The scroll wasrolledup and passed down the table, but when it got into Ezra’s hands, Byn spoke out again.
“Stop,” he said. “I wantmyadvisor, Ezra, to read the contract now.”
Sighing, the queen waved a dismissive hand in response.
A stunned Ezra, whose eyes had widened, quickly recovered after having been given a clear task. He took his time, readingeach and everyword, untilhe’dread the contract in its entirety—twice.
“It’sas straightforwardascan be, Robyn. If not a little vague,” Ezra said, pointing toward a specific sentence on the scroll. “Like here, it simply says this union is between thesole,livingOcreinIsles heirand theeldestlivingPrincess of the South ofInphis. The phrasing is strange, in my opinion, butwe obviously know thatit’sreferencing Callum and Teagan.”
Byn nodded after hearing that, thanking Ezra for his efforts. A moment later, the scroll had made it to our end of the table, unrolled before Teagan, Byn, and me.
We allowed Teagan to read it beforeBynasked her once again if she was sure about this. When she said yes, he only hesitated a moment longer before picking up the feathered pen and signing his name at the bottom, though the motion looked as though it pained him.
When Byn handed the pen to me next, I looked over at Teagan.
I was usuallysogood at reading people, but that skillseemed to evademe then. Ididn’tknow if signing the contract was what was best for her—but I knew it was our best chance at beating my twin and the rest of the North.
After decades of the North winning the majority of the battles, I’d finally leveled the playing field for the South when I’d slayed my father. Now, we needed an advantage.
Repeating that in my mind—that weneededthis—I signed away any possibility Teagan had of ever deciding her future for herself.
***
“What among the Stars were youthinking?”
Byn paced back and forth across Teagan and Margo’s shared room.
AfterI’dsigned the contract, theRividianrulers had declared that it was time to eat—though hardly any of us were feeling hungry by that point. Margo, who had been so upset shecouldn’tstop her tears fromdropping into her plate, had left dinner early under the watchful eye of Lyra. She was somebody Caelia had given a nod of approval for, so Byn and Teagan had allowed their little sister to be led away.
Once we arrived back in our section of CastleAvyer,Bynhad marched into Teagan’s room after her. Wanting to make sure nobody else interrupted—and that my husbanddidn’tget too out of hand—I’dbeen at his heels, closing the door behind the three of us.
“I wasthinkingthat this sacrifice can help bring peace to our people,” Teagan said, exasperated. “And you can’t be upset at me now, when months ago you both did the same exact thing!”
Teagan looked between me and Byn as his pacing stoppedbefore turningto face his sister.
“That was a decision you and I madetogether, Teagan,” Byn responded, his voice raw with emotion. “You returned home as fast asLychenwould carry you, and wetalkedabout it—along with theValwain. Tonight, on the other hand, you cut me out of the equation—allof us out.”
I could feel the despair coming from my husband, threatening to overtake my own emotions—though my feelingsweren’ttoo far off fromhis.
“Because I knew you would say no! And wedon’thave time to negotiate with them, brother. We need to end thisnow!” Teagan exclaimed.
“We could’ve found another way. We could’ve offered them resources, or coin, or even Titan Wolves, for Stars’ sake! We could have given themanythingelse!”
“They’vethrived without our resources and our coin for over a decade, Robyn. And you know Motherwould’vebeen disappointed ifwe’dgiven up any of our wolves—especially with so few left,” Teagan reasoned.
“Mother would be disappointed that I’ve given upyou!” Byn’s voice broke.
The room went silent aside from the heavy breathing coming from the siblings before me. Just as I was about to open my mouth to add to the conversation, though, the door behind me creaked open.
Spinning on my heel, ready to slam the door in the face of whoever dared to interrupt, I froze in my tracks as my eyes lowered to see Margo’s tear-stained face poking into the room.
“Come here, Margo,” Teagan said softly, kneeling and opening her arms toward her sister. I watched, amazed yet stunned, at how quickly Teagan leveled out her breathing and plastered on a small smile.
I had a feeling Teagan had sacrificed a lot more than her future during her lifespan. Just in other ways than she had tonight.
Margo all but ran into the extended arms of her sister. I pushed the door shut after her, hoping to stall any other eavesdroppers.
“Did you enjoy your time with Lyra?” Byn asked her, lowering himself to the floor and sittingnext to them.
