Bonds of the Forsaken: A Reverse Harem Romantasy (Her Forsaken Mates Book 1)

27. Kaiya

Eli was betrothed? No. Liam was betrothed.

I rubbed my chest, pushing away the strange pain there.

I mean, a betrothal made complete sense for him and his people. He was attractive enough, and a decent man … outside of letting me think he was dead for two years.

But — I just —

Fuck.

That pain surged again. How could there still be some part of me that cared?

No. Fuck him.

I pushed the pain away and clenched my fists.

Mirrim and Jaiel were already moving, and I chased after them, biting my tongue to keep myself from asking more. Liam could do what he wanted, and it was none of my business.

I was going along to help Mirrim and learn more about the dangers on the Isle. That”s it.

We”d been running through alleys for a good ten minutes when a man burst through a set of double doors carved into the red cliff-side on our left.

He was grumbling loudly beneath his long, curling black hair and beard, and was followed closely by an elderly man, gray brows creased with concern.

”Gorley,” the older man pleaded. ”Come back inside. We need to stand united, if he”s to listen.”

Gorley stopped and spun, arms akimbo. ”It”s no use,” he spat. ”What”s the point in holding a council meeting if he”s going to ignore everything we say?”

”I agree, but running out doesn”t help. Stay. Be another voice of reason.”

Gorley”s jaw clenched. ”Face it, Dunny. Even if this betrothal doesn”t destroy our village, sooner or later another of his terrible decisions will. That man seems determined to fly our people into the ground. He”s a terrible leader and —” the red-faced man”s words fell away as his gaze met Mirrim”s.

”Hells,” he said, shaking his head. ”I need some space. Let Samryla know I went for a walk to cool off.” Turning, he stormed down the street.

Dunny smiled weakly at Mirrim, then nodded to us before turning back to the building.

”Damnit, Liam,” Mirrim muttered under her breath, gesturing for us to follow as she strode through the doorway. The words ”City Hall” were carved into the stone above.

”You okay, Princess?” Jaiel asked, holding the door for me.

I forced a smile and nodded, stepping quickly past him. I was fine. Curious. And maybe a little emotionally unstable. But fine.

Cool air blasted my face as we stepped into a long, tall hall. Perhaps I”d made a mistake leaving my cloak with that little dragonling.

But she”d been so cute all cuddled up in it. I could handle a few cold minutes.

We made our way down the hall, and Jaiel pushed through another set of double doors.

I froze.

A cacophony of angry voices echoed across the massive chamber of red stone, filling the enormous room and drowning out any individual voices. It was a wonder we hadn”t heard the commotion from the street!

Sunlight shone through large windows carved along the wall to our right, making the red and orange striated stone of the chamber walls almost glow and sparkle.

Liam stood at the front of the room behind a slim wooden podium, face impassive and green eyes stony, as people behind rows of tables yelled all around him.

Gods! I”d been to a handful of intense Division meetings with Frexin, but nothing had ever been this fiery.

Jaiel pressed his palm into my lower back, gesturing toward an empty spot at the back of the room where Mirrim stood waving. I ducked my head and made my way through the crowd.

”Murders and thieves, the lot of ”em!” shouted a tall man with curling white hair and a long nose standing just in front of her. ”They”re the reason we can”t travel along the eastern roads anymore. And they”ve already absorbed or killed the other strongholds. You want us to be next?”

”And what about the dragons?” A woman with straight blonde hair and a dress similar to Liam”s gram stepped forward, one hand cradling her very pregnant belly while the other gestured toward Liam. ”You know that”s what they really want. They”ve all but said as much. Those dragonlings are vulnerable, and we”re about to have another clutch. What”s to stop them from slitting our throats once they”re through the gates and taking them?” She paused and lifted her chin in defiance. ”Gorley may have lost his temper, but his argument was valid. Allying ourselves with those Berserkers is not the answer.”

More yells filled the room and my stomach twisted. Would these Berserker people really hurt this group and take the dragonlings? And, if so, how could he be okay with something like that?

The way he”d looked at Stryek …

I shook my head. There was no way he would jeopardize the nest. There had to be more to the story.

Or was this something driven purely by feelings?

”Do you love her?” a young man said, speaking my worries aloud as he stepped forward. ”Is that why you are fighting for this betrothal so hard?”

People shifted around me, and everything went silent as all attention fell on Liam.

Jaw tight, his fingers dug into the podium, and his eyes lifted to survey the room. They met mine and for a moment something seemed to pass through them, but then they slid to Jaiel and hardened.

”Love is irrelevant,” he said, voice cold. ”My top priority has been, and always will be, to keep everyone safe. I don”t deny the Berserkers have a checkered past, but we are not like those other strongholds. I have assurances their aid will be nothing but positive for us.”

