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Cyrus
Sitting back in my seat at the long dining table, I swirled the wine in my glass.
We had decided to host a grand dinner to celebrate our marriage, having the noblemen and women of the Kingdom join us for a feast larger than any we had held before. We had intended to only use one table, originally, but we ended up with three of the largest tables from the main dining room dragged into the ballroom, every seat at them completely full.
Emerald green runners graced the middle of the tables, with the same orange and red flowers from the chapel made into centerpieces dotted along them. There was three of them per table, and more candelabras than I cared to count. From where I sat at the end of our table, I could only just see Kira sitting across from me, at theopposite end of the table, in a throne just as golden and extravagant as mine. She had hardly said two words to me since the wedding finished, only breaking her silence to present me with my crown and pronounce me as King.
His Royal Highness Cyrus Cafirou, King of Fire and of Earth.
The title rang nicely against my ears as I stood from where I had been kneeling, the heavy golden crown sitting on top of my head as the crowd gathered chanted,“Long live the King.”
Kira’s eyes flicked to mine at the end of the table, and I raised an eyebrow at her, watching her cheeks flush even from this distance. I lifted my glass in a silent cheers, and she looked away, suddenly much more interested in the conversation Gracie was having with the woman next to her. . From where I was sitting, I could see Gracie, Tarian and the General had all taken seats nearest to Kira, and while Gracie looked at ease, Tarian and Maeteo looked the most uncomfortable I had ever seen them. I laughed, shaking my head, tipping my glass back and draining the rest of my wine in one.
A hand on my shoulder made me turn slightly, Cirro’s grinning face directly next to mine. I tried my hardest to hide my grimace at his closeness, but I had a feeling I failed. The poor man had next to none of the height his Fae relatives had, and only when I was sitting, as I was now, was he anywhere near my height.
“Your Majesty,” He greeted me, clapping me on theshoulder again, and I smiled at him tightly, “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Cirro,” I nodded, holding out my wine glass for a server to come and refill for me. A Fae woman, with silver blonde hair and black eyes, stopped next to me, a frown on her face as she twisted her wrist and brought a bottle of red wine to her from the kitchen, tipping it into my glass without ever touching it.
I dipped my head at her in thanks but did not give her any more acknowledgement as she walked away. I could feel someone’s eyes boring into me, and I knew that if I looked around, I would see Kira glaring. She had never agreed with the way the Fae were treated by me, but the way her grandfather had treated them was far worse, and I never failed to remind her of that fact.
Cirro slipped himself into the empty seat to my left, and I shifted myself, so I was no longer leaning in that direction. The woman sitting to his right scrunched her nose as he sat down, shifting her own chair slightly farther away from him to escape his smell.
“Are you ready to give your speech, Your Majesty?” Cirro asked, taking a bite out of a warm bread roll, and groaning out loud as he did so. I rolled my eyes at him, sending a look of apology to the woman next to him. She was born into nobility, her father sat slightly farther down the table than she was with his new wife, and I had made sure she was added to the guest list. She was married, of course she was, she had turned twenty this year and if a nobleman’s daughter is not married by eighteen, she wasconsidered a disgrace. Her husband sat on her left, his own attention taken up by the Fae servers, his eyes wide as he watched them.
I was certain that her name was Nezettia, and as her eyes caught mine again, I sent her a wink — smirking at the way her cheeks turned pink so quickly.
“Yes, I believe so.” I nodded, lifting my glass to my lips, and taking a long sip as I still watched Nezettia.
Cirro stood from his seat quickly, lifting his glass and tapping the side of it with his butter knife. The room fell into silence as he cleared his throat, having to stand on the tips of his toes so that everyone could see him better.
“His Royal Highness is ready to make his wedding speech.” Cirro announced, his voice carrying around the room and grating on my nerves at the same time. People shuffled in their seats, turning to face our table and the servers that were still walking around started rushing to make sure that everyone’s glasses were full.
I thanked Cirro as he sat down, placing my own wine glass onto the table and standing from my throne, pushing it back slightly as I did so. The crown on top of my head suddenly felt much heavier than it had at any other point so far, and I fought not to reach up to adjust it.
“Welcome, everyone.” I grinned, lifting my arms, and looking around the room, “It is truly an honour to have you all here today to join my new wife and I in our marriage.”
I flicked my eyes to Kira, who was sat with her lips pressed into a tight line, her shoulders squared and her eyes on me.
“You all know my lovely bride, of course. Kira is not only the Queen of two kingdoms, but the Queen of all our citizens’ hearts. She worked her way into all their lives and made herself completely irreplaceable — unmatchable, even.
“But those are not the only hearts that Kira has worked her way into and forced to adore her. My heart, the heart of your King, belongs solely to the woman sat across this table from me now. She has taken up every beat of my heart since the minute I met her, even if she claims to have loathed me at first.”
A laugh rang out around the room, and I smirked at Kira as she narrowed her eyes at me, trying her hardest to fight the smile that so badly wanted to be set free on her face.
“I did loath you,” She called, sipping her wine, and the laughter grew louder. I grinned at her, winking.
“Of course you did, my love.” I chuckled, “Kira and I have not always seen eye to eye, but that has not stopped my heart, or my brain, or my body, needing and wanting her around every single day. I wake up in the morning and the first thing I want to do is see her face, hear her laugh, and listen to her thoughts. She is the most annoyingly stubborn person I have met, besides my sisters, but that makes me love her more every single day.
“Kira, Sweetheart. As trying as our relationship has been up to this point, I cannot wait to spend the rest of eternity with you. We will be written into the history books as the best rulers this Kingdom has ever had. I promise, here and now, in front of everyone gathered here today, that I will love you until the stars burn empty. On the days the sun does not rise and the nights the moon does not sing, I will forever have light in my life because I have you.
“So, if everyone could join me in raising their glasses to my wife. Her Royal Highness Kira Cafirou, Queen of Fire and of Earth, Waker of Dragons, Magic Wielder… Light of my life.”
The room broke into an eruption of cheers, and Kira’s cheeks flushed dark pink as she lifted her half full wine glass, her eyes locked on mine.
“Now, please, enjoy the food our wonderful kitchen staff have prepared for you all.” I finished off, dipping my head low as the cheers continued and I dropped back into my seat, another full glass of wine already waiting on me.
~~~
