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I nearly doubled over and vomited right there. Lord Arcane Woodsbury. The pedophile who enjoyed hurting animals. I wanted to wither and die.
I shivered anew in the frigid wind. I couldnevermarry a male like that, let alone have his children.
“And without further ado,” Sir Featherton said with a beaming smile, “let us begin the celebrations. Lady Endalaver, please join us as we return to the castle and the festivities begin.”
Georgyanna preened and nodded, blowing the king a kiss, which made the monarch chuckle.
The Kroravee winner gave me an evil glare before she said under her breath, “I knew I would beat you, but it doesn’t end here, Ilara. I will remember how you humiliated me in this Trial. Your time will come in which I’ll make you pay. Once I’m queen, you’ll wish that you were never born.”
And with that, she sauntered off with the guards as I was left with Meegana and Beatrice, both of whom looked as though they were about to burst into tears.
* * *
I was forcedto attend the festivities. Forced to sit in the suffocating dining hall as the king sat at the head of the table with Georgyanna on one side of him and Prince Norivun on the other. The crown prince looked as though he was about to enact his death affinity. Every time he glanced at his father, hatred burned in his gaze. But the king must have known of the potential wrath he would face. Queen Lissandra sat right beside Norivun, and with one order from the king, Norivun’s mother would be removed from the hall to wait in her chambers for whatever horrific abuse the king chose to inflict on her.
Don’t, I mouthed over and over to the prince, every chance I got.
The warring in his expression told me he was close to losing control. Close to throwing away his entire family to take me and flee from the capital, but even if the crown prince killed his father and every single council member who could take his stead, the Solis citizens would never forget the prince’s horrific acts. They would hunt us down, thousands no doubt dying in the process when they faced the Death Master’s affinity, but eventually they would win by sheer numbers. We couldn’t guard ourselves in sleep, and we couldn’t run forever.
Inevitably, Norivun would fall, then I would fall, and then anarchy would undoubtedly ensue as our great continent fell to pieces.
Don’t, I mouthed again.
Norivun gripped his chair tightly, his knuckles white as King Novakin and Lady Endalaver danced and ate, sipped wine, and laughed.
Meegana, Beatrice, and I sat at the other end of the table with our newly declared fiancés sitting across from us. I couldn’t look at any of them. All three of them were despicable males, and I could’ve sworn the king chose them for us merely to torment us.
Nuwin sat at the queen’s other side, but his normal cheer and teasing mood were absent. A somber and distant aura had taken its place. He kept glancing toward his older brother, then down the table at me. The troubled expression on his face grew.
I didn’t know why the king hadn’t assigned Nuwin to marry one of the females. I could only imagine that he had other plans in store for his second son. And I knew that like us, Nuwin was powerless to stop it.
Hours upon hours passed in that dining hall. All I wanted to do was sink through my chair and pretend that this was all a bad dream and would go away.
But it wasn’t a dream. I had lost the Trial. Norivun would marry Georgyanna, and I was to marry a sick pedophile.
My stomach was a tumultuous twist of nerves and anxiety, and for the first time since I’d learned the outcome of the Trial, I knew I couldn’t stay.
I couldn’t marry the creep across for me, and I certainly couldn’t stand by and watch as the prince married the vile leech that sat beside the king.
My eyes flew to my sister’s from across the room. Cailis was seated at one of the lesser tables, where family members of the more powerful fae were allowed.
She and I exchanged weighted looks. Her eyes softened, as though she understood the desperation weighing upon my soul.Tonight, she mouthed.
I gave a subtle nod in return, and it felt as though my heart was shattering all over again.
I glanced down the table, toward my mate, my love, the male I’d wanted to claim tonight as my own, and I knew with an aching realization that such a bond was never to exist between us.
Even though the gods had made us for one another, the king had decided otherwise. He knew that Norivun was my mate and me his, yet I had no doubt King Novakin took perverse delight in the fact that we would both be wed to others.
So when the time came that we were finally dismissed from the table, I flew from the room with my sister at my side. I could feel the crown prince searching for me, striding toward me, but I couldn’t see him again. I couldn’t look upon his face and lie to him about what we planned to do. Every part of me was shattering into a thousand pieces over and over again, and one look or touch from him, and I would break beyond repair.
So we flew to my chambers, gathered the supplies that my sister had so carefully acquired yet we’d never thought we’d actually use, and then we stood gasping as the weight of what we were doing fell upon us.
“This will be seen as treason,” I said quietly to her, giving her a chance to back out. She didn’t need to go down with me.
She grabbed my hands. “I know.”
A sob threatened to overtake me, but I swallowed it down and rubbed the tears from my eyes.