Boos and murmurs rose from the crowd, but Liam raised his hands to quiet them.

”Before you dissent, please understand. I am trying to save us from the bigger threat. Look around you, friends.” He gestured to the crowd. ”We are stretched too thin. If we lose more people, this village will collapse. Never mind if another stronghold decided to attack. You all know this. And I — I can”t accept that fate for us.”

The room was quiet for a moment, and he put on a smile that didn”t reach his eyes. ”Besides, she”s a perfectly pleasant individual. I”m sure we”ll all grow to appreciate her in her own right.”

”Gremlyn-shit.” Mirrim hissed to my right. She turned to Jaiel and me. ”He hasn”t even met the woman in a decade. She could be a raging bitch for all he knows. And I”m still not sure he”s ever fully gotten over you. Gods! If Ma could see him now —”

My lips twitched, and something in my chest relaxed, but I refused to acknowledge it. She was wrong. He didn”t have feelings for me anymore, and it didn”t matter what kind of woman he married.

”What is it about these Berserkers that has everyone so worried?” I whispered.

”Over the past forty years, they”ve acquired several strongholds across the Isle through a combination of violence, intimidation, and marriage,” she whispered, leaning toward me so I could hear over the commotion. ”Some say they”ve allied with the Empire while others think they”re using void magic. Either way, they”ve proven themselves to be notnice people, and certainly not people we”d choose to ally ourselves with.”

I stared at Liam standing so stiffly behind that podium and chewed on my bottom lip. Was he doing this because he thought it was the best option? Or was there more to it?

A shorter man with a shaved head and a long beard stepped from beside Liam and lifted his hands. ”Order!” he demanded. ”Order everyone!”

As the crowd quieted, a voice called out.

”You say you want to protect us, so why not reach out to the body mages?” The blonde woman from before stepped forward until she stood in-between the podium and tables. ”As you all know, my sister, Faera, has joined their clan to further practice her body magic affinity. She says they have the opposite problem as us.” She gestured to the small crowd. ”Instead of empty houses and streets, their stronghold is bursting at the seams with people. So much so that they”ve run out of safe places to house them all.” Her attention turned to Liam. ”Perhaps if we opened our doors to them, both their problems and ours would be solved.”

The villagers shifted around us, processing the idea. A few people nodded, while others looked decidedly unconvinced.

”Absolutely not!” the tall man with the long nose from earlier shouted. ”If we do that, they will immediately outnumber us. Our dragon rider bloodline would be at risk. Can you imagine — body mage pups running through dragon caves?!” He grimaced and shook his head. ”It”s disgraceful to even consider. No. We”ve survived this long without help. We should continue on as we have, and our ancestors did before us. No Berserkers or wolves.”

”You speak of our ancestors, but they never fought alone!” the woman called back, voice cutting through the noise. ”The Golden Age was achieved because the dragon rider clan allied with Bondsmiths to unite the factions. It was the dragon rider clan with the Druids who held back the Mad Queen long enough to defeat her and end her reign of terror. It was the dragon rider clan who was saved by the monks and other mind mages during our darkest night.” Her expression softened. ”What happened to that dragon rider clan? We race headfirst toward extinction, and our only hope is to go back to our roots. We must return to being the strong, open, caring stewards of legends.” She rubbed her belly. ”Besides, how bad would it be for the body mage pups to run with the dragonlings and our young? We could all benefit from some fresh energy around here.”

People began speaking over each other, and I shook my head as the room once more descended into chaos. This whole situation was a mess.

A loud pounding broke through the noise, and everyone went silent as Liam stepped forward. ”I — I hear your words, Samryla, Jelin, Tornak. I do.” He paused and looked at everyone. ”But as I reminded you before, this is my decision, and mine alone. And I have decided to go through with the betrothal.”

The room erupted again.

”It is not up for discussion. The acceptance letter has already been sent by revyn.”

More shouts exploded in the council room.

”I expect we”ll have support within four weeks time,” he continued. ”At which time I”ll leave to join Lady Valtru in her stronghold.”

Everyone was yelling so loud I couldn”t hear what Liam said next. But he turned and strode away from the podium without a backward glance.

I turned to Mirrim and Jaiel, eyes wide. ”Is this as bad as it looks?”

Jaiel nodded. ”From what I know about that group, it might be worse.”

Mirrim grabbed my arms and looked up, familiar green eyes desperate. ”Kaiya, please! He refuses to listen to anyone. But maybe he”ll listen to you.”

I stared at her for a moment, confusion preventing me from understanding her words. Then my jaw dropped.

”Me?! You want me to convince Eli — Gods!” I winced. ”— Liam not to marry that woman?”