“Everyone will be staring at you, waiting for your first mistake. The court of Turosian is ruthless, as is Karwyn. Don’t expect to make any friends.” He stopped to stare at the fear spreading on her face. “The only person who you should care to be liked by is your fiancé.” His glacial tone had made her want to vanish forever.
Waves of unknown voices and music were waiting for them on the other side of the doors, a new world that she had to call her own now. Wryen pulled on her arm, turning her attention to him. She could feel his gaze on her body, scrutinizing every little detail, every little imperfection. He grabbed her chin.
“Chin up, sister,” he said with a wicked smile. “Try to make a good impression for once.”
Amira’s chin was burning from his touch. She felt his fire magic just underneath the surface, ready to claw its way out of Wryen’s skin to burn her flesh. One little move from her brother and the fire could feed on her. But she knew he would never do it. As all fae, she would heal quickly, but ruining her beauty even for one instant would surely be noticed. No, Wryen preferred more invisible torments. Insidious ones that made Amira live in fear of making the wrong move. His fire was for the people that dared defy him and Amira had never had the strength to fight back.
She took a big breath when the door opened in front of her. She felt herself moving forward, almost dragged by her brother. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear. She didn’t quite hear it.
“Smile, it’s a party,” he repeated. Amira forced her lips to showcase a shining smile. “Much better.”
“His Majesty Wryen Rosston, King of Allamyst and his sister, Princess Amira Rosston,” she heard a man say. She felt her brother’s hand tighten on her arm.
The crowd parted in front of them. Looking at the other fae’s clothes, Amira truly felt out of place. No one was wearing anything half as extravagant as her dress. She wasn’t sure if she was imagining all the mocking whispers or if people were actually making fun of her. Or maybe it was Wryen’s voice that was whispering such thoughts to her. She straightened her back, trying to convince herself of her own confidence.
On the other side of the room, she saw Karwyn waiting on his throne. His pale face was completely devoid of emotion. Pure boredom, that was his aura. Next to him were Nouis and Rhay. The colourful outfit Rhay was wearing made Amira feel more at ease. Her smile almost made its way to her eyes but a sense of decorum stopped her. Her attention should be focused on her fiancé, not on his advisor.
To avoid the staring faces of the crowd, she looked straight ahead, her eyes focusing on her future husband. Trying to channel some affection for the man she was promised to, she couldn’t chase the sour taste in her mouth. On the contrary, she sensed her brother revelling in the attention they were given.
The final steps towards Karwyn seemed to last hours. And then suddenly, she was in front of him. He looked different than the boy she remembered from her childhood. His hair was still golden, swept away from his face to reveal sharp cheekbones, but she didn’t think his eyes had always looked this haunted.
Her brother bowed deeply and she followed his example. When she stood straight again, she met Karwyn’s gaze. Maybe haunted hadn’t been the correct word.Indifferencewas more like it.
“Your Majesty, may I present to you my sister, Lady Amira Rosston.” Wryen reluctantly added, “Princess of Allamyst. It is my honour to express in front of Your Majesty and your court my intention to give you her hand in marriage.” Wryen placed Amira’s hand into Karwyn’s open one. Her fingers laid there, flat and lifeless.
“I gladly accept Princess Amira as my fiancée,” he said. His face was telling a different story. He didn’t even glance at the bracelet around her wrist.
Amira stayed silent, staring at her small hand lost in Karwyn’s. She knew what to expect when Wryen had told her that she was to be engaged to Karwyn in order to secure a powerful alliance for their kingdom. She had been raised to be a wife and a queen. But stupidly, Amira had dreamt that she would feel something when she’d look at the person she would be spending her whole life with. As she stared into Karwyn’s eyes, she realised the thought was nothing more than a childish dream.
“I hope you had a pleasant journey to Parae, princess,” Karwyn said.
Amira was pleasantly surprised by his question.
“I did, my king, thank you. I took great pleasure in seeing your lovely capital. I do hope I will get the chance to visit more soon. Maybe you could show me around?”
Karwyn looked quite annoyed by the proposition. “I will see if my duty allows me the freedom to answer your request.” He turned his gaze to Wryen. “The contract has been prepared. If you want to read it beforehand, do so now.”
Amira was taken aback by Karwyn not offering her the chance to read it too. After all, she was the one who was going to sign it, not her brother. Even if their engagement had already been decided months ago and she had never had a say in it, Amira had still entertained the thought that she would have at least a little agency in the matter.
“I trust Your Majesty,” said Wryen in a falsely sweet tone.
“You should always read a blood contract. After all, this one concerns your precious sister.”
Amira’s blood turned cold. She felt Wryen’s burning hand on the nape of her neck. A silent protest died in her mouth. She watched Karwyn gesture to Nouis, who took out a scroll from his coat’s pocket and offered it to Wryen. With relief, Wryen’s hand left her skin to accept the scroll.
He unrolled it and Amira tried to read some of it. There wasn’t much written. The most important article was that Karwyn and Amira could only proceed with the wedding once Karwyn was selected for the High King Contest, which would take place at the end of the year. Three kings or queens would be given the opportunity to showcase their power in the contest. The winner would be the next high king or queen of Liraen, ruling over all seven kingdoms.
Amira would have expected the wedding to take place after the contest of power, not before. She thought Karwyn would be too busy preparing for the contest to plan a wedding. But maybe he didn’t need much preparation. After all, he was already the interim high king, taking on the title after his father’s passing until the contest decided who would rule moving forward.
A smaller written paragraph offered Karwyn the opportunity to renounce the wedding before that time if Amira was proven unfit to be his queen. Amira was expecting this clause, after all, Karwyn was the one with most of the negotiation power. But it still pained her to see that she wasn’t also offered the opportunity to reject Karwyn.
Karwyn’s face stayed emotionless. Rhay seemed bored, his gaze longingly set on the empty dance floor. When he turned his head, his eyes met hers briefly before meeting the king’s. Rhay’s easy smile eased Karwyn’s stern expression for a few seconds.
“This seems all right,” Wryen said, nodding. “More favourable to you, but still all right.”
“Then let us sign,” Karwyn replied, his expression void of emotion again.
Nouis quickly brought him a fountain pen and Karwyn pricked his finger with the sharp nib. Droplets of blood coated the iron part of the pen. The interim high king signed with a flourish before giving the pen to Amira. With some hesitation, she pricked her finger. A drop of blood fell on the contract, staining it with a bright red dot. Amira felt the burning eyes of the crowd on her back. But the most pressing ones were her brother’s.
