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“My lady, the king will be most displeased if you do not do what he asks.”
“How displeased?” I turned, took in the misery clouding her eyes, her white-knuckled hands wringing together. “Will he punish you?”
“Yes.” She whispered.
“What is your name?” When she whisperedSophie, I asked, “Are you a slave, Sophie…or are you free?”
“No one here is free, my lady.” Sophie dipped her head, her voice trembling. “The king owns us all, by debt or blood or fealty, we are all in his service.”
So, things were the same here as they were everywhere else. I glanced up the steps. I’d mucked things up at Tempeste by not obeying the rules. People had gotten hurt.
People had gottendead.
I wouldn’t hide and make this poor girl pay the price.
“Lead the way, let’s make sure the king sees you doing your job.” I smoothed the ridiculous excuse for a dress down as flat as it would go, my stomach in knots. “You won’t get in trouble, Sophie. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Oh, thank you, Princess.” She dipped into a curtsy on the stairs and I caught her arm when she nearly tumbled over. “I can only escort you so far, the king does not like slaves in his presence.”
My skin tightened at the fear she failed to hide, how close she’d come to being punished for my mistake. “Stay here, then and stay out of sight.”
I tilted my head back, squared my shoulders, hoping my breasts didn’t pop out of the top of this ridiculous dress. I narrowed my gaze at the crowd turning in their seats to get a better look, then stepped forward, my heart in my throat.
It seemed like miles stretched between me and the Shadow King, but I kept going, my footing sure on the glossy surface, my lips curved into a cold half-smile, like the duchess when she saw something she disapproved of.
And I definitely disapproved of what I saw.Slaves. Fear. Power.This place stunk of everything I loathed. These bloated, greedy Fae in their silk and jewels looked at me like trash, when they were no better than I was.
I’d been dragged here, an instrument in this game between kings—between brothers—but I didn’t intend to remain one for long.
The closer I drew to the throne, a hush fell over the crowd, as if I dragged a train of silence behind me. Only when I stopped in front of the king did I glance at my rescuers, nearly grinned at the look of utter shock on Raziel’s face.
“Anaria Centaria.” I sucked in a quick breath at the ancient name I’d only read in dusty pages. A cruel name, drowned blood. And now it was mine.
Oh, gods, that was truly my name.As well as the Shadow King’s.And the Fae King’s.I thought I was going to be ill.
Serpens Centaria was dark complected, no sign he was related to the Fae King by blood, long black hair falling past his shoulders, his eyes narrowing as he inspected me.His prize. Where the Fae King was elegantly slender, this male was thick and bulky, draped in armor and leathers and furs, a heavy black crown glinting on his head.
Rings gleamed on every finger, but his hands were pale, showing no sign of the strange black cancer that affected his brother.
I dipped into a low curtsy, hoping that etiquette was the same here as Caladrius. “Your grace. It is an honor to meet you.”
His hazel eyes lit with surprise before he rose, then Serpens strode down the steps and lifted me to my feet. “A princess does not bow before her king. Nor her father.” I froze uncertainly, then glanced at my saviors, whose blank faces didn’t give me a clue they knew what the king’s game was.
But his words rang clearly through the hall, and whispering filled the silence, while I stared at him in confusion, but he’d already grasped my hand and pulled me onto the dais.
“Solarys welcomes our princess home. A home that was denied to her for her entire life. Bymy brother.” The whispering turned to cat calls.
“The Fae King banished my only daughter to Varitus, her legacy stolen when she was barely out of the womb. A terrible fate, to be sure, but Anaria has returned to us as tempered steel, strong and unbreakable, like the people of Solarys.”
He turned me around to face the crowd. Their faces held a mix of wariness and curiosity, so I kept my cold smile pasted on my lips and met their stares until they dropped their eyes.
“Caladrius is dying.It is dead. My brother’s power is waning and at last, the time we have waited for has come.” The king’s dark chuckle skated over me, his palm heating against mine.
“Anaria will be my blade when we invade Caladrius. We will reclaim the lands stolen by my brother, we will restore the Fae magic, and Valarian will become a united empire once more.”
He lifted our joined hands.
“One kingdom. One king.”
