Chapter Forty-Seven
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Scarlett
The past few weeks had been filled with an endless string of court events, all requiring my attendance. No two occasions were the same, but one outcome was: Cassius and Mira were impossible to avoid.
They attended formal dinners, public events, even council meetings. And in the rare moments they weren’t around, their engagement was all the court could talk about. I might not have minded if there was some outrage mixed into the gossip, but even the sharpest-tongued courtiers had lost their edge. Everyone believed this was the perfect solution to the fighting in Kalure, and now that Mira was set to become a Ravalian princess, her rebellions were forgotten. Instead, stories of her successes in the Trials were recounted with unsettling fondness.
It was infuriating. They hadn’t even had their engagement ball yet, and somehow, Cassius and Mira’s combined popularity had eclipsed Roran’s. I almost wished he was back from Kalure, just so I could see his expression – and whatever brutal reprisal he came up with.
But I had my own problems. My father’s success with Mira and Cassius had given him an appetite for matchmaking.
I remained a careful two paces behind the emperor as we strode through the jasmine-scented gardens. It was a romantic setting, and I wondered if he had chosen it deliberately, thinking it might soften me.
If so, he had severely miscalculated.
‘You can’t be serious,’ I said, my voice brittle. ‘We can conquer Maesteri whenever we like. There’s no need to consider a betrothal—’
‘And their king knows that, which is why he offered such generous terms to acquire you for his son.’
Acquire – as if I were an object. A thing to be bought and sold.
Emperor Kalias slowed. ‘I assure you, daughter, I did not make this decision lightly. Maesteri offered us a fleet of ships and an obscene amount of gold in exchange for your hand. This marriage will greatly benefit the empire.’
‘And what of my other suitors?’ I demanded, not bothering to keep my voice down.
A few promenading nobles turned to stare, only to quickly avert their eyes. Through the windows, I caught glimpses of the revelry unfolding in the ballroom. Everything was elaborately arranged; unlike the announcement of my betrothal to the governor, which had been a dinner like any other, no expense had been spared for Cassius and Mira’s special evening.
‘There will be no other suitors,’ my father replied. ‘It’s already been decided.’
Anger rose, colder than ice. Sharper than steel. ‘You made me a promise.’
‘I know I said four months.’ The words were utterly unapologetic. ‘But Maesteri will be sending a delegation for Cassius and Mira’s upcoming wedding. I’ve already informed King Damirian that you will be sailing back with them, where you and the prince can begin preparations for your own nuptials.’
Lengthening my stride, I cut in front of him. ‘Is this how we do business now? Kowtowing to the demands of foreign nations?’
‘Careful, daughter.’ Kalias didn’t raise his voice, but the threat was clear.
I stepped aside, but didn’t lower my gaze. Once, I had looked at my father and seen a ruler to admire. Now, I saw a hypocrite – a man who clung to the trappings of power, despite his claims of ruling like the austere Northern kings. A man willing to sell his daughter for his own gain.
Blood-red robes trailed behind the emperor as he swept down the path. He didn’t bother with guards; had no need of them, his every movement powerful and controlled. But he could no longer control me .
Whatever he believed, I had no intention of going through with this marriage – and every intention of taking his life.
And his throne.
The towering doors of the grand ballroom creaked open ahead of us, and a trumpet blared as the herald read out my father’s long list of titles.
Kalias paused at the threshold and turned back towards me. ‘Prince Adomas is handsome, mild-mannered and accomplished. He’s also set to inherit his father’s title, which will make you a queen one day. Don’t fight the match. It’s as much for your benefit as it is mine.’ He brushed his thumb across my cheekbone, a gesture that was probably intended to be affectionate. But his gaze was already straying towards his makeshift throne and waiting advisers. And I knew that I had been forgotten.
A path opened up as he made his way through the circulating nobles. I drifted through the hall in his wake, feeling curiously light and insubstantial. Untethered. As if I was even more separate from the court than usual.
Plucking a glass of wine from a servant’s tray, I stared down at the red liquid. My mind was consumed with plans that had once been vague outlines, and now began to sharpen into something firmer and clearer.
‘You must be so pleased, Your Highness,’ Lady Verne said, sliding into a perfect curtsy. ‘Truly, the entire kingdom celebrates your brother’s upcoming marriage.’
