Attempting to rid my mind of such thoughts, I turned my attention to the prince and my sister. He sat stiffly beside her and looked distant and disengaged. Nova tried to start conversations, but each attempt was met with barely disguised disinterest. I felt awful for her.
Across the table, the mountain of a male who was the general seemed to exude a brooding aura. I was aware of his mate softly speaking to him occasionally, and her efforts went unanswered, which I thought was exceptionally rude. If my mate ignored me like that, the Gods knew I would not be sitting calmly by and not airing my thoughts on his rudeness.
A snort of amusement came from beside me, and I snapped my attention to the bored-looking male beside me.
“They can communicate through their bond,” he informed me, amused.
I remembered hearing something like that about dragons. “I thought he was ignoring her,” I whispered.
“He’s a moody arse, sure, but he would never ignore her,” he said conspiratorially.
I studied the general and saw the softness in his gaze as he looked at his mate that I had missed before. “Because he loves her too much?” I asked.
“That and the fact that she would make him pay in ways that are cruel and unusual,” he smirked.
I turned to look at the male, the twin who, beside his strong, healthy brother, was clearly a shadow of himself.
“Seriously,” he chuckled. “I wouldn’t fuck with her.”
I glanced at the slight female he was referring to and couldn’t make it fit, but then, I was capable of taking care of myself, too. I should never assume.
“So they are talking to one another right now?” I asked low, knowing dragons could hear better than other fae.
The male looked between them and nodded. “See that far-off look of longing in his eyes? She’s probably promising to do unspeakable things to him if he promises not to go all dragon on a duke tonight.
The general dragged his eyes away from his mates and settled his twin with a glare. I realized he had heard everything as amenacing smirk crept across his lips. “She won’t stop me from going all dragon on you, though, brother.” he growled, though his tone carried no real threat.
My seating companion shook his head in amusement and turned to me. “I’m Kol,” he murmured as if he was not meant to introduce himself. I supposed it wasn’t really a guard’s place, but neither was sitting at the banquet table. Perhaps the invitation was extended because of who his brother was, and maybe that’s why the other guard was not present. He could be guarding the hall or something, yet I somehow felt he was not in the palace. It was most strange to think I could sense he was not close. He was a stranger.
“Calytrix,” I introduced myself in equally hushed tones. “You are twins?” I inclined my head across the table.
Kol rolled his eyes, “By the Goddess’ unfortunate will, we are.”
I giggled, instantly warming to this male, despite his affiliation to the system I was captive to and his worship of a Goddess we didn’t believe in here. “Where is the other guard this evening?” I asked as casually as I felt able.
The general stiffened, and I didn’t miss it, but beside me, Kol didn’t miss a beat. “Lucky bastard was called away. I had no such fortune.”
“You do not wish to be here?”
Kol looked across the table at my sister and her stoic prince. “Do any of us?” he asked simply.
He had a point.
At that moment, shuffling rippled through the room, and fae rose as Father passed to take his seat. All except the prince, and my sister and I, who were not expected to do so. As the room collectively sat, a hum of conversation filled the space, and despite my father’s presence, the sense of pressure around merelaxed slightly. Knowing the mystery guard wasn’t coming, I had no option but to put him out of my mind.
The first course was served, and I picked at the food, listening to my poor sister try and fail to engage her fiancé in conversation. He had no issue engaging with Kol, in fact, Kol seemed easy with everyone except his brother. I couldn’t fathom being at odds with Nova and wondered the cause as he filled the voids in the stilted conversations across the table. Though, as he spoke, I got the sense he was just going through the motions. He was somewhere else in his mind when he wasn’t making comments to his group.
I was feeling the same way, like my soul was focused somewhere else, and it was hard to stay in the moment. Was there any point to this meal? We weren’t getting to know our future spouses—mine hadn’t even shown. It was just wasting time. We would be better off on the ship heading south already. This was just dragging out the inevitable. I was ready to be done with it all when suddenly, beside me, Kol’s cutlery fell from his hands, crashing to his plate. At once, Nyx leapt to his feet, knocking his chair over behind him.
Silence fell, and all eyes went to him. Collectively, we watched as he looked towards the ornate doors, tilting his head. He snapped his head to his brother, and I did the same. Kol looked frozen in fear. Something had seized him and had him in its grip. I couldn’t tell if it was some kind of recollection he was experiencing or magic that held him captive, but he didn’t move, just breathed raggedly, staring at something none of us could see.
“The palace is under attack,” Nyx barked at my father.
Zaria, his mate, jumped to her feet, appearing torn between leaping to action with Nyx or tending to Kol. I instinctively placed a hand on the stricken dragon’s shoulder, allowing her togive her attention to her mate. If we were under attack, a dragon and ryder were our best hope of survival. We needed them.
“Hey,” I whispered to Kol. “What’s wrong?”
He said nothing, and I knew I hadn’t reached him, but I resolved to stay with him nevertheless.
