Chapter 3 – Vale
Chapter 3
VALE
I ’d never imagined that my wedding day would turn out like this.
Since I was young, I’d been told that my marriage would be for an alliance, but I’d always hoped that one day, I’d wed my soulmate. While Lady Neve was the most attractive female I’d ever laid eyes upon, I found it impossible to believe that we were soulmates.
Wouldn’t I have felt our bond already?
It doesn’t matter, I told myself and rolled my shoulders back. I stood in a courtyard, barefoot, upon the roots of the Heart Drassil, the living, breathing soul of the Tower.
Lady Neve might not be my soulmate, if such a person even existed for me, but she was a fae of Winter’s Realm. A lady in need. A person I’d promised to protect, and one who had been through far too much in her life. She was one of my people, and I’d shield her from my father’s rage.
If a prince didn’t have honor, he had nothing .
I did not regret my choice.
“You should lose the sword.” Caelo approached and held out his hand, gloved to keep out the biting wind and lightly falling snow. “I’ll watch over Skelda .”
I unbuckled my belt and passed him the lot, belt, sheath, and blade. My best friend took it before meeting my eyes again.
“You’re sure?”
“I am,” I said.
Caelo patted the blade. “I know you inherited this blade, but the name always fit you, you know?”
In Old High Fae, Skelda meant protector. Centuries ago, back when my sword had been named, more fae would have recognized the translation. The fae of Winter’s Realm rarely spoke Old High Fae. And when they did, it was usually in the House of Wisdom or the very tower I stood inside.
“Thank you.” I clapped my friend on the shoulder. “You’ll stand with me?”
“We all will.” He referred to my closest friends, soldiers who were of the same mind when it came to the fate of Winter’s Realm. The cabal, as my sister liked to call us.
I gazed beyond Caelo and found Lady Sayyida and Marit Armenil speaking with Sir Qildor. He, along with Caelo, myself, and four others, was part of the cabal. Filip Balik, my squire and the second youngest son and heir to the Balik great house, watched me earnestly, set apart from the group. He would join the cabal in an instant if I’d let him. But at sixteen turns, Filip was too young. The age of adulthood in my kingdom was seventeen, but the cabal only allowed members who had reached twenty turns.
After all, the cabal wasn’t a rebel organization, but we did things that my father might not approve of. Like now, my fellow members would surely do anything to protect me from the choice I’d made. One that would send my father into a rage.
The door leading into the Tower’s library opened and all those in the circular courtyard turned. When I followed suit, my breath caught.
Neve hovered on the threshold of the courtyard, unglamoured and as stunning as ever.
No vampire blood streaked her face. Her long, silvery white tresses were pulled back and styled in an elegant bun, with wisps of hair falling around her face. Saga had traded cloaks with Neve so that the bride’s was clean. Beneath the white fur cloak, Neve wore the same gown she’d worn to the Courting Festival’s opening ball.
The amethyst gown showed off her ample curves to perfection. It was the same dress she’d worn when we’d danced. When we’d almost kissed—right in front of my father and Warden Roar.
Heat raked through my body. The dance we’d shared at the ball, the potential simmering between us had been so hot that the rest of the fae, the music, the dancing, everything , had faded away. That night, despite its disastrous end, would be forever imprinted into me.
“Are you sure about this, Prince Vale?” Grand Staret Arkyn asked. He’d been standing alone on the other side of the courtyard, a silent act of rebellion against the rites I forced him to perform.
“I’m certain. Perform the noble ceremony.”
The staret lifted a brow. “Not the love match?”
From his point of view, it was an odd choice. I was forcing him to wed us. Surely, he believed it was because we were in love.
The staret could keep thinking that.
“They’re more traditional for my house,” I said, which was true. My parents had taken noble vows, as had my grandparents on both sides and their parents before them. When one could not lie, arranged marriages required different vows than a marriage born of love.
“Very well, my prince.”
Neve approached, and my nostrils flared as I caught her scent, one I couldn’t quite describe, but it reminded me of waking deep in the forest on a crisp morning but with a hint of something warmer and more complex. What was that?
Vanilla. Smokey vanilla—from the campfire. I landed on the warm note as she stopped to stand before me.
“You had the glamour removed,” I said, trying to compose the primal part of myself that wanted to scoop Neve up into my arms and kiss her. To claim her, even if this was all for show. She wasn’t mine, no matter how my body reacted to her. We barely knew one another.
“I wouldn’t want to marry looking like someone else.” She cleared her throat and unease crossed her delicate features. “Do you mind?”
Mind? Stars and Fates no.
“I prefer you like this,” I admitted.