A handful of beautiful ladies accompanied her, all wearing exquisite gowns and carefully unreadable expressions. Empress Ivalene’s ladies.
They dropped into similarly polished curtsies. I sipped my drink, forcing them to hold their curtsies as Lady Verne had once done to me. They were far more skilled than I was; they barely even wobbled.
I nodded for them to stand and turned a bland smile on Lady Verne. There was little chance that her comment was genuine. She had barely tolerated me during her etiquette classes, and her choice of company tonight said enough about her true feelings. Few courtiers despised me more than Ivalene’s ladies.
I tossed back the rest of my drink, delighting in Lady Verne’s appalled expression. After handing my goblet off to a passing servant, I said, ‘Your celebrations are premature. Engagements are tenuous, breakable things; just look at what happened to Governor Halvor.’
I turned my back on her with a thin smile, striding towards Mira, who was the only person here who truly mattered. But my eyes narrowed as I noticed the way Lillian had shaped Mira’s hair on top of her head like a crown. How she had taken inspiration from Zandri, turning Mira’s outfit into a showstopping spectacle, with black feathers criss-crossing from her shoulder to the fitted bodice of her gown, where they spilled down the left side of her crimson skirts like a waterfall of ink.
A queen. That was what Mira looked like – what Lillian had dressed her as. Like the queen Cassius no doubt intended her to become.
Just as I reached Mira, a herald made the announcement I had been dreading all night.
My younger brother strode into the gathering with magnetic confidence, his charcoal-and-black ensemble standing out amongst the bright tunics and dresses favoured by the court. He had come without an entourage, and didn’t seem concerned with his lateness; his apathetic face conveyed his disinterest in the nobles who parted before him, like sheep before a wolf.
His eyes searched the crowd before settling on me. ‘I warned you not to trust Father’s promises,’ he murmured in my ear.
I didn’t ask how he knew. Cassius’s influence – made up of bribes, deals and threats – infected the rest of the court like a disease, and that disease had only spread now that the balance of power had shifted in his favour.
Cassius’s gaze went over my shoulder. His voice was the epitome of silken threat as he said to me, ‘I don’t suppose you’ll mind if I borrow my fiancée, Sister.’ Without waiting for an answer, he offered Mira his arm.
She hesitated but took it, and he flashed me a darkly amused smile. Confident in the belief that he had finally outplayed me.
I watched my brother lead Mira onto the deserted dance floor. Every pair of eyes was on them, and I hoped that Cassius had miscalculated for once. Perhaps he hadn’t seen the pitiful display from Mira and Aric in the palace gardens, which had hardly constituted as dancing .
The plucking of a single harp transformed into the commanding sound of a full string orchestra as musicians sprang into action. I recognised the melody; it was one of the formal dances characteristic of the court.
And it was far too ambitious for a beginner.
While it began slowly enough, it was the kind of dance that required one to be in tune with its ebb and flow. I expected Mira to miss the fluid turns and subtle nuances of the dance, but with Cassius leading, her fast reflexes and performer instincts kicked in. There was something engrossing about the way the music drew them together and pulled them apart, the way their eyes remained riveted on each other.
A few murmurs told me I wasn’t the only one who had noticed the charged intensity between them, or how impressive their combined skill was. They presented an undeniably striking image: a whirlwind of red and black, twisting around the ballroom like a dark flame. Cassius’s blond hair and dark blue eyes glinted under the light of the chandelier; he looked like an angel, if a fallen one. With her olive skin and dark hair, Mira was his opposite – together, they were two sides of the same coin.
And I realised I had been wrong. Cassius had not miscalculated at all.
Applause rang out as he bowed to Mira, lightly kissing the back of her hand. The very image of a handsome, dashing prince.
I saw the shiver she couldn’t quite hide, and the envious way the court ladies watched her – as if being shackled to Cassius was a triumph. But I noticed what they didn’t: the way Cassius held her too close, as if he was worried she might slip away. And I felt my brother’s stare lingering on me as I left the ballroom behind.
I had suspected it would come to this, from the moment Cassius had first shown an interest in Mira. But it was one thing to suspect, and another to have those suspicions confirmed.
