Maybe that would have been more fitting in the end.
Part Two
Of Kings and Curses
Chapter 23
Razik
“ALunar Marriage?” Tybalt demanded, the doors to Cethin’s study scarcely closed.
Cethin rounded his desk, taking a seat, while Kailia stood stiffly next to Razik, clearly unsure of what she should do or say.
The pair had come down for breakfast, all the Cadre already there along with Razik. Everyone was on edge, waiting for Tybalt’s wrath over the events of the hunt. Tybalt had entered, already looking like someone had stolen an intricately woven pillow from him. Razik had never been more grateful he was Kailia’s guard than in that moment, but another part of him felt guilty that he wouldn’t be there when the Cadre was put through the wringer for the failures on the hunt.
Tybalt’s eyes had swept the room, his pupils already glowing a faint red. Then they stilled when he reached Cethin and Kailia, gaze fixed on the backs of their hands. The male’s voice had been nothing but a pure growl when he asked if he could speak to them privately. Razik had followed because Kailia was his charge, and he wasn’t about to give his uncle a single reason to think he wasn’t serious about handling this properly. More thanthat, he didn’t understand what had triggered such a visceral response. If something was wrong, he needed to know to guard Kailia effectively.
But he hadn’t expected his uncle to say those words.
Of course he’d noticed there were no Union Marks on their hands. He’d assumed Kailia had changed her mind. Not that Cethin had bound them together in a godsdamn Lunar Marriage.
Leaning back in his chair, Cethin was more than casual as he held Tybalt’s stare, and for all his arrogance, Razik had to give it to the male. It was slightly impressive. A little. A minute amount of gall to act so nonchalant in the presence of a dragon clearly riding an edge.
“I told you we were moving the union up,” Cethin said. Looking past the Commander, he added, “You can take a seat, wife. No need to stand in the doorway.”
Kailia’s eyes narrowed, her mouth pressing into a thin line as she went to the side opposite the hearth, perching on the edge of the velvet settee. Her fingers curled around the cushion as she looked between Cethin and Tybalt.
“You said you were moving the union up,” Tybalt retorted. “You failed to mention you were initiating a Lunar Marriage. Who anointed it?”
Cethin remained silent, drumming his fingers on the desk.
“Of course she did,” Tybalt spat, and Razik hated that he didn’t understand what was going on. “She’s the only one who would have possibly known how, but not without your help. How did you convince her?”
Cethin arched a brow. “Are you implying that I coerced Niara into doing something she didn’t want to do? Kailia, did Niara appear to have apprehension about our night?”
“She did not,” Kailia answered factually. “In truth, it was the most pleasant interaction I’ve had with her, but I assumed that was because there were no injuries to tend to this time.”
Tybalt turned to her then, and Razik instinctively stepped closer to her. Not that he thought his uncle would do anything. His control was impeccable, but hewasa dragon. A very irate dragon at the moment, and she was his charge. Cethin was halfway out of his chair too, but he’d paused when Razik had moved, slowly lowering back to his seat.
“Did Cethin explain what this marriage was before it was anointed, Kailia?” Tybalt asked, the words tight with restraint.
“I knew what I was getting myself into,” Kailia replied, lifting her chin.
Tybalt shook his head, turning back to Cethin. “Your mother?—”
“Is not here,” Cethin interjected, a pointed look on his face. “Neither of my parents is here, and that is not something I can dwell on. I have a kingdom to protect, responsibilities to adhere to, and promises to keep. That is what I have done.”
“You are going to have to face all of this some day, Cethin.”
“And today is not that day,” he replied, straightening and reaching for a stack of papers on his desk. “If there’s nothing else, I have things to get caught up on.”
Tybalt sighed, dropping into the chair on the opposite side of the desk, and Razik watched as the male shifted from concerned family friend to the Commander of the Forces. “I have the official report from Ariadne.”
Cethin paused, setting down a piece of paper and sitting back in his chair. “And?”
“And they were Avonleyan.”
“We assumed as much,” Cethin replied, glancing over at Razik and Kailia. Razik was listening intently, but he was also watching the new queen. She hadn’t shown any emotion at themention of the attack. Nothing of the utter panic and mania she’d been in when they’d found her in that clearing, bodies at her feet and blood everywhere.
