Chapter 29 #3
They looked at her with identical expressions painted: impassive, expectant. One shining brighter than others: Chancellor Valdren’s watery eyes gleamed and creased as he spotted his gift upon her brow.
Now he would truly believe she felt genuine attraction for him. She forced a smile on her face.
The room had pillars at each corner, forming structural ribs that converged overhead. On the ceiling, a grand tiled mosaic depicted kings and queens from long ago.
Against each wall, prominent noble houses were displayed with a flourish of jewel-toned colors and intricately embroidered insignias. Directly behind Karsan was his own royal banner: a crimson flag with a spread raven heading skyward.
The room was silent, save for the splintering of wood in the braziers and the wet sounds of Ksenia’s throat swallowing as she crossed the threshold.
A presence materialized at her side.
Bohdan’s tall figure followed her as she stepped forth into the center of the crescent, where a velvet-tufted kneeling bench awaited her.
If this were not her pledging ceremony, she would have assumed it was her execution.
She flinched as Bohdan guided her to the kneeler, his hand burning her skin despite his light touch.
With each step, the organ-like sound grew louder in her mind. A sound too vast to be called music. Radegast’s presence was so thick it displaced every thought she had.
As she knelt onto the bench, she leveled her eyes on the sword that lay across Karsan’s lap.
Tension snapped through the line of her shoulders as she then forced her stare up into his unblinking gaze.
Bohdan’s voice cut her like steel dressed with silk. “By blood and bone, you are sworn to serve the crown above all else. From this day till your last, you are bound.”
He unsheathed a dagger from his hip.
Ksenia tracked the slender silver edge from the corner of her eye.
Her own heart was a wild animal, trapped between her ribs but willing to gnaw off its own leg to escape the danger of her predicament.
He grasped her hand with a firm grip between his slender fingers, palm up.
The razor edge of the stiletto dagger kissed her palm, and she froze.
First, at the cold. Then, at the sharp brightness of the cut that faded to a warm, heavy throb. Her skin buzzed, tingling with the strange euphoria of expecting the wound.
Crimson pooled in her hand, and Bohdan forced her fingers to curl, creating a shallow cup that was quickly filling with her own sanguine essence.
Her legs were numb from kneeling against the bench, and she stiffly rose as Bohdan’s hand on the small of her back guided her to stand.
Ksenia’s feet were heavy as Bohdan led her to her murderer once more.
Karsan had yet to blink.
The crooked crown rested casually on his prominent, heavy brow, casting a jagged shadow across his face.
Wordlessly, he pointed Radegast toward her.
Ksenia’s breath hitched.
The familiarity of it all.
The intimacy.
Radegast’s point was a hand’s length away from her rising and falling chest.
With a simple thrust forward, the butcher king could end her again.
Cold sweat pricked the back of her neck.
Bohdan cleared his throat and shot her a look to complete the pledge.
It broke her reverie.
“By blood and bone…” The words were low and quavering from her lips.
She cupped her palm further, the blood overflowing and threatening to run down the back of her hand. Till she couldn’t prevent it any longer.
This first drop of blood splattered. “I am bound to serve the crown.”
Karsan’s eyes finally closed for the first time in minutes, his head bowed in quiet reverence while her blood marred the mirrored finish of his hellbound kingsword.
Ksenia could feel Caromir tremble at her hip, just as eager for her blood as a stranger’s blood.
She tipped her hand slightly, sending a nearly continuous stream onto the sword.
She watched his eyelids flutter, as if he were experiencing an intense fever dream. She was familiar with that feeling; the first time she drew blood with Caromir was the beginning of a steep, slippery slope that made her crave more.
Decades of doing this had refined Karsan’s discipline to resist Radegast’s bloodlust from taking more than a few drops.
If he hadn’t, his entire court would be dead.
Ksenia wasn’t sure if she could stop herself from killing her victim outright after one taste.
There they were, a pair of cold-blooded killers—him feasting on her blood, her yearning for his.
Sweaty, pudgy hands grasped hers as the court parted ways after the ceremony.
His breath was hot and rancid in her face. “Lady Senka, what a vision you are in that dress,” Valdren crooned. “I see you accepted my gift.” The yellowed whites of his eyes glistened as he widened them before he winked at her conspiratorially.
She pried his damp fingers from her as she forced a tight smile onto her face: “Grand Chancellor—”
“Valdren. Please, call me Valdren.” His pasty face pressed its folds into a smile.
“Valdren. Your generosity knows no bounds. I appreciate your token—”
“My dear, as the steward of Kraal’s wealth, I have no shortage of finery I wish to offer you, if only for a mere moment with you.”
His simpering voice was making her sick.
“How kind—”
“Nonsense! A woman of your beauty and talents deserves to be adorned appropriately.” His hand snatched hers, his thumb tracing circles against her palm. “I was hoping you might join me for dinner this evening? We have much to discuss—your position at court, who to befriend, who is a foe…”
Her jaw clenched. The next time he interrupted her, she would rip out his windpipe.
“I’m honored by that invitation, Grand Chancellor, but I should ask the captain first.”
“The captain?” Valdren’s wet eyes narrowed. “But I thought you were purely platonic? Just a dutiful captain and his charge.”
Heat crept up Ksenia’s neck. “Yes—yes, but—”
“Oh, by all means, Lady Senka.” Bohdan’s silken, dark voice cut through her stammer as he appeared beside the pair with a pleasant smile. “You, of course, have my blessing to familiarize yourself with the court as you wish.”
Ksenia’s gaze snapped to him. His clear green eyes held her with infuriating calm—and beneath it, the faintest glimmer of satisfaction.
That fucking bastard.
“There, you see?” Valdren’s grip tightened on her hand. “Our good captain has no objections. So will you join me?”
“Not tonight, but soon. Allow me to settle into court a while longer before we meet.” She pressed her lips into a smile. “I can’t wait to get to know you better.”
Her partial concession pleased him. Valdren bowed, his wet eyes never leaving her before departing.
The moment Valdren disappeared, Ksenia cornered Bohdan with a glare that could’ve melted glass.
His answering smirk was controlled and absolutely infuriating.
“You snake,” she seethed, stepping closer and lowering her voice. “You set me up for that vile commitment.”
“You made that choice without my interference. You could have declined him.” His tone was light and pleasant. “Unless, of course, you don’t have the social graces to know how.”
She clenched her fist, knuckles turning pale and bloodless.
“Get dressed and meet me at the spire; we have more training to do.” He smirked as she turned on her heel and walked away.