* * *
Lora almost didn’t hear the door open, yet her attention snapped to Layken standing in the doorway.
She was now dressed up in a sky blue satin dress that almost reached the floor. The long sleeves were see-through, sparkling like thousands of tiny stars when they caught the light. The high neckline hid most of her barely visible bruises and the small crystal around her throat.
She had braided a section of her dark blonde hair on her left side as she used to do at the beginning of her journey. It felt fitting for the end.
“I thought I told you to knock,” Lora said, taking in his guard uniform. He had more weapons strapped to his belt than usual. She’d heard the last public event, Falea Night, hadn’t gone so well, so maybe they had added security.
“Was I interrupting something?” Layken asked.
Lora gave him a glare; she couldn’t very well answer that honestly. Layken’s knowing grin unsettled her, reminding her of her weird conversation with him a couple of days ago. Without further comment, Layken stepped aside and gestured for her to get moving.
Lora tried to calm herself as best as possible. There was no point in delaying it, so she gazed at her room one last time before walking out, knowing full well she would never return here.
Layken led her to a carriage where, to her surprise, Rhay was already seated. As Layken went to sit next to the driver, Lora quickly took a seat opposite Rhay, pulling the carriage door shut. Rhay remained quiet for once, his body tense. This would be a hard day for him too.
The carriage started moving, the noise of wheels hitting stones and dirt filling the small space. The quiet was unnerving.
“I’m surprised Karwyn isn’t here,” Lora remarked. It was unlike him to spare her his dreadful company.
In usual Rhay fashion, he removed an onyx-coloured flask from his baby blue jacket. His trousers were the same shade, and he’d applied a faint layer of blue glitter under his eyes.
Rhay took a swig before replying, “He’s arriving at the plaza with Amira. With the wedding fast approaching, they have to show aunitedfront. Of course, if he knew the wedding was never going to happen, he would have saved himself the show.” His laughter sounded dark and hopeless.
Lora reached out, putting a hand over the one holding his flask. “I know this isn’t easy for you. I want you to know that I’m grateful. I really am. What you’re doing for me, for Amira, for everyone, itmatters.”
Rhay held her gaze for a few seconds, the clouds in his eyes moving aside just a bit. Then a smirk graced his lips, not fully reaching his eyes. “I’m not ready to let you go, little Adelway. I have to kick your ass again and give you a new dagger to practise with.”
Lora could feel fresh tears gather in her eyes, but she smiled through them. “It’s a deal.”
Rhay moved his head to the window, and Lora did the same. The capital Parae stretched out in front of them. Even though it was barely dusk, the stars already burned bright over the city. One in particular caught Lora’s eye. It shone at the forefront, more intense than all the rest, as if Caelo really did watch over them more closely than any other day.
Guilt twisted her insides. Not because of Karwyn, but for Rhay. Lora hadn’t been completely honest with him, but she knew she couldn’t be. Too much depended on today. He didn’t know Karwyn would very likelynotwalk away from this, at least not unless Lora was the one falling.
She and Amira had only told Rhay that Karwyn had to be forced into abdicating. They left out the fact that their plan wasn’t a likely one. Karwyn would never abdicate, she was sure of it. This day would end in death, one way or another.
Her heart beating faster, Lora took in the city surrounding them through the carriage window. No going back now.
Pivoting towards Rhay, Lora said, “No one said we’d have to becompletely sober for this.”
He looked back at her, brows raised.
Her gaze drifted to the shiny metal in his hand. “Pass me that flask, will you?”
* * *
Not even half an hour later, Lora was standing beside Karwyn on the wooden platform at the city plaza. He hadn’t so much as greeted her. On his other side, Amira was clenching her hands together tightly. She could see Rhay, Nouis, and Layken close to them, on the edge of the platform. More guards had been placed all around them, at least twenty of them. There might be others who Lora couldn’t see from her position.
The crowd seemed restless, but no one tried to storm the gate separating the royals from the other fae. She couldn’t help but notice that no one seemed ecstatic to be in the presence of their king. Karwyn had to have noticed too, but she doubted he cared.
Karwyn took Amira’s hand and stepped forward to address his people, his victims. “My dearest people, I am glad to be joined by all of you today to honour Caelo, the One who watches over the Sky, over all of us. He is the creator of everything we hold dear. Our home Liraen, our gods and goddesses who have helped us prosper and conquer, and our own power that flows through our veins and gives us life.” He briefly glanced at Lora. “Tonight, we shall watch the stars burn bright as they bring us closer to Caelo on this holy day. We shall—”
A sharp sound zapped through the air, halting Karwyn’s speech. His eyes widened, his face turning murderous as an arrow with a dangerous red glint embedded itself in his right shoulder.
Guards rushed forward, but a voice cut through the frozen crowd. “Anyone who moves gets a nasty surprise.”
Lora recognised Elyssa’s mocking tone. She couldn’t spot the redhead or anything out of place.
