The Betrayal Page 5

  It was common knowledge that the only person who really knew how to read or decipher Foyeile was Everett. If anyone got their hands on the letters, the first person they would look for would be him. That was why Everett was careful and had given it to Elsa, effectively hiding it.

  It would be somewhere no one would think to look for it.

  She hadn’t thought of it as an important thing, but Everett had assured her that the journal was. He had told her many stories of how dangerous people would use it to gain access to secrets and treasure they knew nothing about and wanted purely for financial gain.

  On his travels, Everett had discovered many hidden and ancient Foyeile temples and villages that had held significant historical value for thousands of years.

  He had to make sure that they stayed protected. She hadn’t understood the value of the drawings and random wordings in the journal until then. She had asked Everett to show her one of those temples someday and he had told her he would.

  Chuckling at her musings, she headed downstairs to the library.

  They had decided to look over the letters there since it had the largest table, thus more room to work, and as Elsa and Everett had been adamant about, the most comfortable chairs.

  She was pretty sure it would take more than one night to decipher the letters completely, but she had doubts about that.

  “See here? This symbol was put on this letter to ensure that the reader knew it was written in genuine Foyeile,” Everett explained as she walked in the door.

  Elsa put her things down on the table and walked over, looking at what Everett pointed at. She looked down and immediately recognized the symbols from Everett’s journal.

  “These are royalty symbols.”

  She pointed to them, leaning in for a closer look between Everett and Owyn. As she moved in closer, Elsa couldn’t help but be enticed by the smell of Owyn standing so near to her. She hadn’t known a man could smell so wonderful.

  A small symbol caught her eye and she almost gasped.

  “This small halo-like symbol is the one for the divine right of the ruler of the ancient kingdom. It showed that whoever ruled the kingdom did so by divine right. I have no doubt that these pertain to the queen’s disappearance. If they weren’t, then they should not have that symbol on them.”

  Owyn looked down at the back of her head and said, “So now that we know that, what do they say?”

  She turned to look at him.

  “I haven’t checked yet.”

  He chuckled.

  She rolled her eyes at him and returned back to the page at hand.

  Slowly scanning the first letter, she leaned over to look at the page, and then at Everett’s journal, both men taking a step back to give her more room.

  “Well, it looks like they are not just letters, but riddles.”

  Elsa picked up the page she had been looking at and showed them.

  “Each line ends with a word that rhymes with the line before it.”

  She turned back to the table and picked up the other letter, looking it over and then putting it down.

  “It doesn’t give us a location for the queen. Just clues to where the location might be.”

  Owyn scowled and said in frustration, “Do you think that he intends to write more of them?”

  Everett nodded, making Owyn’s scowl deeper.

  “If there are, I should like to find the man writing them and have him lead me to the queen so we can put an end to this game.”

  Everett shook his head.

  “He won’t let you get that close. He picked you for a reason. That much was obvious. He knew of your brother’s association with me and it is no secret that I can translate Foyeile. The question is how long will he wait to send another message, and will it be the last one?”

  Elsa checked over the sheets again, this time more thoroughly, taking in every detail of the paper. She looked at the bottom of the paper and noticed the numbers.

  “Everett, look at this,” she said, pointing it out to him.

  “It answers that question then. There will be two more letters. That says—”

  “One of four,” Owyn interrupted, bringing both their eyes to him.

  Owyn smiled at the looks on their faces.

  “Oryn and I came up with a code using the numbers. It is for safety reasons so that we could leave messages without worrying about someone finding out what they say. It was very helpful when we were sending letters back and forth to heavily secure areas,” he explained to them.

  The logic hit the siblings at the same time and the looks on their faces were almost a mirror image of the other.

  “We should come up with a code too!” Elsa whispered conspiratorially to Everett.

  Everett chuckled and sighed.

  “What exactly do the riddles say, little sister?”

  “The first riddle says ‘Zroto rixo e blaak le Ososy, yia ito rhena toll ro wrauth.’ Translated it means, ‘Where the hatred is black as Knight, you are privy to her plight.’ The word knight is capitalized and spelled with a k.”

  Owyn thought for a moment. “Dark as knight? What could that mean?”

  “It could refer to a person. Can you think of anyone it would be a reference to? Anyone called the Black Knight or the Dark Knight?” Everett asked, setting Owyn’s mind racing.

  “The only person I can think of that would be referenced to that name in any way would be none other than Prince Cyrus Gray.”

  Everett raised his blond brow at Owyn’s quick answer.

  “Cyrus Gray?”

  Owyn nodded and pushed his hand through his hair.

  “Everyone refers to him as the black knight because he always wears full black, armor and all, and lives in the black castle. It would make sense since he wants to change our rank and give us even more power than we already have. I don’t say this lightly, but it would make a believable situation.”

  “Would Art think the same?” Everett asked.

  “Why would Art worry about it?” Elsa asked. She knew that Art was the queen’s father but since he had given up the throne, he would not be able to rule again, even in times of crisis. Princess Scarlett, as second in line to the throne, would be the one to succeed Catriona.

