Page 80 of Badmouths & Bards

“Chosen for what?” Tala asked.

“Chosen to join the royal harem with the goal of producing a child. Once that child reaches their fourth birthday, they will be tested in the hopes that it is the reincarnated goddess of one of our four creators. If it is confirmed, the one who helped create that child will marry the ruler of the dynasty and become their empress or emperor.” Ameriden finished.

A beat went by.

“What the fuck?”

Chapter 36

Ameriden

Prince Navin had known when he was five years old that he would be sent to the Consort Trials. His tutor had told him; no fuss, no grand reveal, just a simple fact. At first, he hadn’t known what it had meant, only that he was to train his body, mind, and spirit in order to be worthy of being chosen by his future bride.

It wasn’t until Prince Navin had started speaking to noble children—similar to him in age—that he truly realized what it meant. Even as a child, he knew the trials sounded outdated, even though they were so ingrained in hanfen culture. Nobody had asked him, but he was expected to be a mighty warrior, a fierce intellect, and a heart worth loving by the time he was of age.

Prince Navin didn’t like that, so he carefully planned his escape. It had been a miracle that he had pulled it off, and even more so when he realized none of the diviners could find him. A boon Prince Navin had earned when he prayed to the Water Mother at night, praying that she would bestow him her dark shadows so that his people could never find him through scrying. When his family didn’t come and Prince Navin had become Ameriden Perzar, he thought the boon had been gifted and that had been that.

Except, now he was sitting in a private chamber in the king’s castle, seated between the man and woman he loved while the woman who had become something like a sister to him chewed his ear off.

I forgot how angry Seira can get, he thought.

“You’re so fucking lucky Casimine had the right mind to use that spell—a spell that’s really fucking taboo by the way, not to mention difficult to do! Don’t think I don’t know my bard spells just because I don’t do magic!” Seira ranted, gesturing toward Casi.

Ameriden knew the spell had taken a lot out of Casimine. They had shared the same damn class and he’d been there, right next to Casi when their professor had gone over the mechanics of the spell. Knew how often it was stressed that the spell was only to be used in emergencies and any unregulated use of the spell were grounds for most authoritative governments to arrest a bard on sight.

The hallowed pallor of Casimine’s face was the biggest indicator of it all. It wasn’t just the amount of energy Casimine had put into that spell, but how much it left Casimine weak in the aftermath. He looked exhausted, though Ameriden knew a part of that was because of him. Because Ameriden couldn’t just be brave and tell Casimine—or anyone—his biggest secret.

“It was an emergency,” Casimine murmured into the palm of his hand where he rested his chin. His eyes were struggling to stay open, but when they were, his gaze was fixed on Ameriden.

“Exactly!” Seira crowed. “An emergency we wouldn’t have been in if you had just told us who you really were, you big sack of rotten potatoes!”

Ameriden knew better than to argue when Seira got into one of her tirades, but even if he did protest, he’d only be repeating the same story he told Casimine. Which wasn’t a story as Ameriden genuinely thought that Casimine’s dream was worth the risk of eventually being recognized and taken back to the Pernimas Dynasty… he just hoped when the day happened, he would have been more prepared. Unexpectedly, it was Tala who came to his rescue.

“To be fair, Seira, I was the one responsible for the ring. If anything, all this happened because I didn’t secure it better.”

“While I appreciate your honesty, Tala, based on what you told us, you were doing the right thing,” Seira said. “You kept this bastard from touching the ring and I even vouched for you with that Kerith guy.”

“And we’re both happy to speak on your behalf if the Valiant Circle aren’t pleased with what happened tonight,” Casimine offered. “I think that’s the least we owe you given you had to fight an invading army.”

Ameriden pouted. “It wasn’t an army, it was just a search and rescue mission—”

“It doesn’t matter what it was, the fact of the matter is they came here for you!” Seira exclaimed. “You are gods damned lucky Tala’s people were here to mediate between the two of them. Could you imagine if this had broken out into a full out battle? The last thing anyone needs is a war.”

“Ugh, I know,” Ameriden sighed.

He dropped his head back onto the chair he was sinking into. Frustration and remorse—those were emotions he didn’t like, but knew part of making up for his mistake was to properly sit in it. Still, there was nothing worse than knowing he disappointed the people he cared most about and given that those people could fit all on one hand hit Ameriden even harder.

“Do you?” Seira asked, leaning toward Ameriden’s upturned face, brows furrowed. “Because by the time we were able to move y’all into this chamber, some of those guests out there were whispering about how you were some kind of spy.”

“Pfft, him?” Tala gestured to Ameriden with her thumb. “Please, this guy doesn’t think five seconds ahead.”

“It’s true,” Casimine mumbled.

“I—” Ameriden cut himself off.

This is part of it, just let the people you love chew you out a little more and you’re going to let them.

“Oh, I know that,” Seira agreed. “But they don’t know that. And honestly? If the king’s captain comes through that door and announces we’re all going to jail, I wouldn’t blame him one bit. This endangered the princess, Ameriden. What were you thinking throwing the first punch?”