What's It Going To Be, Princess? WHO Aurora Greenlee and Cavan Rosewood WHAT Cavan offers the Princess a deal WHERE Greenlee Estate --> Cavan's Residence WHEN Sunday, August 23, 2015 ~12:00 PM RATING PG
Aurora was barely holding onto her composure. She'd stopped just short of demanding that the police take her with them, if they insisted on escorting Morgan to the station, and her intention had been to follow in her own car. Flynnwood had said that he would do what he could to help sort out the situation. She was furious at Cavan, and Morgan's words from the day they'd run into the prince had come back to haunt her. I do not like this, Your Highness. Cavan being here. He's up to something. I think he suspects...something.
Even if he did, she hadn't believed that anything could possibly come from it. If he returned to Faerie and sparked the rumors, perhaps it would hurt her position, but it was widely known that she was residing in the mortal realm on official Court business. There was an unspoken understanding that what happened outside of Faerie was not to be spoken of, so long as it did not interfere with Court affairs. There was no way that Cavan could possibly know the state of her feelings for her guard. Her instinct told her that this was a test.
It took everything in her to resist barging into the police station. Staying away caused her actual pain. Morgan was there. He was alone. She should be there with him, she told herself. How would he feel if they let him go and she was nowhere to be found? In that moment, it didn't matter to her that he'd chosen to be with someone else; Aurora only knew that it didn't feel right to let him go through this alone.
She'd driven home directly from the hotel after being reassured once more by Flynn that he would look into the matter. The drive was short, but she didn't hesitate calling her lawyers as soon as she was in the car. If this was going to become a problem, she wanted to be prepared. She'd done enough business in the mortal realm to have a firm on retainer; however, she'd never needed to consult them on potential criminal charges.
Assault? She'd quickly thought back to the brief confrontation between Cavan and Morgan at the hospital, but that was hardly worthy of bringing legal charges against her guard. Had they been in Faerie, it may have been taken more seriously. After all, Cavan was a crown prince of the Spring Court. Here, though, it had been such a minor encounter that Aurora suspected there was something else at play here. She simply had no idea what it could be.
How long did she have to wait? What would look like a reasonable amount of time so as not to arouse much more suspicion? Fifteen minutes? Thirty? An hour? No, she couldn't wait an hour. She was so antsy that she kept pacing the foyer and checking her phone every five minutes, as if she might have somehow missed Morgan's call to let her know that everything was fine and he'd been released.
Forty minutes. That was as long as she lasted. The princess was just about to head down to the station when her phone rang. Her heart skipped a beat and relief began to flood her system, but when she answered, it wasn't Morgan's voice that greeted her.
"Good afternoon, Princess. I do hope that I am not disturbing you."
Her free hand clenched into a fist at the sound of the prince's voice. There was so much she wanted to say to him, but she bit her tongue. Centuries of training kicked in and insisted she act with decorum. There was much more at stake here than Morgan's comfort...even if she wasn't sure how deep Cavan's machinations reached.
"Not at all, but I was on my way out."
"Pity. I was hoping you might consider joining me for an afternoon repast. I heard that your brunch with my brother was cut short."
Cavan sounded so casual. It only served to make her more angry. It was possible that Flynnwood had reached out to his brother by now, but Aurora suspected he was hinting that he had someone watching them. "Perhaps another time. I have business to attend to."
The prince sighed. "If that business has anything to do with your guardian's current predicament, accepting my offer may benefit you greatly."
Aurora was silent as she turned his words round and round in her head. Something told her that this was not a good idea, that it was something Cavan had worked to set up, but didn't she owe it to Morgan to try to find out what was going on? "Just how might it be of benefit?"
An answering silence was returned, and for a moment she wondered if the call was still connected.
"Open the door."
Her brows rose. Was he - ? No. No, she had no sense of him, but.... As she reached for the doorknob, she could practically feel Morgan's warning as if he were there with her. Then again, if he were, there was no way he'd allow her to do anything Cavan requested.
Two men stood outside the door, both dressed as if they were members of the damn Secret Service.
Cavan's voice broke the silence again. "These men will escort you to my current residence. Don't worry. It isn't far. Just around the corner, really. I look forward to seeing you again, Princess."
The call ended with a beep and Aurora looked down at her phone as if it had betrayed her. The men watched her silently. All of Morgan's teachings during the time they'd spent training played in her mind, but she wouldn't need boxing skills to take them out if she chose to do so. The only reason she didn't was because it was clear that Cavan had set all of this in motion. If he could undo what he'd done, she might as well hear him out.
"Well?" she said with an impatient shrug. The two men stepped aside and turned to escort her to the black sedan waiting in the front drive. For the first time, she regretted not having the additional security her mother had wanted to send.
She slipped into the back of the car and pretty soon, it was turning smoothly back down the long drive. One thing Cavan had not lied about was that his home wasn't far. For some reason, that didn't make her feel better. As soon as the car pulled to a stop, another set of guards approached to open her door and escort her inside the large home.
