Byn was to my right, with Teagan and Margo on the other side of him. Matea was on my left with Laurence next to her, then Rayven. Laurence had subtly tried to beat Matea to be closest to me—an act of protection I appreciated—but ended up between Mattyand Rayven. Rayven, who had obviously beenattemptingto take a spot next to Matea, had gotten booted.
If Laurence realized the awkwardpredicamenthe’dfound himself in, hedidn’tportray it. He was too focused on drinking in the surrounding details, keeping an eye on each entrance and exit.
The rest of theValwainfilled inalmost therest of the table. Four empty chairs remained on the other side. The two across from Byn and me, we assumed, remained empty for the king and queen—if they ever graced us with their presence. Next to that set of chairs, though, stood two extrasfor their heir and eldest princess—or so I was guessing.
“That wouldn’t be a very intelligent move on their part,” Ezra responded to Matty from the other side of the table. “We’re the only thing standing between them and the North.”
Quinn swiftly reached over and grabbed her husband’s hand, squeezing. A warning, it seemed.
Byn leaned forward. “Ezra—”
“—is correct,” Queen Rividian finished for him.
All heads at the table snapped toward the far corner of the room, where I assumed a hidden door was, though the way the light bounced around in the crystals made it difficult to tell.
Next to her stood her husband, whohadn’tchanged since we last saw him. The queen, though, hadredressedintoanother gown—golden yellow to match the gold in her hair—that was even more revealing than thepreviousone,its neckline dangerously low.
Though the rulers before us had to be at least over twice my age, they hadretainedtheir youth and beauty impressively well.
Maybe ithad something to do with having peace in their kingdom for over the past decade.
Byn rose to his feet. “I apologize for his bluntness—”
“Please, save the pleasantries. And stay seated.We’rehere to join you,” the king said before they both crossed the space and tooktheir seats at the opposite end of the table. Before anybody could utter a word, two shadows that I recognized as Callum and Caelia squeezed out from under one of the other, more noticeable doors, and speared toward the table. Amoment later, the prince and princess were sitting next to their parents on their respective sides.
“Like my wife said, your friend Ezra here is correct—the only reason you’ve not been sent back home is because without you all, there’s nothing stopping the North from coming afterusnext.” KingRividianjerked his chin toward Ezra when mentioning his name.
“Though it seems you’ve already brought them here,” the queen added smugly, throwing a blatant glare my way.
“I understand that our union may strike you as odd, but Aviva has more than proven herself. She is my wife and queen, and she deserves respect—despite your opinions,” Bynstatedmatter-of-factly, not breaking eye contact with the queen across from us.
Something shifted slightly in her expression at the way hestoodhis ground, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
“She might have earned your respect, but what has she done to earn ours?” KingRividianquestioned. “Actually, let us start at the beginning. How did your union come to be?”
Before I could glance over at Byn to gauge his reaction and follow his lead, he placed a hand above my knee and squeezed softly. Encouragingly.
He was letting me handle this.
Callum and Caelia had been right. I would have to earn their respect my own way.
Taking a deep breath, I looked straight at the couple across fromme, andstarted from the very beginning.
Leaving out the part about how, for most of my life,I’dbeen certainI’dkilled my mother, I started with my father and the elixirs, claiming I began taking them after anaccident. From there, itspiraled into how my father had proposed giving my hand in marriage to Byn in exchange for peace between the North and South. Byn chimed in brieflyto mention thathe’dhave donenearly anythingfor peace after losing his parents, but that our union had been a blessing from the Stars after all. I started again with how my Southernziriliumbegan toemergeafterI’dstopped taking the elixirs, then skipped forward to when Aurora had come to warn us of the impending battle—and how that warning hadlikely savedlives, especially civilians.
When vaguely mentioning that my father had met his doom during that battle, the king interrupted. “King Horace is no more?”
“Who rules the North now?” the queen added.
Internallycringing, I answered, “My father has met his end, yes. My twin brother, Dimitri, now sits on theHeartshirethrone, and…he’sdecided to follow in our father’s footsteps.”
The rulers shared a brief glance, their shock evident.
“Carry on,” Queen Rividian directed.
Taking a deep breath, Iresumed withwhatwe’ddiscovered sincewe’dwon the war—with the help of the Isles. After that, I allowed some of theValwainto chime in on our revelations. Laurence described howwe’dnoticed the records not making sense, and how Matea’s suspicions had been enough of a push for us to pursue the matter. We recounted our time sneaking into the North—whereI could feel thesilent judgementradiating offthe king and queen—and the encampmentwe’dunveiled while there, as well as how ourziriliumhad been temporarily snuffed out.
In the end, thereason whywe’dcome all the way to the Isles was glaringly obvious.
