Surely, Amara had heard him wrong.
She grappled to hold on to her composure, to not suddenly flee from the room. So this was why her father had wanted her here, and it had nothing to do with respect.
He wanted to use her as a bargaining chip.
She felt Felix’s gaze on her, and chanced a glance at him. He studied her with a deep frown.
“This union,” the emperor continued, “will symbolize the joining of our families and the sharing of power between you and me. Is this agreeable to you, Gaius? I know you’ve recently lost your queen and must be ready for a new one.”
The king appeared to consider this turn of events calmly. “Yes, my beloved Althea,” he said. “I have missed the company of a wife so very much. But with respect, your eminence, I would never wish to force such an arrangement upon anyone, least of all your lovely daughter.”
“Perhaps that is where you and I differ.”
“Perhaps,” the king acknowledged with a nod. “But I could only agree to this if Princess Amara does as well.”
All attention shifted to the princess.
She’d refused every other suitor her father had thrust her way, and the emperor had never forced her hand before. But that was then, when she was of so very little importance to him.
She’d be incredibly naive to think she had a choice here. And Amara was anything but naive. To make a fuss would only cause unnecessary conflict.
Today, of all days, she wanted her father to be pleased with her.
“It would be my honor to become your queen, King Gaius,” she said, ignoring the tightness in her chest.
The king raised his brow. She’d surprised him.
Dastan returned, accompanied by an old man with white hair and dressed in green robes.
“Excellent,” the emperor said. “Augur, please, let’s not waste another moment in making this official.”
The augur produced a long silk scarf that had been in Amara’s family for countless generations, and gestured for Amara to come stand before the king. Holding to Kraeshian tradition, he wound the scarf around her and the king, from ankle to shoulders, finally binding their hands together.
Amara looked up into the king’s eyes. He looked so very much like his son, Magnus. She hadn’t fully realized it until now.
As was custom, the wedding ceremony was performed in the Kraeshian language, with the augur repeating the vows in the common language so the king could understand.
The augur spoke solemnly about the duties of husband and wife. He stated that the wife would always be truthful to her husband. She would give him her power. She would give him children. She would serve him.
If she displeased him, it was within his rights to beat her.
The king’s fingers tightened against hers as the words sliced into her very being, as if cutting her throat.
If he ever dared lay a hand on her in anger, she would kill him.
The ceremony was over, and they were proclaimed husband and wife. The augur unwound the scarf, and the king drew Amara to him and kissed her when instructed, to seal their union symbolically. Despite all her inner strife and the heart-sinking knowledge that she’d just married someone old enough to be her father, the kiss was not entirely unpleasant.
And this marriage was only another opportunity for her.
Her father came to her, clasping her face between his hands and kissing her on both cheeks. “I’ve never been so proud of you, my dear daughter!”
It seemed that she’d finally won his approval. “Thank you, Father.”
“This is an incredible day—the joining of two families, two nations. A future bright with magic and power.”
She smiled. “I couldn’t agree more. As a matter of fact, I have something that will be perfect for such a celebration. It’s in my bedroom suite, if you’ll let me go get it? It’s a bottle of fine Paelsian wine.”
His eyes widened with surprise and delight. “How wonderful!”
“Yes, I completely forgot until just now that I brought it back with me from my journey. I knew you’d want to try it. And if you like it, there are two more cases still on the ship.”
“I’ve heard Paelsian wine tastes like magic itself,” Elan said.
“Yes, it sounds like the perfect way to honor this occasion,” the emperor said. “Go fetch it, Daughter. And we will toast to the future of Kraeshia.”
She left the room, her head in a daze of worry, excitement, and fear.
You don’t have to do this, a small part of her urged. There is another choice for you. If you run away, you could make a life for yourself somewhere else, somewhere far away from here.
This moment of doubt very nearly amused her.
There was no other way. She knew this. She accepted this.
Her destiny had been set in stone from the moment she’d been born.
She hurried to her room and returned to the solarium, the bottle of Paelsian wine in hand. The emperor snatched it from her, swiftly uncorked it, and poured the pale yellow wine into four goblets. Her brothers received one each, and the emperor handed the fourth to the king. “I’m afraid there isn’t enough for you, Daughter.”
“I’m afraid I must decline,” King Gaius held up his hand. “It’s against Limerian religion to indulge in inebriants.”
“What an unfortunate policy,” the emperor said. “Very well, this goblet is for you, then, Amara.”
She took the glass from him and gave a small bow. “Thank you, Father.”
The emperor held his chalice up in front of him. “To the future of the Kraeshian Empire. And to many more sons for you, Gaius. Many, many more sons! Amara, boys, drink.”
Amara took a sip of its contents and watched as her father and brothers all drained their glasses.
“This is incredible,” the emperor gasped, his eyes wide with pleasure. “As delicious as I’ve always heard. And now I’ve finally tasted it for myself. Gaius, I will need more cases delivered to the Jewel, an endless supply.”
The king nodded. “I will arrange it myself, your eminence.”
“It is quite good,” Dastan allowed.