The Spring Prince didn't make her wait long. He met them at the foot of a large, wooden formal staircase and smiled at her.
It was grotesque. Even Aurora had to admit that he looked, as the humans said, like death. One of his eyes was deep purple and swollen shut. A jagged cut ran along his cheek, but had been sutured, and his lip was split in three different places. Understanding washed over her like a cold wave. Bastard, she thought, but she said nothing. Her eyes glared daggers.
"Oh, come now," Cavan laughed. "Don't look at me so, Princess." He ran a hand through his hair and the glamour dropped away, revealing his handsome features in all their natural Sidhe glory.
"Darling parlor trick," she said, her tone scathing.
His smile was unabashed. "The humans eat it up, don't they?" Cavan turned to lead her further into his home. "Do you care for a drink?"
Aurora didn't budge, not even when she felt his guards' presence at her back. "I am not here for a drink. I am here for Morgan."
"Ah yes," Cavan murmured. He disappeared, but returned a moment later with a glass in hand. "You know, I hear that in the mortal realm, rabid dogs are put down. Horrible fate, but what else can you do with a beast that refuses to be controlled?"
She'd never want to hit anyone as much as she wanted to strike that smug look off of the prince's face. No one, that was, but Virgil Hughes. The princess folded her arms over her chest in an effort to keep herself from lashing out. Her blue-green eyes grew cold as she stared at him. She wouldn't rise to his bait. She was smarter than that, despite her desire to protect Morgan. She told herself that he would be disappointed if she let a few names rile her to the point of putting herself in danger when he wasn't around.
"You said this could be of some sort of benefit to me?"
"To you. To your dog. To myself, of course. It is my hope that we can come to an agreement that will be beneficial to us all." Cavan regarded her coolly and let his gaze run up and down the length of her body before he took a sip from his glass. "You really are quite beautiful."
Aurora glanced away from him and waited. When her silence continued, he sighed in disappointment.
"Alright. I am currently pressing charges against your guard for the unprovoked assault he perpetrated last evening."
"What?" Her eyes widened incredulously. "And where was this so-called attack supposed to have taken place?"
Cavan smiled again. "Here, of course. Right out there, actually." He motioned to the curved drive outside the entry of his home.
"He was nowhere near here."
"I know that," the prince nodded. "You know that. He definitely knows that. Unfortunately," he sighed again, "law enforcement officers do not know that. What they do know is that I was able to provide them with footage from my home security system which happened to record the entire attack. It was, I'm afraid, quite vicious, and your hound features quite prominently in it. Coupled with the security tape from the hospital showing that he accosted me there as well...it doesn't look very good for the pup."
She didn't have to ask how he'd accomplished it. That much was obvious. What wasn't obvious was the why. "What do you want?"
His smile widened. "I'm so glad you asked. What I want isn't much. Only...your word."
Aurora stared at him, confusion evident as it played across her delicate features. "What word?"
Cavan cocked his head and watched her for a moment. How far was she willing to go for her guard? He had picked up an undercurrent of something at the hospital. The way she'd called his name, the way her touch had calmed the beast...oh, yes. There was something there.
"I want your word that when the time comes, you will owe me a favor. No questions asked. You will owe me a debt, Princess. That...is all I want."
"And in return?" She was quick to ask, though the weight of his words was a heavy one. How could she even think to agree to his terms? There was no telling what he would ask of her. The only thing she did know was that it would not be a wasted debt. He would use that favor for all it was worth.
"In return, I will drop the charges against Morgan. A misunderstanding between friends that escalated too quickly."
Morgan's freedom...for her word. It didn't sound like much, but it was. She weighed her options. Aside from whatever video evidence Cavan had been able to produce, there couldn't be anything else to tie Morgan to any kind of assault. That didn't matter. Glamour, especially when used by someone as old as Cavan, was an extremely powerful belief magic. Even if Morgan was set free on his own, what would stop Cavan from trying something else?
"Why do you want my favor?"
The prince laughed. "Must you ask? You are the heir to the throne of the Summer Court, next in line to become Queen. Already, you are a very powerful Fae in your own right. That makes a debt from you highly valuable."
Aurora shook her head. "If I agree, how do I know you won't attempt something like this again?"
Cavan's smile turned indulgent, as if she were a darling child who needed to be coddled. "You don't. However, if you do not agree, you should know that this will only be the beginning. There are much worse fates I can imagine for your guard than a few hours in police custody."
Her blood ran cold as she recalled all of the stories she'd heard about the Bloody Prince Cavan.
"The clock's ticking, Princess. My offer won't last indefinitely. How long are you willing to leave him there on his own?"
She knew she didn't have to worry about Morgan. That didn't stop her from worrying, but logically, she knew that he was more than capable of taking care of himself.
"If they book him, there's no telling what could happen to him. Locked away in a cell. Unable to escape. Accidents happen all the time."
Was he overtly threatening Morgan's life now? Her anger rose to the surface, but if it intimidated Cavan at all, he didn't show it.