Page 43 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses (Cursed Fae Courts #1)

Chapter Forty-Three

Aurelia

T he ominous tone of Talthis’s parting words stayed with me even after he’d gone.

“Princess Aurelia,” came a sultry, melodic voice that pulled my attention. A woman with iridescent scales glittering faintly against her pale skin approached with a predatory smile.

Her dark blue hair rippled like water down her back, and her eyes, sea-deep and shimmering, locked onto mine with unabashed admiration. “I am so thrilled to finally meet you, Your Highness. I’m Princess Naliadne, daughter of Patamoi, King of the Osphanis.” She bent her head low, adding, “But don’t tell any of them.”

She jerked her head at the rest of the ballroom. Her flirty irreverence made me like her instantly. But I couldn’t help registering my surprise. No one above surface had ever laid eyes on the king’s only daughter. Until now.

“Your secret is safe, Your Highness.”

But she waved away the title, saying, “No need for that. I’m incognito tonight. Just Nali.”

“It’s an honor to meet you. ”

The female naiad’s lips curved into a sexy smile. “Believe me, the honor is mine. We thought it was a rumor that you’d somehow survived and returned. And then a worse one when we heard you’d allied yourself with Autumn.”

One of the males in her entourage cleared his throat. The mer princess smirked. “My companions warn me against such comments while standing in the enemy’s house.”

Despite their warnings, she didn’t look worried.

“I take it you’re not here to accept Duron’s offer of an alliance then?” I asked.

Naliadne made a face. “Ugh. Sea gods, no.”

Another of her companions snickered.

“I don’t understand. Why come at all?” I asked.

She winked. “I came to see you.”

My pulse quickened. If the Osphanis people were offering an alliance, maybe they could help me get out of here.

“I’m glad you did,” I said. “Sevanwinds has always considered the river people our friends.”

“As do we,” she said.

“Maybe there’s a way to strengthen that friendship.”

Her face fell. She looked almost apologetic as she said, “Unfortunately, I’ve been instructed to say that can’t happen as long as you’re aligned with these bottom feeders.”

“Nali.” The male who’d cleared his throat now hissed her name.

She rolled her eyes. “Respectfully,” she added.

“What if I told you I was thinking of ending my alliance here?” I asked as quietly as I could.

Naliadne’s eyes lit. “In that case, I’d be happy to extend our favor?—”

“There you are.” Callan’s voice sliced through the conversation like a rusty blade.

I winced as the river heir’s expression shuttered and her companions pressed in tightly as if they expected an ambush. Callan ignored them, shoving his way to my side. “And you made friends,” he added, clearly angling for an introduction.

“Callan, this is Nali, a representative from King Palamoi’s court,” I said, offering her a wink of my own.

She smiled, but it fell away as she turned back to Callan.

“Ah, the king sent an emissary then,” he said as he took her hand. But I could see the disappointment that the king himself hadn’t come.

Nali pulled her hand back, her smile mostly a show of pointed teeth. “Charmed,” she said with more sarcasm than could be ignored. “But we were just leaving.”

“So soon? Aurelia and I haven’t even taken our vow. Won’t you stay for the celebration?”

Nali sighed but shot me a thoughtful glance. “If we must. But I’ll need a beverage.”

“Of course,” Callan said, gesturing to a server. “Here we are.”

The server veered toward us with a tray of full glasses. Callan passed them around with a friendly smile. When we all had a glass, he lifted his, saying, “A toast. To new friends.”

Nali met my gaze and said, “To new friends.” We all drank. Nali grinned at me then handed hers off to one of her friends. “Let’s dance, boys.”

They followed her to the dance floor without a goodbye.

When they were gone, Callan turned to me. Already, I could see the charm turning to irritation. “What the Hel did you say to her?”

“Nothing. She said the river people are impressed by the health and beauty of Autumn’s lands.”

“If they’re so impressed, why did they run off the moment I walked up?”

“How should I know? I’ve been gone for seven years. You’re the one who’s supposedly been trying to woo them to the alliance table. ”

He scowled. “Don’t push me tonight, Aurelia. We need this to work. You have no idea how badly.”

“I’m sure Daddy will punish us both if we don’t deliver.”

His lip curled. “You think this is a joke?”

“Of course not. No one is taking this more seriously than I am. But I can’t force someone to change their opinion of you when you’ve apparently spent a lifetime convincing them you are what you are.”

His eyes narrowed. “And what exactly am I?”

“Why don’t you ask the river people? Since they’re the only other court besides your own who deigned to show up tonight.”

