The Murderess Page 2
Aaron marched up to the front stoop, stepped upon the porch, and knocked with a ferocious force. "On orders of the King of Brayleigh, I demand you open your home at once."
Locks clicked on the opposite side of the door, and an older man hesitated before unlatching the lock, a scowl crossing his brow. He was at least as old as Aaron's father, possibly a few years on him.
The moment the older man recognized the prince, his demeanor shifted to be more pleasant. "Prince Aaron, it's an honor to have you at my home."
"I'm sure it is," Aaron said, snidely. He stepped into the foyer and circled through the house, his eyes glancing over every crevice with one artifact in mind. "Where is it?"
"Where's what?" Celeste asked, keeping her voice hardly above a whisper.
"Let me make you lunch, you must be famished." The older gentleman limped into the kitchen.
"Not so fast!" Aaron knew with growing suspicion that what he'd come for had been hidden away. Could his information have been wrong? "You have acquired a painting that once belonged to the Metropolitan Art Museum. It is now property of Brayleigh. Hand it over, or we will search the premises and be forced to find it ourselves, taking anything else we desire for the palace."
"Aaron?" Her voice held a hint of concern.
"You're delinquent on your taxes. Do you have any children?" Aaron asked.
"None," the old man said. "It's just me living here, all alone. Take whatever you want. I have nothing of any value to me."
Celeste fingered the paintings hanging on the wall. "These are all replicas. I bet the real treasures are held upstairs."
Aaron didn't correct the young blonde. The antiques could have been in a cellar somewhere too, off the property. The information he had acquired from the records after the war indicated that Mr. Ravenna collected several items of interest.
"You're a treasure hunter," Celeste said, glancing back at Aaron. She led the way up the stairwell. "I get dibs on the jewelry."
Aaron shook his head. There was nothing to indicate that any valuable jewels had been housed at the Ravenna residence.
Celeste turned the handle to the bedroom at the top of the hall and opened the door.
Standing on the opposite side stood a young woman, shotgun in hand. She couldn't have been any older than Celeste.
Aaron opened his mouth, but before the words could come to defuse the situation, the red-haired young woman pulled the trigger, spraying her in a sea of red.
A shot rang through the house, slamming into Celeste's chest just a few feet away. Celeste collapsed to the ground.
Defend and then save. That had been Aaron's upbringing. He disarmed the red-head, unafraid of the weapon that had just been fired. The woman's hands shook. Had she intended to shoot or had her finger slipped on the trigger?
"Help her!" Aaron demanded, pressing the gun into the young woman's chest. "If she dies, you die."
Chapter Two
Blood coated the old wooden floors. Crimson dripped down the stairs. The young woman that had shot Celeste worked diligently to hold the wound, but blood seeped out faster than one thought possible.
Aaron put the gun down, keeping it at his side as he pushed the red-haired woman away.
"Celeste," he said, brushing his thumb over her cheek. "Stay with me." He would not cry, though tears forced into his heart, making him ache with sadness and longing. Aaron wouldn't show that side of himself to just anyone. He loved her, and it was her rebellious streak that made him love her even more.
Her last breath was met by the lack of warmth in her hands.
Aaron closed her eyes and lifted her into his arms, carrying her outside. He couldn't bring her home like this. No. He spun around on his heels, Celeste in his arms. "Get a shovel." It wasn't a question. Aaron was done playing nice.
The older gentleman retrieved a shovel from his shed and followed behind Aaron. Part of him wondered if the elderly man would attempt to hit him with the shovel, turning it into a weapon. Aaron kept his footsteps always moving, knowing the man carrying the shovel had fallen farther behind.
"Dig." Another order given as Aaron gently placed her body onto the grass. He sniffled, the one time was all he would allow himself to grieve for her. This had been why he'd traveled alone to bring antiques back to Brayleigh. He knew the dangers and recognized most people were too scared and stupid to shoot a prince. If they did, they'd be executed at whim.
