His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 81

Kassian pulled the reins of his horse, waiting for the animal to settle before jumping off its back. One of the guards was already rushing to take it away and Kassian nodded to him gratefully as he passed him the reins. He looked up at the dark Main Palace, his eyes stopping on the bright windows of his office standing out among all the other dark rooms. He sighed tiredly, then headed up the stairs.

After the hellish five days that he had in the palace with the investigation into the fake attack, the lockdown was finally lifted- mainly because Yulien agreed that they could not delay any more Sarea’s funeral and allowed him to rush things along. So the conclusion was that ‘enemy insurgents had infiltrated the citadel and attempted to assassinate the crown prince’. The crown prince was ‘almost out of danger’ and slowly recuperating.

This whole charade had exhausted him far more than a week’s worth of fighting. And now he had to finalize the paperwork for the funeral and take care of everything that had piled up in the last week. It was going to be a long night.

Kassian headed directly for his office, rubbing his forehead to disperse the headache that had been living there every second of every day he had spent in that vipers’ nest. He stepped through the threshold, squinting his eyes against the bright light coming from the dozen candles set around the room. He had sent word earlier that he was coming back so knowing Blaine, he probably decided to wait for him and give him a rundown of all the things that needed to be done.

He had been surprised his aide didn’t wait for him at the gate as he usually did, but he figured he was just working even at this late hour. And he was right – his eyes landed on the smaller desk where his aide usually sat, stopping on Blaine who was leaning his head on his hand, reading through a paper with his glasses balancing on the edge of his nose. His usual neat self had given its place to a person with the top two buttons of his shirt unbuttoned and sleeves rolled to his elbows and stained with ink. He probably got even less sleep than Kassian did for the past week just to keep this place in perfect order.

Kassian was just about to clear his throat to make his presence known when something else caught his attention. His desk was overflowing with piles of documents, just as he expected, but his chair was not empty and waiting for him as he thought it would be. A tiny figure was sitting in it, her head resting on her hands. Her blonde hair was falling in a loose braid over her back and her chest was rising and faling in even intervals, almost as if she was sleeping.

“Your Highness!” Blaine’s voice startled him and Kassian turned, looking at his aide, who had just risen to his feet. Kassian glanced back at his wife, but she continued to sleep undisturbed among the paperwork. Blaine opened his mouth to speak again, but Kassian raised a finger to his lips, pointing at the door. His aide nodded, following him outside. “Your Highness, I can explain!”

“I’m all ears,” Kassian replied, crossing his hands.

“Her Highness showed up two days ago while I was working, offering her help with the preparations for the funeral. I politely refused, but she pulled rank on me and she had the main wife’s seal, so I had to let her do it. You weren’t replying to of my messages so I thought I could use the help.” Blaine said so quickly, Kassian was afraid his tongue might get entangled. “When she was done with the arrangements, she offered to help me with the task I was trying to finish for the Trade Union.

They sent over several contracts that needed to be double-checked before being approved and then there is..” Blaine trailed off, seeing how Kassian’s expression turned annoyed. “So I said it wasn’t appropriate, but she threatened that she will return to ignoring you if I didn’t let her and blame it on so… l accepted her help.”

Kassian scoffed, shaking his head.

“She also looked worried… and kept asking when you will be back,” Blaine added suddenly.

Kassian’s head snapped towards him, his mind still processing the words.

“Say that again?” He frowned.

“She kept asking when you’ll be back. She didn’t say why but she looked worried.” Blaine repeated., looking awkwardly away. “So l wanted to keep an eye on her in case she ran out of patience and decided to tell me what’s bothering her. But she just kept working and I think she actually understood all the contracts and documents I was dealing with. I’ve been going over them since she decided to take a nap. I now understand how she can manage a restaurant so wel..”

“Is everything for tomorrow prepared?” Kassian interrupted him. Blaine blinked a few times, but nodded. “And the contracts are ready?”

“We revised them to the best of our abilities. They are missing only your signature and seal.” Blaine said. “You can go over them if you want to be sure and..”

“I trust you, so I’ll just sign them all tomorrow. You can retire for tonight.” Kassian said, squeezing his shoulder and preparing to return to his office.

“Then what about.?” He asked, but Kassian ignored him, turning his back on him and opening the office’s door carefully, trying to avoid making any noise. “Well, then..” He heard his aide murmur, then his hurried steps echoed through the corridor.

Kassian’s eyes immediately searched for his desk, checking on the figure still resting her head on it. Her breathing was so quiet and her movements so small, she looked like a doll that had been left there after a long day of playing. He stopped on the opposite side, looking at the two piles of scrolls and sheets neatly stacked around her. Her fingers were stained with ink as well and one of them was even bandaged, as if she had cut herself.

