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In the beginning, Sabina, like the rest of the gods, led a private life in the shadows. No one knew where she had come from, and many were intrigued by the mystery. As the goddess of passion, she could influence emotions. And her favorite emotions to manipulate were the pursuits of the heart. As she became acquainted with the ways of the mortals, she began to shift their minds and infiltrate their thoughts.
By the time the people realized she was not a human, but a goddess, Sabina had already enamored them with her gift. When word spread about her abilities, mortals traveled far and wide to gain a meeting with Sabina. They wanted her to influence others to fall in love with them.
Their requests became a game to the goddess. How far would humans go to achieve their desires? In exchange for Sabina's aide, those who sought out the goddess would provide different services for her. Some would travel to foreign lands to get her different herbs or jewels. Those who were musically talented performed for her throughout the day at her whim. Others participated in physical competitions, which included violent matches, often resulting in someone being carried out on a cot.
Whether the task was simple or onerous, the mortals always accepted them, for humans would do anything when love was at stake.
All requests were the same. The seeker always wanted the love of someone who was not freely giving it to them. After a while, Sabina grew bored of their requests and stopped granting them.
Until one day, a warrior came asking for her help. Rather than asking for someone to fall in love withhim,he had come to ask Sabina to reignite the passion between his parents. The man intrigued Sabina in a way no other mortal had. After some thought, Sabina granted him his request on one condition: he stayed with her.
At first, the man was rendered speechless, unsure he had heard the goddess right. The warrior was not married but hoped to marry and have children one day. Sabina was infamous for entertaining herself with various companions but never committing to anyone. His hesitation both irked the goddess and enticed her, for no one had ever said no to her before and she wasn't willing to relinquish the feeling. After a few moments—more time than she had granted anyone else—the warrior said yes. His desire to see his parents happy again outweighed his desire for his own happiness.
After a few months, the warrior began to fall for the goddess, and soon enough they were set to wed. Their wedding was to be held at her favorite temple in Vaneria. However, the night before the ceremony, Sabina's fiancé disappeared.
Misanthia, the goddess of war and strife, tried to soothe Sabina. After recounting the night's events and the nights leading up to the wedding, the other gods told her it was foul play for the man's heart was rotten. Sabina was heartbroken. But more than that, the goddess was outraged that she thought she could trust a mortal.
Thus, Sabina began to push the limits of her ability.
Before she had held herself back, but now she relinquished that control. She began manipulating more than an individual's feelings about love and started to shift an array of emotions. She added twists to people's wishes, instilled bouts of jealousy in the seeker's minds, planted seeds of melancholy and anger in their blood. As she released the full extent of her power, havoc ensued.
Over time, she grew to become one of the most powerful deities in Vaneria. People were either in awe of her or feared her.
Once the mortals saw the resulting chaos, they started to pray to Sabina and the other gods for forgiveness. They begged the gods to put an end to it. Out of fear, the people stopped seeking out Sabina's influence as well as the influence of the other gods altogether. Eventually, the gods, including Sabina, slunk back into the shadows of the clouds.
However, there were whispers in the far corners of Vaneria that the goddess had been outcast by the other gods for loving a mortal and that she still loved the warrior even after decades had passed. Some believed she walked among the dead in the Beneath, searching for her lover.
Kallie rolled her shoulders back.
Love is for fools, and I am not a fool.
Kallie had made a vow to herself years ago that she would not be one of the countless souls who fell for love's tricks. She would not lose herself in someone else as so many had done before her.
That was why this arrangement was perfect.
Love was not a part of the equation.
Returning her focus to the crowd, Kallie watched the last suitor leave the dais. King Domitius stood and approached the edge of the raised platform, and Kallie followed.
He addressed the crowd, "My daughter and I would like to thank you again for making the journey to Ardentol. Our objective here is not to take what does not belong to us, but rather to forge a meaningful relationship between our two families and the people of Vaneria. Ultimately, Kalisandre will have the final say in who she chooses to marry, and she will announce her choice at dawn tomorrow. In the meantime, please join us in the ballroom tonight for dinner and dancing."
Kallie bit back a laugh.Herchoice.At the end of the day, she did not carewhoshe married as long as they provided her with power. Even if King Domitius had not told her who to pick, she would be a fool to ignore the opportunity to become queen of Frenzia. Her father was young and healthy. He would be around for many more years to come. If Kallie wanted to become queen sooner, she was going to have to marry or kill someone for it—and committing patricide was out of the question.
King Rian's offer for an alliance between Frenzia and Ardentol was the next step in uniting the seven kingdoms. If someone dared to disagree, she had several ways of dealing with those disagreements. The gift King Rian promised her: a throne with the largest military in Vaneria, a military notorious for being well trained and well equipped, even in these times of supposed peace. And paired with the vows promised today by the suitors who had aligned themselves with Ardentol, she would be unstoppable.
A victorious grin stretched across Kallie's face as the king reached for her arm and led them out the side entrance.
* * *
Dinner consisted of seven dishes,one dish for each of the seven kingdoms: salmon cakes from Ragolo, baked brie with cranberry chutney from Kadia, smoked asparagus from Tetria, roasted potatoes from Ardentol, venison coated with a red wine sauce from Borgania, poppyseed sweet bread from Pontia, and rich chocolate truffles from Frenzia. However, Kallie only picked at her food. The energy buzzing in her stomach had stifled her hunger, as it did every time she was about to begin a new mission.
Before the feeling could settle and the moment the dishes were cleared, her father asked her to dance with the intent of parading Kallie around the guests. Thankfully, the first song was simple and set at a moderate pace at the request of the king.
As King Domitius guided her along the edge of the dance floor, Kallie locked eyes with Myra who stood near Alyn. Myra’s jaw fell open causing Kallie to bunch her brows in question. Kallie casually searched the room for an explanation, seeing nothing amiss. Then in the reflection of the wall-length windows, she understood:
She wasglowing.
As Kallie twirled around the room, the light from the chandeliers hit the crystals in her tiara, her dress, her heels and ricocheted off of her. The fractured light encased her inside a glittering halo. Splotches of sparkling color scattered across the floor as her father spun her. While the king, clad in dark navy, absorbed the light, Kallie amplified it. She became the diamond her father had spent years forming. The pressure he had put on her only increasing the magnificence. And the eyes of every person in the room were fixated on Kallie as she scattered broken rainbows across the floor.
