“Oh?” Kamari sat at Desmond’s desk, hiding the tremble of her hands by placing them in her lap. “Did he say what was so important?”
Nev shook her head. “He’s in the temple, but I can tell him now isn’t a good time.”
Kamari had dismissed Raffe the last several days. She had no interest in seeing him, no interest in pretending there would ever be a future with him on the throne by her side.
But even if she wanted nothing more than to pack his bags and throw him over the wall, leaving him for the monsters in the desert, there was the small issue of appearance. And of all the things Kamari had been taught growing up; language, arts, perfecting a proper curtsey, maintaining appearance was favored above all else.
“I’ll see him,” she said, unclenching her fingers from her lap.It’s what a queen should do, she thought to herself.
Nev gave her a pointed look. Her dark red hair was styled tightly in a braid, her onyx armor seemed to be glued to her body, though when she moved it was fluid and with grace. “I’ll escort you.”
“I think I can find my way to the temple alone.”
“You could.” Nev held out her arm. “But then I would be disobeying my Commander’s orders.” She leaned in close. “And I’mnot sure if you’ve noticed, but it’s a rather distasteful thing to be on her bad side.”
Kamari snickered a laugh and took Nev’s arm. It felt ridiculous being escorted in her own home, but with the uncertainty surrounding Desmond’s disappearance, she couldn’t be too careful.
As promised, Raffe was waiting in the temple. He stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against one of the columns that lined the massive room. “I’ll be right outside,” Nev said.
Kamari nodded before she bowed at the temple's entrance. The long skirts of her rich brown chiffon dress pooled around her. She placed her hands on the stone floor, the gold cuffs on her wrists clinking together, as she closed her eyes and offered a prayer.
“Celestria, Goddess of All,” she whispered, “I enter your temple as your servant. May you continue to bless Vargah”— She paused, flipping her eyes up to see Raffe watching her—“andNovaria with your generosity.” When she rose to her feet, she adjusted the slender gold crown that sat across her hairline and smoothed her dress. “Lord Raffe.”
“My queen.” He bent his middle, offering a deep bow. “Walk with me.” He held out his arm and, with appearances in mind, Kamari took it.
Other than the library, the temple was Kamari’s favorite place in Vargah. Though, it’d been some time since she visited.
The large bronze columns and grand arched doorways were a perfect structure for the seemingly endless, domed roof. Pillars were adorned with stars and crescent moons to honor Celestria. Intricate filigree was etched around every arch, every paver they walked on.
No expense was spared by past rulers, Desmond had told her once, to create a place of worship for the Goddess of All.
“I wanted to apologize,” Raffe said. Kamari’s eyes must have bulged because when he glanced at her, he laughed. “Not what you were expecting?”
They strode down the center of the temple, passing a few abandoned altars with half melted candles and dried flowers. “I didn’t know what to expect,” she answered honestly.
“With my cousin's disappearance, tensions are high, as you already know. My family insisted I come immediately when we heard that Desmond left and it was their pressure that drove me to be so…”
“Brash?”
Raffe glanced at her and smiled. “Exactly. I didn’t go about this the right way, and I’m sorry.”
An inkling of warmth spread through Kamari's chest. She still had no intentions of marrying Raffe, but if they could co-exist for the next few weeks until Aesira and Stone returned with Desmond, life would be much simpler. An apology on his part was a start.
“I appreciate the apology.”
They stopped at the back of the temple where an intricately painted mural spanned the entirety of the wall. This one portrayed Celestria as a woman, her deep red hair was fanned around her, tiny stars dotted into the loose waves. Droplets of water were painted falling over her, dripping down her face and bare chest. Her eyes and lips were closed, hands held up, palms open. Inside one palm rested the moon and the other–a bright, purple flower.
Astra.
The life-blood of their kingdom.
The most powerful gift a goddess could give and the Goddess chose to give it to them. It struck her then the severity of Desmond’s journals. Of his claims that dragons were a refuge andnotCelestria. Her stomach clenched and without thinking, she gripped Raffe’s arm tighter. His hand slid across the top of hers and the sudden contact of the warmth took her breath away.
“There are two ways we can go about this,” Raffe said. “We continue as we are, despising the situation we’ve been put in. Or…” His fingers wrapped around hers and the grief she’d buried deep about Desmond leaving came rushing up her throat. It ached and burned when she swallowed. “We can come to an agreement together.”
“What kind of agreement?” Kamari worked the words around the knot in her throat.
Raffe slid his hand from hers. “The council has given you a month,” he said. “After that, the treaty will be nullified and Novaria and Vargah will be right back where they were a year ago. At war. I don’t know you well, Your Majesty, but I can’t imagine that’s a future you want to see.”
