Solarius lurched from the sofa, pinning his younger brother with a hard stare. “Mind your tone, Nyx. You’re jumping to conclusions. No one ever said anything about a wedding.”
“No.” Ariesian’s tone was clipped, but he remained steadfast and composed in his chair. “He’s not jumping to conclusions, he’s projecting. Because he doesn’t want to marry Lady Aria Skyhelm.”
“I’d marry her,” Tovian mumbled, folding his arms across his chest. He blew a loose strand of dark blue hair out of his face. “She’s perfectly lovely by all accounts. And beautiful as well.”
“I do not deny that she is fair of face.” Nyxian shoved his hand through his short, messy waves, then dropped into a nearby chair. “I just don’t understand why I must marrynow.”
Ariesian’s eyes rolled to the dark wooden beams stretching across the ceiling. Exasperation weighed on his posture. “We’ve already discussed this. I want every house in Aeramere united with House Celestine as soon as possible. Once you wed Lady Aria, all we will need is a marriage with House Terensel.”
Nyxian groaned and slumped over, dropping his head into his hands.
Kjeld was more than accustomed to the bickering between the Starstorms, but even he had to admit the depth of pity he felt for Nyxian. He couldn’t imagine being forced to marry someone with whom he had no relationship. Or interest. Or even desire. Such a match sounded positively dreadful, and he could understand the younger Starstorm’s avoidance and frustration. That being said, if he had never come to his senses about Caelian, there was a very real chance she could have been married off to some other fae of status and wealth. And for that, he would gladly go to war.
“Let us circle back to Prince Aspen,” Drake interjected with smooth authority. “We all witnessed his ability to shift into the Eyrewolfe at Novalise and Asher’s wedding. Strange as it is, if his mother is a Druid, then what do we know of his father?”
“I know for a fact that Prince Aspen accidentally mauled and killed his father.” Asher adjusted his spectacles, then smoothed his lapel, like he hadn’t just announced the most shocking revelation of the evening. Everyone stared as though they half expected him to say he was lying. “It happened when he was a youth. No older than fifteen years, if I recall. Prince Aspen shifted for the first time and was unable to control himself in beast form. His father tried to get him to shift back, to regain control of his mind, but he ultimately failed and died in the process.”
Kjeld clamped his jaw shut to keep it from hanging open.
“How…” Solaris canted his head to one side, sizing up the fire lord. “How do you know all this?”
“Books.” Asher shrugged, adjusting his spectacles once more. “It was all very quiet, I’m not even sure they held a funeral for him, but every birth and death in Aeramere must be recorded.”
“Not surprising to anyone.” Nyxian lifted his head, shoving his tangle of wavy hair back from his face. “And do you make it a habit to read birth and death recordings for fun?”
“I did.” Asher watched him carefully over the rim of his spectacles. “Until I met your sister.”
Nyxian’s mouth fell open, but no words came out. He gaped at Asher, unable to form a proper comeback. But it didn’t matter. Because Solarius strolled over, popped his brother’s mouth shut, and muttered, “That’ll teach you.”
Ariesian rubbed vigorously at his temples. “Moving on…”
“So Prince Aspen’s father was fae.” Kjeld worked out the messy details in his mind. “And the prince, through no real fault of his own, shifted into the Eyrewolfe and killed his father. And then…”
He trailed off, not entirely sure what to make of this newfound knowledge.
“I’m fairly certain Elowyn blamed him for it,” Ariesian mused, a line of concentration knitting across his brow. “We are near the same age, he’s slightly older. I wouldn’t say we were good friends at the time, but he certainly kept to himself more afterward. Over the years though, that was when his aura started to shift. He rebelled. Turned cruel and cutthroat. Made his animosity toward his mother known.”
“Can’t say I blame him.” Solarius walked over to the gilded rolling cart loaded with decanters of wines and whiskeys, then poured himself a tall glass of water. “Most of us have been in a similar position.”
“Indeed,” Tovian agreed. “But the real question is this…can we trust him?”
Ariesian considered him, his fingers drumming a haphazard rhythm on the arms of his upholstered chair. “If his intentions toward Sarelle are genuine, then?—”
“No. No, no.” Nyxian stood abruptly and threw his arms out to the side. “Absolutely not, that is out of the question. You arenotmarrying our sister off to wolf boy, and I don’t care if it meets your quota of uniting the houses. I’ll not see Sarelle hauled offinto the woods and devoured by some bastard shifter who can’t control his animalistic urges.”
He dropped back into the chair and raked his hands through his messy hair. “The last thing I want is for any of us to discover our sister’s mutilated body while we’re off having a round of starshoot.”
“Pending marriages aside,” Drake continued, kicking his legs out along the length of the settee. “Let us say Prince Aspen is on our side?—”
Tovian shot forward. “Have you seen a prophecy then?”
Drake faltered, a line creasing his brow. The god of shadow and prophecy’s dark green gaze flicked to Kjeld then bounced back to Tovian. “I have seen many prophecies. But?—”
“That’s right,” Nyxian interjected, snapping once before pointing a finger in Drake’s direction. “You mentioned something about the prophecy for Aeramere being unclear. That you couldn’t discern if the prince or queen was at fault, and that prophecies can often change course.”
“Could you not just…” Tovian glanced around the sitting room as though he was looking for something. “Disappear into the shadows and check?”
“What?” Drake asked, his face devoid of all emotion.
