A gift? That couldn’t be. I didn’t deserve anything from him. For all I knew, he had witnessed my actions from the beyond and was terribly disappointed in me.
But if that were true, he wouldn’t have sent this. I took the fruit from Ava, tucking it against my chest. “Thank you. This means… everything.”
I helped her back into her chair, and she moved away from me. That was okay. What she’d offered me was more than she could ever imagine.
“We shall feast upon this fruit at the repast,” the Great Mystic announced, and the temple cheered.
What had been a devastating affair had transformed into something beautiful following the elder tree’s spell. Guests moved from the temple to the ballroom with the intent of turning their grief into a celebration for my grandfather’s life. Servants brought out plates of Cassiel’s favorite foods, including roast vegetables, marinated pork, and rice pilaf, but I only had an appetite for one thing— the fruit from the elder tree.
I lifted it to my lips, and its sweet scent filled my nose, but I paused when I heard my father barking at the servants from the head of the room. “No, I don’t want a serving of pork. My father is dead— think of how that makes me feel! Food is tasteless in his absence, halfwits. No one cares for the depths of my grief. Bring me another bottle of wine, you buffoons!”
For fuck’s sake, Cameron was going to make this night all about him, and get wasted off his ass doing it. I couldn’t even enjoy the fruit my grandfather had gifted me. All the beauty that Spirit had brought us disappeared from the palace as quickly as it came once Cameron opened his selfish mouth.
I’d suddenly lost my appetite and needed a minute to pull myself together. I set the fruit on my plate and quietly excused myself from the table where my friends were eating. Oberi didn’t say anything, but he followed to help guide me into the hall.
Soft footsteps came from behind me, and I instantly knew someone had followed me into the hall. “Who’s there?” I demanded as I turned toward them, expecting another argument.
“It’s Drea,” she replied. “Please, Charlie, don’t be frightened.”
My father’s stupid voice echoed from within the ballroom. It ate away at me.
“Shouldn’t you be in there attending to your husband?” I bit harshly.
“I wished to speak with you privately,” Drea said, like she wasn’t sure it was her place. “It’s tradition in the Majestica family for each rising Emperor to possess his own symbol, to signify his reign. Your father’s symbol is an alicorn, and Cassiel’s was an elder tree. I believe Cassiel intended to bless you with your own symbol on your birthday, because I found this among his belongings. Cameron may have cut you off from the rest of the treasury, but this is something he cannot take. It belongs with you.”
I furrowed my brow as she pressed a small box wrapped in a silk ribbon into my hands. I had no idea what she’d just given me. “Uh… thanks?”
“You’re welcome. I am deeply sorry for your loss, my prince.” Drea bowed, then turned away to leave me in private.
I didn’t understand why she was being so nice to me, because her loyalty lied with my father. I briefly wondered if this was some sort of trick and the box might contain a curse or other horrific surprise, but I figured my father had already taken my finger. If he wanted to do worse, he could, and nobody would stop him.
Oberi caught my fleeting thoughts and sniffed the box. It seems safe.
Slowly, I untied the ribbon and opened the top. My fingers roamed over a piece of metal two inches wide, crafted in the shape of a flying wyvern.
It’s an amulet, Oberi remarked.
I lifted the amulet by the chain. “Does that mean it’s magical?”
Not necessarily, Oberi said. Amulets can merely be symbols of protection or good fortune. It appears your grandfather wished to officially welcome you into his family— and the line of succession— with this. This is not merely a symbol of your upcoming reign. This is what your grandfather truly saw you as. A powerful wyvern, spreading his wings to rise against the skies, defending his people and his mate with his venom. Nothing stands in his path.
If that’s what my grandfather had thought of me, what a disappointment I’d turned out to be. The thought that Cassiel planned this and never got to follow through with it nearly brought me to my knees. I leaned against a nearby pillar to keep myself upright, though I struggled to breathe. I curled the wyvern amulet in my hand until the tips of the wings were digging into my skin. The pain helped to ground me in the present when all I wanted to do was fly off the handle, because I’d been robbed of another precious moment with my seanari. There was so much that went left unsaid between my grandfather and me, and now, this amulet was all I had left of him.
I choked on my tears. This was nearly too much to bear. With shaking hands, I strung the wyvern amulet over my neck and tucked it into my shirt. If this was all that was left of Cassiel, I at least wanted to wear it close to my heart.
If it was still beating, by any means.
The doors to the ballroom burst open, and I shrank deeper behind the pillar. The last thing I needed was for someone to witness the disgraced prince in the middle of another breakdown, further proving how unfit I was. I just wanted to let the worst of this grief pass so I could go back in there and face everyone again. Oberi pressed close to my side so we weren’t spotted, giving a comforting lick to my hand.
“This is embarrassing, Alistair," Eddie hissed. “I shouldn’t have to drag you out of the room to tell you what you did was wrong. Imagine if Charlie had heard you!”
“I don’t know why you’ve got your panties in a bunch,” Alistair grumbled. “All I said was that I don’t know why everyone’s crying and carrying on. Cassiel was old as fuck. Isn’t this kind of thing expected out of old people? They’re gonna cork off eventually.”
My stomach twisted into an impossible knot. I couldn’t think… couldn’t move.
Eddie gasped at Alistair’s horrendous words. “Emperor Cassiel was an immortal Elf. He was considered very young by our people’s standards at his death, and had so much life left in him! How dare you suggest he was anything but a well-respected man!”
Alistair scoffed. “If he had any respect for himself, he would’ve stayed out of our way.”
