Page 55 of The Sun King's Noon

How beautiful the creature must have been before it fell.

“I ask again.” Richard was sickeningly aware of how little control he held. Galdran would not harm the Frostheimers or the Naradeshi—their kingdoms were not his quarry, and injuring foreign dignitaries would invite wars on too many fronts. But the Ardenians were pieces on a board Galdran already considered his. “What do you want?”

Galdran pouted, then broke into a grin. He spun on his heel—the cape fanning in a glittering arc. “Come now, can I not visit? Can I not see my future kin?” He sauntered towards Elara, and studied her face. “Your sister is beautiful, beloved. She does so take after you.”

Richard’s nails bit into his palms. He ached to lunge, to shield, but rushing at the elf would change nothing. “Get away from her.”

Galdran drifted past Elara to Corwin. The boy’s pupils shuddered, flicking between Galdran and Richard.

“This one resembles a softer version of you.” Galdran tapped Corwin’s cheek and chuckled at Richard’s warning growl. “But there is a rashness about him. Oh—” He noticed Briony, who had half her face hidden behind Corwin’s back. “Your little one. What secrets she hides. How prettily she draws.”

Richard’s blood ran cold. “Was it you who sent the witches?”

Galdran shrugged. “They are simple creatures. Loyal to those who promise their coven a greater power.”

“Why?”

Galdran ignored him in favour of smirking at Kaelen. The knight’s glare burned, his jaw clamped tight. He looked as though he might shatter the hold through fury alone.

“My, my. This one despises me.” Galdran trailed a finger along the knight’s shoulder. “But that is not all, is it? No.” Galdran bent to meet Kaelen’s eyes and smiled knowingly. “All this time? Even now? How inconvenient.”

Richard’s fists tightened. He needed to distract, do anything it took to get Galdran away from those who belonged to him. “I tire of your dawdling. Get to the point.”

Galdran gave a long, theatrical exhale as he turned back to Richard. “Do you truly feel nothing on seeing me, Lumethain?”

A dozen snarling responses clawed at Richard’s throat, but he swallowed them all. “You have come through the veil for a reason.”

Galdran moved to Lord Malgrin by the platform. The old man was shielding himself with a chair.

“Between us, Lord Chancellor?” Galdran cupped his mouth and whispered loudly. “Your king does not particularly like you.”

“I said, get to the point,” Richard bit out.

Galdran raised both hands in mock surrender and turned to address the room at large.

“Since your king has been too shy to share, allow me.” He flourished an elaborate bow. “I, King Galdran of Gloamvarn, have graciously proposed marriage to your Sun King. I have offered him the honour of becoming my consort, ruling at my side as my people settle in Ardenia. All of us, together.” He spread his arms. “One kingdom and one people, blessed by the great gods.”

Richard caught the shock that flashed through Malgrin’s eyes, through the eyes of most in the hall.

“Your king has thus far refused, and I regret to say should his refusal persist, all of Ardenia will burn, and every man, womanand child flayed alive.” Galdran tutted and wagged a finger at Richard. “You should not hide matters from your council, beloved. They only mean to help.”

Richard glowered. He scrambled for a solution to this mess, but his mind felt sluggish, slow and numb, and his hands would not stop trembling.

He cannot remain.Richard clung to the fact. The elf could not step past the veil for long, despite the unicorn’s heart.

Galdran’s gaze had stopped on the woman behind Elara.

“Oh.” He gave a mock gasp, and in a flicker of light, appeared before Penelope. She was stuck in the motion of reaching for Elara’s arm.

Galdran chuckled. “The Estaran princess.” He glanced at Richard. “How very generous of you, Sun King. Did you really never tell your blood who killed your parents? Do any in your kingdom know?”

Richard’s stomach sank. He opened his mouth—to barter, to plead—but the playful glint in Galdran’s eyes made him shut it again. There was no point. This had been Galdran’s intent all along.

In another flash of light, Galdran flitted to the body of the dead witch. He crouched and pulled something from the woman’s coat pocket. The parchment was worn and bloodied, and with a hum, Galdran flickered back to stand before Elara.

He brushed blood from the parchment.

“Shall I? Yes, I rather think I shall.” Holding the letter up, he began to read. “King Marius, I am no fool. Trolls do not ordinarily encroach from the Sylari Realm. For them to attack within Ardenia’s Maranbog was unusual in the extreme. For them to target my parents was even more so. Think you I have no swords? Think you I hold no means to track the trolls’ chief hiding in my southern villages. Impaled on my blade and choking on his blood, he confessed to your payment.”