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Calling for my magic, I send a bolt of lightning his way. He barely gets his shield up in time—not that I used enough magic to actually hurt him. He might be able to make a weak shield because of what I taught him, but it wouldn’t be enough if I put my full strength behind it. As soon as the electricity fizzes out, he busts out laughing.
“Laugh all you want, but you’ll be where I am soon enough.” I cross my arms over my chest, shooting him my best glare.
“You can pretend to be mad but your eyes give you away, sister.” His eyes glow blue as he looks at me.
I could never actually be mad at Cypress. I’m pretty sure my eyes are always pink or blue around my brother. If anybody in my family understands the pressure that I’munder, it’s him. Though it’s infinitely different—he’s not expected to save the entire fae society.
“Where is our dear older sister?” Cypress asks with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
I shrug. “She’s protesting her unfair lot in life but refusing to be in the same room as Father.”
Cypress rolls his eyes. “Poppy doesn’t understand her privilege.”
He’s right, though I try not to judge her too harshly. We all have our duties—it’s not her fault that her duty to the family is much lighter than mine or Cypress’s.
The door to the dining room opens and I look over to see Ivy walk inside. She walks to Cypress’s side to take a seat. She first greets her son, then me.
Ivy is technically my stepmother, but she’s always just been Ivy to me. She’s Cypress’s mom and my father’s pseudo wife.
I was just a baby when my birth mother passed away. Because my father had to have another child—a spare—the court forced him to marry. Though he never loved Ivy, he shared a room with her only long enough for her to fall pregnant. After that, he moved back into the room that he shared with my mother and proceeded to ignore his new wife. Fifteen years later, he still ignores her except at court functions.
We all have our roles to play. It’s just part of being a member of the royal family. Without us, fae society would be more chaotic than it already is. Monarchs would be at war with one another and the infighting would only grow worse.
As unhappy as our family may be, we do this for a reason. Complaining about it like Poppy does won’t do anything except make everybody else miserable.
“I heard there was a council meeting today,” Ivy says,her eyes glancing toward me. “Two in one week.”
“They usually spend the entire day fighting over who my husband will be that they had to have a second meeting to discuss other important things.” I shift in my seat, not making eye contact with her.
She scoffs. “I still don’t see why they won’t just let you choose. It’syourmarriage.”
“Like they let you choose?” Cypress mutters under his breath.
Ivy stiffens but doesn’t say anything.
My father’s second marriage wasn’t a choice he would’ve made if the council hadn’t forced it on him. Ivy didn’t want to marry my father any more than he wanted to marry her.
“I’ve accepted my fate.” I sit up straighter. “Unless they try to force me to marry Florian. Then I might have to murder him and make it look like an accident.”
Ivy gasps, but Cypress laughs, knowing I am joking. I’m not the murdering type.
The door opens and Cypress’s laugh is cut short. I watch Ivy stiffen and Cypress clenches his jaw. I turn to face my father as he sits down. Moments later, servants come in with plates of food. Cypress and Ivy eat without saying a word.
“Are you okay?” My father turns his attention to me, not taking a bite of his food yet.
I shrug. “I guess.”
“I know it’s not ideal, but with your blood, we have to be careful with who you marry,” Father says. “If it wasn’t for that dragon alliance, the fae would be in trouble. If your sister were heir…” his voice trails off.
From what I understand, my father’s first wife—my mother—had really weak magic, like Poppy does. The fact that I have as much magic as I do is an anomaly. I haveeven more magic than Father, which is completely unheard of. They can’t make any mistakes when it comes to blood as strong as mine. The problem is, nobody can come close to my magic, not even Cypress, even though he does have strong magic.
I glance up and see Cypress’s eyes on me. They have a faint orange tint to them and I know he’s concerned about me.
“You want to trade titles?” I tease my younger brother. “You can be the heir and I’ll be the spare.”
He snorts. “No thanks. In seven years, I’m sure they’ll be picking out my wife too.”
True.
