Beast in Shining Armor (2 page)

Claustrophobia
was a personal weakness that he worked tirelessly to hide from the world.

“Passable
job, counselor.”  Avenant lowered his voice so only Scarlett could hear.  “Your
speech got a tad melodramatic at the end, but I think they were dumb enough to
buy most of it.”

“Shut-up
and keep looking un-beastly.”  Letty whispered back.  “God, it’s a lucky thing
this is a private hearing and they made Marrok stay outside.  No way could he
have kept a straight face, listening to me praise you so
effusively
.”

“The
wolf wants me out of the Enchanted Forest.”  Scarlett’s True Love had made his
position crystal clear on that front.  “He’d be a character witness, testifying
that I volunteered in soup kitchens and had donated both my kidneys to needy
kittens, if that’s what it took to get me back to the Northlands.”

“Well,
it would help your popularity if you weren’t always such a conceited jerk. 
Remember how you promised that, if I helped you, you’d work on being nicer? 
When is that going to start happening?”

“I
don’t know how to be nice.”  Avenant glanced to the other side of the courtroom
where Belle and her attorney conferred in heated tones.  He felt a surge of
satisfaction.  “She’s going to blow it for herself.”  He predicted.  “She’s too
angry to think rationally.  It’s always been her downfall.”

“I
just hope you know what you’re doing by antagonizing Belle.”  Letty fixed him
with a pointed look.  “Even if you win the case, it doesn’t mean you win
her
. 
I’ve told you, there are much better ways to get a girl to pay attention than
by pulling on her pigtails.”

“I’m
after my kingdom, not that fucking usurper.”

“Right.” 
Scarlett rolled her eyes.  “Attorney client privilege, Avenant.  Just admit
that you’re doing all this because Belle is your True Love.  You want the
woman, not some chilly throne.”

“Once
I reclaim the Northlands, you’re invited to that treacherous librarian’s public
execution on the castle steps.  Then, you can see me get what I really want.”

He
watched as Belle pushed her shiny brown hair behind her ears with a graceful sweep
of her hands.  She only did that when she was agitated.  Even from across the
room, he could sense the heat of her emotions.  Warmth pooled in his lower body
as he remembered the last time they were in this courthouse together.  The
sounds she’d made and the feel of her.

He
told her there’d be a next time.

“I
don’t believe in most of the distinctions between Good and Bad folk.”  Scarlett
murmured from beside him.  “You know that.  But, Good folk never recognize
their True Loves as quickly as Bad folk do.  Maybe it’s just an outcome of
environment or maybe it’s a biological thing, but we both know it’s true. 
Marrok knew me right from the beginning.  He said he looked at me and he just
knew
.”

Of
course, the wolf had known.  Avenant didn’t doubt that for a minute.  A True
Love was the ultimate prize.  The one person you were destined for.  If you
found them, you’d won the game of life and Bad folk were never supposed to
win.  Traditionally, they were pariahs, excluded and oppressed.  No one would
ever
give
them a mate.  Bad folk had to fight to claim what was theirs. 
As a survival mechanism, they’d developed a sixth sense when it came to
identifying their True Love.  Their instincts took over where faith left off.

They
saw their other half and just… knew.

“Belle’s
Good.  She has no idea of your connection and you’re not giving her many
reasons to discover it.”  Letty pressed.  “You’re mad at her for ignoring
something she doesn’t even know is there.”

“I’m
mad at her for a lot of reasons.”

“I’m
telling you, this is the wrong way to win her over.”  Letty made a face.  “Better
than a
war
would’ve been, granted, but still a terrible idea.  Why don’t
you try being
nice
to the girl?”

“She
framed me, stole my kingdom, and had me sent to prison.  Why should I even
attempt to be nice?”

“Because…
you
long
for Belle.  I see it every time you look at her.”

