Chapter 52
"Good morning," I said, gripping sweet pastries in my hand to a room full to the brim with princes and princesses who stared at me in surprise.
I stopped in front of the large table where I hadn't sat in months, greeted Father, and then made my way toward my usual seat, with only one chair separating me from Faran.
As always, Lys immediately pulled my chair out and waited for me to sit before pushing it back beneath me.
Still biting into a pastry filled with raspberry jam, I poured myself a glass of wine and glanced around the table.
"Sister, what has brought you here?" Meera asked in confusion, and I shrugged in return.
"A little bird told me you all missed me." She chuckled.
"Mhm. Sure." She leaned back into her chair.
"What an honor, sister. We should have called a painter to capture this moment. After how many months has Your Highness finally decided to grace us with her magnificent presence?" Sando teased me, his ring-covered fingers interlaced on the table.
I rolled my eyes and waved a hand.
"And the first time your knight has joined us," Meera continued, and I groaned.
"If you're going to tease me this much, I'll just..." I pointed towards the doors I had just come through. I leaned back in my chair while they laughed.
I could even hear the quiet rumble in Lys's chest as he laughed along with them.
"Children, please. Let's return to the matters that actually matter," Father said. Then he turned toward me, and his eyes softened. "Daughter, I'm glad to see you here again. Knight, I bid you welcome." He said it to me first before turning toward Lys, who gave him a grateful nod.
"We were just talking about you."
Meera laughed again at that, as though she'd remembered something. She covered her mouth with one hand, but she couldn't quite contain the laughter beneath it.
"Daughter, pray tell me... what exactly did you say to Prince Haarza?" Father asked.
Every person at the table turned toward me. Some were laughing, while Faran wore the familiar annoyed expression I had come to recognize.
I shrugged.
"Nothing, Father. I simply rejected him."
"Daughter, he rode away at dawn on his own... and he took that horse of yours back."
"Excuse me?" I stared at him.
Meera's laughter erupted across the room again. I slowly turned toward her, and she was practically shaking in her seat, her face bright red and tears gathering beneath her eyes. Even Corian eventually approached and handed her a handkerchief.
I turned back toward Father.
"What do you mean he took the horse?"
He nodded and lifted both hands from the table.
"The stable hands told me he came this morning and took the horse back. He said that you wanted to ride and that you were waiting for him, so he took the horse. Later, they saw him ride out of the castle grounds and onto the ship. The King, the Queen,
and Princess Yan are devastated and humiliated because of him."
He spoke slowly, while my mouth opened wider and wider. I couldn't tell whether it was from shock or laughter. "They left the castle afterward as well. And that is why I'm asking you. What did you do?"
I tapped my fingers against the table, letting my gaze move across everyone seated around it. "He said Faran had approved him courting me, then called me a brat and ran away,"
Meera burst into laughter again.
This time, however, Father didn't find it funny. He slowly turned his gaze toward Faran.
"What do you mean you approved this?" he asked quietly.
Faran shifted in his seat and cleared his throat.
"My King, I did nothing of the sort—"
"Are you saying Isolde is lying?"
"I only wanted my sister to have the best match she could possibly have and—" The lie slipped so easily from his tongue as he spoke to Father that it was almost impressive.
But Father already knew.
"Faran, first, if anyone is ever asked about the marriages of any of my daughters, they will ask either Sanaedeo or me. Me first. I told Isolde herself that she may choose and do whatever she wishes, and you decided to disregard my wishes. Is that true?"
Faran immediately shot to his feet.
"My King, that isn't true. Isolde is lying. I only said that he could walk with her and—"
"I've heard enough. Sit." Father waved him off, and Faran sat down without another word.
He dropped heavily into the chair and pulled it toward himself, nearly spilling his wine as he poured it into his glass. I felt his eyes drilling a hole through my skull, but I said nothing.
"You. Bring me more wine. More wine!" He shouted at someone behind me, and only when I looked again did I realize he was shouting at Lys.
Lys, however, as always, didn't respond to his commands. His eyes remained fixed on me.
"Brother, calm down." Sanaedeo's voice carried command, but Faran didn't listen.
He rose from his chair and approached Lys. "You mutt. Bring me wine," he spat.
Lys didn't move.
I clenched my hands against the table, following every one of Faran's steps. The moment he got directly into Lys's face, I rose from my chair as well.
"Enough, brother," Meera tried to say.
He cut her off.
"What? Or is your dog going to bite too?" He snarled at Corian before turning back toward Lys. "I'm a prince, and you will obey my commands. Bring me more wine." He shoved the empty pitcher into Lys's stomach.
Lys merely looked down at it before lifting his gaze back toward me. I clenched my jaw so tightly I thought my teeth might crack, while the air in the room seemed to grow thinner with every second.
Faran, now seemingly consumed by whatever sickness lived inside his mind, reached to his hip, where his dagger rested, and pulled it free. I stumbled backward, cold sweat breaking across my skin.
"Enough," I said, but it had no effect. He raised the dagger toward Lys's throat. But my Lys didn't move a muscle. He only continued looking at me. As though he didn't care that he might die.
His loyal eyes remained fixed on mine.
"I'll slit his throat like a dog's, Isolde," Faran said, his voice full of madness as he addressed me. "I'll cut him into pieces, but maybe I'll leave you his coc—"
"Enough, Faran."
Finally, Father's voice thundered through the room.
Faran recoiled when the King himself stepped beside him and forced his arm downward.
"Get out. Now. Or the guards will remove you."
Only when Faran dropped the dagger and stormed out of the room, cursing under his breath, did I finally release the air from my lungs.
My legs were trembling as I somehow managed to sit back down. I slowly turned toward Meera, who was looking at me with the same wide-eyed expression.
She shook her head.
I could do nothing more but bury my face in my hands. I released another shaky breath and dragged a hand over my face.
"I need to cool down."That was all I managed to say before getting to my feet. "King, if you'll excuse me..." I barely managed the words, but he nodded in concern, allowing me to leave.
Somehow, I reached the doors and pushed them open.
"Find Welme and tell her I'm waiting for her in my chambers," I told the first servant who passed me. When she disappeared from sight, I turned toward Lys.
"Are you alright?" he asked before I could ask him.
"I think I should be asking you that."
He simply shook his head, as though there hadn't been a dagger beneath his throat only moments earlier. "Take a deep breath, Princess." He commanded, and I obeyed.
"Now exhale."
Again, I followed his instruction.
He glanced around before taking a few steps toward me.
"Inhale, Isolde," he whispered, placing his palm against my chest, where my heart was still jumping beneath the fabric. "Come on. Breathe." He inhaled with me.
"I'm alright, and everything is alright," he said quietly.
Finally, I opened my eyes, breathing a little easier.
I placed my hand over his where it rested against my chest and took another deep breath. "Thank you." He said nothing. He simply turned the hand resting against my chest so that our palms met, and for only a moment, his fingers intertwined with mine.
We stayed like that for a single blink, the beat of a bird's wings, and then, as though nothing had happened, we released each other's hands and walked toward my chambers; the only sign of our encounter was on my fire-kissed skin and beat of my heart.