Chapter 34 #4
Kyra magically got herself changed into a deep red dress with silver gems glittering around the hem.
She gave Cassius new clothes too and I tried to ignore the sight of all those whipping scars across his back as he changed his shirt.
Wasn’t my problem. He had signed up for that shit optionally.
Seemed like he could have had a dandy old life being a milk maid or some shit instead, but he’d gone and handed his soul to the crown.
Now the price of that foolish choice was laid right there in his flesh, and it spoke volumes about the royals he so willingly obeyed.
By the time we were ready to leave, the three of us looked like a group of high-born arseholes who I definitely would have taken pleasure in robbing blind.
“Can you make my head a bit clearer, Kyra?” I asked before we left. “A little of that wine is still swimming in my mind and I want to be at my sharpest today.”
“Of course,” she agreed with a bright smile which countered Cassius’s unimpressed scowl perfectly as my hangover was washed away and I was left feeling as bright as a motherfucking button.
I wondered if I should have taken the warning she’d offered me about how she could twist the way she fulfilled my commands and try to be more precise when I gave them, but I decided against it.
Doing so would have felt like declaring I didn’t trust her, no doubt hurting her feelings in the process and reminding her of past masters like that prick she’d drowned who had been undeserving of her gift.
So far as I could tell, all she wanted was to be set loose from the coin and she had told me more than once that she enjoyed using her gifts on me, so I wasn’t going to spoil what we had going.
All the time our arrangement remained mutually beneficial, I had no reason to fear she might try to harm me with her magic.
Cassius led the way from our chambers through the palace and out into the sweeping botanical gardens.
The sun was beating down as usual and we took a twisting path between raised flower beds and arching pergolas covered in flowering vines.
I had never seen anything like this in the city, though plenty of Fae living in the inner circles kept gardens or even grew flowers on balconies.
But the beauty of this place was breathtaking, the blooms impeccable and not so much as a withered petal in sight.
The work that must have gone into maintaining such perfection was astounding, and I couldn’t help but stare at the varying plants and flowers that surrounded us at every turn.
Eventually we moved out of the formally arranged part of the gardens and onto a white stone path where the sound of a gathered crowd drew us on.
A fighting ring cordoned off with red and white silk sashes appeared at the foot of a long lawn and I smiled as the thrill of the fight began to rise in my blood.
A row of wooden stands were raised beyond the ring where several hundred high born men and women sat waiting for the pageant to begin.
To the right of the ring, a stage had been erected with a silk awning providing shade above three intricately carved wooden thrones, all of which currently sat empty in anticipation of the royal family’s arrival.
Lord Kalaviv arrived ahead of me, surrounded by an entourage of twenty guards. He waved to the crowd, and they cheered him on as he pranced back and forth before them, hopping up and down like some strange bird, throwing his arms back and forth and kicking his legs up above his head.
“What’s he doing?” Kyra asked in confusion.
“Warming up for the bout,” Cassius murmured. “I suggest you do the same,” he added to me.
“Not really my style, Cass. He looks like a fucking idiot. Besides, it’s already plenty warm enough out here for me,” I replied dismissively, the heat of the sun on my flesh already making me itch to remove the tunic.
“That’s not the kind of warm I mean,” Cassius muttered, but he didn’t push the idea with me, clearly sensing how far he would get with that.
A huge cheer went up from the crowd and I looked around as Emperor Tarim, Empress Magdor and Princess Austyn approached from the rear of the stage. They climbed up and took their seats, smiling politely at their subjects as they acknowledged the praise.
The princess wore a light green silk dress which flowed around her, while Magdor looked harsher in a dark blue gown dotted with silver lilies, matching the emperor’s fine tunic.
Austyn’s eyes glimmered with unease as so many people looked upon the face that had been hidden for years, gasps and shrieks of excitement filling the air as everyone stared and I felt a surge of pity for her as I watched her fighting against the urge to squirm beneath their judgement.
It had to be a lot of pressure to live up to, being dubbed the most beautiful woman in all The Twelve Kingdoms then having everyone look at you and decide whether or not it was true.
I wondered if she was even enjoying any of this because it sure as fuck looked like she wasn’t from where I was standing.
