Chapter 16
When we’re done in the orangery, William heads off to get ready for the ball – something Kay has been doing since she woke. And evidently it was worth it. As she walks down the steps into the hallway, the sight of her is enough to take my breath away.
‘You look stunning,’ I tell her honestly.
‘I feel beautiful,’ she admits, taking my hand and squeezing it tightly. ‘Like a proper bride.’
I’m reminded of her words from yesterday, about how she needs this marriage to work, not just for the safety of her child, but because this is her only chance at love.
‘You are a proper bride,’ I tell her. ‘Come on, I’m sure the king won’t want to be kept waiting.’
Especially not for my family, I think to myself, although I do not say as much. Besides, Kay isn’t a Kultavaris anymore. She’s a Lorathin.
Acacia Lorathin. It still sounds so odd to my ears, but I suppose I will get used to it with time.
We enter the ballroom and though the king’s ego is on show in full force, from the size of the orchestral ensemble to the gratuitously overindulgent banquet, I try to keep a smile on my face.
This is meant to be a happy day for my family.
‘It’s beautiful,’ Kay murmurs in awe. ‘The florist told me the theme for this ball was blue, and we match perfectly. It looks as if it was created for us, doesn’t it?’
‘You picked the outfits perfectly,’ I respond, offering the smile I know she needs to see.
As I scan the crowd, I spot William at the side of the room.
As Kay requested, he is also in a pale blue waistcoat.
It’s subtle enough to be passed off as a coincidence, but heartwarming nonetheless.
I instinctively make a beeline towards him, but his gaze narrows and he offers me a small shake of the head.
Only then do I see Artur approaching him from the other side.
Of course. He has not told Artur that he knows the truth about his parents.
To him, I am still nothing more than the gifted and now sister to Jonas’s wife.
It will have to be a masquerade ball, minus the actual mask-wearing.
I think of the marks on William’s stomach.
The sign of the Issen. More than once over the last two days, I’ve considered asking Benny how fast they appear to be spreading and if he can tell how long it will take before they’re on visible parts of William’s body, but I knew there was no point.
William himself told us that it spreads more quickly when he uses the magic, which he’s done twice over the last couple of days.
Besides, our plan is to get to the Issen as fast as possible. That’s all that matters.
‘You will need to be the one to present me to the king,’ Kay says, pulling my attention back to her.
‘Sorry?’ I twist around as if she has slapped me. ‘I have to present you to the king?’
‘That is what Jonas told me. Normally, it would be a parent. It’s only necessary for the bride, not for the groom. That isn’t a problem, is it?’ she asks. ‘You are the gifted. He should be honoured to speak to you again.’
The way she says it, as though she genuinely believes it is the truth, only shows how na?ve she remains, despite everything.
Gods know, if Kay and Jonas weren’t already married, Korvane would probably turn me away just on principle.
‘No, that’s not a problem,’ I lie, my stomach twisting.
Then again, maybe this is good. It’s a chance to look him in the eye. Hold his gaze. Show him that he and his lying son haven’t broken me, even if that was his plan.
Drawing in a long breath, I look around for the monarch, only for my eyes to fall on a far more welcome face.
‘She got you to wear blue, too?’ I say as I hug Benny.
‘What can I say? You Kultavaris women can be persuasive.’ He grins. ‘You ready for this?’
‘Presenting her to Korvane?’ I ask. ‘It can’t be any worse than facing a jotunn, can it?’ I question, expecting him to offer at least a half-laugh at my joke, but instead his face is stony.
‘Honey, Korvane’s not here,’ he says grimly. ‘It won’t be him you’re presenting your sister to.’
‘Not Korvane? Then who?’ But I know the answer before the words have even left my lips.
A sweeping headiness wafts through me.
‘No. Please, Gods, no,’ I groan, and as Benny’s gaze shifts, my eyes follow.
There, standing at the end of the ballroom, drink in his hand, redhead on his arm, is Kyor.
Fuck.
Whether he noticed my arrival or not, I cannot say, but now, as I look at him, his eyes lock on mine with an intensity raw enough to stop my heart from beating. Without so much as a single word to the woman at his side, he slips his arm out of hers and strides across the room to me.
‘Gifted,’ he says. ‘I hear your family has reason to celebrate tonight.’ The clipped tone of his voice makes it sound as if he’s talking to any member of the court. A stranger. Not someone who shared his bed. Not someone who risked her life diving into an abyss for him.
Beside me, I feel tension radiating from Benny.
If this were a private situation, I don’t doubt my friend would have more than one choice word for Kyor.
But this isn’t a private situation. It’s very public, and to the public, he is the prince and I am the gifted. I am also the Queenkiller’s daughter.
That is all we are to one another, all I am to him. A meaningless moment for him was everything to me. One that stole my heart. Fool that I was for letting it be taken.
‘You’re right, we do,’ I reply eventually. ‘And we’ve got beautiful weather for it too.’ My eyes are unblinking as a cold smile graces my expression. ‘Clear blue skies. Not a cloud in sight. I thought after the Retterheld the storm might linger, but apparently not.’
Something flickers across his face, almost too fast for me to catch, and I’m tempted to look at Benny, to see if it was just my imagination, but I refuse to be the first to look away.
‘My father wished for me to be the one to make the announcement,’ he says, his voice a fraction quieter.
‘And whatever your father wants, he must surely get,’ I reply, that polite smile of mine still fixed in place.
