Chapter Eighteen – Mira #2
Unbidden, I caught sight of Cassius, his golden-blond hair and white furs like a beacon in the darkness.
As usual, he wasn’t bothering to practise restraint; his appearance was slightly dishevelled, and a goblet lay discarded at his side.
My eyes narrowed when I noticed the woman he was speaking with, his arm casually draped over her slender shoulder.
‘I thought . . .’
‘You thought what, my love?’ V?lund asked, following my gaze to Cassius. His expression darkened, probably misinterpreting my confusion for jealousy. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
‘He was with a woman last night. I heard them through the walls of my chambers.’ Realising this explanation was not helping my case, I hurried on, ‘I thought she was one of the priestesses. It seems I was mistaken.’
Astrid left Cassius and returned to pour us wine, keeping her head bowed respectfully.
I supposed V?lund’s attendant was beautiful, with her wavy chestnut hair and innocent face.
I just hadn’t expected Cassius to go for a Kalurian – but really, since when was I an expert on the kinds of women he liked?
Gods, maybe I was jealous.
‘Perhaps you should slow down,’ V?lund advised after I finished my second goblet.
I was content to take his advice. Everything had taken on a pleasant haze. Even the thought of the consummation no longer felt quite as daunting.
I leant back against V?lund’s chest. His arms tightened around me, and even though I didn’t love him, I realised I felt safe in his arms. Maybe that was because of everything this alliance signified – but I suspected it was also because of the kind of person he was. Solid. Caring. Fierce.
I wondered if there was more to him. Perhaps it was the wine, but I was curious to find out.
‘Come with me,’ I said with a flirtatious smile, pulling V?lund to his feet.
People turned to stare as we made our way back through the gathering.
Cassius was one of them, though I avoided his intense gaze, focusing on the warmth of V?lund’s body against mine, the feeling of his pulse beating beneath my hand.
It was faster than usual, as if he liked the idea of leaving our own celebrations behind.
Once we were inside the hedge maze, the hum of voices faded to silence. I might have called it peaceful, but there was a kind of energy here – just as there was in the Wilds. It called to me, and as it did, a breeze raced through the maze. Scattering the leaves on the path.
‘You should surprise me more often,’ V?lund murmured. And then he claimed my mouth.
This kiss was less polite than his others, and more demanding. But I liked it.
Both V?lund and I had warrior instincts. I embraced the push-pull that I’d felt during our sparring sessions, pressing him against the hedge. His hands ran over my body, his touch explorative and somehow reverent.
V?lund’s hands threaded through my hair.
I closed my eyes, surrendering to sensation, uncaring that the priestess’s careful work was being undone.
When we returned to the celebrations, everyone would know what we had been doing.
But what was wrong with that? We were married.
And even if we weren’t, Kalurians apparently valued experience over virtue . . .
I was thinking too much. I tried to refocus, to lose myself in V?lund’s touch, in the hardness of his muscular chest against mine.
Yes, that was better. But when I closed my eyes once more, it wasn’t V?lund I was imagining.
My mind was cruel to conjure Aric’s face. His intent gaze. How he had taken his time, never releasing eye contact, until he had been as overwhelmed as I was. We’d lain in each other’s arms afterwards, and it had felt like the beginning of something. Something wonderful.
V?lund was kissing my neck. His lips left a burning trail, and a breathy sigh escaped me.
That sigh reminded me of Astrid. Of Cassius.
And suddenly I was thinking of him instead. Imagining how it might feel with Cassius in V?lund’s place, unpredictable instead of steady, dark instead of light, his lips calculated and commanding and utterly forbidden–
I was just about to push V?lund off me, to tell him it was no use, when his body stiffened.
And then he stumbled.
My first thought was that I had done this to him. That my chaotic emotions had triggered my magic and that magic had targeted my husband. Why else would blood be pouring from his eyes?
Then V?lund gasped out a word that made more sense. ‘ Poison .’
‘I’ll get help,’ I told him frantically. ‘You’re going to be fine. Velanthe will find a way to fix this.’
She has to.
I thought I heard V?lund murmur something. It sounded like Stay .
But I was already running back through the maze. I cried out in frustration as my path ended in a dead end, forcing me to retrace my steps. Desperation made me clumsy. I tripped and stumbled but righted myself and kept moving, each step taking me closer to the entrance.
And then I was hurtling towards the bonfires, and I must have looked a fright because people were murmuring and pointing–
‘V?lund,’ I shouted – but it came out more like a whisper. ‘V?lund has been poisoned. He needs help . . .’
Light-headedness made me sway. I tried to blink, but it was as if a red film had covered my vision. I raised my fingers to my cheeks. They came away wet with tears.
No – not tears. Blood .
Cassius caught me as I fell. And then the world was tilting – he was lifting me, carrying me in his arms. I tried to protest, but nothing left my lips except a groan.
‘Get V?lund,’ Velanthe’s voice barked from behind me. ‘Bring him to the Temple.’
Then she lowered her voice, speaking with the other priestesses. I caught snatches of their conversation.
‘–the same poison that killed King Arioch–’
‘–Zandri’s own recipe–’
‘–might have an antidote–’
‘–Temple stores–’
I let out a pained gasp. ‘Cold,’ I said, or thought I did. ‘I feel so cold.’
Cassius’s grip tightened. ‘I know, Mira.’ He moved faster – was he running? – and the impact should have been jarring, but I felt separate from my own body. Except for the cold. It was spreading – like sickness through my veins.
Like poison.
My eyes fluttered shut. When they reopened, my teeth were chattering, and I was surrounded by dark stone. A pair of red eyes blurred in front of me, and I shook my head, trying to clear my vision. Why weren’t they midnight blue?
‘You look like a demon,’ I whispered.
‘Shh.’ Cassius caught my outstretched hand. I barely felt it. ‘Don’t try to talk.’ Less gently, he turned to shout at the priestesses, ‘Have you found it yet? She’s delirious.’
A priestess hurried over, holding up a vial of clear liquid. ‘There’s only enough for one dose.’
Dimly I heard Velanthe shout an order from across the room. ‘The queen! Save the queen! ’
My eyes dropped to the vial in the priestess’s hand. My delirious brain could barely comprehend what was happening, but I clung to clarity long enough to think of V?lund dying. To remember the promises I had made to him and the way he had begged me to stay.
‘Give it to him,’ I gasped. My final order. ‘Give it to V?lund.’
The priestess hesitated, her hand trembling. ‘Y-your Majesty . . .?’
My voice was so faint it was barely audible. But I managed three last words: ‘Obey your queen.’
I watched her hover over V?lund’s still form beside me, the antidote in her hand. All the priestess needed to do was open his mouth–
Cassius snatched the vial from her. ‘Wrong choice,’ he said, and forced the liquid down my throat.