  “Art has taken the throne in Scarlett’s stead to protect her from being captured as well. She also had fallen ill. She is on the road to recovery now, but still, that in itself is very suspicious,” Owyn replied.

  “No one has said anything about it?” Everett asked.

  Owyn shook his head.

  “No one will do anything about it because there is no one else to rule. Catriona would have to be gone for a year before a new election is set up and someone is elected to the throne in Ciomodors Garden. They changed the rule last year so that someone from any of the islands can be elected. Do you think someone in Prince Cyrus’ camp has decided to use him for their own personal gain?”

  Everett nodded and said, “It would not be unheard of. If someone has something they want, then they will not hesitate to find a way to get it.”

  Elsa listened as they spoke and couldn’t believe her ears. Conspiring to remove people from the throne? To become ruler of the kingdom? What had happened to the world outside of Braewood Keep?

  Elsa shuddered, rubbing her arms with her hands.

  “Are you all right?” Owyn asked, noticing the shudder.

  The look of sadness in her eyes when she looked at him pulled at his heart.

  “I’m fine. It’s just sad to think that two innocent women are being held captive and are suspiciously ill for someone else’s gain. I honestly don’t know what kind of person could do that to someone.”

  “Someone who doesn’t feel the same as you, sister,” Everett said, hugging her tightly.

  She rested her head on his chest and returned his hug.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, bringing a smile to Everett’s face.

  Owyn watched the exchange with a smile. Elsa looked over at him and the expressio
n of utter happiness almost took his breath away.

  Everett dropped a kiss on her forehead and pulled away, his voice light when he said, “So do you know what the other letter says?”

  Elsa smiled and said, “I can definitely find out.”

  They looked back at the second letter, Elsa scanning the letter slowly and carefully.

  “This one is a little bit harder. What does this symbol mean?” she asked Everett, pointing to the symbol in question.

  He looked at it for a minute and sighed.

  “I’m not sure. Is there anything in the journal about it?” he asked.

  She looked through the pages and shook her head.

  “If we say it aloud, we might be able to get the answer,” Owyn suggested, bringing their eyes to him.

  Elsa chuckled. “That might work. Especially if they are rhymes.”

  She looked down at the letter and began to read it aloud: “Toll fox uru asir toll difaun fen, yia raa en suisera. Or ‘To get the lost to become found, you must go deeper—”

  “Deeper what?” Everett said.

  “Well, the last word of the first part is found, right? So what rhymes with found?” Owyn asked, sitting down in the nearest chair to him.

  He looked out the window next to him, noticing the reds and oranges making the sky light up, letting everyone know it was soon going to be morning.

  “It’s already morning,” he said to no one, just making an observation.

  “It is? My goodness we have worked all night. It didn’t even feel like it,” Elsa said, sitting on the table.

  “I would say let’s put this away for now and get some rest and return to it in the morning. Or, later this afternoon when we are all refreshed,” Everett said, stretching.

  Elsa hopped off the edge of the table and gathered the journal and its assorted papers together.

  “Did you want to hold onto these?” she asked, folding the letters up.

  Owyn looked at her and said, “I trust you to keep them safe. That way you could also take a look at them if we aren’t up yet or busy and see if you can figure it out.”

  Elsa couldn’t hold back her excitement and ran up and hugged Owyn, throwing her arms around him tightly.

  “Thank you! I can’t believe you would trust me with these.”

  Owyn hugged her back, savoring the feel of her body pressed against him.

  She pulled back and looked at him, her violet eyes so bright they twinkled. Elsa had to take a breath as her lungs had stopped working properly.

  His brown eyes were soft and looked at her with such tenderness that her heart beat rapidly and she had trouble breathing. They stood staring at one another, suspended for how long neither of them knew, but the spell was broken when Everett cleared his throat.

  “I don’t know about you but I am ready to sleep. I am going upstairs. Elsa, are you ready to go?”

  “I’m ready, Everett,” Elsa said, pulling out of Owyn’s arms.

  “I’ll see you later on today.”

  Owyn nodded and watched them go.

  “Later.”

  Chapter Seven

  Owyn sighed and rolled over, throwing his arms across the bed and unknowingly hitting the warm body lying next to him.

  He jolted up and threw back the covers of his bedmate, revealing to him a very beautiful and very naked Elsa.

  She stretched sleepily and opened her eyes, the violet orbs heavy and filled with desire.

  She rolled onto her back, revealing the alabaster globes of her breasts to him.

  Her breasts were large and full, her nipples a dusty rose against the paleness of her skin.

  Beneath her breasts her stomach was flat, leading to the blond hair that covered the juncture of her thighs.

  Elsa stretched seductively, almost purring as she arched her back and thrust her breasts towards him.

  She licked her pouty pink lips and grabbed one of Owyn’s hands, putting it on her breast and using his hand to knead it softly.

  He put his other hand on her breast and as he explored, she started to moan, boiling Owyn’s blood.