“There’s no more?” Elan asked. “I want more.”
“Amara, have the cases waiting on your ship brought to the palace so we can continue our celebrations. I’ve already made sure to have a feast ready in anticipation of our mutual agreement today. And once you’ve returned, daughter, you must change into another gown. What you’re wearing is not appropriate for the wife of a . . .” He frowned. “Amara?”
Amara counted slowly to ten, then she began again at the start.
Her heart pounded. She couldn’t hold on, not for much longer.
Finally, when she couldn’t stop herself, she spit the wine back out into the goblet.
The emperor frowned. “What is wrong with you?”
She wiped her mouth with a silk cloth. “I know you won’t believe me, Father, but I am sorry. I wish there could have been another way.”
His quizzical expression shifted quickly to distress. He clutched his throat. “Daughter . . . what have you done?”
“Only what I had to.” She glanced at her brothers, who were also clawing at their throats and gasping.
The poison was supposed to act very quickly and not cause any pain.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, her eyes stinging.
One by one, each of her family members dropped to the ground, twitching, their faces turning purple as they stared at her with confusion, and then hatred.
Just as Ashur had.
Finally, they were still.
Amara turned to face the four guards who’d reentered the solarium during the wedding ceremony. Their hands were ready on their weapons, eyeing each other with uncertainty.
“You will not say anything about this,” she told them. “To anyone.”
“They won’t listen to you,” the king said, his voice surprisingly calm. “Felix, Milo. Take care of this.”
Felix and Milo were on the guar
ds in seconds, flashes of steel in their grips.
The guards were dead by the time they each hit the ground.
Amara let out a slow, shaky breath, her wild gaze now meeting the king’s.
He regarded her without any accusation or shock. “I had a feeling you were up to something. But I had no idea it would be this extreme.”
“You call it extreme. I call it necessary.” She swallowed, hard, eyeing his deadly bodyguards with new apprehension. Felix had followed the king’s command. Would he kill her just as swiftly as he’d killed the guards if the king ordered him to?
“I was once given a prophecy that I would rule the universe with a goddess by my side,” Gaius said. “I was beginning to think it was a lie. Now I’m not so sure.” He bowed his head. “If you’ll have me, I would like to remain your husband and your servant . . . Empress Cortas.”
A violent roiling inside of her grew still as she suddenly realized that she’d succeeded.
Bloodlines ruled in Kraeshia, and she was the first infant daughter to survive an emperor’s—and all his male heirs’—death.
An infant daughter that had grown to become a woman.
And the first empress Kraeshia had ever seen.
Perhaps she and the king made a excellent match after all.
• • •
King Gaius and Amara notified the captain of the guard that rebels had infiltrated the palace and poisoned the royal family. Amara was the only Cortas to have survived this stealthy attack.
Of course she’d blame it on rebels. Who would ever believe that Princess Amara poisoned her family?
Amara went to see her grandmother after the bodies were removed from the solarium. Her smile and embrace made some of her pain fade away.
“This is all for the greater good, Dhosha,” she said. “I knew you’d be victorious.”
“Without your belief in me, I don’t know if I could have been.”
“Do you have doubts about what must come next?”
“Yes, Madhosha,” Amara admitted. “Many. But I know it has to be done.”
Neela pressed her cool palm against Amara’s flushed cheek. “Then there’s no reason to wait.”
• • •
She finally saw Felix again in the halls near her chambers and went to him immediately. He eyed her with uncertainty.
“So . . .” he began. “That was rather unexpected, wasn’t it?”
“Perhaps for you. But not for me.”
“You’re a dangerous girl.” He cocked his head. “But I think I already knew that. Perhaps that’s what I like best about you.”
“So you do like me.”
He let out a nervous laugh. “Was that ever at question, princess? Haven’t I shown you how much I like you on a nightly basis?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Apologies, I’m being crude. I rely on my roughness when I feel off balance. And that’s exactly how you make me feel.” He cleared his throat. “Congratulations on your marriage. Quite the match.”
“It is, isn’t it? For now, at least.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I need the king so I can acquire the remaining Kindred and learn how to access their magic.”
“So you’re telling me the king isn’t safe around you? Are you sure that’s wise, princess? To be so open with me, his bodyguard? It’s my job to protect him.”
“You don’t fool me, my pretty beast. The day he dies, you’ll be cheering right alongside everyone. You really should have agreed to work for me when I gave you the chance.”
“I suppose I do work for you, now that you’re his wife.”
Amara took his arm, making him flinch. “Apologies. You’re still hurt?”
He rubbed his forearm, which she knew was bandaged underneath the sleeve of his shirt from an injury he’d recently obtained. “I’m healing.”
“Good. Now come with me. I need you.”
He glanced nervously up and down the hallway. “I’m not sure this is a good time, princess. You were, after all, just married to the King of Blood. I don’t think he would approve of our arrangement. In fact, I’m quite sure he’d chop off certain parts of my body if he knew about it.”
“How strange. I wouldn’t have thought you to be a coward.”
