Even as she stood there, hand idly caressing over the place she had rubbed his seed onto her chest, he felt ashamed. Not proud. And he wanted so desperately to be able to be proud.
“What could I have done to prevent this union, King Thepyra?” Alder asked, his hand motioning to the two of them. “I sent her to train with him, I was not expecting for them to fall in love. Yet, here we are.”
“Yes,” King Thepyra sighed. “Here we are. And it is quite unfortunate, as I have had the best of the best planning this wedding. And my son will be greatly disappointed.”
Kaya heard it before—that the prince of Credula was not a male you wanted to cross. She’d heard that he was spoiled and entitled and that the word ‘no’ seemingly was not apart of his vocabulary. He was everything that Ilias claimedherto be and just the mere thought of having to spend her life with someone like that made her want to take Ilias back to her room andappreciatehim some more for saving her from a life of—
Ilias swatted at her hand, narrowing his eyes in her direction.
“What was that for?” She whispered.
He made a noise in the back of his throat, turning his attention back to the two kings. “Stop thinking about sex.”
“Can you hear my thoughts?” Her face was hot, stomach flipping as she watched a small smile curve into his cheek.
“No.” He licked his lips. “I cansmellit.”
The blush on her cheeks spread to the points of her ears and across her chest. She placed one leg over the other, hoping to paint the portrait of a poised lady as she started to listen more attentively to her father and the Credulan King.
“Forgive me if I am wrong or if it seems I am undermining you, but Ailikaya is not elvish, she isfae. If she and your son were to have children, they would be halfbloods, as well.” Alder stated.
The fair-haired king grumbled something in a language Kaya couldn’t understand. “From a biological standpoint, fae and elvish are not too dissimilar that it would matter much. The only differences I see between our two races are merely behavioral. Cultural. She could have beentrainedto infiltrate into our society.”
“And this training you speak of,” Alder began, his tone harsh and deep. “I’ve heard stories, Thepyra. And they are not comforting in the slightest. I would have had my own reservations in terms of sending my only daughter into a culture that chooses towhippeople into submission.”
Kaya blinked at her father, her hand curling in the fabric of her dress.
“As I said, our differences are strictly cultural.”
“While that may be true, I must say that I am glad my daughter chose to marry someone with the same…behaviorthat she was raised around. Youcannot take a rose from its fertile soil, plant it in the desert and expect it to bloom for you.”
Thepyra let out a low chuckle. “And I’d assume you think of Credula as a desert? Too harsh a climate for yourpreciouslittlerose?”
The muscle in Alder’s jaw feathered. “Yes. But I assure you, roses are not all beauty. They havethorns.”
“So you have said before. And I would still like to them—these thorns.”
Silence fell over the expanse of the great hall. All eyes turned to look at Kaya, who swallowed deeply, looking at Ilias in search of comfort. Or justsomething. Anything that could calm her nerves. She wasn’t entirely sure what was expected of her in this demonstration, but she knew that her father and her kingdom’s future depended solely on her ability to perform.
Alright. It’s time for you all to wake up. I need your help. She spoke to her shadows, searching for the feeling of them rousing from their silent slumber.
Her request was met with silence. Her heart began to pound, her palms sweating in her lap. For a brief moment, she wished that she would have taken her training with Ilias more seriously. Perhaps she was childish in assuming that she had time and she berated herself for believing that she had a chance toassumeanything when it came to the Credulans. She was not so full of herself that she could not admit when she was wrong. And,gods, had she been very wrong.
She startled at the feeling of Ilias’s hand on her back, breathing out a sigh of relief when her shadows began to stir at the place he’d touched. “You’ll have to help me.” She whispered to him. “They don’t come out unlesstheyfeel I am in danger.”
Ilias nodded, eyes flickering from her to the Credulan King. “Stay as close to Thepyra as possible. I’d suggest you shaking his hand, it may get the shadows excited.”
Kaya sunk her teeth into her bottom lip, blinking slowly as she rose to her feet. Thepyra watched as she approached, the conversation between him and her father swiftly dying as she extended her hand in his direction. Thepyra stared at her, a smirk tugging at one side of his face as his eyes moved to her hand. “I am Ailikaya Dothrae Aesa, princess of Holiadon. And I would like todemonstrate my abilities for you in hopes that you find me useful and agree to form an alliance with our kingdom for the betterment of Galore.”
The king took her hand swiftly, his grip too tight—dominating and a warning. Not that she had much control over what the slithery little bastards inside of her decided to do. But the moment a joint in her hand popped under the pressure of Thepyra’s grasp, her little friends decided to uncurl from around the base of her spine.
They flared out from around her shoulders, from her hands like thorned vines. Thepyra flinched, jerking his hand away to reveal that one of her shadowy thorns had, indeed, nicked his wrist. His blood dripped onto the pale blue floor, a vicious smile that revealed too-sharp teeth forming on his face. Before she could open her mouth to form an apology, the Credulan King reached forward and grabbed her by the throat with bone-crushing force.
Kaya gasped, eyes going wide as her shadows began to expand. They whipped and lashed through the brightness of the room, curling around the king’s wrist. He laughed, the sound muffled by the veil that started to form around the two of them. Ilias launched himself to his feet the moment the king grabbed her, but he was now barred from seeing what was happening. Kaya’s shadows had taken over.
“Let me in.” Ilias whispered to them. “Let me in and let me help.” He stepped back, the sounds of Alder’s yelling at the other guards cutting through the catastrophic hissing of Kaya’s shadows. The shadows parted just briefly, enough for him to see King Thepyra’s hands wrapped around Kaya’s throat. Ilias took the leap and darted through the opening and was quick to press his dagger against the king’s neck.
“Get your fucking hands off of her.” Ilias growled, the look of fear in Kaya’s widened eyes causing him to dig the blade deeper, enough to draw blood. “Now.” Thepyra loosened his grip immediately, but the sick and sadistic smile on his face did not vanish.
