“I love your brother,” I said softly. Words that I wanted to tell Kaldur myself tonight. “I’ve loved him for a very long time. I know we don’t know each other very well. But I want you to know…I’ll be by his side, no matter what.”
Thaine studied me, his gaze flicking back and forth between my eyes. He seemed content with whatever he found. “They’re waiting for you,” he finally said, guiding me from the terrace and into the keep.
When we reached the candlelit dining hall, we found everyone already seated and dozens and dozens of different pairs of eyes turned to regard us. They swung from Kaldur, who was at the head of the table, an empty chair directly next to him. Mine?
My mate was standing, looking as though we’d interrupted a speech. I realized I’d lost track of time out on the terrace, just as I’d often done in the starlight hallway, daydreaming away.
But instead of looking irritated by it, Kaldur only gave me a grin that made my heartbeat triple in speed. I thought that, perhaps, it was so loud even Thaine could hear it next to me.
I was a mess. My windswept hair and flushed cheeks. The green dress was snagged around my ankles, twisting oddly around my unmistakable bump that caused more than a few whispers to reverberate through the dinner.
But the way Kaldur was looking at me? It made me feel like the most beautiful female in the universe.
I saw Syndras smiling at me from near my empty chair. Maudoric was in attendance as well, not as a keeper but as a guest, dressed in a pretty silver frock. I recognized a few of the nobles—old friends of House Kaalium, I knew. One House I did not see, however, was House Azola. Lydrasa hadn’t been invited.
It was an intimate dinner compared to the last one that had graced House Kaalium.
And compared to those in attendance, I looked perfectly out of place, and yet I only beamed at Kaldur, who made me feel like I finally belonged.
His voice raised again. “I was just thanking our guests for joining us for the moon winds,” he informed me, a little twinkle in his gaze, though it was curious when it traced to Thaine at my side. “You’re just in time.”
Even across the room, I felt pulled by his gaze.
It flicked briefly to his guests before it returned to me. “Tonight is a special night, not only because of the moon winds. At this table are some of our closest friends, friends of my family and of House Kaalium for generations. And tonight I wanted to introduce to you all mykyrana, Erina Denoren.”
Surprise whistled through me as more whispers erupted through the room. There were dozens of guests in attendance. Kaldur knew exactly what he was doing. By morning, all of Vyaan would know my name. They would know Kaldur had claimed a female of his own, they would know of our child.
I was glad that Thaine was holding my arm because my knees might’ve trembled under the weight of the stares. But I only kept Kaldur’s gaze, blinking back the sudden tears.
“Erina,” Kaldur said, and it was like the guests fell away. Until it was only us. “You’re everything I ever wanted—a soft place to come home to, an embrace I would forever seek. Once I was too blind and proud to see that you are the only person in this universe for me. But never again.”
This was a very public declaration of his love, romantic and stunning. It was a new start, with my name intertwined with his for all of Vyaan to know.
I was warm and flushed. I swore I even heard Syndras sniff at the end. This was like something out of my stories, only made real.
Then I heard a voice that cut through the warmth like an icy shard.
“That was very touching,” Lydrasa of House Azola declared. “I knew you were always a romantic at heart,Kyzaire.”
She strode into the dining hall in a beautiful red dress from the opposite door, closest to the entrance. Kaldur’s expression darkened.
“Sorry I’m late,” Lydrasa said. “Where should I sit?”
CHAPTER 48
KALDUR
“How dare you,” Lydrasa hissed when I pulled her into an empty room out of earshot. “For centuries House Azola has always been at your table, Kaldur. It’s the highest of insults. Everyone is already talking. And if you thought I’d lie down and?—”
“You’re lucky I didn’t do worse,” I said simply, keeping my temper in check.
But just knowing that Lydrasa’s betrayal had only driven a larger wedge between my mate and me, she was lucky I hadn’t made an example of her entire family. Once, House Kaalium had not been sodiplomatic. There was a reason my ancestors had once been feared. Never had I been tempted to return to such use of power, but with Lydrasa, I wasreallyfuckingclose.
What stopped me was the realization that I didn’t want to be that kind of leader. For a socialite, her own punishment would be the expulsion of her House from noble society, of which she’d placed the highest of values. It would be a slow death. And only that would satisfy me.
If it was known that House Kaalium didn’t do business with House Azola any longer, if they were no longer welcome to thekeep, others would want to know why. And they would discover that Lydrasa had betrayed my trust, that she’d forged a letter in my hand with the sole purpose of sowing discord within my own family. She’d tried to keep mypregnantblood mate away from me, making her believe that I’d turned my own back on her.
Just remembering that made my blood boil, but I kept my temper in check. My mate was in the next room, as were dozens of otherinvitedguests.