His eyes sparked with passion. “I’m not.”
“So prove it.” She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. He grabbed her by her waist, pressed her up against the wall, and kissed her back. Hard.
“Careful. I’m getting addicted to you,” he breathed. “Considering an addiction like this could lead me to my doom, I’m not sure I like that very much.”
“The feeling’s mutual. Now come with me. I have something important to show you.”
“I’d follow you anywhere, princess.”
She led him to the grand foyer before the main entrance to the Emerald Spear. They were surrounded by windows that sent sparkling green light down upon the glossy floor.
“Is this it?” he asked, eyeing their surroundings. “It’s a bit too public for my tastes. How about we go somewhere more enclosed?”
Amara’s smile faded. “Guards!” she shouted sharply. “Here he is!”
Felix went stiff as he looked around with confusion at the dozen guards who were quickly closing in on him, their weapons drawn.
“What is this?” he asked her. “What’s going on?”
She took a deep breath and raised her chin to the guards. “Felix Graebas has revealed himself to be a rebel conspirator. He poisoned my family—he killed the emperor and my brothers.”
“Princess, what are you saying?”
“Arrest him,” she said, her throat raw.
“Are you crazy? The king won’t let this happen!”
“The king already knows what you did, and he also believes you deserve to pay for it with death.”
Amara watched as clarity, then fury, slithered into Felix’s gaze. “You soulless bitch,” he growled.
He then made the error of fighting back against the guards in an attempt to escape. The scuffle lasted only a few moments before he was overcome, beaten bloody, and knocked unconscious.
The guards dragged him away, bound for the Kraeshian dungeon and a swift execution.
Amara had found that she was starting to fall in love with Felix—and love made one weak.
This necessary sacrifice would make her strong again.
CHAPTER 23
JONAS
KRAESHIA
Jonas had spent most of his life surrounded by dirt.
But for the better part of this past week, he’d been surrounded by nothing but water—miles upon miles of it. The peaceful cool of the waves and the breeze had given him a great deal of time to think. And to mourn.
Now his mind was clear again and he was ready to follow through with his promise to kill the king.
“For you, Lys,” he whispered to himself as he stared out at the coastline of the Jewel of the Empire in the distance. “Everything I do from now on, it’s all for you.”
The ship finally docked. Jonas and Nic grabbed their satchels and headed down the gangplank.
“So this is Kraeshia,” Nic said, staring out at the glimmering city before him.
“I hope so,” Jonas replied. “If not, we took a wrong turn somewhere.”
“See? There’s that cheeky rebel I like.”
“You like me? That’s news to me, Cassian.”
“You’re growing on me. Slowly. Like a fungus.”
Jonas managed a grin. “The feeling’s mutual.”
Magnus had returned a message to the Kraeshian rebels with their original raven, ordering them to meet Jonas and Nic upon their arrival.
“I don’t see Felix,” Jonas said under his breath as he surveyed their surroundings. “I thought he might be here.”
There was one person waiting at the end of the docks, standing still next to a sparkling white beach. They walked toward the tall young man with dark skin and pale bro
wn eyes, who nodded at their approach.
“Jonas Agallon?” he asked.
“That’s right.”
“My name is Mikah Kasro. Welcome to Kraeshia.”
Jonas introduced Nic, then asked, “Where’s Felix?”
“Come with me and I’ll explain everything,” Mikah said, scanning the docks. “Too many curious eyes out here.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where Felix is. And then I want to know where King Gaius is.”
“What’s your business with the king?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“Everything that happens in Kraeshia is my concern. But I suppose the king’s whereabouts don’t matter much to you now. King Gaius and his new bride left for Mytica several days ago.”
Jonas stared at him. “What did you just say?”
“His new bride?” Nic asked, frowning. “He got married?”
Mikah nodded, his expression grim. “To Princess Amara.”
Nic’s jaw dropped.
This was impossible. Jonas had just arrived, ready to put a dagger in the king’s heart, to die doing it, if necessary.
But the king was gone.
He swore under his breath. “Unbelievable. So Felix went with them, then. Is that why he isn’t here?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what, exactly?”
“Felix is very likely dead by now.”
Jonas’s chest clenched into a painful fist, and he stared questioningly at Mikah.
“He was charged with a very serious crime and was taken to the underground dungeons. Once a prisoner is put down there, the only way they come out is in pieces.”
“What was his crime?”
Again, Mikah glanced back at the happy crowd on the beach. Jonas followed his line of sight. The Kraeshians basked under the sunshine, all of them seemingly clueless as to the darkness of the Jewel that lay so very close by.
Mikah turned back to Jonas and Nic and, in hushed tones, told them the story of the poisoned wedding celebration—the story that was not yet public knowledge.
When he was finished, Mikah seemed even more certain that Felix was already dead.
But Mikah didn’t know Felix nearly as well as Jonas did.
• • •
After their talk at the docks, Jonas and Nic were brought back to the rebel base, a collection of rooms on the top floor of a purple building painted on the side with a floral mural. Such a happy-looking place for such a serious and deadly discussion.