A quiet squirm came from her body and suddenly she tensed. Kassian watched her, half expecting her to jump scared out of the dream, but she relaxed instead. He sighed, circling the desk.

He bent over her and picked her up effortlessly, adjusting her carefully in his arms so as not to wake her up. Her head bobbed to her chest and her lips moved as if she was whispering something. Kassian lowered his head to see if he could catch a word when she slid her hands around his neck, pulling herself closer and snuggling her face into his neck.

Kassian took a deep breath, closing his eyes before slowly letting it out. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to bring her to his room. Maybe he should just drop her into one of the guestrooms and have a maid watch over her.

Raena’s fingers dug painfully into his skin and he looked down at her in confusion, only to realize her eyes were closed and she was shivering.

By the time he had reached his bedroom, she had relaxed again, her face going all serene as if nothing had just happened. He wondered what kind of nightmares plagued her – if it was from that night or if it was something else that she hadn’t told him about yet.

He closed the door with his foot, heading towards his bed. This was the second time he brought her here, and it felt so natural that he wondered if he hadn’t had it all wrong before.

Feeling someone’s body snuggled tightly against yours throughout the night, waking up next to that someone in the morning… that didn’t sound like a bad idea now.

He set her down on the bed and tried to break her hold around his neck without waking her, but she turned out to be surprisingly strong.

“For Gods’ sake, I’m trying really hard here…” Kassian sighed in defeat, his hands propped by her head.

“Kassian?” A sleepy voice spoke, and he froze, then looked down at Raena only to realize how close her face was. She blinked a few times to wake herself up, then her eyes widened. She pulled her hands to her chest as if realizing she was the one holding him, but even then his body refused to move.

She continued to stare at him with those blue eyes, wide and expecting and a little tense. Her breath mixed with his, her lips so close he could reach them if he moved just a little more. Kassian forced himself to look away, rolling off of her. She stood still for a moment, then quickly sat up, looking around.

“Is the crown prince alright?” She asked, turning back to him. She didn’t ask about the room; she didn’t even ask why she was in his bed again.

Kassian looked at her, but she didn’t look even the tiniest bit uncomfortable now that her mind seemed to be awake.

“Yes. He’s well enough.” Kassian mumbled, looking away from her. He didn’t like lying, but to the world, Yulien was supposed to be in a bad condition, confined to a bed and unable to move.

“That’s a relief.” She nodded. “I’m glad you’re back, because I have something I need to speak to you about and it can’t wait.”

“If it’s about our conversation, it can wait until morning. You look like you haven’t slept much these past few days.” He frowned. “We can talk at breakfast before the fune…”

“It’s not about our conversation.” Raena interrupted him. “Well, it is, but that’s not the urgent part. Will you listen to me?” Kassian tensed on his spot, staring at her expectantly before nodding. “l found the cause and the person responsible for Sarea’s death.”

Kassian’s body tensed in surprise, anger flashing at the back of his mind. He had suspected that Sarea hadn’t told him the whole truth and her condition wasn’t as simple as she made it out to be, with everything going on, he hadn’t had the time to look into it properly.

“It’s the Amrod tea she has been drinking.” Raena continued, and he snapped to attention. “The Amrod root can be a slow-acting poison if taken for extended periods of time. It attacks your reproductive system, causing infertility, then goes for your organs. Once you start coughing b***d, it’s too late for anything to be done, even if you stop drinking the tea. Have you coughed b***d?”

“No.” He replied quietly, his heartbeat quickening as he noticed the relief on her face. Does this mean I can’t have…?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I guess time will tell. But you should definitely stop drinking the tea.”

“And the culprit?”

“The Head Maid. I have her locked in the dungeon after one of your soldiers caught her trying to flee. Sarea thought the Empress might have gotten to her, so I figured you might use her as a witness. The soldier said he’ll make sure she stays alive.”

“Good.” Kassian sighed, running a hand over his face. “You did well.”

“Also..” she started hesitantly and Kassian slowly pulled away his hand to look at her. “About my connection to the Empress.” Kassian tensed, but the cold feeling in his stomach slowly turned smaller and smaller as he watched Raena fidget nervously for the first time. Finally, she licked her lips, moving a bit cioser to him and sitting with her feet underneath her. “It’s not what you think.” She blurted, continuing just as fast. “I actually blackmailed her into supporting my restaurant venture in return for me keeping my mouth shut about her illegal dealings. I agreed to support Rissen’s claim to the throne, but I haven’t actually done anything illegal yet apart from withholding some potentially treasonous information, but I am ready to tell you everything I know right now.”

