Twenty Seven #2
“We’ll see you inside,” Sebastian said, drawing my attention to him. Glimmering had left him a bit pale. “And Em, I know that you never wanted to be a queen, but I think you’re going to be phenomenal.”
I disagreed, but I thanked him anyway.
“The king will lead you down the aisle,” Lady May instructed. “The music is your cue. I will see you at the dais.” With that, she glimmered out.
My mother and Mirielle flanked Sebastian on either side before the three of them strolled into the throne room to take their seats, leaving my father and me alone in the hall.
“Emelin, you look—” The king got choked up and didn’t finish his thought, pulling me into a tight embrace. His right arm was still in a sling, which reminded me to be gentle as I hugged him back. “I am so proud of you. I love you.”
I squeezed my eyes shut to stop the tears that had rushed to the surface from falling. “I love you, too.”
All too soon, a beautiful melody drifted from the throne room.
I opened my eyes and pulled away from my father.
His eyes were brimming with tears as he cleared his throat and righted his crown.
He didn’t say anything as he turned to face the throne room.
There was nothing he could say. He couldn’t tell me that it wasn’t too late to change my mind or that we could find another way.
There was no other way because a blood oath bound me.
I looked down at the palm of my left hand.
The cut had healed, but a thin, barely noticeable scar remained.
It was a constant reminder of the unbreakable vow I had made.
When I lifted my gaze from the scar, my father offered me his arm in silence, and I accepted it, also facing the throne room. When he stepped forward, I followed, barely feeling my legs. My body moved as if of its own accord. I felt like an observer, not a participant in what was unfolding.
When we walked into the throne room, it was divided into four seating areas—one for each of the four provinces of Aubrielle.
Large white banners depicting crests adorned the wall behind each section.
To my left, there was one with a golden ring with a tree branch with falling leaves in the middle.
The tapestry next to it depicted a copper circle with a rising sun.
On the opposite wall hung a banner with a forest-green circle with an oak tree in the center.
Next to it was one with a light-blue circle, featuring a mountain.
Directly ahead of me, at the end of a long, narrow aisle, hung the largest banner of them all.
It depicted a silver circle and an arrow across it, set against a navy-blue background.
My chest constricted as my gaze dropped to the raised dais under the Argent banner.
Celestina stood atop it, garbed in silver and blue.
Her silver hair was in a long, thick braid, slung over her shoulder, and instead of her crown, she was wearing a sparkling tiara.
I forced my gaze away from her and down the stone steps, to the one waiting for me by the foot of the dais.
Garbed a navy-blue ensemble embellished with a silver thread, Adrian stood impossibly still, with his hands behind his back.
His face didn’t betray any emotion as my father led me down the aisle made of velvet fabric decorated in patterns of silver and blue.
My gaze was locked on Adrian’s face the entire time as I desperately tried to penetrate the cold and flawless mask.
His silver gaze flicked over me before our eyes met.
I thought I glimpsed a look awe on his striking features, but I couldn’t be sure because the expression was there one second and gone the next.
It was as if his mask had slipped and he rightened it back on.
I was on the verge of tears again because I wanted that look back.
I wanted him to look at me as if I were the best thing that had ever happened to him.
I wanted him to tell me that I looked beautiful.
I wanted… I wanted things that couldn’t be, and wishing for them was futile.
Adrian was marrying me because of obligation.
The ceremony was simply a formality, and I needed to treat it as such.
“Adrian,” I said coldly when my father and I had finally reached the dais.
“Emelin,” he replied in a voice so even that it sound unnatural, detached.
“Please, have a seat,” Lady May instructed my father after she had appeared out of nowhere to my right.
He pried my numb fingers from his arm, pressing them briefly before he let go of my hand.
My panicked gaze followed him to his seat next to the rest of my family and the Emeraldian court in one of the two sections closest to the dais.
“You two follow me up to the top,” the Sorceress said before she climbed the steps, the skirts of her gray gown dragging slightly behind her.
Turning back to the dais, I gathered my skirts to lift the hem in the front off the ground. I took a few steps, but tripped, and a murmur swept through the throne room.
“I’ve got you,” Adrian said low, catching my elbow to support me.