  “Oh yes, Owyn, please!” she whispered, gasping loudly as he leaned down to take one of her nipples into his mouth.

  He suckled hard, making her hips arch off the bed.

  Owyn slowly slid his fingers down her body, leaving shivers in his wake.

  He slipped his digits slowly through the patch of hair at the apex of her thighs, the heat from her body radiating onto his fingers.

  He almost had to slow down because the pounding of his heart was so loud in his ears that it caused him to be disoriented.

  Elsa’s face wavered in front of him and then disappeared.

  Jolted awake, Owyn realized with a start that the pounding of his heart was the knocking at the door. It had all been a dream. He realized his hand was down his pants and his body was very, very hard.

  The knock came again and he shouted, “Enter!”

  The door opened slowly and a younger maid stood in the doorway.

  “My Lord, Princess Elsa had requested that you and Prince Everett meet her in the library. She thinks she has figured out the piece of the puzzle.”

  “Let her know I will be down shortly. Bring me some bathing water please.”

  The maid nodded and left the room, leaving Owyn in silence. He groaned in shame at the tent made by his body as he flopped back against the pillows.

  With no other options afforded to him in which he could keep his dignity, he slipped his hand back down beneath the covers and wrapped his hand around himself. His hand moved slowly at first, then sped up as his dream came rushing back vividly. Owyn’s heart racing, he stroked himself, closing his eyes and imagining Elsa’s hands on him.

  His climax hit him hard, his hips arching as he spilled himself all over his hand.

  His body shook with his release and he struggled to breathe as an overwhelming wave of euphoria rushed through his veins. He laid there for a moment and waited for his body to recover.

  When he felt he was ready to get up, he did, washing off his body and hands. He had just gotten dried off when a knock came on the door.

  “Your water is ready, My Lord. Did you want us to just bring it in?”

  He walked over and opened the door, now covered in his dressing gown to keep from causing a scandal. Owyn didn’t doubt that even for her young age, she had seen her fair share.

  The maid came in followed by two footmen who carried large buckets of water. His room had its own bathing chamber so they put the water in there, leaving the room and shutting the door behind them. He stripped and slid slowly into the warmth of the water, relaxing his body and letting the water run over him.

  When he’d washed himself off, he got dressed, ready to go downstairs.

  Everett and Elsa were already downstairs when he arrived, looking over the letters and discussing what was in them.

  “Owyn, there you are. What kept you?” Elsa asked.

  He hid a smile and replied, “I needed to take care of my grooming. Please excuse my absence.”

  She chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, sir; you are excused. As I was telling Everett, I figured out last night, well this morning, that the last word is underground. ‘To get the lost to become found, you must go deeper underground.’ It obviously is speaking of an underground cavern, or a prison perhaps? What do you think, Owyn?”

  “I agree. It seems as if he is trying to give us who it is and where she is but without giving away exactly what it is. Maybe he is a deserter from whatever cause and this is his way of trying to help?”

  Everett nodded.

  “It matches all the patterns of a deserter. It sounds like he might have been a guard or soldier and that’s why he is hiding. It would be ideal to find him, but since that doesn’t seem to be an option, we will just have to follow the clues.”

  There was a knock on the door and everyone turned. The maid who helped him earlier was standing there, in her hand a note.

  “Excuse
me, My Lady and My Lords, there was a messenger here a few minutes ago and he brought this message. It is for Prince Owyn from Oryn in Castle Greenlyre.”

  Owyn walked over to the maid and took the message, immediately recognizing Oryn’s handwriting.

  “Thank you,” he said, opening the note and reading its contents.

  “It seems Oryn has received another note, only this time it was found on a dead man. I need to get back to Malachite Expanse. I don’t know why this person would have escalated to murder to get the note to me.”

  “I highly doubt that he has escalated to murder, Owyn. I think the dead man was an opportunity to get the note to you because it would guarantee its delivery. His previous methods of delivery point to that, not to murder,” Everett said.

  Owyn nodded in agreement.

  “Can you come with me to Greenlyre, Everett? I would like to get home and translate that note as soon as possible. To go home and come back would be too long a trip and I’m afraid that I will get another note before I can even get back here.”

  “I received a message this morning and I have been assigned a job on Ciomodors Garden. I have to leave as soon as I am able. It is a two-day boat ride from here to Ciomodors Garden.”

  “You could take half a day off if you take the bridge instead of a boat. The bridge is not far from Greenlyre.”

  Everett thought it over for a moment and agreed.

  “It is a shorter distance. I can come with you, but I won’t be able to stay long. If you receive any other notes, you would have to make the trip back.”

  Elsa was following their conversation when she got an idea.

  “Not if I go with you.”

  Everett and Owyn both looked at Elsa in surprise.

  “Mother and Father won’t let you go and you know that.”

  Elsa rolled her eyes.

  “Not without a chaperone, but I can take Jade with me. She has been my chaperone before. If I am also with you, then they are sure to say yes.”

  Everett couldn’t help but grin at his sister and her way of getting around the rules.