Raines, Elizabeth - Captivated [Wicked Missions 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (13 page)

“No! Not Hock!” Vilanna started crying again, putting her hands to her face and taking big gulping sobs. Jayce tried to pull her into his arms, but she struggled, punching at him with her fists until he took a step back. “This is all
your
fault!” she screamed, loud enough that half the hospital had to have heard.

“My fault?” Jayce asked. “You think I wanted someone to take a shot at me? You think I wanted Hock to die? He was my friend!”

“You were supposed to die!
You!
Not my Hock! I love him!” She threaded her fingers through her long hair and tugged at it until Izzie was amazed it didn’t start coming out in long, blonde strands.

“You sent the assassins, didn’t you, Vilanna?” Izzie asked. “You’re the one who tried to have Jayce killed. You had someone put the poisonous snake in his bed too.”

She whirled to face Izzie. Her face was an angry red. “Yes! I did it! I did it all! I wanted him dead!”

“Why? He’s your brother!”

“For Hock! For the man I love!”

Jayce grabbed her upper arms and gave her a shake hard enough to make her head bob. “What are you saying?”

“I hate you!” She struggled to get away. “I’ve always hated you!”

“That makes no sense,” he replied. “We’ve always been close.”

“It was pretend! All pretend! I hate you! You had everything!”

“What are you talking about?” Jayce demanded.

“Father loves only you! His precious son! The crown prince! But his daughters? He treats us no better than the servants! If you were dead, he’d love us!”

When Jayce shook his sister again, Damian stepped in to separate them.

Izzie pressed the hysterical woman harder, needing to understand why Vilanna would do something so vile. “How could you try to kill your own brother?”

With wild eyes, Vilanna clutched at Damian’s shirt, talking to him as if he’d asked the question. “If Jayce was dead, I would be queen. Hock was going to marry me, and he would be our next king. Don’t you see? Jayce had to die so Hock could be king.” She dropped to her knees, still sobbing as she ranted. “But Hock is dead. I want to die too!” She looked at Damian. “Kill me! Please kill me!”

Jayce stepped to the door and stuck his head out. “I need a doctor in here!”

* * * *

Back at the palace, Damian stood at Izzie’s side while she faced an enraged Steraph. Vilanna had been sedated and secured at the hospital until the king could be informed of her confession and Hock’s death.

Izzie showed not an ounce of fear. In fact, her expression could only be described as smug, and her spine was straight as an arrow. Damn, but she did him and Jayce proud. She’d solved the mystery before anyone else, but all the king seemed to care about was that his daughter had been accused of the horrible crimes against Jayce.

“You have no proof!” Bits of spittle flew from his mouth as he shouted in Izzie’s face.

The only sign of her anger was the flush on her cheeks. “I have her own words as proof.”

“But there are no witnesses to this confession!”

“
I
witnessed it, Father,” Jayce said, stepping up to Izzie’s other side. “As did Damian. Vilanna also knew something only the person trying to kill me would know, that someone had tried to murder me at the compound.”

The anger coming from Steraph shifted to Jayce. “Someone tried to murder you? Why wasn’t I informed?”

“It was my choice, Your Majesty. I didn’t want anyone to know,” Izzie replied. Damian had to admire her for speaking up, even if she was violating custom by talking to the king as if she was his equal. “I had to keep everyone out of the loop until I figured out who wanted to hurt Jayce. I was protecting him.”

“I’m his father! I’m the king! You may
not
keep information from me! Ever! Who do you think you are, woman?”

“I’m Jayce’s fiancée, and I’m an I.D.E.A. agent,” she calmly replied. “His safety is more important than anything else in the universe to me, including placating your ego.”

Steraph’s face flamed, and Damian feared he’d strike Izzie.

“Calm down, Steraph.” Charisa laid a gentle hand on his arm. “You’ll give yourself a heart attack.” She smiled at Izzie. “This woman loves your son, and she saved his life. You owe her your gratitude, not your anger. I, for one, will thank God every day that He sent her into Jayce’s life.”

Steraph threw an incredulous frown at his wife. “But…but… She’s a woman!”

“It’s okay,” Izzie offered. “I don’t want his thanks.”

“You have mine,” Jayce said. He leaned in to kiss her cheek. He glanced to the king. “As a way to show our gratitude to Izzie, I would ask a favor of you, Father.”

“A favor? What kind of favor?” Steraph asked.

“I want the laws forcing women to wear robes,
wenoras,
and veils abolished.”

The king folded his arms over his broad chest and scowled. “It’s a tradition. Everyone loves the practice.”

“Not the women in the crowd today,” Izzie retorted, drawing another glare from Steraph.

Kamala entered the fray. “Will you abolish that stupid law, Father? Please?”

His eyes widened. “You didn’t enjoy your
hadiadas?
Doesn’t every young woman look forward to it?”

She shook her head. “Both of them were disasters, and I
hate
the idea of wearing a veil for the rest of my life. Don’t you think I’m pretty, Father?”

“Of course!”

“Shouldn’t I be proud to let people see my face?”

His cheeks flushed a deeper red. “But…but…”

“Steraph, my love,” Charisa said. “The time has come. You saw what happened today at the city circle. The women of Bromond have spoken. Your daughter has spoken. Your future daughter-in-law has spoken. Be a man and admit defeat with grace.”

He turned his gaze to Izzie. “On one condition—a condition I expect
you
to meet.”

