Raza stood, pulling me up with him. He clutched me to his chest as he roared in delight. He lifted me above him, smiling up into my eyes, and then slid me down for a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him back, luxuriating in our love. Now that I'd made my decision, it felt as if chains had fallen away from my heart. Laughter bubbled up my throat and vibrated against our lips. Raza smiled with me and drank down my happiness. When we finally eased away from each other, we had the attention of the entire hall.
“Princess Seren has just consented to be my wife!” Raza declared, and the room exploded in applause.
Everyone was smiling, shrieking with delight. Except for Tiernan, who stared soberly at me. I gave him a little smile and a nod. His face lit with understanding. Tiernan started to grin, then he lifted his glass to Raza, and took a long sip.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Congratulations,” Tiernan kissed my cheek. Then he whispered into my ear, “Does this mean what I hope it means?”
“Yes,” I held up a hand when he started to smile, “but I'm not rushing back into being with you. I need a little time to get comfortable with this. With all of us.”
“Lord Tiernan,” Raza's hand slid around my waist. “Come to wish us well?”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” Tiernan nodded his head respectfully. “May your marriage be blessed by Danu.”
“Danu has given her blessing on our marriage long ago,” Raza smirked. “As you well know.”
“This feels weird already,” I sighed.
Cat huffed her agreement.
“We'll take it slow, like you said,” Tiernan backed away. “I'm sure you'll want some time to adjust to married life before adding any distractions.”
“Yes, we will,” Raza growled.
“If we can't even have a conversation about this without coming right out and saying what we mean, this will never work,” I sighed and walked away, Cat beside me.
“Seren,” Raza followed, Tiernan close on his heels.
I kept walking.
“Son of a succubi!” Raza swore and swooped in front of me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into an empty room, ushering Tiernan in with us. “Fine, let's talk plainly, shall we?”
“Okay, good,” I agreed. “It's obvious that Tiernan has figured out that you'll allow me consorts.”
“So you've talked to him about Killian too?” Tiernan asked.
I froze. Raza's eyes widened.
“Or not,” Tiernan whispered. “My apologies. You said 'consorts', plural, so I thought he knew.”
“Killian as well?” Raza lifted a brow.
“I don't know,” I held up a hand. “I've just recently realized that I care about Killian.”
“You should have mentioned that when I proposed,” Raza growled.
“Well it wasn't your average proposal was it?” I snapped. “I didn't even get a ring.”
“You didn't get a ring?” Raza snarled. “What do you call that piece of jewelry which once belonged to my mother?” He pointed to the ring I wore on my right hand.
“Oh shit, right,” I closed my eyes and winced. “Sorry, I wasn't thinking.”
“No, you weren't,” Raza let out an angry stream of breath. “So, you've barely just agreed to be my wife, and now you're adding another consort to the one I already, grudgingly, approved?”
“Goddess damn it,” I glared at Tiernan and he winced.
“Amazingly enough, this is not Tiernan's fault, Seren,” Raza snapped. “Don't try to place the blame on him. You should have been clear with me. Honesty is paramount to the success of our marriage. If I can't have your complete fidelity, at least give me the truth.”
