If she does, we might not be leaving this throne room alive.
Ronan holds up a hand, but the applause is still going. I don’t get it. This is the damn court. All of these people have been here before, all except me. What are they all clapping about?
How hot their king is?
Ronan tries once again, and this time, the crowd slowly quiets. I listen carefully to his voice. “Welcome, all, to the Great Festival.”
The voice is quite a bit like Soren’s. Ronan’s voice is higher and clearer, but he has also raised it a bit to call out to the crowd.
“The first Great Festival in over ten years!”
There’s a lot more applause and more than a few cheers. Ten years without a multi-month party. How ever did they survive?
“The Festival will be in five parts to honor the five gods. The first will be the Festival of Sport to honor Sai, God of War, the Hunt, and the Forge. There will be a grand tournament followed by a hunt. May Sai’s best champions reign victorious.”
I wonder what we could be hunting. There isn’t much game in the city, nor is there in the desert, from what I know. They’ll probably bring in some poor creature from our woods, which will struggle enough in unfamiliar territory to give these soft bodies a chance.
“The next will be the Festival of Arts to honor Kerensa, Goddess of Beauty, Love, and Voyages. Artists and performers from all around Selara will delight us with galleries, shows, and countless balls. And, as you all know they’re my favorite, one of the balls will be masked, so get your masks now before they’re gone.”
Interesting. Soren turned me away from the mask vendor—could he have had another reason for doing so? Although the guard at the door seemed to corroborate his story, so maybe it was just a coincidence.
“The third will be the Great Feast to honor Arnan, God of the Sea, the Harvest, and…the Feast.”
There’s a bit of laughter at that. I’m surrounded by sycophants and idiots. How can they justify holding a feast while my people are starving?
“And the final Festivals will be held together to honor the twin gods Vayla, Goddess of the Sun, Light, and Life, and Vahlo, God of the Moon, Shadow, and Death. The Festival of Night will lead directly into the Festival of Day, a full twenty-four-hour party to round out the season in style.”
Round out the season. So it seems the festival will be at least three months then, as we expected. Three months to do what we’ve planned.
I stop the thought there.
“I hope you will all participate in each festival to its fullest. The past decade has been…”
Ronan pauses, looking around the room for something. A few people whisper. I glance back at Adria and Larus, who look at each other and then at Ronan.
Whatever he’s searching for, he doesn’t seem to find it. “The past decade has been challenging for all of us.”
Challenging?That’s what he has to say?
“But we are together now, one people. One kingdom. One glory.”
Unbelievable. I knowexactlywhat he’s saying. We’re one kingdom now, and you can fuck off it you don’t like it.
Well, I don’t like it. I don’t feel like joining hands and singing songs about the glory of Selara. I want justice for my people. For what they’ve taken from us. I want to see our families fed and happy. I’m tired of sitting back and watching our people suffer.
I shouldn’t have come here. I don’t know how I’m supposed to smile and bow and pretend this man hasn’t ruined my life. Our lives. I want to look back to see Adria’s response, but Ronan fixes his eyes on me.
The air doesn’t seem to be filling my lungs.
Of course he would say that,I try telling myself.It isn’t personal. It isn’t just about us. He’s trying to keep the peace.
But it feels personal. It felt personal yesterday when he insulted Adria. It feels personal now, even though he hasn’t so much as looked at me today until this moment.
“We will honor the gods and celebrate our—Taran, on my right.”
Ronan points directly at me.
Fuck fuck fuck…
