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Is he surprised? But by what? Stellan’s willingness to follow the rules? Or something else entirely?
“King Krishorn, will you please introduce us,” a male voice says from behind my grandfather.
When Grandfather backs away from me, I get a good look in the room. That is when I realize that everybody in the room is male—there isn’t a female in the entire bunch.
Do elves have the same beliefs about women as dragons do? I know that dragons protect their women because they lack the physical strength of a male dragon, but elves can’t be the same, can they? Not if my magic is any indication.
“This is my granddaughter, Wisteria.” Grandfather motions toward me. “When she was little, her…” he pauses, “father,” his voice is low and gruff as he says that, “hid her after my daughter passed.”
I can see why he disliked my father. I would too, in his shoes. As far as he’s concerned, my father took me away from him. I’m a little upset about it too. I would’ve liked to know about this side of my life. I’m just as much an elf as I am a fae. If my magic is anything to go by, my elf blood is stronger than the fae side.
“She’s…” an older guy steps forward, angling his head to the side as he studies me, “short.”
Venali snickers.
I shoot my cousin a glare.
“She’s half elf, half fae,” Grandfather says.
Gasps ring through the group.
Is it really so scandalous that I’m a hybrid? And wouldn’t they already know this? If my mother was a princess, wouldn’t all the elves know of my existence? Shouldn’t they know who my mother married?
Venali leans closer and whispers to me, “It’s illegal for an elf woman to marry outside of our race.”
“Really?” I furrow my brows as I look at him. “Why?”
Venali doesn’t answer—instead, my grandfather does. He explains that female elves are rarely born, and they have no idea why. It started happening five generations back and when the elves saw that it seemed to be a permanent problem, they made a law that female elves could only marry male elves.
Now it makes sense…
Grandfather kept my existence a secret to protect my mother. If word got out about her marrying a fae, she’d be in trouble.
It also explains why the council is all male—there just aren’t enough females.
“Which leads us to the issue at hand,” one of the older elves says from behind my grandfather. “This girl clearly broke the law when she married a dragon shifter. Theremustbe proper punishment.”
Grandfather’s face stays impassive, so it’s hard to get a read on what he’s thinking. Venali steps up beside me, but he doesn’t say anything. I can tell from his clenched jaw that hewantsto speak up, but he doesn’t. Stellan, on the other hand, has no problems speaking his mind.
“She didn’t know she was an elf until her father told her a few days ago—I was a witness to his confession myself. She can hardly be punished for marrying me when she didn’t know anything about this law, or even who she is,” Stellan says. Even though he keeps his voice calm, I can feel his anxiety. He’s worried about me.
I squeeze his hand, trying to comfort him.
“You misunderstand, dragon prince,” Grandfather says, looking at Stellan. “Wisteria would not be the one in trouble. Youwould be. We do not punish our women.”
I suck in a sharp breath.
This changes things, but I willnotallow them to punishmy husband. No matter what the consequence, I will fight for Stellan with everything I’ve got.
I stand up straighter, squaring my shoulders. I put on the mask I’ve perfected over the years at fae court, not letting them see how much this is getting to me. “You can hardly punish the crown prince of the dragons for breaking a law he didn’t know anything about. Or did you miss the part where he said neither of us knew the truth of my origins until a couple of days ago?”
Grandfather turns his purple eyes on me. “I’m afraid it is out of my hands. We will hold a trial here tomorrow for the young prince. It is up to the elven council to decide his fate.”
Atrial?
I start to open my mouth to argue, but Venali nudges me and shoots me a look. I don’t have to be a mind reader to know what he’s trying to portray—I should keep my mouth shut. I press my lips firmly together so I won’t be tempted. If Stellan really is in trouble, I will find a way to protect him, but it won’t do either of us any good if I make the council mad.
“As for now, this meeting is over. I would like to spend some time with my granddaughter.” Grandfather motions toward the door. “Would you and your husband like to have dinner with me?”
