“Not impossible.” The words leave me with certainty. “We’ll find a way.I’llfind a way. I’ll search every line of the trial laws for a loophole. I’ll enter, and I’ll fight, and I’ll win. And when I do, you’ll be my wife. I won’t accept any other future.” My tone is filled with determination, with the raw vow already burning in my blood.
She twists in my lap, straddling me now, her violet eyes glistening with unshed tears as they catch the glowworm light. My hands settle instinctively at her hips, holding her as though she might slip away.
“Promise?” she breathes, so quiet I almost miss it.
I lean forward until my forehead presses against hers, until the only thing I can see are those beautiful, violet eyes. “I promise, Renya,” I whisper, her name reverent on my lips.
Her arms wind around my neck, her face burying against my skin, and I feel the beat of her heart in her chest. “I only want a future with you. I couldn’t survive a life without you beside me.”
“Yes, you could,” I answer softly, though it hurts to say it. “You are stronger than you know, love. But you won’t have to. I’ll never leave you.”
She lifts her head again, her gaze steady despite the tears shimmering there. “Even if it means standing against the entire court?”
“Even then.” My voice is iron, unshakable. “There isn’t a force in this world or the next that could tear me from you.”
I kiss her then, pouring into it everything that words can’t say. My devotion, my desire, and the vow I’ll never stop making. That nothing, not kings or gods or death itself, will ever keep me from her. She has owned my heart and soul since we were children, and without her, my world would cease to exist. If I must fight courts, burn kingdoms, or fall in battle, so be it. Even in death, I would claw my way back to her. Always.
Chapter 43
?---- Serenya ? ----?
It’s the morning of the Divine Ceremony. My father has still not woken. But he hasn’t worsened, either. The black veins remain faint upon his skin, lingering at the place they retreated to, but they have not spread further. It is a small mercy, one I cling to.
I linger in my parents’ chambers as long as I can, sitting at his bedside with my hand curled over his. Before I leave, I call shadowlight to my palm and sweep it gently over him, to ease what pain he might feel even in unconsciousness, and to hold the sickness at bay a little longer.
Gaius, who has been standing guard outside the door, falls into step behind me as I leave. By custom, I must be shadowed by a personal guard, even within the walls of the palace where I was raised. For two decades, that duty has belonged to Torin, but after all that has gone on between us…I could not bear it, not today. Gaius is temporary, until Torin and I can find our footing again. It should have been my priority sooner. But with my father’s life so uncertain, I could think of little else.
As we walk the winding halls, my thoughts turn unwillingly to Queen Elowen. She will be here today, stepping through a portal just before the ceremony begins. If she lingers for the banquet after, perhaps I can pry something from her, some hint of her plans. I will have to tread carefully, though. I cannot let her suspect that we are already watching.
And, of course, there is Koen. I have decided that I will tell him today. At the banquet, or after. I will not let another day pass without him knowing how I feel about him.
When I reach my tower, Gaius takes his post outside while I slip inside and close the door softly. I barely step into my bedroom before halting.
“Dimitri. Ravelle.” My lips curve into a smile. “Don’t you know better than to sneak into a princess’s bedchamber?”
Dimitri smirks, lounging far too comfortably by my window. “Kallan used to. I thought I’d give it a try at least once.”
Ravelle slips past him with a toss of her pale pink hair, the skirts of her scandalously slit gown swishing around her legs. She drops a polished box onto my bed with dramatic flair. “You can scold him later. We brought you something.”
Curiosity sparks through me. I cross to the box and lift the lid, gasping softly. “Another gown?” I glance up at them, startled and delighted.
“Don’t get used to it,” Dimitri warns with mock severity. “This is the last one. But today is a big day for your human pet. You should look the part and make him eat his heart out.”
I narrow my eyes at his choice of words but turn back to the gown, unable to stop my smile.
Ravelle leans against the bedpost, eyes glittering. “Make sure you wear it for him, Serenya. Trust me, men are far easier to handle when they’re on their knees.”
I shake my head, biting back a laugh, and step forward to clasp Ravelle’s hand briefly. “Thank you. Both of you. I’m glad you’re here. I know it isn’t easy being around the fae with them still nursing their hatred for your kind.”
“Let them stare,” Dimitri says with a flash of fangs. “It won’t keep us from being here for you, Ren. Besides, we rather enjoy their stares.”
I roll my eyes, but my lips betray me with a twitch of amusement.
Once they’re gone, I bathe, and my most trusted maid, Cordelia, helps me dress and do my hair.
The gown is breathtaking—midnight silk threaded with molten gold, as though the night sky itself had been caught and draped over me. The skirts fall in sweeping layers, scattered with flecks of light that shift when I move. The bodice gleams with curling gold embroidery shaped like runes, fitting close to my waist before unfurling into swirls along the hem.
Cordelia braids small sections of my hair, leaving the rest to spill in white waves down my back. The dark streaks framing my face remain loose, as I prefer. A crown of blackened gold, its lattice set with deep gemstones, settles upon my brow.
