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“I have. But I would like to have your consent to court her and ask her to marry me.”
Naia’s father had a raised eyebrow. “A bit too late to ask for that, isn’t it?”
That wasn’t true. “Not late, not according to human customs. We haven’t—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Azir waved his hands in front of him and grimaced. “Please. The only person who needs to give you permission to marry her is Naia. If she’s happy, I’m happy.”
“She won’t be happy if she’s estranged from her family,” River insisted.
King Azir glanced at Naia and sighed. “From my part, as long as she’s happy, and it’s what she wants, you have my blessing.”
River nodded, then took Naia’s hand and kissed it. There was something different in the way she looked at him, just a little sweeter, more open, more trustful, which made this apology worth it. Of course she’d been right to say “no” to him before, and at least now he understood what an idiot he’d been.
Fel then said, “Speaking of marriage, I’m going to marry Leah, authorization or not.” He glanced at the Frostlake queen. “Oh, and we’re not siblings.”
“What about her husband?” Azir asked.
Fel smirked. “He’s not her brother either.”
The Umbraar king rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“We’ll annul it,” Leah said.
“If they cause us trouble, she can always become a widow,” Fel added.
These two didn’t seem to be in the mood to apologize to their parents, but then, they hadn’t eloped. King Azir shook his head, but Naia smiled, probably glad to see her brother happy.
River was thinking of going to the Ancient City to check the situation there, when someone knocked on the door, and he disguised his horns and eyes quickly. The hair was already covering his ears.
It was a messenger, who widened his eyes seeing Azir. “Your majesty.”
“Yes, it’s me,” Azir said. “I’m back.”
The young men caught a breath. “We have a visitor. She wanted to speak to Princess Leandra. She’s waiting in the safe room. She’s…” The young man swallowed. “White fae.”
If only everyone feared the Ancients this much, perhaps they would have won the war. But then, perhaps the war had happened because of so much fear.
Leah stepped forward. “I’ll go.”
“I’ll come with you,” Fel and Azir said at the same time.
“Can I come too?” River asked. “If she’s fae…” His best guess was that this was Anelise, and his worst fear was that something bad had happened, but why was she looking for Leah and not Naia?
“Of course.” It was Naia who replied, and then was pulling his hand out the door.
He should have told her that he still felt as if his bones were cracking. Actually, he had to say something. “Slower.”
She stared at him, those stunning dark eyes marred with worry. “Are you hurt?”
“I got blasted with dragon fire.”
“It didn’t burn you? Do you need care?”
“It just… for a moment I couldn’t move or use my magic. I’m fine now. Sort of. I want to see who is here.”
“Probably the fae Leah found in the hollow.”
True. Part of River’s worries quieted down, realizing it was unlikely to be Anelise, but he also felt a slight disappointment. What had he been expecting?