This time there’s no denying the way his jaw locks.
‘Rose, please—’ He’s shifting as if he’s going to move closer when Benny speaks.
‘Your Royal Highness, I believe you have a marriage to announce?’ he says.
Kyor’s eyes flicker to Benny, as if he only just realised he’s there. His forehead furrows before he glances back at me.
‘Yes, yes, I do,’ he agrees before striding away and plucking a glass of champagne from a waiter.
‘Sorry for interrupting,’ Benny whispers to me, ‘but I figured this wasn’t the best place for you to have one of your little turns. Suffocate the prince and all that.’
I wince. ‘Yes, you’re right. Thanks.’ And he is. Who knows how my magic would have flared up if Kyor had been near me for much longer.
Glass in hand, Kyor strolls to the dais before retrieving a dagger from his belt and chiming it against the flute.
I find I can’t pull my eyes away from him as silence falls over the ballroom, the courtiers ready to hang on his every word.
‘Lords and Ladies.’ The rumble of his voice sends shivers down my spine.
‘After the festivities of the Retterheld, we are pleased to announce yet more blessings bestowed on the family of the gifted. A union between Lord Jonas Lorathin and Lady Acacia Kultavaris has been granted by Etta. Tell me, who is to present the bride?’
My temper flares within me. Who the fuck does he think is going to present her?
His actions saw to it that I was the only person she had left – before Florian was returned to us that is.
Kyor and every person in this Godsforsaken palace knows the former, but this is all just a role to him.
The words and their meaning don’t matter. The hurt they cause me, irrelevant.
‘I present her,’ I reply, locking my eyes on his. If he wants to make it a game, I’ll play. ‘Rose Kultavaris. The gifted.’ I use my title like the weapon it is.
Murmurs threaten to steal the silence, but Kyor does not give them a chance.
‘Very well,’ he says. ‘Then let this union, blessed by the Goddess of Life, be seen and honoured by all within this court and kingdom. Jonas and Acacia Lorathin. One now and always. Members of the court, will you please join me in raising a glass to the newly married couple?’
‘Married?’ I hear the word rise in surprise all around us. ‘Not engaged?’
Applause and polite chatter fill the room, but it is not loud enough to drown out the muttering. If I can hear it, I’m sure Kay can too.
‘There must be a reason.’
‘She was staying with his father, was she not?’
‘The engagement must have happened in secret first. Assuming the sister won. That must be why they took her in.’
I’m surprised by the relief that comes with such gossip.
Let them think it was a condition of Artur offering her sanctuary.
It is better than them knowing the truth.
Pregnant before wedlock. It’s a sin in Korvane’s eyes that would see her stripped and back in the slums. Not that she appears to have any magic to strip just yet.
‘Thank you. Thank you.’ Jonas’s voice cuts above the chatter. ‘Your kind words are more than I deserve. My wife and I truly appreciate it.’
He glances down at Acacia, his eyes gleaming. A perfect act of love and devotion. They’re certainly going to have most of the court fooled.
I can’t help but look at Kyor … only to find his gaze locked on me. Suddenly the rest of the room falls away. This moment is all that exists between us – the thunder of my pulse rushing in my ears, the hot flash of desire that is absurd, and the ache of my broken heart.
In the end, it is the latter that breaks the spell he must surely be weaving on me.
I refocus on Kay, who looks radiant. She is raising her own glass. ‘May the Goddess’s blessing follow us through our generation and beyond.’ Kay beams as she stares at her husband, her words ringing out over the assembly.
‘Your generation and beyond.’ The cheer goes up around the room, and it’s only when the noise dims that I remember I was meant to join them. Meant to be watching them instead of Kyor, but it’s hard with the way I can feel the buzz of his gaze flitting across my skin.
Tuning him out the best I can, I lift my glass, ready to echo the words of Kay’s toast, only to stop. Jonas is still looking doe-eyed at Kay, but rather than simply standing there and accepting the toast, he leans in towards her, wraps his hand around the back of her neck, and kisses her.
Really kisses her.
Whatever dregs remain in my drink are quickly gone.
Of course a kiss makes sense. Kissing is what couples do.
But would it have hurt to be a peck on the cheek?
Instead, it’s a full-on, oh-my-Gods-they’re-using-tongue-I-don’t-need-to-see-my-sister-do-this type of kiss.
It’s certainly less awkward and more – urgh – sexual than the first kiss Jonas and I shared.
My stomach somersaults, not from jealousy, but from sheer discomfort.
Is this not their first kiss? Have they practised for this moment? Or worse still, kissed just because they wanted to?
‘Just a word of advice? Looking like you want to vomit when your sister announces her marriage isn’t a great move,’ Benny whispers in my ear. ‘Try smiling.’
‘Right. Right.’ I pull my lips upwards into something I think resembles a smile and force my eyes to meet several of those looking at me.
Thankfully, with all the fuss they’re getting, Kay missed my response, and I’m able to slip further away.
‘I have to admit, they make a dashing couple,’ Benny says, still sticking to my side.
‘Let’s not think about it right now,’ I respond. I search for a fresh drink, only for my eyes to fall, as if pulled by magnets, on Kyor yet again.
Somehow, after the toast, he has crossed the room and is once again standing only a few feet away from me.
‘Gifted,’ he says, his voice just loud enough to be heard. ‘Will you do me the honour of a dance?’