20. Chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Back in my room, I yanked open my wardrobe and grabbed the first green dress I saw. It was pretty enough and likely to be just as awkward as any other.
Pushing the other gowns aside, I was pleasantly shocked to see Sin’s sword tucked behind all the clothing. The twins had been tortured and broken yet still took the time to steal Sin’s precious weapon for me. I was starting to understand why they were such high ranking generals despite their laissez-faire attitude. If they could pull that off, then they were equal parts gutsy and stealthy.
Chuckling to myself, I headed to the bathroom to hop in the shower. Even though someone had wiped most of the blood off me after the attack, it was like I could still feel it coating my skin.
When I exited the bathroom to find Niahna and Kiahna hovering by the fire, I wondered if they just hung around all day waiting to be of assistance.
The sisters began their usual routine of pampering me, and I relaxed back into the chair, enjoying the feeling of Kiahna’s fingers in my hair as she brushed, twisted, and sculpted my long locks into something more befitting a princess.
I was standing in front of the mirror wondering who the hell was looking back at me when a knock sounded at my door.
Pulling it open, I found a scowling Dey on the other side. I was about to make a crack about him taking lessons from Sin, but the moment his eyes settled on me, his anger vanished, and he took in a sharp inhale. I waited for him to say something, but all he did was stare, his eyes crawling up and down my body in long, lingering glances.
I knew I looked good—the dress fit me perfectly, clinging to my breasts and smooth stomach without making me look too emaciated. The sisters had braided my hair and twisted it into a coronet atop my head. Thirty or more diamond flowers were clipped in at carefully selected intervals, and the whole effect was actually quite breathtaking.
After about a minute of Dey hungrily staring at my body, I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. “Um, did you need something?”
His eyes slowly rose to mine. He gave his head a little shake, then focused on me. “Yes, apologies, but you look… absolutely stunning.”
I let out a half-hearted laugh. “Yeah, well, who knew a Jersey girl could clean up so well?”
“I did. I have always seen the beauty you work so hard to hide.”
Blushing, I opened the door wider and gestured him inside. I plopped on the bed with all the grace of an elephant, not caring if I wrinkled the gown, “So, what brings you up here? I figured I would see you at dinner.”
He paused just inside my door, his smile fading. “I came to inform you that I heard what you did earlier with that soldier. I must say that I am disappointed. I thought we were beyond subterfuge with one another.”
The look on his face speared me with guilt. “I’m really sorry, Dey. I didn’t want to hurt you or anything, but I couldn’t risk you stopping me. So far you’ve always sided with my father, and I couldn’t just leave them there. Honestly, I’m surprised that you could. I thought they were like family to you.”
“They are,” he said defensively, taking another step into the room. “However, there are things about this world that you do not understand.”
“So tell me,” I pleaded. “Explain to me how you justify the torturing of two people who were only trying to make me happy. Two people that you claim are like brothers. Did you see what happened to them?”
“No, I did not witness it,” he admitted. “Though I have seen punishments in the past. Princess, you must understand that this world is not like yours. To control a population of magic wielders, King Verren must rule with a firm hand. If he shows any weakness, the people might rise up against him.”
“Maybe they should,” I suggested bitterly, turning my back on him. A sharp gasp had me spinning back around. The horrified look on his face was almost comical in its severity.
“You… you cannot sincerely believe that,” he whispered.
“Come on, Dey, is equality really that strange of a concept? This same thing happened in my world, and yeah, we’re still working on it, but things are getting better. Rivella could be better too if you all stopped judging people based on their magic.”
He gave me a pitying look. “Princess, what could the people of the Other Realm possibly know about creating a better world? Humans are little more than savages.”
His words hit like a slap to the face.
“I’m half-human,” I snapped, leaping to my feet, anger exploding like fireworks inside me. I knew that he felt Vitaeans were superior to humans, but I never fully grasped the extent of his bigotry.
“I know,” he said, his calm tone fueling my rage further. “The fact that you will rise up to save us in spite of your heritage makes me truly in awe of you.”
“ In spite of ?” I spat out. “Maybe it’s because of . You ever think of that? Maybe if I was just some pompous Vitaean I wouldn’t care enough to even try to save you jerks!”
I pushed past him and stalked down the hall.
“Wait!” Dey called after me. “You need an escort to dinner. It would be unseemly for the princess to enter alone. Please, come with me and allow us to discuss this further.”
Like hell I was eating dinner with him.
