” Evander replied, without even thinking.

  “I would go so far as to admit you are a strong contender,” Cordelia said with a laugh.

  In the months since they returned to their own castle, Cordelia and Gael were married, Aldous and Auelina were married, and Keilan came along. Auelina was now with her first child and they all waited for Cade to find someone to marry as well. Alyx and Evander’s wedding had taken months to prepare, since it was decided that the coronation and wedding would be on the same day and it was cus
tomary to invite neighboring nobles and royalty. They would get a brief honeymoon, only five days long, before they returned.

  Evander worried about leaving his ever expanding family but Gael threatened to drug him and have him taken out of the castle by force.

  Evander agreed to the honeymoon.

  It was only the coronation and wedding that stood between him, Alyx, and five days on a small island that no one could readily get to. It both unnerved him and pleased him that both he and Alyx would be alone, truly alone, for such an extended time.

  “Cade spoke to me earlier this week,” Cordelia said, her tone far too casual to be anything but calculated.

  Evander stopped pacing and the cloak swished around him.

  “About?” Gael prompted.

  “He wishes to go to Alyx’s keep,” Cordelia said.

  Evander narrowed his eyes.

  “Why?” Gael asked.

  “He says he wishes to learn more about the southern borders,” Cordelia replied. Her eyes were on Keilan and it was a telltale sign that she was only speaking in half truths, perhaps to protect Cade.

  “Do you think it’s something else?” Evander asked.

  “No, Your Highness, I believe he speaks the truth,” Cordelia said, deferential all of a sudden.

  Cordelia was smart, far too smart for the likes of Gael, but she rarely used Evander’s title unless they were in public or she wanted to avoid saying something.

  “Cordelia,” Evander chided.

  She sighed and looked up at him. “He feels hidden behind the three of you. He wants to make his own mark on the world and still feels like you don’t trust him after what happened with York.”

  Evander wondered if he would ever live that down.

  “And he wishes to go south for what purpose? There he is also known as the youngest of us four,” Gael said.

  “Perhaps. But perhaps, once he is free of your shadows, he can find his own way.”

  That stung for some reason but Evander let out a breath.

  “When we return, I’ll give him leave to go where he feels he must. I wish he would take someone with him though. Is there not a knight that would accompany him?” Evander asked.

  “Perhaps. Or perhaps we can find Josette in the gathering today. See what she has to say,” Cordelia said.