I will never doubt her again.
- King Richard
The air buzzes with a current of unease, strengthening with every second Arienna stays gone. Nicholas fidgets behind me, causing the pew to creak rhythmically. Jace glances in all directions, undoubtedly planning a way to escape. Even the Dragons are starting to show signs of stress.
I, on the other hand, trust my wife completely. Whatever is occurring, I’m certain she’ll figure out a way to deal with it.
Sheisthe queen of Raza.
When the doors finally open behind me, the tension in the room rushes out, as if through an open dam. The Court looks up as one, and I pivot to face her fully. At the sight of her, I see red.
Literally.
She is absolutely covered in it.
Her eyes on me, she giggles.
My four wings snap open, and I’m in front of her in a heartbeat. One hand grabbing her chin, I tilt her face up. “Is any of this yours?” I demand. If anyone laid a hand on my wife –
“I don’t think so. I mean, I could be on my period as they are really irregular and I don’t keep track. But it might’ve been over four weeks, I think, and my whole body aches as if it’s started, so –” She swallows. “But I think… I think the back pain is just from the stress? Does your body do that when it sees a room full of blood, or do I need to go check my underwear?” She giggles harder. “Though I don’t have any panty lickers with me, but gods, can you imagine how many panty lickers it’ll take to clean me up right now?” She takes a deep, shuddering breath. “But –”
“What happened?” I murmur.
“Yon–” She stops, her eyes going wide. “I don’t want to lie to you?” she whispers instead, repeating what I told her after I stabbed Lief.
My heart softens. “Whatever happened, you can tell me.”
Her mouth opens and closes as her eyes plead with me.
“Your Majesty,” Petre says. “Where are our seconds?”
With a deep shuddering breath, Arienna pulls her chin from my grip. Trusting her to be okay, I step back despite every part of me wanting to fly her away from here.
Turning, she gestures for Fabia and Irin to come inside. Her best friend looks at me grimly. She, too, is covered in blood, though not as much as my wife. I can see maybe one or two spots that are free of any stains.
As Fabia and Irin march between the pews, carrying large bloody bags in each hand, my stomach twists. I walk behind the three of them, up to the podium. There, I stop, flicking my eyes to Jace. His hands rest near two of his blades, and the look he shares with me is a clear warning. I am walking out of here a free man one way or another.
Arienna signals for the other women to drop the bags. She picks up one of them, her arm muscles flexing under the strain. Lugging it up to the table in front of Petre, she places it on the ground, then goes back for the others.
With the last one, she lifts it onto the table. Takes a short break as she breathes hard. Then she opens the bag and lifts it higher before tipping it upside down. Three heads fall out, landing with solidthumpsbefore rolling across the table.
Under the stunned silence of the Court, she releases the contents of the other bags. Some of them are so disfigured it’s hard to tell who is who. My stomach twisting, I look at the back of my wife, wondering for a fleeting moment if she is going to end up like Seqora – a woman lost to madness.
Feeling Jace’s eyes on me, the same worry mirroring mine, I shake my head.
My queen is nothing like my older sister.
Whatever happened, I know she didn’t kill them herself. Someone else must have done it, and she’s protecting them.
Fabia, perhaps.
Or Evangeline.
But not my wife.
Not my sweet, innocent wife who keeps wasps as pets because she sees the good in them.
“There,” Arienna says, her voice cracking under a soft giggle. “I have released them. From the bags.” Another giggle. “You never said they had to be ‘alive’. Probably because you didn’t think they’d die, but that’s a you – yous?” She tilts her head to the side, pausing her fast ramble for a second, then nods. “Yous problem. Richard didn’t think Evangeline would decline his marriage proposal. He literally told me she wouldn’t. Yet, she did, so…”
