AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He groaned and glanced at the ceiling. “There’s no need for me to be present. The Crow will take you there in my place.”
That sounded like someone had convinced him to step down. Violet didn’t like it.
It was customary for the commanders of both assemblies to be present at the arranged ceremonies. Julius would be there, after all, representing Gavin’s assembly. Terrance should be there for her.
“I still don’t understand. It’s expected for my commander to be there.”
Terrance’s hard eyes pinned her. He dragged his hand over his bald head. “You haven’t made this easy for me, Cora. You made a mess with the wrong people, and the Crows got involved.”
Since when did he call her by her given name? “What’s difficult for you here? You’re not the one being forced to marry.”
Terrance wasn’t much older than her, in his thirties at most, and still unmarried. He wouldn’t know what it was like to be thrown into a union with no say in the matter. Most people could form attachments with other sorcerers and plead their case to the Crown. But that wasn’t what had happened with Gavin and her.
“What did you expect would happen when you go around flapping your mouth about your escape plans?”
The withering look she sent him didn’t seem to affect him. “I had no intention of actually doing it.” That wasn’t true, of course. Violet had revealed her intentions to her chamber-mates in a haze of drunkenness. She’d never expected her friends to run and tell on her the very next day. Lesson learned.
Terrance moved toward the door, his massive body obscuring the sight of the hallway beyond. He turned back to her when he reached the threshold. “The reason I won’t come to your ceremony is because I’ve been told you haven’t been a member of my assembly since you received your letter. You were transferred to the Valdor’s that very night the Crow took you. You will fight for the Crown alongside your groom. Under Julius. Not me.”
“What? No!”
“The Society has issued an order, and in spite of your constant insubordination, I’m heeding their command.”
“I don’t want to leave our assembly or be forced to serve under that man.” Julius, a lech who had wandering hands. She stepped toward Terrance but stopped when she noticed movement outside. Her chaperone was back and listening.
Another friend who was pushing her aside like nothing. She followed him toward the hallway. His expression was now masked with an indifference that hadn’t been there before. Fire lit up his eyes as he lifted his chin and paused by the door. “You have shamed us by plotting to become a deserter. Pull yourself together, Cora, and don’t force them to hunt you down. For once, heed an order from your commander.”
“You said you weren’t my commander any longer, so why would I follow your spineless orders?” She forced the words through gritted teeth, failing to hide the tremble in her voice.
Vera stood by the door, casting a more threatening shadow than the giant next to her. With her graying hair pulled back into a high bun and a black and blue costume, it was Vera, not Terrance, who kept Violet locked in her gilded cage.
Vera. The Crow. She was clearly giving them a moment of privacy because she knew that Terrance had to hand her over to Julius. Had Terrance just found out about the change today?
“I guess you’ll be someone else’s problem now.” Terrance’s expression might have shown a trace of remorse. Did it matter? He was still leaving her in the hands of a monster.
Violet’s blood turned to ice, and she stepped forward to slap the smirk off his face. She didn’t care if the spell locking her in this room would hurt her if she crossed the threshold. It would be worth it.
“Commander.” Vera’s croaky voice befitted her withered face. Her eyes narrowed in disdain as Terrance sketched a mocking bow and flashed one last look at Violet before he disappeared down the corridor.
Violet stormed to the bed and picked up the flower crown he had brought her. They wrinkled beneath her tightening fist. She threw the wreath from the open window with all her strength, hoping it would hit him on his way out.
Vera hummed, clearly amused. “Pull yourself together, girl. Or your new commander will find a reason to teach you a lesson, and you don’t want to be a woman who steps out of line in his assembly.” Her pale lips twisted in a sinister smile that sent a crawling sensation up the back of Violet’s neck.
“You enjoy watching your own gender suffer at the hands of a powerful man?” Violet’s words dripped with poison.
“I believe those who seek to desert our gods, those who dread serving our people and our country, deserve to be taught a lesson. You aren’t a woman that commands respect. You are a peasant, a deserter, the scum of this land. And you won’t be a runaway bride if I have any say in the matter.”
Violet lifted her chin, straightening her back to hide the fear that weighed down her chest, sending a pulsing ache through her body. She wouldn’t waste her words on a woman who believed so blindly in gods and a kingdom corrupted by greed. Those who didn’t respect the sacred bond between a child and their parents were evil in Violet’s eyes, and she loathed the Crows just as much as she hated the gods that had forsaken them all.
“I’ll walk you to the ceremony shortly,” Vera said. “Morgan will be there as well. We expect you to be presentable. So fix your hair, unless you want further trouble.” And she turned on her heel and shut the door behind her.
If these fools thought she would go down without a fight, they were mistaken. Violet opened the doors of her closet wide and pulled out her woolen coat. She couldn’t thank the evil gods for luck, not when this was her fate—but at least it was winter. While the Crows had stripped her of her visible weapons, they hadn’t checked every fold of fabric.
Tearing the lining open, she reached for the knife she had sewn into a hidden pocket months ago. The bone handle was cool inside her grasp, a contrast to the leather that protected the blade. A parting gift from her father when she’d been taken from her home at the age of eleven.
It was small enough to hide in the under-layers of her coat. Sharpened to a deadly point, it could be lethal when used right. Tonight, those bastards would learn not to mess with Violet Elder.
6
