I clasp her hand and splay it over my heart. Keeping our gazes locked, I raise a hand.
Thunder rumbles, and Mayah stiffens. I squeeze her hand tighter where it rests on my chest.
She matches her breaths to mine, slow and measured, and the panic ebbs in her eyes.
“Brace now, baby,” I whisper. In her eyes, there’s so muchwonderand affection, that I almost fool myself into believing she feels the same way I do.
A small bolt of lightning strikes a spire jutting from one of the palace towers.
A beat of silence.
Then, thunderous applause. The guests rise and clap at my modest display like I’m Faerahzar the Great.
When the sky clears, Mayah’s shoulders relax. I press a lingering kiss to her knuckles. The officiant completes the ceremony.
The audience stands, clapping once more.
It’s done. I am Mayah’s husband.
I cradle her face, slanting my lips over hers, coaxing her mouth open with my tongue. My blood burns for her, desire simmering in my chest. When she arches into me, fingers clutching my shoulders, it’s an effort not to ravish her mouth the way I want to.
When I pull back, her eyes glimmer with desire.
She tears her gaze away, as though she’s afraid I’ll see it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Whatisit?”Iask the head security adviser, tugging on the itchy collar of my formal tunic. I haven’t had a chance to change—after the marriage ceremony, Mayah’s handmaids whisked her away, while Jeyzar ushered me into the council chambers.
“I’ve heard whispers, sire,” Jeyzar starts, deep lines tightening around his mouth. “Opposition to the alliance with Tundrayn. The wounds of war are not so easily healed.”
My hand is raking through my hair before I realize it. “Anything specific?”
“No, sire. Just rumors. I’ll double the number of guards planned for the reception tonight.”
“Triple them.”
He nods, hastily jotting down notes.
The door creaks open, and a palace guard enters—Maynard or Mayzar, I can’t quite recall. Harmless, but always angling for a way into my good graces.
“Sire,” he greets, dropping into a low bow. His long black hair nearly grazes the floor. “I was looking for you. Manycongratulations on your marriage. I wish you and the new princess many happy years together.”
My neck prickles.
This. Fucking.Liar.
The pinpricks recede, leaving crackling fury in their wake.
He doesn’t wish us happiness. Does he plan to harm Mayah? Is he the source of one of these rumors?
“Get back to your post,” I growl. Thunder rumbles in the distance.
He blanches, mouth dropping open. When I say nothing further, he bows again, then scurries from the room.
“Remove him from tonight’s rotation,” I snap, turning toward Jeyzar. “And from tomorrow onwards, he’ll patrol the capital. I don’t want him on palace grounds.”
The older man merely nods, face stoic, as he jots another note in his cramped scrawl.