“What condition, sir?” Izzie asked.

“You will wear a veil to the wedding.”

“Of course.”

“Then the wedding will be tomorrow!”

Chapter 10

“I still don’t understand the hurry,” Charisa said. She smoothed her hands down Izzie’s sleeve.

“It’s what the king wanted,” Izzie replied with a shrug. “Probably wants to show me he can order me around.” She managed a wan smile.

Nerves already frayed at the frenzy that commenced the moment Steraph announced that she and Jayce would be married in one day, she had to resist the urge to step away from Charisa and find a few moments of peace. She didn’t know why he’d demanded the marriage so damned fast, but she’d quickly learned that when facing her future father-in-law, it was wise to choose her battles carefully. This time she’d graciously accept defeat.

Once the wedding was announced, the servants had taken over all the preparations. The actual ceremony would be brief, but there would be a lavish banquet for the upper crust of Bromondi society. The last number Izzie had heard floating around was two thousand people.

At least the women would be free to dress as they chose since a royal edict went out that morning that the
wenora
, robe, and veil laws were abolished. The media coverage showed women dancing in the streets of several Bromond cities, stomping on the hated garments, throwing them into impromptu bonfires, and praising the king’s name.

She hadn’t seen Jayce or Damian since Steraph’s decision. They’d both been whisked away to get ready for the royal wedding, and Izzie was dying to talk to them, to know if they were having the same bipolar response to what was about to happen—the same combination of joy and despair that held her hostage.

Her heart hurt. A stupid notion considering she was just about to marry one of the men she loved with all of her soul. That was the problem—she was only marrying Jayce and not Damian as well. When the time came and she stood before the clergyman, would she be able to say the vows binding her to Jayce knowing that only half of her heart was his? Somehow that seemed blasphemous.
Two
men made her complete, so why was she only allowed to pledge her life to
one
of them?

“It’s not fair,” Izzie muttered as she picked up the tulle veil. A glance in the enormous mirror told her Charisa had heard her words. Blue eyes stared back, reflecting an understanding Izzie hadn’t expected to see.

“You love them both, don’t you, my dear? Just as they love each other…”

It came as no surprise Charisa knew about Damian and Jayce. Mothers tended to have instincts about their sons that often defied explanation. Since Izzie had never been anything but bluntly honest her whole life, she saw no reason to change tacks now, especially when her emotions were so close to the surface. Charisa would surely see through any lie. “I do.”

“Yet you’re content to marry my Jayce?”

“I am…” She heaved a sigh. “…and I’m not.”

Charisa nodded. “That’s why you think it’s unfair. What would you do if you had your wish?”

“I’d marry both of them.” Izzie stared down at the dress, the one Charisa had worn when she married Steraph. She’d brought it to Izzie last night, telling her she’d be proud to see her future daughter-in-law wear it when she married her son. Since Izzie’s parents were so far away, there was no way to even let them know she was getting married. Not that they’d be able to take time away from their jobs to come all the way to Bromond anyway. Perhaps she, Jayce, and Damian could one day travel to Earth for a visit. “Why can the men on this planet have more than one wife, but women can only have one husband?”

“For the same reason we were forced to wear
wenoras
for so long,” Charisa replied. “Because men rule.” Her blue eyes sparkled as a knowing smile lit her face. “But all it took was one voice, and many others joined in.” She pointed to the viewscreen on the bureau that was tuned to a Caldrion news channel. The footage showed women gathered outside the palace for the wedding. “Look at all those beautiful faces and how happy the women are because of my Jayce and what he did at Kamala’s first
hadiadas
. He’ll be a wise king. Perhaps you should have a little faith that he’ll make things right for you and Damian the way he made things right for the women of Bromond.”

On that cryptic statement, Charisa kissed Izzie’s cheek and left.

Her thoughts tumbling like dice in a gambling den, Izzie tried to find a way to make things right. No matter how much Damian said he didn’t mind her marrying only Jayce, she knew it hurt him to be viewed as just a bodyguard instead of taking his place at Jayce’s side as she would be doing today.

“It’s not right.” A knock on the door drew her attention. “Come in.”

Alayna strode into the room, shutting the door behind her. For the first time since Izzie had known her, she’d let someone fuss with her short brown hair. It was curled and sprayed into an intricate coiffure that set off her heart-shaped face. She stopped and stared at Izzie. “Damn, girl. You clean up nice.”

Because her slender yet curvy partner was decked in a teal silk dress that hugged her body, Alayna was the one who should have been receiving the compliment. “The bride’s best friend is prettier than the bride.” Izzie turned to look in the mirror again, still a bit in awe of the ivory creation she now wore. Every time she moved, light shimmered across the tiny pearls sewn over the long skirt. “This is the wedding dress Jayce’s mother wore when she married the king.”

“You look beautiful, Izzie.”

Giving Alayna’s reflection a weak smile, Izzie tried to look happy.

“What’s wrong?”

Like she could ever get anything past her partner. Whirling, she faced Alayna. “I know we talked yesterday, so you know what’s going on—I mean, with Jayce, Damian, and me.”

“You mean that you love both those guys?”

Izzie nodded.

“But you’re only marrying Jayce.”

“We have no choice.”

Alayna snorted a laugh.

“What?”

“The Izzie I know and love would
never
say something that stupid. There are
always
other choices, and you damn well know it. What you need to ask yourself is what you’re willing to sacrifice to get a different choice.”