Jupiter stared at Valdemar and then at me, as if sizing me up to see if I fit the role.
“I can get on board with this,” he said at last.
My shoulders relaxed.
“Good.” Valdemar squeezed my hand as if he’d never questioned Jupiter’s loyalty.
Jupiter clears his throat, pulling me back into the present, and I can’t help but hope everyone else has his unwavering allegiance.
“How does the crowd look?” I ask Jupiter as he downs his drink and winces before placing the empty glass on the table.
“Puzzled,” he answers. “There’s a buzz. Has been ever since the night he got out of prison and left his party with you.”
“Great.” I slump down on the arm of the chair, then stand back up and resume pacing.
“It could be worse.” He shrugs. “They don’t have pitchforks.”
“Not funny.” I throw him daggers but can’t help the smile that erupts.
“I think everyone is here. It’s time to move,” he says.
I abandon my glass, and we exit through the rear door, turning left and following the corridor back to the front of the house and into the foyer.
The double doors to the Great Hall are now closed, all the Raven Hands contained inside the hall.
Nausea whips at my insides.
Valdemar’s voice travels down the bond. “There’s no need to be nervous.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Nothing is ever easy, angel.”
Jupiter stalks to the huge double doors to open one of them a crack, and I hear the chatter die and applause erupt.
“I take it he’s on the stage?” I edge over to Jupiter so I can hear what’s going on.
“Thank you, thank you,” Valdemar says.
The rapturous welcome simmers down, and I picture Valdemar standing on the stage in his pressed suit, addressing his followers, smiling to put them at ease.
“I don’t deserve such a welcome, and certainly not after absconding from my party last week. For that, I must apologise. But as I’m sure you can understand, it was a strange day. It’s been a long time since I was here, in my home. And I know there’ve been some doubts and questions about what’s going to happen now I’ve returned, so tonight, I’m here to answer those questions.”
Through the crack in the door, I see a snapshot of the faces trained up to the stage, mostly male, but there’s a scattering of women, the loyal followers like Jacinta who’ve been bestowed a gift but have never been accepted into the fold due to the archaic rules. They’ve remained due to fear of being an outcast in the regular world, where people don’t understand the power they wield—a world I know only too well.
“Ten years is a long time to be caged. And it gave me a lot of time to think. A lot of time to wonder about the future and what it looks like. And I’d like to start by thanking Jupiter for keeping me so well-informed and Jacinta for keeping Jupiter sane while I’ve been away.”
I duck behind the door as Jupiter opens it, then makes his way through the crowd and onto the stage.
I close the door but leave a small enough gap so I can hear Valdemar say, “Come on up, Jacinta.”
From my vantage point, I can’t see Jacinta go onto the stage, but I hear the applause ripple through the crowd.
“You guys have done such a great job, and I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done,” Valdemar tells them.
“But he’s back now, so move aside!” someone shouts from the crowd, and silence descends, everyone assessing Valdemar’s reaction.
“You’re right. I’m back. And it’s time to make a few changes.”
