It was a stunning piece, crafted for a woman of grandeur. Someone who would happily wear a crown and carry with it the responsibility of being a queen. Which was exactly why I despised it. I did not wish for a throne nor a grand life filled with gold and jewels.
Hair cascading to just below my ribcage, the natural wave it carried served as a benefit in a moment such as this. My auburn locks painted the image of innocence, bathing me with a femininity I rarely cared to display. But here? It was important because it suggested that I was innocent, a woman who belonged on the arm of a man and couldn’t stand on her own.
A woman they wouldn’t suspect capable of an annihilation so dark and so merciless—the decimation I planned to leave behind.
With Parran gone and hopefully safe on the ship once more, I wandered through the grand entrance and made my way toward the ballroom. Since I elected to keep my feet bare rather than force them into a poorly fitting shoe, the dark marble felt cold against my feet. I basked in its frigidity, and it helped level the nerves I couldn’t seem to define.
Sure, there was a lot at stake, and a high likelihood that I could find myself in cuffs and forced to my knees before the king. But that wasn’t what I was feeling. That wasn’t what ignited my stomach with such a fluttering adamance or what peppered goosebumps over my arms with such a feeling of certainty.
“Are you starting to understand?”Ellira crooned, her usual motherly timbre containing a teasing edge.“The depth of my utterances?”
“Stop it,”I growled, brushing my fingers over my thigh to ensure my dagger was still strapped there.“You are distracting, and I have a task to focus on.”
“Oh, really? Why is your mind settled on a man?—”
“Mother!”My cheeks flushed, and I loosened a scoff.“The pirate is part of the plan, but so is the prince, in case you have forgotten. Both of them happen to be men, which may very well be the reason you find mythoughts wandering. Besides, Caspian Vayne is vile, and there is nothing about him that remains desirable.”
“Interesting…”
Trying to keep my face neutral, I crossed the threshold into the ballroom, dipping my chin at the two men stationed on either side of the massive doors.“What?”
A brief pause.“You assume I was speaking about the captain.”
“You said that my mind was settled on a… You know what, never mind.”
She laughed, the sound a soothing mirror of waves washing ashore.“Something you wish to admit, Daughter?”
“No.”
“You are a terrible liar.”
“And you are a terrible diversion.”
Slipping between two women, I snatched a flute of champagne from one of the servants. The crystal met my lips, and I swallowed greedily, savoring the subtle carbonation alongside the warmth that immediately bloomed in my gut. It tamed my mind just enough to keep me from spiraling or assuming the worst, which was exactly what I had been doing…
“Rohen?”
The utterance of my name halted my ability to finish the beverage I so anxiously wished to devour. Hand shaking, I placed it on the table I landed beside before releasing a leveling exhale. Jaw clenched and body tense, I braced myself for who I would be turning to face, my mangled thoughts unable to put together why the voice was so familiar.
I’d injured Malrik enough on Veilmar; there was no sensible reason that it would be him. It wasn’t plausible. But then again, it shouldn’t have been possible for Syoran to be up and moving, exploring Serevalen as if the Overseer of Assassins hadn’t nearly split his abdomen in two.
Did the king have a healer? Were the Others capable of such gentle magic?
A hand settled on my shoulder, and with one tug, spun me around.Breath stalling in my chest, I blinked once, and the seafoam irises that greeted me immediately brought forth a sense of relief.
“Kael?”
His brows furrowed, not in surprise but in disapproval. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
I mirrored his expression. “What the fuck doyoumean? I came to rescue you, and to gather Cas?—”
Fingers curled around my wrist, and he yanked me with him as he took a step forward. Stumbling over my own feet, I struggled to gather my bearings, but he kept hold of me. Whether with the adamance of tossing me out or the determination to keep me upright, I wasn’t certain.
Shoving me behind a pillar, he moved to join me out of sight of any potential onlookers. “Youcan’tbe here, Rohen.”
My gaze darkened as I jutted two fingers into his sternum. “Why? Because you’re still somehow wholly convinced that I’m unable to stand my ground? The men tainting these lands are spineless fools whom I would have no issue gutting, and that includes your father. Just because I am wearing a dress does not suddenly mean I am incapable of bathing in the blood of those I deem my enemy.”
“I am not doubting your skills,” he whispered harshly, his palm settling against the stone to the left of my head. Dropping his forehead against his arm, he released a pained sigh. “They killed Percy, Rohen.”
