June 21st - Early Morning - Pharon Arrives

I awoke to a repeated pounding on my door. Fearing that the pounding would wake the others, I ran to the door and threw it open. Much to my surprise the pounding was on Kane and Lord Glade's door and the person pounding was none other than Prince Pharon.

I stood silently for a moment, then Kane's door opened.

"Fuck do you want?" Snapped Lord Glade rubbing at his eyes.

"I need to speak to Kane. His life is in danger." Prince Pharon hastily replied.

"What?" I cried unable to contain my surprise. Who would want to kill Kane now, with Rhana leaving?

Prince Pharon gave me a troubled frown, then turned back to Lord Glade, "Will you wake him? I'll be waiting downstairs." He asked.

Lord Glade nodded slowly. His eyes fell on me before once before he turned into his room. I remained outside my door, my attention fixed on Prince Pharon.

At last he turned to me and raking his hand through his hair, he said, "You can- You can come too. Just make yourself decent first."

I glanced down at myself with a blush. I was in my pants and shirt, what I normally wore except for the overcoat. Without that coat, my outfit certainly would appear as improper to others. Hastily, I turned back into my rooms to grab an overcoat and fix my hair.

Minutes later I was sitting before Prince Pharon in the dimly dining room of the inn. The room was mostly empty except for a few unconscious blind drunks at a booth in the corner. They had passed out on their table.

Seeing them sleeping so peacefully, I wished I could sleep. I blinked, realizing how late/early it was in the day. Prince Pharon had had to have ridden all night. I gaped at him. 'That was so dangerous," I thought.

Two minutes later, a groggy looking Kane appeared at the top of the stairs. As he bounded down them and smirked at me, I saw that he was Ishmael not Kane. I hid a grimace and scooched deeper into the booth. Ishmael sat beside me. He tried to wrap his arm around my shoulders, but I elbowed him in the stomach.

Laughing, Ishmael faced Prince Pharon, "So who wants to kill me this time?" Ismael asked.

Prince Pharon blinked, then his face turned serious, "Lord Alecai."

Ishmael nodded, "I understand. I've been expecting this ever since I got rough with Lady Vivian. Have you tried telling him that I am not interested in her?"

"It's not your treatment of Lady Vivian that is bothering him. He has begun to get attached to Miss Adamare as well." Prince Pharon said.

I straightened immediately, "Attached to me? We've only spoken twice. How is that possible?"

"He likes you because of your race, Miss Adamare. You are an Earth Child and for some reason that makes him extremely interested in you." Prince Pharon replied coolly.

Ishmael made a strangled noise in his throat, "She is mine." He snarled as flames leapt up around his body.

I turned to face him with a flat look.

"You have not claimed her yet. If he and I hadn't gone to speak to Mr. Goldleaf, we wouldn't have even known about your mating agreement." As Prince Pharon said those words I felt as if my stomach dropped or the world lurched for a moment.

"Our mating agreement?" I forced out between numb lips. Pharon nodded and I let out a sharp breath.

I felt gentle warm on my back and I tensed as I realized that it was Ishmael's hand. My fingers curled into fists. I gazed at him with anger on my face.

Prince Pharon blinked,"Did you not know, Miss Adamare? Your mating agreement has been signed since Rhana died."

I recoiled as if slapped, "Rhana is dead?" I repeated.

Prince Pharon grimaced, "Did you not tell her any of this?" He asked Kane.

"I was waiting for the right time." Kane said with a hapless shrug.

"Kane's Uncle, Rhana, and father have all died. Kane is the next Duke and leader of the Essenvir clan. Your mating agreement was originally signed with Rhana, but Kane inherited the agreement when Rhana died and he decided to keep it."

I sucked in air from between my teeth. Facing Ishmael once more, I snarled, "Move!"

He blinked, "What?"

"Move. I am going back to bed. This is clearly a nightmare." I said making a shooing motion with my hands.

Ishmael did finally move but he caught my wrist as I scooted around him.

"I would appreciate talking about this with you in the morning." He said, his eyes full of worry.

Gritting my teeth, I replied, "Fine."

Then, I returned to my rooms and slept more.