The servants opened the doors to the dining hall, and Cassiel entered.
“Good morrow, King Cassiel,” Lady Aerina called to him. “Please join us.”
An uncomfortable silence fell over the table.
Straightening, he schooled his expression with a bow of his head. “Thank you, princess.”
Cassiel took the empty seat at the end of the table. Away from the others, which he so clearly knew didn’t want him near. It reminded Zev too much of their first time in Hilos.
“We were discussing the better route of travel for our journey,” Aerina shared with him. “The main road is too exposed but the trail through the forest could face a deluge. We are weighing the risk of both. In your opinion, what do you think is best?”
Irritation fleetingly flashed across Raiden’s face before he composed himself by taking a drink.
Cassiel paused, equally taken back by the question as Dyna had been. “Well, Lady Aerina, my kind prioritizes discretion. I would better serve you as an escort through the forest. However, I am compliant to whatever you decide.” He glanced at Dyna. “If my wife agrees, of course.”
Zev heard Dyna’s pulse spike, but she didn’t look in his direction.
“I find it amusing you should continue to use that word,” Raiden said as he took another drink from his goblet. “As I understand it, she is not yours anymore.”
The very clear jab invited a sudden tension over the table. Keena’s head popped out from under the cup, her mouth gaping open. A look of either shock or discomfort crossed everyone’s faces as they all stared between Cassiel and Raiden, who were locked in a stare. Zev heard Dyna’s shallow inhale as she sat frozen in her chair. He didn’t know whether to take her away or change the subject.
Cassiel’s cool response cut through the silence. “I beg your pardon?”
Raiden cleared his throat and linked his fingers. “You left her. Therefore, she has no obligation to you, correct?”
Cassiel’s jaw clenched, his silver eyes storming.
The young lord shrugged. “Pardon me if I offend. I simply wanted to assure myself that I did not misstep.”
“In what regard?”
Raiden laid a hand over Dyna’s on the table. “I intend to court Lady Dynalya.” Her eyes widened, her face turning as red as her hair. Aghast silence fell over everyone. Lucenna nearly spat out her water, and Keena stifled a gasp. “In fact, I asked her yesterday, and she accepted.”
She did? All eyes fell on Dyna again. Her mouth opened and closed, at a loss for words.
Raiden turned to Aerina. “Do you approve, mother?”
It was Lady Aerina’s turn to blush under everyone’s stares. “I-I don’t know if this—they are—” She winced apologetically at Dyna. “Forgive me, dear, I don’t wish to interfere, but while there is a marriage in place...” Her eyes flicked to Cassiel nervously. He had yet to say anything or react other than to stare at Raiden’s hand over Dyna’s. “I don’t know if a courtship is possible, Raiden. The politics with you being a nephew of the king and she is a queen of a foreign kingdom … and the ethics of-of-such a situation…”
The poor woman didn’t know how to respond. Neither did Zev. Dyna didn’t say anything about this to him, and she looked equally shocked as everyone else.
“It is a complicated situation,” Raiden agreed nonchalantly, “But you yourself challenged principles and politics when you chose a soldier to love. Are you to deny me the same? Do you not want your son to be happy?”
Aerina’s face softened. “Of course I do, darling.”
Clever elf knew how to wrap her around his finger.
“Then I hope you will treat my intended kindly.” He smiled at Dyna and brushed a crimson lock of hair from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear.
Dyna made a sound that was caught between a squeak and a faint gasp. But she didn’t pull away, and Zev sensed whatever was going on, she had now silently agreed to it. Her green eyes flickered to Cassiel, and his gaze slowly lifted to her. There was no anger there. Whatever he was feeling was hidden behind a mask.
“This is so terribly awkward,” Keena whispered to Lucenna, now sitting on her shoulder.
The sorceress quietly snickered. “Oh, this will be fun.”
Klyde braced his elbow on the table, curling a fist over his mouth as though to hide a grin. Von merely continued eating, not interested in the spectacle at all. Well, whatever road they took to Avandia, it was going to be uncomfortable, to say the least.
Raiden raised his eyebrows at Cassiel’s silence. “Well, I do hope you will provide Lady Dynalya with a divorce and a substantial alimony that she is rightly owed.”