Her shoulders loosened. “Ready?”
“As ever.” I took her hand and guided her so that we stood facing one another at the base of the Drassil tree. I turned to take in our witnesses and finally landed on the staret. “Begin.”
Grand Staret Arkyn needed no book. He had memorized every ritual his profession performed in this kingdom, and some from other fae kingdoms too. The only item he required, he pulled from his robe.
Neve blinked but said nothing as the Royal Staret laid the soft sash patterned with silver and gold stars across our left wrists. He left the ends hanging.
“We gather this night, beneath the stars and the moon and in Winter’s cold embrace, to witness the binding of two houses,” the staret began, his tone as cool as the snow falling on my cheeks.
I looked at Neve, searching for hesitation in her eyes, but there was none. Not even a flicker. Instead, a quiet strength radiated from the female.
“A union such as this is sacred,” Staret Arkyn continued, “so I ask, do you two enter this union intending to protect and honor one another?”
“That is my intention,” I said without hesitation, handing her the words.
“That is my intention,” she echoed, violet eyes still locked with mine.
The Grand Staret wound the cloth around our hands once. My tattoos, the bear claws I’d gotten inked on my hands when I reached adulthood, disappeared beneath the starry fabric. “And do you promise to put the well-being of your union and whatever family you might create first?”
“I promise,” I said.
The staret looked at Neve.
“I promise,” she said, not a drop of tremor in her voice.
“Do you, Prince Vale, give your name to this female?”
“I do,” I said.
“And do you, Lady Neve, accept the name Aaberg as your own?”
“I do,” she replied without hesitation.
The Grand Staret wrapped the sash once more. He then tucked the ends in, binding us. “Place your free hands on the Heart Drassil.”
Neve blinked but recovered her composure quickly, and together we shifted to face the tree and settled our palms on the bark.
Above, the eggplant-hued leaves danced. It wasn’t unusual. I was of royal blood and from time to time had been called to siphon magic into Drassil trees. Every royal, and most nobles of a certain magical level, did this. It stabilized the magic of the kingdom.
Or it had, for a while.
I scrubbed that thought from my mind, not about to go down that path during such a poignant moment in my life. No sooner had I focused than a light glowed from beneath Neve’s palm, and she seemed to be . . . listening?
I shot her a sidelong glance, wanting to know what she heard. In answer, she shifted her hand toward mine and touched me .
Whispers filled my ears, indiscernible at first, but slowly they became clearer. Insistent even.
We bless this union.
I sucked in a breath. This moment in the ceremony was symbolic, a second given to the Faetia to approve or deny a marriage, though it had been many turns since anyone reported them speaking up in one way or another. Not since King Harald Falk and Queen Revna Falk wed.
Not until now anyway.
Neve’s fingers trembled, and I could tell she was about to pull back, to take her hand off the tree. I wrapped my smallest finger around hers, hoping that would halt her. Hoping to hear more. Long seconds passed that felt like a full turn, and finally, she exhaled. She stayed.
“By the power vested in me by the Crown and the Tower of the Living and Dead, and with the witnesses of the Faetia, the stars, the Fates, and the dead gods above, I pronounce you husband and wife,” Staret Arkyn rolled into the finish. “You may kiss the bride.”
We removed our hands, and she looked up at me, shock gleaming in those brilliant gem-toned eyes. Slowly, my free hand cupped her face, and I vanquished the distance between us.
We’d kissed before, but this was different. Symbolic.
And yet, my lips still burned when they touched hers, as she accepted the kiss and met me. If we’d been alone, I’d have pulled her in more tightly; I’d have tasted her with my tongue.
Instead, I mastered myself, and we broke apart.
The Grand Staret turned to the witnesses. “Prince Vale Aaberg and his wife, Lady Neve Aaberg. May you live long and?—”
A flash of light came from behind, halting the staret before he could finish. He spun and his eyes widened.
The Heart Drassil was glowing a brilliant silver.
“By the dead gods,” Grand Staret Arkyn whispered. “I’ve never seen . . .” he trailed off as the glow faded to nothing, leaving behind a regular Drassil tree. Then, without another word, without so much as looking at us even, the staret stormed out of the courtyard.
Neve swallowed. “What did that mean?”
“I-I’m not sure,” I replied. “I think it might have had something to do with what we heard.” I paused. “You did hear the whispers?”
“I did,” she replied softly, confusion in her tone.
At the edge of the courtyard, someone shuffled. I tore my gaze from her to find that our witnesses stared at us, open-mouthed. Waiting.
