A Dance Of Twilight: (A Fae Dark Fantasy Romance Stand-Alone )

Chapter 40

Sitting at my desk in my study, I swirled a glass of wine. Thinking of Ornella made my mind race with excitement. I hated leaving her this morning, but duty called just before dawn. Percy continued to pace the room back and forth as he mumbled to himself, words of anger it would seem. I still hadn’t asked him what he was going on about. I wanted to let him stew more.

Lady Nora stood with her arms crossed, leaning against one of the wooden support beams, with her sword strapped tightly to her waist. A fresh cut ran down her cheek since last we spoke. She could put fear into my own heart by the way her brown eyes appeared almost black. Her short black hair covered with a bandana made her face appear sharper and told more than what her words were saying.

“Well, out with it then. What has happened?” I finally spoke, putting my glass down and leaning back into my chair, resting my legs up onto my desk.

Percy stopped in his tracks. Sweat beaded on his forehead as his hands rubbed together, something he did when he had a lot on his mind. Nora didn’t seem at all bothered by his nerves which made me relax. Perhaps it wasn’t as big as Percy was making out whatever it was to be.

“Nora?” I addressed her and her eyes returned to their shades of brown oak trees.

Standing up tall, she walked to the desk and pulled something from her back pocket and threw it at me to catch. It was a piece of blood-stained fabric and on it was Ornella’s family crest. A bright sun with swallows in flight around it.

“I cut that from a man who managed to do this to me,” she pointed at the slash down her cheek.

“When?”

“Last night.”

“Where?”

I’d now moved from my relaxed position to sitting upright and looked at the fabric. Knowing Nora, she would have killed every witness so no one could tell the tale. But worry lurked in the back of my mind, how close were they.

“A tavern in the dock district. I killed everyone who saw what happened.” She picked at the dirt under her fingernails as Percy stood next to her wiping sweat with a handkerchief.

“How long do we have?”

“A month at best, sire. Maybe sooner. I have sent a party to the border to see just how vast their army is. We have the element of surprise as they don’t know we will be prepared for their arrival.”

Nodding at her words, I felt confident. Nora never led my father astray and I knew she wouldn’t do that with me either. She came to my family as a nobody, a lost Fae with great skills, and offered herself in oath to my family. I owed her my life many times over. She was the best one to lead my armies into battle.

“Percy, you can calm your shit now,” she hissed at him as she rolled her eyes and started to walk away.

“Nora, that isn’t what I’m concerned about.”

We both looked at him confused as he took a deep breath to calm himself once more until he stared at me with such concern. “The portal, it’s been acting strange.”

My eyes widened at his words. The portal under the castle. The one Ornella almost opened. Thankfully, I managed to close it at the command of my magic. No, surely he was mistaken, it couldn’t have opened.

“You and that bloody portal, his majesty has already told you many times to stop going down there.” Nora turned back towards him, anger and confusion hidden in her voice.

“His’s blood line are the only ones who can open and close it. I was just checking, as my royal duty, that it is still closed.”

I wasn’t sure if I should share the information about Ornella as I was still unsure how she managed to call the beast up from that world. Her blood was only small droplets and yet she succeeded to wake the gateway and the seal had almost broken.. But thankfully, I closed it. I was sure of it.

“Sire, have you noticed anything strange? Felt something, perhaps?” Percy asked me as I looked down.

“Ornella,” I began to say, both their eyes now pinned on me, “Several nights ago I found her wandering the halls and she somehow managed to get into the room where the portal is.”

“But it”s charmed—spelled with protection. You are the only one who can do that.” Nora’s eyes widened as she spoke.

“I thought that, too, until I found her. Somehow she’d managed to cut herself and the portal came to life after a drop of her blood.”

Both of them remained silent, as their minds raced with reasons and wonder. Both asking the same questions I had been asking myself for days.

“How can that be? Only your blood—the blood of your family—can open it, and she is most certainly not related to you.”

I shrugged as I knocked back my glass of wine and stood from my desk. Both Percy and Nora stood straight and stilled at my movement, both equally concerned as I.

“I am investigating. But for now, this information must not leave this room. After the ceremony today, Percy, I need you to find all the records and anything detailed about the portal. Nora, just do as you always do, and protect my people.”

They both nodded and bowed at my command. Although I classified them as friends—allies—I was still their king, and an order was an order. After today’s celebrations, we would look into Ornella’s family line and perhaps whatever powers she may have processed.

“We will discuss this after the wedding.”

My breath held as I stepped into the banquet hall. My throne had been removed to make way for the archway that Ornella and I would say our vows underneath. April did her job perfectly by listening to every demand—not request—I had given her.

The room needed lilacs, lavender, white and pale pink roses, dark peonies, wisteria, and purple forget-me-knots to decorate every single inch of it. I wanted them to cover the dark stone walls and remove my dark shadows from the corners. April indeed delivered as the entire hall was created into a beautiful warm spring day. The archway”s flowers trailed downwards and up the aisle along with ivory shades of silk fabric that was dotted with small butterflies. The same ones that were stitched into Ornella’s dress.

I may be a tyrant and enjoyed torturing those who did me or my family harm, but I still wanted Ornella to enjoy her day. A part of me still wondered if she regretted it, even if we did enjoy exploring each other’s bodies last night. My breath rattled in my chest as I watched our esteemed guests arrive. I left via the side door and into a smaller room, to prepare.

April stood there waiting, dressed beautifully. She crossed her hands in front of her, waiting patiently for me.

“How is she?” I asked, enquiring of course about Ornella.

“Nervous. But appears ready. Morgana and Vanessa are waiting for my signal until they escort her downstairs.”

“You don’t think she will get cold feet?”

“Nicholas, she would be a fool to run out now.”

April had no idea about Ornella’s family sitting close to our borders, possibly waiting to strike at any minute. Although I would have liked to take Ornella on a tour of our kingdom, now would not be the time. Soon, she would begin her queenly duties and learn what it was like to become the Obsidian Queen. She would need to show strength, wisdom, and power if she were to rule at my side and have our people to accept her.

I hoped she would succeed.

I wanted her to succeed.