And now I would have to do what I had been dreading, ever since I had first learnt that Mira was plotting with Cassius.
I would have to destroy them both.
Two hours later, ways of dealing with Cassius and Mira continued to circle in my mind. It was quite annoying, because I was trying very hard not to think .
‘Am I boring you, Princess?’ Severin asked, gazing at me from where he’d been kissing his way up my thighs.
‘No,’ I said guiltily, breathing in the familiar, floral warmth of the greenhouse. ‘I’m just a little . . . preoccupied tonight.’
‘Would you like me to stop?’
That was an easy answer. ‘No. Never.’
My body quivered in anticipation as he gently pushed me back onto the divan, relishing the sensation of his strong hands against my skin. Wordlessly, Severin parted my thighs and resumed kissing his way slowly up, up, up—
I arched against the cushions with a breathy sigh. Let my head fall back, his mouth making me warm and delirious with pleasure.
When I was achingly close, he stood and began removing his clothes. I watched him, admiring the lean lines of his chest, the hardness of his body. I really didn’t want to think about my brother right now.
If Severin can live in the moment, then so can I.
Not for the first time, I marvelled at the irony. An Artisan who could see the future wanted nothing more than to live in the present. With me.
And yet . . .
‘If I asked you to See into the future for me, would you?’
Severin’s hand tightened on my shoulder, too hard to be fully comfortable. He relaxed his grip with what seemed like an effort, shifting so that he was poised over me – shirtless and magnificent, his mismatched eyes intent on mine.
‘My whole life,’ he said slowly, ‘has been about the past and future. All I want to do is be with you right here, right now. Isn’t that enough?’
I considered that in silence. Was that enough for me, to be with Severin – just Severin, without his powers as an Artisan?
I supposed the answer depended on what had attracted me to him in the first place. After Roran’s attempt to drown me, when I’d struggled to understand my changed body, the magic pulsing beneath my skin . . . Severin had been there for me. And, in time, I had wanted other things from him. I had wanted—
A distraction.
The word felt cold. Callous. It had become more than that, hadn’t it? I desired his company, missed him when he was gone, worried for his safety when he was sent away. But he had spoken of emotion that went beyond simple desire or concern.
Isn’t there anyone you love? Odessa had asked me once. Someone who you would sacrifice everything for?
No, I had almost said. There isn’t.
I had hesitated, though. Had thought of Severin and wondered whether it could be more, if I ever felt safe enough to truly let down my guard. Or perhaps I was just heartless enough to give him false hope, to draw out our dalliance as long as possible.
If that was the case, then I really was as unfeeling as the icy water that had claimed my life. My mother thought I was.
And if I was going to have the strength and cunning to claim the Ravalian throne . . . I would have to be.
But I didn’t want to give him up – his unpredictability, his touch, the way he made my pulse race like no one else.
Was that love, or possession?
I tilted my head to meet Severin’s penetrating stare. He saw the future so clearly, but did he see me ?
I stroked a hand across Severin’s muscled back. Even now, his closeness stoked a fire in me: I wanted nothing more than to stop talking, to feel his fullness inside me. So I smiled playfully, like this was all a game.
‘No,’ I breathed, bringing his face closer to mine. ‘What interests me is the future.’
Severin didn’t smile. He didn’t pull away, either. ‘You’re too ambitious for your own good.’
Maybe I was.
‘I can’t help it,’ I admitted, my words weighed down with finality. ‘I am Zandri’s daughter, after all.’
The sun was setting when Severin finally left the greenhouse. I raised a hand to my lips – still flushed and sensitive from his kisses.
As I stood, my gaze fell on the outline of another. Someone who had been standing amongst the plants, watching my tryst from the shadows.
The young man stepped forward into the dappled light and smiled. ‘For what it’s worth, I can see the appeal.’
Panic made my heart race – for a moment, words were beyond me. How long had he been there? How much had he seen ?
‘I can explain,’ I said hurriedly, knowing that I didn’t sound like I needed to: like a non-guilty person, someone calm and in control. ‘It’s not what you think. Whatever you saw—’
‘Oh, I know what I saw.’ Cassius’s face was filled with vicious triumph. ‘Don’t worry, Sister. Your secret is safe with me.’