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A fortnight?It seems so damn far away. I realize it takes time to plan a royal wedding, yet I want to be done with it sooner than that. I want to have my bride in my arms and in my bed, with everything settled, and my child already growing in her belly.
But if it makes the fucking Summer Court elders happy, I’ll obey.
When none of us argues, he continues, “You will rule your respective courts, traveling to them as needed, but your marital home will be the Celestial Equilibrium.”
“The Celestial Equilibrium is the castle in The Crossing where the boundaries of all four courts intersect. It lies uninhabited by royals, but it’s in good shape, a castle that’s fit to rule all courts from, and the town that surrounds it is lovely. There, you will spend the majority of your time, together, with your bride.”
It takes everything in me not to pump my fist in happiness. Apparently, these elders aren’t as dumb as I thought they might be. They didn’t even try to restrict when, and how often, we can see our bride. Doing our work from The Crossing will make it easy to slip to our courts, do what must be done, and return to Cassia, the place we’ll call home, the place we will raise our children, together.
This is the way to keep the four princes happy.But what does our bride think?
I glance over at Cassia, and my heart drops. She’s visibly shaking. I slide an arm around her and brush my fingers along her back. She stiffens, but doesn’t move out of my reach.
“And what about how she’ll be… divided?” Forrest asks gruffly.
I wince at the poor word choice.
“Divided?” she asks, her tone outraged. “I’m not a pie!”
The elder lifts his hand to silence us. “We cannot relive the marriage that caused the Great War. When the Queen spent a season with each prince, jealousy and animosity destroyed our kingdoms. We must do everything we can to prevent that. So, to keep the peace and maintain fairness in your marriage, you will share your wife at all times. When you travel to each of your homelands, you will travel to them together.” He tilts his head. “Any questions?”
Honestly, it seems like the best solution, and it gives me what I want: Cassia. “None.”
The other men shake their heads.
Cassia stands up taller. “What about my feelings on the matter?”
Her words are met with silence. My hand drops from her back.What does she mean, her feelings?I mean, she’s been vocal about not having an interest in us, but she had to have gone to the ball knowing she could be matched with one of us. This might be unexpected for her, but it can’t be unwanted. Can it?
“What do you mean?” the elder asks.
Sulien shakes his head. She notices, but presses on. “What if I don’t want to be the mate of four princes?” She hesitates. “Is there another solution?”
My heart drops. I look at the other men. None of them look happy, even Zane.
“What kind of solution?” The elder looks more than a little annoyed.
She puffs out a breath and throws up her hands. “Can I just pick one? Or…I mean, I can’t have four husbands?”
The elder moves so he’s closer to her. “Lady Cassia, could you really give up any of your mates?” He studies her, frowning. “And if you could, who would you be rid of?”
Now, Sulien looks pissed. “I believe the lady is just feeling overwhelmed. She is rather timid, and the thought of four husbands may be too much.”
Timid? Her?
I don’t know why, but I’m fucking pissed. “If she can give up someone, it’s not me.”
“Or me,” Zane and Forrest say together, then exchange an angry look.
The elder lifts his hands and sighs, “Lady, surely you can see that even the idea of this will lead to war.”
“It won’t,” she says with a scoff. “I’m not… war-worthy to you, princes, is it?”
We all stare at her hard. Her gaze meets mine, and she flinches back. I’m not an angry man, but if she keeps talking like this, I’m going to rip this Summer Court palace apart piece-by-piece until the anger inside of me calms.
The power of my thoughts overwhelms me.Which of us would she be rid of indeed?
Again, the elder sighs. “You live with your elderly grandmother and bed-ridden father on the outskirts of town. Be thankful for your blessings and stop questioning them.”
