Page 143 of Winds of Ruin
Confused faces stared on. The room grew so silent you could hear the crackling of wicks in the candles on each table.
Lark let out a sigh of relief and squeezed my fingers that rested on her shoulder as she continued,
“King Mattock joins us in celebrating a special occasion. I would like to introduce Prince Dritan Mattock—by blood of the North, and by marriage to the Central Corridor. My husband.” As Lark raised Dritan’s hand in the air with hers, a glass broke.
It was Krait’s.
I might end up dead by his hand after all.
Whispers cracked through the silence. Sybilla approached the podium. Krait did not; he stood stone-still, looking both pissed off and stunned.
Wyeth and Cassidee had taken my place at El’s side, keeping her upright as she broke out into a fit of drunken laughter.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Sybilla’s glare leveled me.
Sources.She hadn’t changed a bit. She’d spit venom to avoid the fact that her daughter hadn’t come to her first.
“My son, the heir to the North Corridor, has married your daughter. I stand by their union,” I stated loudly enough for the room to hear.
“Bullshit,” my oldest friend spat back with no royal composure. Asterie and Fen gathered at her side, each holding on to an arm to prevent her from flinging herself at me with claws drawn.
“I was there to witness the union,” a deep voice chimed in, then Hurley emerged beside the podium. “They are bound by marriage and by Source power. As the intended heir of the Sahlms, I, too, support their union.”
And Source power?They were so young—and yet had bound their lives to each other’s.
Sybilla’s hands balled, and Asterie’s eyes widened. I hated getting a sliver of satisfaction from seeing them thrown and reeling for an explanation. For once, I’d known something before them.
“To the newlyweds, I extend the most heartfelt congratulations!” someone shouted, stepping beside Hurley. Regon, the young Prince from the West Corridor, raised his glass. I hadn’t realized he was in attendance; Hurley balked.
A show of support from the West Corridor would help convince every lord and lady in this room that their union would bring change—the good kind.
“What are you doing here?”I caught Hurley mouthing the words to the Prince.
A risky move, given the tenuous relationship between Corridors, but Regon merely smiled and sipped his drink. Maybethere was some hope for the West’s future relations—the Prince clearly had friends here.
The whispers grew louder; a few nobles hooted their praise.
Syb’s mouth hung open.
Fire would soon spew out, engulfing us all in whatever insults she could construct on short notice.
Asterie leaned over and soothed out, “You must settle down, at least for now. This isgoodnews, my Queen.”
I recognized that stubborn expression on Sybilla’s face. A pang of guilt settled in my gut for allowing such a public display.
Dritan pulled Lark to his side before positioning himself in front of her to shield her from the daggers Sybilla threw with her eyes.
Without hesitation, he lowered his voice and said, “I know this comes as a surprise, Queen Wymark. But please listen. I will love and support your daughter until my dying breath. I’d rather meet my end than see her face any danger alone.”
I shivered as it dawned on me—he intended to fight Caym at her side. With their bound Source magic, losing one meant we would lose them both.
Lark cast a pleading stare at her mother, whose tension had uncoiled only slightly at the boy’s words of commitment. I could see the gears turning in her mind; she realized his sacrifice, too.
He reminded me of a young, loyal Constable who would have let a Princess step on his heart if that’s what she’d so desired. Lark’s loving stare proved their story would be so much different from how mine and her mother’s had gone.
The Princess returned her attention to the ballroom and exclaimed, “Please carry on with the festivities! Join us in celebrating.” Lark motioned for the instruments to begin once more.
Sybilla pointed a shaking finger at me but then turned and stormed back to where Krait still stood like a livid statue. Iimagined he was thinking of a million ways to tear me and my newly announced heir apart.
