CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE ISI #2
“Holding a wedding without me, my love?” he asked as he neared, magic flickering in his eyes.
Lord Alfred roared with anger.
Pherin and Gavelle stopped, their big paws planted between chairs, smoke curling from their drawn back lips.
Trew reached the altar, and he pulled me to his side. Our fingers intertwined, and warmth flooded through me.
He sneered at the elder, whose face had gone pale as parchment.
“I object.” His gaze cut to my father, who’d backed away but still appeared ready to act if given a chance, his complexion florid.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m King Trewyn Valdris Nyx Syllavar of Syllavar Court.” Trew’s voice carried across the garden. “I’m here to claim my queen.”
Stunned silence rippled through the crowd. Those who hadn’t fled stood frozen, caught between terror of the firecats and shock at the revelation.
A royal wedding interrupted by a foreign king wasn’t just a scandal, it meant war.
“Seize him!” The rage finally broke through Father’s voice, raw and ugly and shaking. “He’s been inside my walls. Inside my court. Kill him. Kill them all.”
His guards hesitated. The firecats had positioned themselves strategically, and even the most loyal soldier apparently had limits to their courage.
Lady Pemberton fainted into her husband’s arms as musicians abandoned their instruments and fled. Nobles stared in fascination mixed with terror, probably already composing the letters they’d send to friends at other courts. This would provide gossip for months.
But the servants’ reactions warmed my heart. Mae grinned, tears streaming down her face. Kitchen staff had emerged from the castle to witness their princess’s rescue. A few looked like they might applaud.
“This is an act of war,” Lord Alfred sputtered.
Trew’s smile contained only sharp edges. “Good. I was hoping someone would make it official.” He turned back to me and stroked my cheek with the back of his knuckles. “Told you I’d come for you, Minx.”
Relief crashed through me so hard my knees went weak, mixing with the rage still burning in my veins. Love swelled in my chest until I thought I was going to burst from it.
I smiled up at him. “Wonderful timing, love.”
“Kill him,” Father’s scream tore through the garden. “He’s the rebel king. Kill him.”
Pherin’s lips pulled back, revealing teeth designed to tear off a head with one bite. She blasted fire toward the only guards looking eager to engage. Crying out, they pivoted and fled.
My father charged at Trew with his hands raised like claws.
Trew redirected the attack with a magically enhanced blow of his hand, sending my father stumbling backward.
When Lord Alfred took the moment to latch onto my arm, I gouged with my blade, slicing through his gilded robe and into his skin. I followed it up by poking the tip of his own sword against his throat.
He reeled away, his jaw gaping wide.
A shadow swooped over us, huge wings beating the air, creating gusts that sent flower petals swirling like pink snow. The remaining guests screamed as Lakast descended, his scales gleaming in the morning sun.
The dragon landed in the center of the garden, knocking over chairs and flower festooned poles. Decorative arrangements exploded into fragments. Silk ribbons tore free and whipped through the air.
The elder, wiser than he’d looked, had left already.
Lord Alfred raced away, his formal robes tangling around his legs, tripping him.
Father dove for cover behind an overturned chair, his crown tumbling from his head.
Nobles ran in every direction. Guards shouted conflicting orders.
“I had a plan for him,” I grumbled, eyeing Alfred’s retreating form.
“Did you now?” Trew’s attention stayed on the guards, but amusement threaded through his voice.
“Nothing kind.”
“Tell me later. I want details.”
“If we survive this, I’ll give you a demonstration.”
His grin flashed. “I cannot wait.”
We raced toward Lakast, Pherin and Gavelle stomping in behind to cover our backs.
When Trew reached the dragon’s side, he paused, looking down at me. “Can you climb?”
“Nothing is going to stop me.” I grabbed the ridge on Lakast’s foreleg and hauled myself up with the same determination that had gotten me to Syllavar. My arms burned, and the shortened dress caught on scales, but I didn’t slow.
When I reached the back, I settled between spine ridges and offered Trew my hand. “Do you need help, Your Majesty? I’d like to leave before they rally the archers.”
Trew’s grin flashed as he climbed up and took my hand to settle behind me. “You’re bossy.”
“You love it.”
“Desperately.”
Another shadow passed overhead.
Kyreth soared by, Lexie’s wild grin visible even from a distance. Derren sat behind her, and Kerralyn clung to his back, all three of them laughing like people who’d just pulled off the greatest heist in history.
“After them!” My father had recovered, and was flinging his arms around, shouting orders. “Shoot them down!”
He should’ve ordered archers for the ceremony, not endless pink flowers and ribbons, because the guards could only lift their swords and thrust them into the air. None came close to the dragon, and with smoke and sparks coiling from Lakast’s nostrils, who could blame them?
“Do you need anything here before we depart, love?” Trew asked in a surprisingly calm voice by my ear.
“Everything I need is both sitting behind me and riding dragons.”
But even as I said it, my mind was already racing ahead. “My father will call for a rescue mission, framing you as my kidnapper. We’ll need to secure the border passes before he can move his full army south.”
Trew’s chest rumbled with approval against my back. “Already planning our defense?”
“Someone has to.”
“That’s my Minx.” He curled forward and kissed my cheek.
Lakast launched into the sky with powerful beats of his wings. The ground fell away beneath us as we climbed, the wind whipping pins from my hair and scattering the overly curled tresses.
A few arrows shot into the air from below us as we soared upward, missing us by a wide margin.
Father’s voice carried to us, bellowing threats of war and vengeance, but the words grew fainter with each passing second.