“She did. She said a traveler would come who wore her face.”
Vi wore a knowing smile. Fiera’s actions were gaining clarity. “Yes, I have come from very far to meet her.”
“Sorry to say you don’t have any hope of a private meeting. A public audience, perhaps tonight. But no one has been able to get to her, not even one of her oldest and dearest friends.” He sighed heavily and looked toward the empty thrones at the far end of the room. “She’s been kept sequestered under lock and key with that wretched man.”
Vi took a small step toward Richard, looking toward the thrones as well. She said nothing, and the silence greased his tongue.
“I shudder to think of what he’s done to her—what he’s threatened her with—to bring about this union.”
“Perhaps he loves her?” Vi suggested.
“Loves her?” Richard balked. “The man loves one thing: war. He’s long been married to death itself. He doesn’t love, he conquers.”
“Have you met him?” Vi had always been told that, above all else, Tiberus had been over the sun for Fiera Ci’Dan. That while he had stolen her land, she had stolen his heart.
“No. Just how much socializing have you been able to do recently?” Richard’s eyebrows arched. “Forgive my tone, and that I’ve yet to learn your name, Lady…”
“Yullia.”
“Lady Yullia.” Richard took her hand and brought it to his lips. “An honor to meet you.”
“And you as well.”
“You have an uncommon name. Might I ask where—”
Two doors at the far end of the hall opened and interrupted Richard before he could finish. A hush fell over those gathered. They turned collectively to the group of three standing in the doorway.
“Ophain, Lord of the West!” a crier announced as the man in front stepped forward along a white runner. “Sisters to the Lord of the West, Lady Tina and Lady Lilo.” Two women stepped out, walking side by side.
“Lord of the West,” Richard murmured at Vi’s side. “He should beking.”
Vi remained silent, watching the procession. Ophain was heartbreakingly similar in features to her father, save the hooked nose and slightly longer hair that he wore tied at the nape of his neck. Tina, the older sister, was spindly and elegant. Lilo was stouter and, despite all that had transpired, wore a serene smile on her face.
Perhaps she was smiling because she’d somehow avoided engagement to the man who had conquered their homeland. Both women making their way down the long runner to the dais were older than Fiera, and both were currently un-betrothed. They would’ve been the more expected choices.
“My friends, my noble kin,” Ophain began as he reached the top of the dais. There were only two chairs behind him, Vi noticed, and he sat in neither. “I realize this celebration has come under… unconventional circumstances.”
“That’s a way to put it,” Richard mumbled. He wasn’t the only one.
“However, it is just that—acelebration,” Ophain emphasized. “My darling sister, the youngest and I think we can all agree the strongest among us—” Lilo gave a nod from Ophain’s left “—has been chosen as our future Empress. She is a woman whose hands were only for the sword and now, they will help hold up the Empire.”
Any other proclamation, under almost any other circumstances, would have been met with cheers. But those gathered were silent. Slowly, a few people clapped—mostly the Southerners in attendance—and then a few more. A depressing showing for a crowd that dressed for a party but felt as though they were attending a funeral.
“Thus, it is my honor to present the Emperor Tiberus Solaris and future Empress Fiera Ci’Dan!” Ophain motioned to the back of the room, where the doors were still open wide.
Two figures emerged from the darkness and into the light of the hall. The Emperor wore the sun crown—a golden circlet with fiery sunbeams stretching up from its base. His crisp, white, double-breasted jacket and tailored trousers were a clear attempt to distance himself from the more flowing styles of the South.
Fiera walked in stark contrast beside him. Her crown was a simple silver band across her brow. She wore a tightly tailored, crimson dress with a split all the way up to her hip. Underneath were black leggings and boots that appeared to have the dust of training fields still on them. Silver pauldrons adorned her shoulders and a sword Vi would recognize anywhere was strapped to her hip.
The only thing connecting them were their hands. Tiberus escorted her with his elbow out, palm parallel to the floor. Fiera’s hand rested atop.
They didn’t look like they were walking into a party in their honor. They looked as though they were walking to war. Yet the effect seemed to work on the crowd, for as they passed men and women alike dropped to one knee and bowed their heads.
Vi was no exception, though she was one of the last to kneel, waiting long enough that Fiera’s attention came to her and her alone. Vi held the woman’s eyes until her knee met the floor. Fiera turned forward quickly, keeping her reaction to Vi’s presence concealed.
“My newest and well-loved subjects,” the Emperor started when they reached the dais. Fiera’s siblings had stepped back to stand behind the thrones. “It is my honor to stand before you today. Not just as your ruler, but as your future kin.”
Vi glanced over to Richard. His jaw was clenched tight, veins bulging in his neck. The man looked like he wanted to scream more and more with each passing second.
