It was perhaps the most dangerous item of all, yet she’d never found a way to burn it. She’d cleared its residual energy, but the horrific tapestries and spells remained. At least they were only blueprints. The only active blood weaving—the one that had killed Lurel—had already run its course.
There was one more reason she’d kept the book instead of burying it with the other dangerous, undestroyable items: the niggling sense that maybe one day they’d need the information in that book.
It had already come in handy once, when Teryn had glimpsed the blueprint that had rendered Morkai’s crystal unbreakable. Teryn had reversed that tapestry, gaining freedom for himself and Emylia. He’d used blood magic, a forbidden Art, but he’d done it for good.
Maybe that was where Cora’s most secret motivation lay.
In hopes that someday they might figure out how to reverse the blood weaving Morkai had used to curse her.
Slamming the drawer shut, she lifted her chin and reminded herself all she’d survived. All she’d conquered. And all she still had to look forward to.
Her wedding.
Teryn.
Once the sun rose, it would finally be time to marry the man she loved. She’d been waiting months for their reunion, yet she’d hardly seen her fiancé lately. They’d opened their hearts, shared their love, taken pleasure in each other’s bodies for the first time…and then their lives had been interrupted by Noah’s birth. They’d slept separately ever since, following the rules of propriety and honoring Cora’s own fatigue.
After her wedding, that would change. She’d done enough for Mareleau. Gods, she’d done enough for her kingdom too.
It was time to focus on herself.
She deserved that.
She wouldn’t let the prophecy or her nightmares cast shadows upon the day she’d been eagerly awaiting. She wouldn’t let guilt or resentment or selflessness keep her from enjoying the one bright spark in her life.
The future may be uncertain, and her foes may be closer than she liked.
But here, now, she’d enjoy the present. The peace, the love, the excitement that awaited her.
For as long as it could last.
16
Teryn didn’t have the best memories of the Godskeep at Ridine Castle, but he was hoping to make new ones today. If anything could help him forget what had happened the last time he’d been here, when he’d been helpless as Morkai used his body to undermine King Dimetreus, it was his wedding.
If his bride ever showed up.
He wasn’t sure if she was late or if time had slowed to a crawl simply because he was the sole focus of every pair of eyes in the nave. The aging Godspriest stood behind the altar in white robes and seven beaded necklaces, each to represent a different deity, but being the groom, Teryn made for a far more interesting sight.
Most of those in attendance were strangers, esteemed nobles or representatives of Khero’s great houses, though there were a few familiar figures in the front row. Larylis sat beside Lex and Lily, a trio of comforting faces. Mareleau and Helena were absent, as they were now rumored to have departed early for the queen’s well-being. Thankfully, it seemed they’d fully managed to smother the rumor of Noah’s birth before it had spread beyond Mareleau’s bedchamber.
He flicked his gaze up to the rafters and found Berol’s telltale silhouette. He wasn’t sure how or when his peregrine falcon had snuck into the Godskeep, as she normally kept to the forest surrounding the castle, but it seemed she was determined to attend his wedding. He wondered how Valorre felt about being excluded.
As he lowered his eyes back to the audience, Larylis gave him a reassuring nod while Lex winked at him. It was enough to bolster his nerves, and he focused his attention at the end of the aisle. The closed door. Where soon his bride would enter and she’d fully be his—and he hers—at last.
He hadn’t expected to be this nervous. It took great control to resist the urge to fidget, to tug the smothering collar of his ceremonial coat, a burden of white-and-gold brocade with a ridiculously high-buttoned neck, affixed with a golden cape. It was almost identical to the raiment his brother had worn to the formal audience with Cora, and now it was Teryn’s turn to represent Vera’s sigil and colors. This entire ceremony was more for the benefit of the people than anything else, so Teryn’s attire was meant to demonstrate his side of the formal union between Vera and Khero.
The tune from the pipe organ shifted to a more distinct melody, one that had Teryn straightening. He knew what that meant.
It was time.
The doors at the end of the nave slowly opened. His breath caught as Cora filled his vision. She was dressed in an ivory gown with a square neckline, ruffled sleeves that opened at her elbows, and delicate lacework down the front of her skirt. The back trailed behind her with more lace, as did the violet cape that hung from her shoulders. Her neck was adorned with a gold necklace beset with amethyst stones, and her simple gold crown rested upon her head. Her dark tresses had been braided into a complex updo. She wore ivory lace gloves that ended at the wrist so as not to hide her tattooed forearms.
His grin was automatic, but as his eyes met hers, he couldn’t help the teasing tilt that angled one corner of his lips. Not when he could see just how uncomfortable she was. She’d already complained by letter about her ostentatious wedding gown, and she had to be wincing at all the attention she was now receiving. Teryn’s eyes weren’t the only ones on her. The audience had risen to their feet and watched as she made her slow procession down the aisle, trailed by her maids.
Teryn held her eyes with every step, and she did the same with his. The nearer she came, her expression grew more relaxed, her smile wider. As she approached the dais, his attention snagged on her waist. At first he hadn’t noticed the ivory silk belt she wore there, but now he did, for upon it hung the dagger he’d gifted her, half hidden in the folds of her skirt.
His heart tumbled and melted all at once, and his smile grew wider yet. “Perfect,” he whispered as she took her place beside him. She let out a shaky breath, giving him one more gorgeous smile before facing the altar.
