Page 86 of A Cruel Kindness

It was my mother who responded, her voice ice cold. “I see this Match,” she drew out the word, as if it was a curse, “has allowed you to forget the circumstances regarding your enlistment.”

Bellamy’s cheeks colored with embarrassment and it was a fight to keep myself in check as I said, “I will not explain something to you that you can never understand. The only thing I need you to know is that nothing is more important than she is. She is not her father, nor did she have a direct hand in my enlistment. You will treat her with the respect she deserves as a Royal and as my paranima. Nothing less.”

Carina laughed while my mother’s eyebrows went sky high. “Welcome home, son,” she said after a pause, her voice thin. A brief moment of sorrow hit me, not because of where our relationship had fallen to, but because we’d never had one in the first place.

It was only then, after my mother turned back towards the entrance tunnel back into the palace that I let myself take in my surroundings.

My eyes rose with the towering columns of the palace, brilliant white limestone standing out against the blue backdrop of the sky. The palace was constructed of over one hundred different towers, shooting up from the wide foundation in hauntingly beautiful points. Stone statues were carved into the side of nearly every tower, representing the vigils of all seven Houses.

There was no denying the strength of our rule when looking at a palace like that. Our economy had been rich and healthy for years. Still was, all things considered.

But the more this war drew on, the more precarious that would get.

The one thing there would always be money for was to demonstrate how strong we were to the public.

That was evidenced by the fact that there were countless workers scurrying by us, hauling decorations over their shoulder.

I’d bet my yearly salary that there was a ball thrown together at the last minute to show me and Bellamy off.

A warm hand slid behind my back, softly beckoning my attention. I found Bellamy’s eyes immediately, momentarily shaken up by the force of the relief that poured through me when I looked at her.

“I guess I’m your escort, then,” Carina said happily, spinning on her heel to enter the tunnel my parents had disappeared into.

My hand tightened on Bellamy’s shoulder when I realized that her own parents were nowhere to be found.

The irritation and anger towards her family was still there, but now Bellamy was behind me in it all. I was shielding her from my anger and her family’s dysfunction.

As we followed Carina through the tunnels and she and Bellamy fell into casual conversation, I realized how comfortable they sounded with one another.

If I had to wager, I’d figure that Bellamy shouldered most of the guilt for my enlistment and had tucked my sister under her wing.

The last family in line of succession often had a tough fall from grace, shoved out of focus when there were several decades left until they mattered again.

To have the favor of the princess during that transition was priceless.

No one was perfect, but damn if I didn’t feel like Bellamy was.

As we went further and further down the tunnel, I became much more aware of the insanity that would await us. I had a passing thought that Bellamy must have felt pretty similar when she first arrived at the Bridge.

Thank God I had clothes on this time.

Carina chattered on happily, not sparing us a glance back. Bellamy took the opportunity to clasp my free hand in hers and make comforting passes over the back of my hand with her thumb.

Why aren’t we alone right now? the Bond questioned unhappily.

Yeah, you and me both, buddy.

It seemed that the Bond would be asking that question on repeat for the rest of the day, because the second we stepped out of the tunnel and into the large greeting room at the base of the palace, the room erupted.

The floor to ceiling windows, looking out on the city, opposite with towering mirrors lined with gold older than anyone could remember were meant to make the room look huge. Paintings so large they’d taken a decade to paint hit either wall, an artistic take on moments in our history.

Despite that grandeur, the space still felt small and stuffed to the brim.

Every single House had a representative present, if not the entire damn family.

Two sharp claps sent the room into silence. The crowd parted, making way for Bellamy’s father to step into view.

Alistair Edelstenne. Emperor of Vir.