“Come, let us join the others,” I said. “Perhaps one of them will enlighten us.” Lord Riis, the eldest and most worldly of all of us, most likely.
“Welcome to the family.” Among our witnesses, Saga recovered first and engulfed my new wife in a hug. “Prepare for madness.”
“I’m ready.” Neve smiled as she hugged my sister back.
Once they broke apart, Saga met my gaze. “So? What was that flash about?”
“We were hoping one of you might answer that,” I ventured .
Blank faces stared back at us. Not even Lord Riis appeared to have an idea.
“Well, the Grand Staret knew,” I said. “I’ll request he explain. Tomorrow.”
Our group looked exhausted, and I had little doubt that the Grand Staret was already deep in the maze of the Tower.
“Sounds good to me.” Saga stretched her arms wide as if already envisioning her bed. “Back home?”
Neve held up a finger. “I need to speak with Lord Riis. And I believe Prince Vale and I will need to sneak in without an entourage around us, anyway?” She eyed me.
“We’ll make an official appearance tomorrow,” I agreed.
Yet another thing to plan. We’d try to break the news in a way that meant as few people were around my father as possible.
My sister nodded. “We’ll go back now. It’ll draw less attention.”
Everyone offered their congratulations and the high ladies left, then the whores of the Warmsnap Tavern shuffled to the side of the courtyard to wait for Lord Riis. The knights and Filip stood a fair distance away too, huddled against the wind with Anna and Clemencia, awaiting my instructions.
Neve turned to the high lord and waved him over. “Lord Riis, I have a favor to ask.”
He gave a knowing smile. “Might it have to do with your lady-in-waiting and your friend?”
“Observant as ever,” Neve said, unsurprised. “I ask that you take them away from the city. Hide them. I have the prince’s name, but they do not.”
The pain that rippled across her face at the admission was undeniable. Surely, she’d rather the ladies remain here. For her sake, because she would need friends. I would too. But my new wife was cunning and had seen my father’s cruelty firsthand.
Clemencia and the human, Anna, needed to leave. To hide.
“I know where they’ll be safe,” Lord Riis replied and turned an eye to me. “Normally, I’d have one of my sons escort such important figures, but unfortunately, they must stay in Avaldenn.”
“The bleeding Courting Festival,” I muttered.
The whole thing was a ruse my father and brother had devised. One that was not panning out as any of us expected.
“Precisely,” Lord Riis replied. “And I’m already spreading my own guard thin by sending escorts with my employees for their safety.” He waved toward the whores. “Might I ask to borrow a Clawsguard to escort Lady Neve’s friends?”
As a member of the royal family, I was qualified to dispatch any of the elite knights of the Clawsguard. And while I didn’t like the idea of either of them leaving my side right now, Neve wouldn’t rest unless her friends were safe.
“Caelo, come here, please.” I motioned my dearest friend forward.
He joined us, a question in his eyes .
“I need you to escort Lady Clemencia and Lady Anna?—”
“I’m not a lady,” Anna piped up. The human was eavesdropping. She had better hearing than I expected too. “Just Anna.”
I smirked. “Anna, then. To safety. Wherever Lord Riis tells you to go.” I arched an eyebrow at my friend, hoping he’d read into it correctly.
Escort them. Make sure they’re safe. Do not leave them if you sense even the slightest hint of danger.
“Of course, Vale.” Caelo bowed his head. “I’ll confer with Lord Riis, and we’ll set out tonight.”
I turned to my new wife. “Say your goodbyes. Then we return to Frostveil.”
She broke away, leaving me with Lord Riis and Caelo.
“A piece of advice, my prince?” Lord Riis whispered.
“You seem to be full of it tonight, Lord Riis.”
“This night?” His eyes twinkled. “Who taught you to hold your sword?”
I snorted out a laugh. “The toy?”
He’d given me a wooden sword when I was three turns of age, taught me to hold it. Caelo had been so jealous that a moon later Lord Riis had gifted him one too.
“The idea is the same.”
The sword master I’d trained with as a youngling had said as much too.
“You have your moments of wisdom, Uncle.” I offered the familial term I hadn’t used since I was younger as a sign of gratitude.
“Learn what that flash was. If not by Staret Arkyn, then seek the House of Wisdom.” He exhaled and his breath turned white in the cold. “I believe you have a close contact there?”
“I do,” I said, not at all surprised that he knew.
Riis’s eldest son, Luccan, was part of my cabal. As was the scholar the high lord was hinting about.
“I’ll figure it out,” I said.
“And keep her safe,” he added.
I sensed that he wished to say more, but Lord Riis merely bowed and left me alone, standing in the snow and waiting for my new wife.