The man dug a hole into the earth.
"Stop!" The red-haired woman shouted, stomping her way through the grassy fields. A shotgun in her grip. "Leave us alone," she demanded.
Aaron stepped toward the girl, unafraid of her. He'd seen enough guns, they didn't scare him. Sure she'd shot his courtesan, but he didn't think her stupid enough to murder a prince. He grabbed her wrist, flipping it over, revealing a mark. It hadn't been what he expected. Had the brand proving she'd been offered and rejected as a courtesan been real? He didn't recognize her, but there were a lot of women that visited the palace monthly.
"Let go of me!" She shrugged from his grasp, breaking free. Once again she lifted the gun. "I'm in charge. Get out of here, and we won't kill you."
"Probably should kill him," the old man said. "They'll just bring back reinforcements. I bet they don't even know where you are right now."
He was right. Aaron hadn't taken the guards with him. They knew he left, but they didn't know where he went. The prince held his ground. "You don't think my father puts a tracking device in his sons to ensure their safety?"
The old man paused, probably thinking it over, deciding whether to believe him or not. "You killed a courtesan, Lorelei. You need to kill the prince."
Lorelei kept the weapon trained on Aaron.
"You don't want to do this. What happened with Celeste was an accident. You're not a murderer. Kill me and you become one. The king will stop at nothing to find you."
The young woman stepped closer toward Aaron. "You don't know anything about me."
Aaron knew that she had looked horrified after pulling the trigger. Not that it stopped her from threatening him with the same weapon, but he suspected she'd be plagued with nightmares of the killing. "Maybe so. There's only one way out of this mess."
"That's right!" the old man shouted. "With the prince dead. Shoot the bastard. He came here for the painting. We can't let him have it."
Aaron had been right about the antique he'd been chasing after.
The red-haired young woman turned the gun, shooting the old man. The shot rang through the empty field, forcing a shiver down Aaron's spine.
Blood dribbled down the old man's mouth as his knees buckled and he hit the ground. His face fell into a pile of dirt and grime.
Aaron swallowed nervously, unsure what Lorelei would do next. She'd had it in her to shoot two people. "Listen, I don't want any trouble." He held up his hands in surrender, taking a step backwards. "Keep the painting. It's not worth my life."
"Isn't it?" she shouted at the prince, dropping her aim on the gun as she lowered it to the ground. "Go on, get out of here."
Aaron didn't understand what he'd witnessed. "You murdered your father."
Lorelei scoffed under her breath. "He wasn't my father. He was my master. Grady never let me hold his gun until you showed up. Stowed me away upstairs to protect his treasures."
"How did you end up here?" Aaron asked.
"He bought me a few years ago in a slave auction."
Aaron knew of the slave trade. He'd actively worked to save his courtesans from falling victim to it. "Do you need a ride back to town?" Part of him hated the idea of helping her. She'd
murdered a woman he cared about deeply. Another small piece of him felt for this girl. No one deserved to fear for their life.
"Town? Where would I go?" Lorelei asked. "My family is dead. My uncle sold me into slavery. I'm better off staying here where no one can touch me."
The prince struggled inwardly with what the right thing to do would be. She had murdered his courtesan but it had been in an attempt to defend herself. Lorelei also had protected the prince, did he not owe her for that?
"Come with me," Aaron said. "I have a palace of treasures and an abundance of food and wealth. You'd be happy among my woman."
Lorelei scoffed and shook her head. "No thanks. I don't intend to be your sex slave or anyone else's."
She challenged him in a way he never thought possible. "You wouldn't be a sex slave. I'm not—I would never ask you to do something that you're not comfortable with," Aaron said.
"You just asked me to come with you. I'm not comfortable with that." She made it perfectly clear that she wanted nothing of the royal harem and the life it provided.
Aaron didn't like the idea of leaving a young woman alone in the middle of nowhere. "Do you have enough food to survive?" he asked. There were no trading cities nearby. The markets were hours away by plane.
