Sythia, Imma’s sister, was not in the cell with them.
“Where is your sister?” Rema asked, looking over his shoulder at Imma.
The Queen sneered, pointed upwards. “I thought it more appropriate that she suffered more severely as the head of this little coup attempt. She made my wife dirty her hands. She’ll never see the light of day again, Rema, and is not your concern. You deal with your kin… I will deal with mine.”
“Oh, nice, Imma. Vicious. I like it,” Patty said, and the two females shared a ‘high five’. He didn’t remember seeing Patty teach her that… which concerned him.
He and Dhenea shared a look of worry between them. They should probably keep Imma and Patty separate when not under supervision… one could only imagine the mischief they’d get into.
He looked up at the pitch blackness above and winced. A lifetime in the dark was a cruel punishment. He looked back at Imma, and nodded, earning a cruel smile from her in return.
Deciding it was best to avoid riling the female further, lest she decide to try and take his revenge away from him, he returned his attention back to his aunt and cousins.
“Tell me who else is involved, and I will make this quick. Be thorough, as I desperately want it to be slow and bloody.”
Patty grinned savagely at Sira, waving her new dagger back and forth in the air. “Please lie, I want to see my male work. Murdering my enemies is my idea of a great wedding gift.” She held up her hand to touch two fingers to her ear as her head tilted to an odd angle. “Do you mind if I record your screams for posterity?”
His kin flinched away from the gleeful madness in her eyes, which only made Patty laugh, the unhinged tone echoing inside the cavernous space. It started some of the prisoners into wailing.
Imma stared at his wife with new eyes, her smile wide and predatory. “Who is the scary one now, Patricia Dells?”
Oh yes. Direct supervision was needed for those two.
“Please, Rema. I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry. Please, I won’t do it again. Please!” Sira cried, crawling across the filthy, wet floor on her knees to grip the bars with dirty fingers.
He crouched down to her level, his secondary elbows braced on his thighs. “I’m afraid it's too late for an apology. You should have thought of that before you tried to have my family murdered. Tell me what you know, so I can get back to my wedding party. You are wasting my valuable time.”
Sira licked her cracked lips, eyes shifting between him and Patty. One of her daughters— the eldest— Kiltil, crawled next to her mother, her hands clutched in her lap, twisting the fabric of her prison gown.
“It started as a request to stop the courting by your mother and father. But the Queen’s sister approached us and offered advancement if we managed to kill you and your alien. She wanted to weaken the Queen, and as the Queen’s blood kin children are always under constant guard or away on Tuaniv, she decided targeting Rema would be a good enough blow. It was Sythia who hired the Korv assassin, but it was mother who ordered your food poisoned. I’m sorry, Rema. I truly am.”
Kiltil shuffled backwards with her sheared head bowed, her sister wrapping her arms around her.
Rema sighed, dropping his head for a moment to think. His rage had cooled as his cousin had talked, and the decision had firmed in his heart as he’d looked onto their pathetic forms. When he looked up at Patty, her eyes were soft. “Guess I won’t be getting those skulls after all.”
He smiled at her and stood. “Thank you, Kiltil.” He reached for Patty, his emotions calming to a serene acceptance as she snuggled into his body.
“You cannot go free. Your actions must be punished… but I will not be killing you today. I think a few years in this cursed place will cure you of your arrogance.”
He moved his gaze to his aunt, a scowl forming. “You, however, will be here longer. I think a few hundred years at the very least, for your audacity. Be thankful for my mercy.”
He turned his back to them, ignoring their cries and left the cave, his true kin trailing behind him.
Once they were outside, he took his wife into his arms again, dropping from the ledge to take flight and ascend to the balcony of their new rooms, near the tallest tower, and only a short hallway away from Imma and Dhenea’s main quarters.
“What a weird start to the day,” Patty said as he sat her on her feet once they’d gotten to their rooms.
Imma and Dhenea laughed as they followed in behind them. “There has not been a single dull moment since your arrival. A pleasant change from our usual routine, don’t you agree, my love?”
Dhenea looked up from her task of clearing their forgotten breakfast from the coffee table, and refilling fresh plates with the new food that was now gracing the serving counter, and placing them back on the coffee table, arranging them just so. She winked at him when she didn’t fill Patty’s coffee cup, instead placing the silver carafe next to it, along with the sugar and creamer pitchers.
“Yes, indeed. Here, your breakfast was ruined, so I took the liberty of ordering fresh for you. And don’t worry, I had everything thoroughly checked. It’s safe.”
She went to her mate, wrapping two arms around Imma’s waist and smiled at them. “You two finish relaxing. You still have a moment to catch your breath before the Celebration. We will see you there.”
They waved goodbye, and left, the door closing behind them.
Patty wasted no time, skirting around the furniture to plop down on the couch with a puff of breath. “Almost killing people and then sentencing them to life in prison is exhausting work.”