Avenant
ignored that.  His gaze stayed locked on Belle even when she turned and caught
him staring.  Chocolate brown eyes met blue for a long moment, as if they were
the only two people in the courtroom.  As far as Avenant was concerned, they
were
. 
All the ceremony and spectators were just extraneous pieces on the board.  It
was always him versus Belle in their endless game.

“Don’t.” 
Belle hissed.  “Just don’t do this.”

“Give
me a reason not to.”

Her
mouth thinned into a tight line.  “What do you want?”  Just the fact that she
asked for terms told him she knew she was losing.

“Surrender.” 
It was what he’d
always
wanted from her.

“Not.
happening.”

He
arched a brow.  “Think of the good of the kingdom.  We could both live here in
peace, if you just give in to the inevitable.”

“I
will go live with the ogres under a bridge before I surrender to you.”  She
snarled.

She’d
sounded the exact same way at their senior prom.  Belle had been seventeen when
she’d shoved him away and told him it would always and forever be
no
.  Seventeen
when she’d won the most important round.  Everything since was bullshit.

Everything
until
now
.

This
was their ultimate showdown and he was going to walk away the champion.

Belle’s
moronic lawyer was jabbering, again.  The elf had created a poster of Avenant’s
crimes and set it up on an easel, emphatically highlighting each charge with his
laser pointer.  Avenant was annoyed at the list.  He could’ve filled up at
least three of those boards.  This entire enterprise was a farce.

In
fact, Avenant was growing more and more certain that this strategy had been a
mistake.  Inside of him, the Beast paced restlessly.  They both knew the
victory would be hollow if he couldn’t defeat Belle one-on-one.  It
had
to be just the two of them.  Otherwise, she would never admit that he’d won. 
She’d keep fighting and fighting and fighting.  Slipping through his fingers
and refusing to surrender.  She might even move away from the Northlands and
then…

The
door to the courtroom burst open and Lancelot swept in.

Dressed
in a full suit of armor, the idiot looked like an idiot.  His idiot blond hair
and idiot chiseled jawline further contributed to his idiocy.  The idiot cleft
in his too pretty face and the idiot swagger to his too swaggering walk
proclaimed to anyone watching that he was the biggest idiot in the kingdom. 
And, given the Northlands was full to bursting with idiots, that was quite a
feat of idiotosity.

Avenant’s
eyes rolled towards the ceiling.  Just what he fucking needed.  “Oh, here we
go…”

“Do
you know that very shiny man?”  Scarlett whispered.

“Sadly,
yes.”  Avenant’s gaze slid over to Belle, who looked almost as appalled as he
felt.  “This is your fault.”  He told her.

“He’s
your
cousin.”  She hissed back.

“I
object to these proceedings!”  Lancelot proclaimed, the overhead lights
bouncing off his helmet and causing half the room to squint against the glare. 
“Avenant is not fit to lead our glorious lands and this woman,” he swept a
gauntleted hand at Belle, “is a pretender to the throne.  As the next in line
and a man among men,
I
should be granted the crown of the Northlands.”

Scarlett
leapt to her feet.  “Your honors, this is a private hearing.  This person has
no standing in…”

“Do
we want someone Bad ruling us?”  Lancelot interrupted passionately.  The presumptuous
ass strolled passed the gate at the front of the room like he had every right
to be heard.  “Do we want some book-selling female in charge of our lands?”

Belle’s
mouth dropped open.  “I have helped this kingdom achieve fiscal solvency for
the first time in…”

“No!” 
Lancelot answered his own question, talking right over Belle’s outrage.  “We
need a
man
.  Someone to take back our land from the women and the
beasts.”  He banged a fist against Avenant’s table.  “A man born and bred for
the hard task of being a monarch.  A man with refinement and valor and innate
Goodness, who will live in that castle and
inspire
his people to
greatness.”  He paused for dramatic effect.  “And that man… is right here,
gentlemen.”  He spread his arms and waited for the applause.

Avenant
sighed.  He
definitely
should’ve skipped the lawsuit and gone with the
bloodshed option.