"I've spent the last three years getting food for Grady, scavenging from the ocean. I think I can handle feeding just one soul." She glanced behind her toward the cabin. "I could use one small favor."
Aaron nodded, eagerly jumping at the opportunity to help the young woman. "Of course. What do you need?"
"Finish burying the bodies. I can't stand the stench of rotting corpses. I'll make you a meal before you return home, as payment."
Although it wasn't necessary, Aaron took her up on the offer. It would give him a chance to get to know her and make sure she wasn't lying to him. Though the fear behind her sapphire gaze told him the truth. She couldn't fake the relief she seemed to be experiencing.
* * * * *
Aaron finished digging the hole that the old man had started, while Lorelei prepared dinner. He had no idea what she planned to cook up and would ensure she tried the first bite, to make sure it hadn't been poisoned. If the cook wouldn't eat it, then you knew the food was bad.
He headed inside the cabin and wiped his brow. Aaron wasn't used to doing hard labor. There were servants at the palace for such menial tasks.
Outside on the back porch sat Lorelei. She hovered over the fire, keeping it stoked and warm.
The smell of firewood and spice permeated the air. His stomach grumbled, not having eaten since breakfast. He'd barely had much to eat then, opting to skip it for an adventure.
"Done already?" Lorelei asked, glancing up as she rotated the skewer over the fire.
"There's two graves out by the hill." He pointed in the direction on the opposite side of the cabin. She wouldn't be able to see it until she walked around the house.
Lorelei glanced up from the wood-burning stove. "Good. Dinner's almost finished. I hope you eat fish."
He'd eat whatever was put in front of him today. The sun had reached the peak for the day and was slowly beginning to descend. Night would fall soon and Aaron needed to take off before dark. He could handle the radar, it was landing the plane that would prove challenging. Back in the day there'd been strips of lights set out for planes to come and go with ease. Those days were over, more than a lifetime ago.
She turned the skewer one last time before taking it off the fire, handing him one. She kept the second one for herself. Bites of meat had been cut and charred to the stick. Aaron took a hurried bite, recognizing he'd need to leave soon.
Lorelei remained quiet as she ate, washing it down with a pint of water. She offered him a wooden mug, pouring water into it for him. "What's so special about the painting?" Her eyes met his, awaiting his response.
"It used to hang in the Metropolitan Art Museum. I believe someone in Grady's family stole it during the Gem Apocalypse. I've been traveling through Brayleigh, collecting rare artifacts so that we might one day open up a museum again."
"Until you recreate a museum. What do you plan on doing with the piece? Hanging it in the palace for your own personal enjoyment?"
Yes. All the other artifacts he'd stolen were hanging or on display in the palace. The royal family enjoyed the art, and it would be kept safe from thieves and black market bandits. "As opposed to keeping the painting locked in a bedroom for no one but you and Grady to see?" His voice hitched with annoyance. Did Lorelei not see what he did was in the best interest of the country and its people? He wasn't a thief, not really.
"That's mighty kind of you, putting it on display for the royal family," Lorelei said. "I'm sure you get a lot of visitors to the palace. I mean with all the courtesans and the monthly allotment that goes on."
His eyes narrowed. "If you were my courtesan, you wouldn't talk that way to me."
She shrugged, appearing unconcerned. "Then I guess it's good I'm free." The red-head flashed Aaron the brand on her wrist. "Do you know how much it hurt to get marked?"
He didn't know, not without experiencing such pain himself. "I'm sorry," he said, quick to apologize. He rarely apologized to anyone and wasn't sure what made him feel it necessary now, to this woman. "However, the mark is essential."
"Why? So you can have your women and be surrounded by virgins? Half the girls beg to be part of the royal harem. The other half pray you don't notice them."