Kassian stared at her, waiting for the anger and the feeling of betrayal to come. No matter the reasoning, she had gone to the Empress, his biggest enemy, and promised her support to her. To the woman who not only killed his mother, but kept trying to murder both him and Yulien again and again for years. The reason he slept with a knife under his pillow and woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. He couldn’t remember how many tasters had died working for him, how many soldiers lost their lives in an ambush or straight-out attacks.

But to his surprise, the anger didn’t come. Just an odd feeling of relief.

“Why?” He whispered, staring at her until she finally met his eyes. “Why would you go to her if you did not want to offer your support willingly?

Why would you risk blackmailing someone so powerful instead of coming to me or even going to Yulien? Is this one of those things you ‘know?” She nodded again, looking down at her hands. “So what is it? What made you do it? ls everyone else dead?”

Raena’s fingers stopped their little wrestle game, and she slowly looked up at him, a look of resignation in her eyes. Kassian felt the hair on his body rise.

“In the future I know of, you and your brother both die. You get executed for treason and your brother gets poisoned. Rissen and the Empress are the only ones that make it. So I thought l had a better chance of surviving if I was on their side. And once the war started, I planned to leave the Empire and get somewhere far where the Empress can’t reach.” She said in a quiet, careful tone after expecting him to suddenly attack her.

“Then what changed?” He asked, holding his breath. His brother’s words came back to him uninvited, running in his head until he got dizzy. For some reason, he didn’t want to hear her say it, he didn’t want to hear her say she decided to tell him the truth because she had no other choice. But he had to hear it so he knew where they stood. “You got scared after all those attacks?”

“No,” she said to her surprise. “I already have a passage booked and I can leave with just the clothes on my back. And with the trouble you two are causing her, she wouldn’t have the time and resources to send someone after me. I am not that important.”

“Then what?” He asked.

“I’ve decided to save your life.” Kassian almost burst out laughing.

“Is that so?” He asked, rubbing his forehead. “And how are you going to do that?”

“I’m going to help you take down the Empress,” Raena said in a serious tone, entirely unamused by his reaction. “In return, all l want is for you to spare my life. Token or no token.” Kassian’s smile faltered and he looked at her. “I know why you hate the Empress so much and I know that my actions can be unforgivable for you. And I know that your brother will probably call for my head, but despite that ..”

“Ah, this is tiring” Kassian sighed, his anger flaring – anger at her for trying to play him again, anger at himself for sitting like a good puppy and waiting for her to throw him a bone. Waiting for a better time.

Kassian pushed himself off his spot, leaning towards her and pressing his lips against hers. She froze in surprise and he quickly slid his hand behind her neck to stop her from pulling away.

She returned his k**s hesitantly at first, but then her lips parted as if inviting him for more.

He slid his hands down her back, picking her up and setting her in his lap so she was straddling him. She tried to break the k**s, but he pulled her closer, deepening it instead. Her soft lips and hot tongue were making his mind dizzy and the way her body pressed against him made his b***d boil. Having her in his arms felt so good that he wanted to cry. Having her respond to him just like he imagined, made him wish he had done it sooner, much sooner.

Kassian broke the k**s for a second and Raena took a sharp breath. Her face was flushed and she continued to pant, eyes staring at him with such a dangerous spark, he had to close his to keep himself under control. He leaned his forehead on hers, hands tightening around her slender frame.

“Stop pretending to be scared of dying by my hand. We both know I don’t have it in me to hurt you.” He opened his eyes, pulling back just enough to meet her gaze. “I don’t care if my brother thinks

I’m an idiot or if you think I have played right into your hands. I am yours. I have been for a while. And you are mine. I don’t care what you have done, even if you were plotting my murder. All I need to know is that you’ll stand on my side. Will you be on my side now, Raena? Till death do us part?” He asked quietly, holding her gaze. She nodded her head readily.

“Yes. But..”

“No buts,” Kassian whispered, kissing her again. She managed to break the k**s this time, turning her face aside. He sighed, trying to hold back his frustration.

“There is one more thing I need to tell you about.” She said quickly, as if sensing that her mouth could be shut out again.

“Tomorrow,” Kassian whispered, brushing his lips over her pale neck.

“There will be a Craidal attack on the Anniversary ball. And the Empress is in on it.” Kassian froze immediately, sensing her tense in his embrace, then he pulled back to look at her. She had a concerned expression on her face, but watched him with unwavering confidence. He was just about to ask her how she knew that when I someone banged on the door, making her jump in surprise and almost fall off his lap.

“Your Highness, wake up!” Gerrin’s voice bellowed from the other side. “You need to come with me! Everybody in the dungeon has been murdered.”