“If
I wasn’t supposed to be ruling the Northlands, why hasn’t the Icen Throne
melted?”  Belle challenged.  “Obviously, the kingdom is still strong.”

There
was a very simple reason why the Icen Throne accepted Belle as part of the
royal line.  Avenant could’ve explained it to her, but she wasn’t in the mood
to listen.  She had
never
been in the mood to listen.

“This
is ridiculous.”  Scarlett glowered at Lancelot.  “I’m sure there are hundreds
of random people in this kingdom who’d like to be king, but they’re
not
and they never will be.  Are we supposed to listen to this…?”

“Actually,
there are twenty-four.”  One of the judges piped-up.  “The court has received
twenty-four
separate petitions from citizens detailing why they believe they are the
rightful heir to the Northlands.”

Avenant
arched a brow at that news.

“My
client is the rightful heir!”  Scarlett insisted.

Belle
jumped up again.  “I ousted Avenant from the Northlands, fair and square.  It’s
mine
by right of conquest!  The last judge ruled it, right from where
you’re sitting.”

“That
ruling was a travesty!”  Lancelot raged.  “I am the last Good member of the royal
family!  I’m a knight and a hero.  Plus, I’m the only one here with his own
action figure. 
I
deserve to be enthroned.”

“Nobody
even bought that action figure!”  Belle snapped.  “They couldn’t give them away
at the store.”

“They’re
collectors’ items!”

The
courtroom descended into chaos, everyone shouting over each other.

Avenant
put his chin in his palm and considered his options.  Lancelot’s arrival was
actually a lucky break for him.  A throne contested by
many
people
allowed him more possibilities for victory.  Once they opened that door, the
judges couldn’t award the crown without hearing all their competing claims. 
Unless…

“We
should have a contest of valor.”  Avenant put in lazily.  “That’s the
traditional solution when the kingdom is in dispute.  Who are we to question
the wisdom of our ancestors?”  He paused.  “
My
ancestors.”

Scarlett’s
head whipped around to gape at him.  “What?”  She sputtered.  “Are you out of
your mind?”

Avenant
ignored her.

The
judges’ ruling meant exactly nothing to him and Lancelot mattered even less
than that.  Avenant had no conscience and magical powers.  He could’ve taken
this land by force weeks ago if that’s all he desired.  He could kill his
cousin where he stood and smile as the social-climbing idiot bled out on the
floor.  He could walk out of the dreary courtroom the undisputed ruler of the
Northlands.

But,
he wanted so much more.

Belle’s
chocolate eyes narrowed in his direction.  They were the exact shade of warm
cocoa.  “You arrogant son-of-a-bitch.  It’s never enough just to win, is it?”

Avenant
glanced over at her.  “Or maybe I just never tire of beating you.”

“I
support this plan.”  Lancelot volunteered in a loud tone.  “Contests of valor
are the way of men.  They prove who is the strongest and the most fit to lead the
women and other lesser folk.”

Scarlett
stabbed a finger at him.  “You shut-up.  You too, Avenant.”  She whirled back
to face him.  “They’re about to rule our way, dumbass!  Why do you want to give
them some crazy, obsolete alternative?”

“I’m
magnanimous even in total victory.”  His eyes stayed on Belle.  “I propose we
settle this once and for all.  The winner will take everything and the loser
will surrender… everything.”  He arched a brow.  “Unless you’re scared.”

Belle
glared back at him.  “Really?  Are we challenging each other on the playground,
again?  You
really
think goading me will work?”

Of
course he did.  The woman could never resist a dare.  “I think I’m going to
have everything that’s mine.”  He told her truthfully.  “It’s inevitable.”

“The
last time you thought that, you wound up in a cell and I wound up in charge of
the kingdom.”

Avenant’s
teeth ground together at the reminder.  “That only happened because I
underestimated how far you’d go to win.”

She
threw her hands up.  “How in the
world
can you still blame me for what
happened?  Huh?  It’s
not
my fault you were sent to prison.”