“I’m not so sure about that last part. What the hell were you thinking, gambling for my life?”
“I was thinking I should probably save you.”
He seemed to be very skilled with his knives. Lora recalled the red glint of the blade. It might have been almandine, forged from the stone that could physically harm the fae. “Your little knives seemed more reliable than letting fate decide,” she said.
“I only had the two. One, now,” Eyden answered, patting his pocket.
Realisation dawned over her. It had all been a game, a pretence. He couldn’t have taken out half of them with just one knife. She shuddered and it wasn’t from the breeze that ruffled her hair, loosening her braid. “What if he had won?”
Eyden scanned her face. “I would have saved you either way, special one. But it doesn’t matter.”
“Why?”
His smile was somehow both pure and devilish. “Because I never lose.”
Chapter18
Amira
Her night had been agitated by terrible nightmares, the kind that Amira couldn’t remember when she woke up but that left her feeling deeply disturbed for the rest of the day. Yet when she wrote to her mother, she didn’t mention the nightmares. How could she confess her unhappiness? Her infinite sadness? She refused to inflict any more pain and worries on her mother. Amira knew that it would only reinforce the feeling of helplessness her mother had felt since Zain Rosston’s death eight years ago.
Once she had written her lies, Amira noticed a note had been left on her desk. Signed by Nouis, it said that her presence was requested for an important training session this morning at ten bells. Amira looked outside her window. The sun was already high in the sky—she was running late. Gathering her long skirt, she hurried out of her room.
* * *
Amira was out of breath when she finally reached the charming study. Nouis was sitting at the mahogany table, a large book open in front of him. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on Amira’s lateness or the redness of her cheeks. She was grateful for it.
Joining him at the table, she noticed that the page he had stopped at showed a portrait of Harten Adelway, Karwyn’s late father.
“His Majesty has requested that you be instructed on the ways of his kingdom,” Nouis said. “I’m certain you’ve already gained much knowledge, growing up as a princess, but your education as the future Queen of the Turosian Kingdom is vital.”
Amira was aware that her knowledge of her future kingdom was definitely lacking. Her father had provided her with the best education, but she wasn’t the one he had been grooming for the throne. And as for Wryen, he had purposefully kept her in the dark about her fiancé’s kingdom. About everything.
“I’m grateful to be able to learn,” she said. Amira had longed to be taken seriously. In Amryne, she had felt her brain waste away as Wryen cut every little thing she enjoyed out of her life. It had been a long time since she had been able to learn something new.
Nouis gestured to Harten’s portrait. “As you must know, this is His Majesty Harten Adelway, the last high king and the late King of Turosian. He liberated us from the Dark King and his reign as high king has allowed us to bring peace to our world and the human world. Karwyn is set to follow in his footsteps as the new high king.”
Everyone knew Harten Adelway had been leading the Seven Kingdoms after vanquishing the Dark King over seventy-five years ago. Who else could replace him but his son? Yet it was still undecided.
“Assuming he wins the contest,” Amira said, looking at Nouis.
Nouis seemed annoyed by her interruption. “It’s only a formality. His Majesty has been blessed by Falea, the Goddess of Fortune, and he comes from a long line of high kings. As his fiancée, you really shouldn’t be questioning his chance at victory.”
Amira lowered her head, hurt by Nouis’ sharp tone.
Nouis flipped the page. “This portrait of the Adelway line was done during the Dark King’s reign before Variel Sartoya was overthrown by King Harten,” he said in a sombre voice.
Amira lifted her gaze, taking in the Adelway family. She recognised Harten right away. He was joined by a beautiful woman, a man who resembled Harten who had an arm around a smiling young woman, and two children.
“The late king’s first wife was killed in the war. As was his brother’s, Lozlan Adelway’s, family,” Nouis explained. “Being queen is no easy fate, Princess Amira. There will always be enemies. Even with the Dark King long gone, we always have to be one step ahead of any brewing conflicts.”
Amira took in the smiling faces of a family who had been torn apart by needless violence. Any princess would have been happy to get married to the fae who was almost certain to be high king, yet in this moment, it had never scared her more. So much death.
It must have been a hard choice for Harten Adelway to banish his only brother. She didn’t know the specifics but she remembered it had been a huge scandal when Amira was younger.
“What will my role be as his wife? Will I join His Majesty at the council?” she asked, hopeful despite all odds. She wanted to be involved. To make sure nothing like the last war ever happened again.
Nouis turned the page, revealing another portrait of Harten Adelway. This time he was joined by a different young woman. Amira only had time to see her haunted eyes before Nouis quickly turned the page again. He stopped on a map of Parae, the capital of Karwyn’s kingdom.
