“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Fuck my life. This will mean an increase in guards and tightening of security in the palace.
How the hells am I supposed to meet with Marra after dinner at this rate?
Chapter 2
Cara
I stand with my arms crossed over my chest, rage building inside as Kryos, wrinkled and grey, with thinning hair even as a wolf, rails into me. As the eldest of the Elders, it falls to him to be first to chew me out when something goes wrong.
If I hear how “reckless” I am one more time …
“… And furthermore, if you continue to place yourself in these precarious situations—”
That’s enough. “Shut up, Kryos. I was taking a bath, for the Sun God’s sake. If anything,yourpalace guards let a panther into the bathhouse. They should be the ones under scrutiny, not me. I have never once let one of those beasts into our territory, so unless you plan on pinning that error on my chest, I’d like to be excused so I can eat my now-cold dinner.”
Kryos turns an interesting shade of beet red, and I struggle not to smirk.
“You failed to be mindful of your surroundings! With your training, you should have smelled panther from miles away.”
I roll my eyes. “The same could be said of your guards. All I’m saying is I’m not the only one guilty of not realizing she was an assassin. Once you accept that, we can get along again. Until then, though, I respectfully disagree.”
“Bah. There’s nothing respectful about your attitude, Cara. Some days I wish Solari had seen fit to bestow His gifts on a more obedient wolf.”
Just then, the echoing footsteps of someone in a hurry fill the Chamber of Elders, and Corvin appears. He’s about as red as his grandfather Kryos—all the way from his dark, trimmed beard to his close-cropped hair—though his angry green-eyed gaze is focused on the old man, not me. “Grandsire, please tell me you’re not laying into my bride again.”
Oh, please. “Corvin, I wish you wouldn’t call me that.”
His eyes flit over to me before returning to the Elders on the dais. “It’s what you will be in a few weeks. Why deny it?”
Because I have other plans that don’t involve mating with a man.
Lana, the lone female Elder, is about ten years Kryos’s junior. As such, her skin is much smoother, her hair less shot with silver, though the years have tightened her expression to almost a puckered look, making her seem harsh and severe. She clucks her tongue and shakes her head. “She denies her duties like a spoiled child. Cara, dear, your distaste for Corvin physically is no reason not to admit that he’s an excellent political match.”
“Maybe I don’t want to spend my life with a political match. Maybe I want to rule alone.”
My uttering, though under my breath, still resonates in the vaulted Chamber. Oops.
“Cara Solari! You disgrace your ancestors.”
Despite the need for decorum in the Elders’ Chambers, my irritation causes my voice to rise in anger. “My ancestors? We don’t know who my ancestors are, or have you forgotten that? I was found on the side of the road as a pup, barely old enough to crawl. If I hadn’t displayed solar gifts, I would have been left right there to die of starvation.”
“She has a point, you know.” Corvin’s voice surprises me. “Her true heritage is a mystery. It would be unfair to demand that she live to a royal standard when it’s quite possible she lacks even a drop of royal blood.”
Corvin defending me, and to his own detriment? I’d be intrigued if I didn’t suspect an ulterior motive.
“Are you requesting a new bride, Corvin?” Our third Elder, Tirin, sneers from his seat. I meet his black eyes glare-for-glare, bristling at this whole ludicrous exchange.
Seemingly oblivious to the tension, Corvin decides to simultaneously piss off me and, judging from the triad of irritated expressions, the Elders as well. “To the contrary: I think this only confirms the wisdom in choosing me to wed Cara. Who better to teach and guide her during her reign?”
There it is. The backhanded jab at my status, disguised as a desire to help.
“I’ve had just about enough of everyone’s guidance for one day, thank you.” I turn on my heel and stalk out of the Chamber.
“Cara!” Corvin’s voice follows me down the hall, but thankfully he doesn’t. A handful of guards break formation to chase after me. I’d try to dodge them, but once out of the strained atmosphere of the Chamber and better able to think, I realize it’s unfair to the guard corps to slip out of their sight. Hugh and Sym might face disciplinary action as it is for failing to realize we had a panther in our midst; no sense subjecting these poor wolves to the same fate.
While I don’t begrudge their loyalty, I still want to be alone. I head for my private quarters, hoping to sulk in peace. Though I’m still hungry, I don’t want to risk running into anyone official, and the Elders are likely to go to the dining hall now that I’m not in the Chamber anymore to be berated.
It comes as a pleasant surprise when Marra steps out from the alcove leading into my room, hands clasped in front of her as she averts her gaze.
