Finally fed upwithalways having to defend myself, I slammed my hands onto the table, rattling dishes as I stood. “You want to know where myloyalties lie?I’mthe one who slayed my very own father!” I bit out aggressively, though Iwasn’tdone there. “Iam the one who has sacrificed my entire life for the good of my people—frombothof my nations.Iam the one who took down King HoraceHeartshireof the North in the Battle of Shadows. AndIam going to be the one who brings peace toallofInphis—even if Idietrying.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as the air in the room became further electrified with myzirilium—a storm lying in wait just beneath the surface of my skin. My breathing came quick and shallow as I stareddownthe table at the queen, refusing to look away from her intense gaze.
A few heartbeats of silencelater,she began to clap ever so slowly.
“Nowthat, young queen, is how you gain my respect,” she announced.
My brows drew togetheras I fought to keep my emotions—and myzirilium—in check. I was vaguely aware of Byn’s hand on my lower back, guiding me back down to sit in my seat once again.
Just at Byn’s touch, I was able to release the holdI’dhad on my Northernzirilium.
They weren’t necessary right now.
“My apologies, but hedidhave it coming,” her husband said. “You did the right thing.”
I loosened a breath, trying to steady myself as I responded quietly, “I know.”
“Now that you know everything, youmust know why we’re here,” Teagan said, her tone cautious.
“Hm?” QueenRividianhummed, as if we had all the time on the continent to spare.
“We want you to open your borders long enough for you all to help us win this war—once and for all. And we want access to your navy to do it,” Quinn spoke out, bold as ever.
The rulers looked shocked at her outspokenness, leaning back in their chairs as they glanced towards me and Byn.
“The general speaks with our voice when it comes to these things,” my husband said, refusing to correct or reprimand Quinn.
“Truthfully, we imagined this was what you all had come for,” the king responded, moving forward with the conversation after a breath of hesitation. “And my wife and Iare in agreement.We’lldo this for you all—lend our support, our soldiers, our navy. But we have a…stipulationof our own thatwe’dlike youThorntiersto consider.”
“And once you agree, we can finally eat,” the queen said, looking at the food before us that had gone untouched—and waslikely coldbynow. That was something Callum and Caelia had taught me during our journey—that in theIsles,nobody waspermittedto eat in the presence of the king and queen until the royals themselves had begun to dig in.
“Alright, I’ll bite,” Byn said, breezing past the comment from QueenRividian. “What do you want from us?”
At that, the two rulers shared a long look, a smirk growing on the queen’s lips as they finally looked back toward us.
“Our stipulation is quite simple, really,” she said airily.
And then KingRividianfinally revealed what it was they wanted from us.
“As this conversation seems to have brought to light, the SouthneedstheOcreinIsles. And as it turns out, we need the South, too.”He paused briefly, as if he wanted us to feel the full impact of what he was about to say. “As was done for centuries to strengthen royal and noble lines, wesimply request thatyourprincess marryourheir.”
Chapter Thirty
The feeling of sweat rolling down the side of my face reminded me far too much of how blood felt on my skin. My body didn’t seem to know if I should relish in it like I did with the prisoners back in Neokell, or panic as I did when I held my dying father in my arms.
“Focus, Dimitri,” Mother chided, shifting her weight subtly from side to side, as though she wasdebating onwhen to strike.
Deciding to beat her to it, I then launched toward her as she shifted her weight forward instead of backward. Fireball in hand, I raised it over my headbeforeslammingit down over her.
Realizing her error, her eyes widened slightly before she committed to the forward movementshe’dalready begun. She rolled under me as I was mid-air, avoiding the fire I had conjured to my palm. Her bodyseemed to rememberwhatever trainingshe’dhad many years ago.
Landing in a crouch as my fireball snuffed out, I panted heavily.
She still fought like a Southerner.
The first few days afterreturning toGatlyn Castle, I simply allowed Mother to rest and eat. I needed her to gain her strength, and now she was successfully back on the path to a healthy figure. After the first few days, though,she’dgrownantsy—and honestly,so had I. We decided to begin our training that night, starting with earth.She’dclaimed that rooting yourself in the earth was the easiest of my threezirilium, soI’dtaken her word for it.
What neither of us seemed to know at that time, though, was what would happen once thealychitestopped touching her skin. The momentI’dunclasped the special metal cuff from herankle,I’dbeen thrown back as Motherpracticallyerupted.
