Chapter 5
Cillian
“Cillian Wolfgang, you are an hour late,” Mother screeched as I walked into my chambers.
Wolfe and Nevan stood there, both of them shrinking back as my mother yelled, arms flailing.
“Don’t anger the beast,” Nevan mumbled.
“Your own wedding day, Cillian. Of all the days to not be late, this would be the one.” She wrinkled her nose. “And you smell awful.”
“Thank you,” I said, striding past her and into the attached bath chamber, out of view.
My coat stand waddled over, taking off my jacket and unbuttoning my shirt.
It yanked it off my arms a little harder than necessary.
It was Castle’s magic at work, all these items brought to life by its powers.
Though as the high prince, I’d think these sentient objects would be a little gentler with me.
Then again, I’d always had this feeling that Castle was disappointed with its choice, that it didn’t particularly want me as its ruler.
I wasn’t sure why it had crowned me high prince in the first place, but it had, and now I got to live in a sentient home that turned against me every chance it got.
That was exactly why I was embarking on this ill-fated marriage.
Castle had brought together every other high prince and queen in its history, and they’d always been well-matched, perfect for each other. But not me.
Castle had never given me a queen, so I’d had to do it myself—after one of my excursions outside Fairwitch a few weeks ago, I’d been horrified to see our barrier was weaker than ever, exposing us.
So I’d gone to the council and told them I was choosing a queen.
Except I didn’t choose Siobhan. My council did.
And she seemed to have very little interest in me.
She was much more excited by the idea of being queen than my wife.
I wasn’t all that excited either.
“Thank you, Coat Stand.”
It waddled away with my dirty clothes, throwing them into a woven basket as I sank into the steaming tub.
“Are you in the tub now?” Mother called.
I was tempted to sink lower and drown out her voice. “Yes,” I said back.
“Good.” She barged in, then looked behind her. “Are you two coming?”
My brothers both groaned but followed Mother, standing as far away from my tub as possible.
“You didn’t feel like inviting Father to the party?”
“He is already at the temple, where you should be,” she shot back.
Wolfe shook his head behind her in a warning to shut up.
“Can I have a little privacy?” I asked as a bucket dumped hot water over my head, nearly drowning me.
I glared at it as it dove into the water to get more.
“That’s enough,” I said. “I can wash my own hair and not get waterboarded in the process.”
I lathered soap in my hands and started scrubbing.
Mother waved her hand. “Cillian, today is your wedding day. You’re finally getting married, and you don’t seem to care at all.”
Wolfe and Nevan shot each other looks, and my mother’s sharp greyish blue eyes homed in on them. “What was that look?” she asked. “Do you two know something I don’t?”
Nevan spread out his hands helplessly. “All you’ve wanted for us is marriage, and now your youngest son is finally getting married, and you just seem so . . . huffy about it.”
My eyes bugged out at my older brother.
Wolfe squeezed his eyes shut as Mother rounded on Nevan, who backed against the wall.
“Did you just call me huffy about my son’s marriage?”
Wolfe grunted and crossed his muscled arms over his chest while Nevan fidgeted, pushing his spectacles up his nose.
“Leave them alone, Mother,” I said before one of them broke. “I’m here, am I not? I’m getting bathed. Dressed. And I’ll be ready in time.”
She looked lovely today, wearing a periwinkle dress, her gray hair up in a neat bun. Her eyes crinkled. “But are you happy? Excited? Scared? Anything?”
“All of the above,” I said, not even sure what happy felt like anymore.
I didn’t know when I’d last felt happy, and then I remembered the dream I’d had last night.
I couldn’t remember the details, but in the split second before my eyes had opened, before I’d been fully woken up, I’d felt happy, a feeling so foreign and odd, thanks to my trusty tonic.
The one I didn’t currently have.
If I could’ve used my numbing tonic on any day, my fucking wedding day would be the one. No matter, I’d get some later.
Or maybe I wouldn’t need it anymore after today. I would get married, the castle’s magic would strengthen, and all that had disappeared would return. Including our armory. Something we desperately needed to defend ourselves if the Brotherhood of Magic ever found us.
It would finally feel like Castle wanted me to be its high prince, and I wouldn’t need to numb all my fucking emotions to function. God-fucking-witches. I just needed to get through today, and right now, everything was beginning to feel unbearable, especially with Mother hovering.
“Mother, leave him be,” Wolfe said. “It’s his wedding day. He’s probably a jumble of nerves.”
Not really, but I wasn’t going to argue.
My mother swallowed thickly.
“Yes, listen to Nevan.” I ducked my head under the water, washing all the soap away, then popped back up. “Also, unless you all want a full-frontal view, I suggest stepping out of the bath chamber.”
Both my brothers immediately backed out while Mother stared at me.
“I’m warning you,” I said in a singsong voice, “I’m going to stand.”
“Nothing I haven’t seen before.” She raised her chin. “Are you all right, Cillian? You’ve seemed so off lately, so distant. You’ve always been so even keel, so lighthearted, but I can’t help but think you’re rushing into this.”
I swallowed, throat bobbing. “I assure you, I’m taking this seriously. I’m happy, okay? I am finally going to have a queen and restore our castle to its former glory. Our magic will come back in full force.”
“If you’re sure,” she said, hesitation filling her voice. “I suppose I’ll let you get dressed.” She finally walked out of the room, her hushed whispers with my brothers drowned out by the sound of me getting out of the tub.
A towel flew around my waist, wrapping tight. I was ready to get this ceremony over with. Then maybe I could at least enjoy the party after. The wine, the food, the attention. I liked all of those things, and Siobhan did as well. Maybe we’d bond. Come to love each other eventually.
I got dressed with the help of my coat hanger, its wooden arms twisting to straighten my doublet and help me into my overcoat. As I stepped out into my bed chamber, a few rose petals fell from the wall that was covered in them. A dustpan and broom darted past me to sweep them up.
“Well?” I asked.
My brothers and mother all faced the massive windows that gave us a view of the sprawling mountaintop our city was situated on, but they turned when I spoke, and my mother’s eyes welled with tears.
“Look at you. So handsome.”
I turned to face the mirror on the wall next to my bed. I wore black trousers and a golden button-up shirt that made my blue eyes pop. My wavy dark hair was already drying, curling around the nape of my neck, a few wayward strands falling across my forehead. “I am, aren’t I?”
Wolfe snorted. “Very humble too.”
“Siobhan is going to look stunning next to you,” Mother said. “Especially with Ceri designing her dress. That woman knows how to make anyone shine.”
She did. I was still thinking about that damn green dress she was wearing today. One of the shoulder straps kept falling down, exposing her bare shoulder, drawing the eyes to her collarbone.
“Are you excited to see it?” Mother asked.
“Yes, of course,” I said. I didn’t reveal that I’d already seen it and somehow didn’t remember a single detail.
Mother would only spiral more, and I didn’t need spiraling.
Not today. Today was a good day. It was the day that I’d finally bring our castle’s full magic back.
Surely marrying and giving the castle a queen was what it wanted.
I might not have been the best high prince; I might have actually been one of the worst, so I’d heard, but I could do this one thing.
I clapped my hands as I spun on my heel. “Who’s ready for a wedding?”