My Once Handsome Husband - Chapter 291

The doors to the throne room were closed as always but when Delaney approached, her eyes met those of the guards and she saw recognition there.  The doors were pulled open and a servant hurried in ahead of her, announcing she, Bernard, and Duncan had arrived.

Delaney looked towards the thrones right away and her eyes landed first on Daniel who looked surprised and maybe even a little nervous.  Then she took in the sight of the beautiful Sophia next to him with her very large pregnant belly.  She looked bigger than Delaney had expected.

“Hello Delaney,” Daniel smiled and for a moment Delaney’s own smile faltered as she felt sadness creep in.  He looked so much like Mason.  They still hadn’t heard anything about the prince and they were all beginning to accept the worst had happened.  Delaney pushed the thought from her mind.  Now was not the time for sadness.

Daniel got to his feet as she came to a stop in front of them, “What a pleasant surprise.  Where’s Vince?”

He crossed to her and to Delaney’s surprise, gave her a quick embrace, his blue eyes sparkling like his younger brothers always had been.

Before waiting for her answer, he caught sight of the men behind her and a laugh escaped him.

“Bernard!  Duncan!  It’s been too long since I’ve seen the two of you.  What are you all doing here?”

“Hello Danny,” Duncan smiled and he and Bernard both shook the King’s hand.

Before they could continue, Delaney heard Sophia call her name and she turned to her with a smile.  Sophia walked down to greet her and this time Delaney was not caught off guard when she was embraced by a royal.  The beautiful Queen’s belly kept them from hugging too tightly and Delaney felt a blush creep over her cheeks as she realized now her own belly was probably a bit to blame for that as well.

“It’s so good to see you,” Sophia held the duchess’s hands lightly in her own, “We have so much to talk about.”

“We all do,” Daniel agreed, “But where’s Vince?”

Delaney dropped her gaze and swallowed.  She hated this cycle of having to tell everyone where her husband was and why he wasn’t with her.  It broke her heart every time.

“Ah, maybe we can speak to you in private Danny?” Bernard suggested, “The Queen as well.”

The handsome King Daniel frowned at them as he looked from one to the other in concern.  He nodded, sensing whatever it was they needed to talk about was serious.

“Come with me.”

Sophia linked her arm through Delaney’s and together they all followed the King to the familiar door at the side of the throne room.  He led them through, dismissing the servants that had been inside straightening up.  Holding out a hand, he gestured for Delaney and Sophia to take a seat on a couch and he sat across from them, leaving Bernard and Duncan to sit in the chairs on either side.

“Alright,” Daniel frowned as he looked between them, “What’s going on here?  Where’s Vince?  Is he alright?”

To Delaney’s relief, Duncan spoke up, informing the King and Queen of how ill Vincent really was.  He told them her husband was dying from the dragon poison and he couldn’t travel anymore or really even get around.  He also mentioned that Vincent had known for a long time that he was dying.

Looking up through her dark lashes, she watched the shock cover the King’s face and then pain.  He dropped his gaze to his lap, slowly shaking his head.

“It can’t be true,” he said quietly, “He would have told me.  He never… He never told me.”

“He never told any of us,” Bernard offered, “Violet was the only one who knew.  And Harris his valet.  He’s kept it a secret.”

“Not even you?” Sophia asked Delaney, “He didn’t tell you how ill he was?”

“No,” she answered, her voice barely a whisper.

“Oh Delaney I’m so sorry,” the Queen shook her head, squeezing the duchess’s hand, “I know how much you love your husband.”

“I love him completely,” she agreed as tears slipped over her cheeks, “And… And there’s something else… I’m pregnant.”

A gasp of surprise came from Sophia and Daniel.  One of Sophia’s hands instinctively flew to her own rounded belly before a nervous smile curved her lips.

“Well that’s… that’s wonderful,” the Queen said, giving the other woman’s hand a gentle squeeze, “Congratulations…”

“Does Vince know?” Daniel interrupted, running a hand through his hair, worry clear on his face.

Delaney nodded and to her surprise, the King swore.

“Daniel,” Sophia hissed in disapproval.

“This can’t be happening,” the King got to his feet, running his hands over his face and pressing his palms to his temples, “This can’t be happening.  He doesn’t deserve this!”

“Of course not,” Sophia said quietly and Delaney was surprised when she saw tears in the woman’s eyes.

“What can we do?” Daniel demanded then, turning to look between Delaney and the men, “What can we do?  There has to be something we can do.  I’m the King for God’s sake.”