She may have been smiling, but the expression didn’t touch her eyes and the rigid way she sat upon her throne made it look like she was ready to spring from it and sprint for privacy the moment she got the chance.
Cassius stilled beside me, staring at her face with his lips parted and a look in his eyes that said she was all he could ever want in a woman and more. My gaze raked over her again and I could definitely see the appeal, but I wasn’t sure the drool was entirely called for.
“Kyra?” I asked, turning away from the princess to look at my little goddess. “What’s that flower that only blooms once every ten years on that cactus that only grows in the heart of the Lyrian Desert?”
“An alorian bloom,” Cassius responded before she could. “No one’s seen one for the last few years as far as I understand. Though there are many pictures depicting the beauty of-”
“I’ll have one of those please, Kyra. And make it subtle,” I interrupted.
Kyra smiled at me conspiratorially as she cupped her hands together to create the flower before handing it to me.
It was as big as my palm, smelling sinfully sweet in a way that made me think of old magic somehow, and I eyed the delicately beautiful layers of mauve and pink petals with interest as I gave her my thanks.
I slipped the flower beneath my sleeve as we headed down to the ring.
A smattering of applause came as the crowd noticed our arrival, but I didn’t care that Lord Kalaviv had gotten a bigger cheer than me.
I only had to prove myself in the ring to win their fickle adoration.
I didn’t need the pomp and ceremony of bringing a whole host of guards and servants along with me any more than I planned on prancing about doing those insane stretches either.
They’d be screaming my name once I had Kalaviv pinned in the dirt, which was all that actually counted anyway.
And right now, there was only one person here who I was interested in impressing.
I moved beyond the fighting ring and headed straight for the stage, my gaze fixed firmly on the princess.
Her lips parted in surprise as I skirted the guards who stood before the stage, moving swiftly and quietly with the aid of my Affinities and hopping up onto it before any of them realised I’d gotten by.
The crowd hushed in surprise, and I was vaguely aware of Magdor frowning at me from her position to my left as I dropped to one knee before the princess, keeping my eyes fixed on her the whole time.
Austyn’s amber eyes widened in surprise, the way her emotions were written so clearly across her features at all times meaning she had no hope of hiding what she was thinking, and I could tell she was a mixture of flustered, annoyed and pleased as she looked down at me.
“I got you a gift, dear wife,” I said, giving her my best smile, dimples and all.
“A gift?” she asked curiously and I noticed a hint of shadow under her eyes which spoke of a restless night. What nightmare kept this girl awake, I didn’t know. She certainly didn’t want for anything in the world as far as I could tell.
“Yes, but you have to close your eyes first,” I instructed.
She hesitated a moment, glancing to the crowd before back to me, twisting her fingers into the pale green skirt of her dress then finally submitting and letting her eyes fall shut.
I reached out and caught her hand, placing the flower into it and she gasped as the whole crowd fell completely silent. Touching the princess might have been a no go come to think of it, but there was no turning back now so I was going to have to just run with it.
I slowly brushed my fingers over her wrist, watching as goosebumps erupted along her flesh and smirking at the blush which found her cheeks before placing the flower in her hand.
“Is that an Alorian bloom?” Magdor asked in unveiled shock.
“Only the best for my love,” I murmured, throwing Austyn a flirtatious smile as she opened her eyes.
Her gaze narrowed on me as I released her, and I could see her fighting the urge to dismiss the gift, but her eyes kept catching on it, appreciating the incredible rareness of such a thing and unable to bring herself to discard it.
"Its beauty is nothing next to yours,” I added and she clucked her tongue, turning her cheek to me even as her attendants swooned close by.
But apparently the princess wasn’t so easily bought by sugared compliments, and I had to admit it appeared she had more depth than I’d expected to find in a girl no doubt raised to be Osaria’s perfect little puppet.
It was a welcome surprise though, and I was glad to find a woman of substance as my potential wife in place of some empty-headed vessel.
It just made wooing her all the more challenging – which only made it more inviting too.
“Of course, beauty is boring without wit. It’s what makes me such a catch,” I added when she seemed disinclined to respond.