I neared the end of the hall just as a door opened to my left, and a wave of cool salty air swept over me. Seconds later, Sin stepped out, looking devilishly handsome with his dark chocolate hair tied back, and his standard black tunic replaced by a deep purple one embroidered with silver around the edges.
Heavy footsteps pounded behind me so I made a split decision and chose the lesser of two evils. Grabbing Sin’s arm, I dragged him toward the staircase.
“You’re escorting me to dinner,” I said, allowing just enough pleading into my voice to not sound like I was full on begging. “Just this once, please don’t fight me.”
I honestly expected him to resist, but something in my voice halted whatever he was about to say. He glanced behind me at Dey, then took my arm and wrapped it under his.
We walked down the staircase toward the dining room in complete silence which was pretty much the best I could have hoped for from him.
A guard stopped us at the entrance to the smaller dining hall and asked Sin a question in Rivellan. Surprise momentarily sparked on the guard's face at Sin’s answer, but he turned to the dining room and loudly announced, “Princepa Raynella au Cennux Dreisin.”
The nearly full table of courtiers all stood as we entered, and I could feel every single pair of eyes on me as Sin guided me toward the end of the table.
Breathe.
Just keep breathing.
A hundred thoughts raced through my head, none of them pleasant. Were they judging my dress? My hair? They were probably all staring at my bare arms. I half expected someone to spit on me.
I waited for Sin to say something snarky because there was no way he couldn’t feel my body tensing and my breath coming out in short bursts, but he just pulled out the chair to the right of my father’s mini throne, then pushed it back in once I was settled. He briefly hesitated, then took the empty seat beside me. My breathing only leveled out once the other courtiers sat and the low hum of chatter resumed.
The spots opposite Sin and I were already occupied with two stiff looking males that I had seen hovering around my father previously—likely his advisors—which meant the next empty seat for Dey to claim was… I suppressed a grin when I saw it was over halfway down the table.
Minutes later, Dey arrived and scanned the room until he found me. He looked crestfallen, but then his eyes shifted to Sin sitting beside me. He lifted an eyebrow, but Sin just shrugged and looked away, suddenly very occupied with his drink.
Dey’s shoulders dropped as he took the remaining empty chair. Shortly after, the guards loudly announced that the king had arrived, and my father strode confidently through the room to the head of the table. He stopped without sitting and surveyed the people gathered with a brilliant smile on his face. A smile that wavered when he took notice of Sin beside me, but it promptly slid back into place as if nothing was amiss.
He started speaking in Rivellan, and it sounded like some sort of grand speech. I squirmed as I heard my name a few times and also caught the word ‘princepa’ more than once.
“What’s he saying?” I asked Sin. I leaned in closer to keep my voice low and immediately regretted my action as his scent threatened to pull me under like a dark tide.
“He’s saying that the Gods have cursed him with a useless daughter, but not to worry because he’s working very hard to fix the situation.”
“He is not, you ass,” I hissed out, smacking his shoulder. Apparently I had been a little too loud because my father faltered in his speech. I gave him my most beatific smile, and he continued.
“Seriously, what is he saying?” I asked again, keeping my voice controlled and my hands to myself.
Sin sighed. “Blah blah blah, searching for you forever, blah blah blah, greatest gift, blah blah blah, future of the kingdom. It’s all quite ridiculous if you ask me.”
“Why do you say that?” I didn’t entirely disagree with him, but I wouldn’t call my father’s speech ridiculous.
He brought his face close, his eyes flashing with something like accusation. “Because we both know you aren’t staying here, Fea Remia. The sooner you leave, the better for everyone.”
My teeth clenched. I’d allowed myself to think maybe, just maybe, he could be someone worth getting to know. First impressions never lie, though, and he was nothing more than a heartless asshole.
Keeping my eyes fixed on his and my voice as low as possible, I said, “Yeah, well fuck you too, Sin. Why are you the only one in this damned place who is so set on me leaving as soon as possible? Don’t you want me to fix the lines? Save your world?”
He snorted derisively. “Everything comes at a cost, Fea Remia. Maybe I’m not willing to pay the price required just so everyone here can have more magic.”
I blinked at him. No one had said anything about a cost to me. Though it did make sense that if the dark forest was truly dangerous then people might get injured or die helping to get me though. Maybe he honestly cared about his soldiers and wanted to protect them. The idea of Sin actually caring about other people felt absurd, but if it was true—if he hated me for the knowledge that I was dragging his men off to potential death—then maybe I was a little hasty in my decision to pursue the mission.