“There is something,” Delaney answered quickly, feeling relieved to see the King was this upset over Vincent.

“Well, what is it?” Daniel looked at her seriously, dropping back down into his seat, elbows on his knees, “We’ll do whatever we can.”

Delaney looked between the King and Queen and took a deep breath.

“We were told a powerful witch may be able to save him,” she said quietly, “A very powerful witch.”

“Helena,” Sophia said quietly, her eyes going to her husband.

The King and Queen looked uneasy.  Daniel dropped his gaze to his wife’s stomach and then the ground.  Sophia looked away as well.

Delaney looked between them and her eyes met Bernard’s for a moment.  He shrugged in confusion.

“It… It was Helena we were told to speak to,” she said quietly, “We were told she was Vincent’s only chance.”

Daniel and Sophia were quiet again until Daniel abruptly clapped his hands together and nodded, looking back at her before getting to his feet.

“Of course she is,” he said, “If anyone can save Vince it will be Helena.  Come with me.  I’ll take you to her.”

“No, I’ll take her,” Sophia interjected quickly before getting to her feet as well, “I’ll take her.  You stay here with Duncan and Bernard.”

The royal couple met one another’s eyes and although neither said anything, it was clear something was passing between them.

“Alright,” Daniel nodded, “You take Delaney and we’ll stay here.”

“Uh, I think Vince would want us to go with her,” Bernard said nervously, looking between Delaney and Daniel.

“She’ll be safe with me,” Sophia said, “I’m the Queen.”

Before anyone else could protest, the Queen linked her arm through the other woman’s and headed towards the door with her.  Delaney looked back over her shoulder at Bernard and Duncan who were both standing now and seemed to be hesitating on whether to follow her or not.  Sophia swept her from the room before they could decide.

Vincent wouldn’t have been happy about that.

–

The Queen led Delaney through the crowd of nobles who scattered when they saw them coming.  She took her to the staircase Delaney only faintly remembered from her first time going down to see the horrible witch Luna.

She realized as they descended the stairs how unhappy her husband would be that she was doing this again.  She was following the Queen into some underground room where the King hid away the witches he allowed to live in the castle even though he had made laws against fraternizing with them.

Delaney swallowed hard.  Vincent wouldn’t have approved of this at all.

They were almost to the bottom of the stairs when Sophia stopped and turned to look at her.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Delaney looked at her in surprise, “What?  Yes.  Of course.  I want to save my husband.”

“But with magic?  You’re sure?”

“Sophia there isn’t any other way.  Helena’s magic is our only hope.”

The Queen nodded slowly, “And what about the price you’ll pay for the magic?  Have you thought of that?”

Delaney swallowed hard and hesitated.  She hadn’t stopped to think about that at all.  She had been focused on just learning if there was any way to save her husband.

“Delaney if Vincent is dying that means the price of the magic to save him will be high.”

“I know,” Delaney said quietly, “I’ll pay it.”

“Don’t say that,” Sophia snapped, looking around wildly to make sure they weren’t being overheard, “Don’t say that until you know what the price is.”

“What’s wrong?” Delaney asked now, frowning at the other woman in confusion, “Why do you and Daniel seem so afraid?”

Sophia sighed, leaning back against the stone wall behind her and dropping her eyes

“The price of magic,” she said quietly, “Sometimes it’s more… it’s more than you think it will be…”

Delaney reached out for her arm, “Sophia…”

“My sister is dead,” she whispered, “And that horrible witch… And Daniel and I learned we will get exactly what we are owed for the price we paid…”

“What do you mean?”

“We killed two women… and now we are having two babies… Magic is unforgiving Delaney.  You can’t take it back once you’ve done it.”

“You’re having twins?” Delaney asked in surprise, “But Sophia isn’t that good news?”

The Queen looked up at her with tear-rimmed eyes.

“We are having twins because we murdered two women.  We are royals and sometimes we have to sentence people to death but to kill someone with your own hands is something completely different and we have been paying for it every day since.  Yes we are thrilled to be having our children and we will never regret them but Delaney the price was unimaginably steep.  It is something we will carry in our hearts for the rest of our lives…

“So we want to make sure you consider the price you will be paying in order to save Vince’s life.  Because it will be steep too and once you’ve done it, it can’t be undone.”

Delaney swallowed hard and met the Queen’s lovely chocolate brown eyes.

“I understand,” she said quietly, “But my husband’s life will be worth whatever price I have to pay.”

Sophia stared at her and nodded.

“Alright.  Let’s go and speak to the witch then.”