Aaron's nostrils flared, and his ears burned red with anger. "That's not true!" He stood up, throwing the empty stick of food into the fire. It roared as the breeze picked up, fanning oxygen into the flames. "The women that come to the palace wish to service their princes and become part of our family."
Lorelei looked skeptical. "What about the ones that avoid attending when they turn eighteen? Your men hunt them down, slaughter their families along with the girls that aren't chosen."
"Why do you care?" Aaron asked. "You've been through the process, branded and set free." He grimaced at his poor choice of words and half-expected her to slap him for the reminder that she'd been a slave up until a few hours ago.
Her expression remained grim. "Not every young woman wants that life. I'd been lucky to get turned away. You and your brothers didn't even notice me."
Aaron stepped closer, coming back to sit beside her on a log outside. The tree had been cut a long time ago, the trunk now a bench for their comfort. "It's a better life than that of a slave."
"It's no different," Lorelei said. "When a woman can't choose that life, what makes it any better? Besides maybe you're kind but it's no secret your older brother is a pig-headed arrogant ass."
"You mean Prince August," Aaron said. He knew his eldest brother would be king one day, and so he did his best to stay on his good side. August was brash and cruel, but he could also be considerate toward family. Aaron didn't wish to be left out in the cold after King Gideon died.
"Don't act so surprised. He takes the virtue of innocent young women and then disposes of his courtesans like toilet paper, shitting all over them."
Aaron couldn't help but laugh. She'd earned a smile, he'd give her that much. "Why are we talking about August? You'll never have to see him, certainly not out here." Aaron shivered from the cold. He tried his best to hide his discomfort, since he was used to heat and air conditioning, modern appliances in the palace, making it comfortable for the royal family and the harem.
Lorelei stood and walked toward the pile of wood. Grabbing two pieces, she tossed them into the pit, growing the flames for warmth. She rubbed her hands together, grabbed a third log, and watched the fire roar to life.
"Is that better, Prince Aaron?" she asked and laughed.
Was she mocking him?
He wouldn't apologize for being cold. His knees bounced slightly to keep warm and he rubbed his palms over his thighs. The sky had darkened to night without Aaron thinking about it. He'd never be able to land the plane back near the palace without guidance.
"Yes, but unless you can turn back the clock a few hours, I've got a problem."
Lorelei's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
Did he dare confide in her that he'd be stuck with her until first light? "Have you ever flown a plane before?"
Without a word, she shook her head.
"It's not easy to land at night, without any indication of a runway. I'll leave in the morning."
She sat up straighter, looking albeit uncomfortable. "Where exactly do you plan on sleeping?"
"I don't."
"Excuse me?" She inched, unintentional as it were, closer to him.
"How can I sleep if I have no bed or sofa? I'll stay by the fire, where it's warm. I can sleep when I get home."
Lorelei studied his features, the flicker of amber light drenching him in shadows. He wondered if she'd invite him in, but he knew better than to ask. The last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable. He'd seen what she was capable of with a shot gun.
"I'll stay awake with you," she said.
Aaron nodded. He had no issue with that.
"Is it true about the tracker?" she asked, yawning. Her eyes drew heavy as the night dragged on.
"Tracker?" Aaron had no clue what she was talking about.
"You said that there was a tracker inside of you. So that the king could easily find you. I guess that's not true. No one's come for you. Or do they just not care?" The faintest smile met her face, making her look even more beautiful under the crescent moonlight.
Stars speckled the sky and wisps of fire danced like fireflies in the night. Aaron climbed off the log and sat down on a patch of grass. The air farther from the fire allowed him to see the heavens up above. He stretched his long legs, making himself comfortable. He laid down, staring up at the blanket of darkness.
Lorelei stalled a moment before she joined him, though she didn't lie down. "Beautiful, isn't it? I learned all the constellations when I was a little girl."
"Do you remember them?" Aaron asked her.
"Only a few." She pointed toward the sky. "See those three stars. That's Orion's Belt and it points to Sirius, the brightest star in our night sky."