Then I recalled what Cam and Ram told me about the imminarios and their segregation. This was about more than stopping the plague. It was also about restoring the magic to everyone, not just the privileged.
“No price is too high to pay for equality among the people,” I hissed.
His eyes narrowed. “Spoken like a true idealist. Tell me, Fea Remia, when did you start to care about others? I thought you always looked out for number one?”
My retort died on my lips because he wasn’t wrong. Back in Jersey I literally only cared about Jenn. Even the guys I dated ranked lower than a decent grilled cheese sandwich in terms of my affection.
Before I could tell him where to stick his assessment of me, a heavy silence settled over the room. I tore my eyes away from Sin to see not only my father but the entire table observing us closely.
“Raynella,” my father said with barely contained annoyance. “Would you care to stand and say hello?”
Crap. How long had everyone been watching our argument?
I reluctantly rose to my feet. The number of people staring at me threatened to kick off another panic attack, but I forced it down. I told my father I would do this, and so I would. I wiped my sweaty hands on the soft material of my dress and summoned a wan smile.
The faces staring back at me ranged in expression from adulation (that was a young female with short red curls that reminded me of Jenn) all the way down the spectrum to outright hostility (that was the two advisors across the table from me). Most landed on haughty indifference, and that was fine with me.
I gave a little wave, then hurriedly sat back down. My father seemed satisfied with that because he gave one more booming proclamation, and everyone settled back into the chairs. Servants spilled into the room with plates of food, and my awkwardness was soon forgotten as people indulged in conversation with those around them.
I focused on stuffing food in my face, hoping I could get out of this situation quickly and painlessly.
My father leaned over and asked, without dropping his kingly smile, “Raynella, why is Deylan not sitting beside you? He was supposed to escort you to dinner this evening.”
I gave him an innocent look. “Was he? How strange. When I left my room I only came across Sin here, and since you were so keen on me working with him, I only assumed he would be an excellent dinner companion. Was I wrong to make such an assumption? If so, I deeply apologize.”
Anybody who spent more than ten minutes with me could hear the mockery dripping from my words, but my father hadn’t picked up on my nuances yet.
“Of course. Cennux Dreisin is an excellent choice. It was just a bit surprising as Deylan is usually seated at my side. He is my Foster after all.”
I dropped my eyes to my lap, doing my best to look remorseful. “Of course, Father. I didn’t mean to cause a disruption. I am so new to all of this. Perhaps I shouldn’t come to these dinners any more. I don’t want to embarrass you with my ignorant ways.” At this point I might be laying it on too thick, but it was a shot I had to take.
“No, no, Raynella. It is quite all right. In fact, I think it would be best if you dined with the court from now on. It will help prepare you for the King’s Council banquet.”
“Come again?” My head whipped up, and my beautifully constructed act dropped away completely.
“You are my daughter, Raynella. Your presence at the Council banquet is mandatory. My search for you has been well known throughout the land. Attendees from all three courts will be excited to meet you.”
My mouth opened and closed as I gaped at him like a dying fish.
“You will have a wonderful time,” he continued. “The King's Council happens only once every hundred years, and we are lucky to be hosting it. There had been talks of moving it to the Gold Court after that… debacle we had with the Silver Court some years back.”
Beside me, Sin choked on a red vegetable, but my father paid him no mind.
“We simply must have you there, Raynella,” he continued as if his Cennux wasn’t dying on the other side of me. “You will not be required at the morning meeting, of course, but your absence would be noted if you did not attend the Elemental Games or the banquet. And of course there is the ball afterward.” He paused. “That does remind me, we will need to get a tailor here immediately to fit you for your gown. Your tiara is being fashioned as we speak by some of the finest terriservians in the whole of Rivella, and your dress will need to be just as extravagant.”
“You know,” I said casually, suppressing the soul deep urge to run as fast and as far as my legs could take me, “I always thought hell would be hotter. More demons and pitchforks, you know? I guess this works too.”
I heard a coughing sound, and turned to see Sin choking again, this time on the water he had been drinking. I gave him a wicked smile. “Manners, Sin. You’re at a royal function after all. You should try to be more refined.”
If looks could kill I really would be in hell. The only thing currently keeping me from dissolving into a puddle of hyperventilating goo was the firm knowledge that I would be doing none of the things my father had listed off.
I showed up to his dinner. I met his terms. Cam and Ram were safe. He had nothing left to force my hand with, so unless he wanted to drag me kicking and screaming there was no fucking way I was attending some Cinderella-esque fairy tale ball.
No. Fucking. Way.