He snarled at me, drawing more than a few stares.

“Careful, darling. Your people are watching,” I said.

Callan opened his mouth, clearly ready to blast me with some sharp threat, but he never got the chance. A second later, the music cut off, and the room buzzed with voices. I glanced at Callan and was surprised to see his expression flash with a look of sheer panic that mirrored my own. Then, he blinked, and it slid away.

His confidence—a thin veneer, I realized—returned.

“Come,” he said, taking my hand and tugging me toward the center of the room. “It’s time.”

Standing in the middle of the now-empty dance floor, I forced myself to remain steady as the murmurs died down.

Duron strode out to join us. “Where are the other emissaries?” he hissed.

“I don’t know, Father,” Callan said quietly.

“They said they’d come,” Duron grumbled. He turned to glare at Callan. “You said you’d convince them.”

“As you know, I need to make physical contact with them for that to happen.” Callan’s tone had gone brittle.

Duron sneered at him. “Your gift is useless to me if you can’t do what I asked. ”

Gift?

“I have done plenty,” Callan said defensively. At Duron’s lifted brow, Callan added, “I got her to Grey Oak, didn’t I?”

I reared back, reeling.

“You were supposed to persuade her to give up her magic willingly,” Duron snapped.

Wait. What? “You compelled me?” I demanded.

Every one of their heads swung to me. Duron sniffed dismissively. Callan’s cheeks burned, whether with anger or embarrassment, I didn’t know. Nor did I care.

“Persuasion,” he corrected.

“Isn’t that the same thing?” I shot back. “You convinced me against my will to come here. To agree to marry you.”

Callan didn’t answer.

My head spun as I thought back to all the casual touches between us. His hand on mine in the carriage. At dinner with his father that first night. The kiss he’d given me at Sunspire. Had all of those touches been to keep me under his thrall?

I hadn’t even noticed.

Then again, compulsion—or persuasion as he insisted on calling it—hadn’t been gifted by the gods in centuries.

One of the king’s advisers strode up. Koraz. “Your Majesty, we can’t wait any longer, or we’ll lose the audience we already have.” He eyed me, clearly still unhappy with the decision to bind me to the royal family.

That made two of us.

“Fine,” Duron grumbled. He looked at me. “When this is over, there’s work to be done, persuaded or not.”

Callan didn’t bother to contradict him.

Duron turned to face the crowd, his smile as radiant as it was fake. “We celebrate together tonight because my son and heir has finally chosen a mate,” he said, his voice booming over the room. “Even more joyous is that his betrothed is none other than the lost princess of Summer, Aurelia of Sevanwinds.”

The room clapped and cheered.

Nali whistled loudly from the back. I caught her eye, thrown off by her sudden change of heart about my engagement. Then I remembered. Callan had taken her hand in greeting. A new horror spread through me. The reason he’d been so confident the courts would ally with us tonight. He planned to compel them all. It had already begun to work on Nali.

And I had no way to warn her.

“My son and his betrothed stand before you, a symbol of hope and light against Heliconia’s darkness.” Murmurs rose at her name, but Duron spoke right over them. He looked out over the audience, fire burning in his eyes now. “You saw the richness of my lands as you arrived. Untouched by that bitch’s curse.” I flinched at the viciousness in his tone. “My power protects us all. United with Summer, we are made stronger. United all, we will defeat her forever.”

Across the room, Talthis was glowering.

“I hope our friends from neighboring courts, if they are here tonight, will consider joining us in this fight,” Duron went on. “Witness the binding of these two souls as a symbol of hope and a promise for our future. Let us begin.”

My heart thudded.

“Hey,” Callan whispered. “Just concentrate on me. We’re almost there.”

He flashed an encouraging smile, and I took a tiny step away from him, refusing to let him touch me again.

Duron turned to Callan and said, “My son and my heir, do you take Aurelia Valeen, daughter of Tyrion and Celeste Valeen, as your wedded mate and make a binding vow before this court and the world to wed her? ”

The entire room seemed to hold its breath as I looked at Callan, waiting for him to utter the words that would bind us.

“Yes,” Callan said. “I take Aurelia Valeen for my wedded mate.”

“And Aurelia, do you take Callan Ashfall as your wedded?—”

“No.” My answer rang out loud and clear.

Beside me, Callan made a soft sound as if he’d been struck.

Murmurs began, but Duron’s face flushed red. “Silence!” he screamed. “You will make your vow,” he hissed at me. “Or you will?—”

“I refuse Callan Ashfall,” I said, louder this time.

Duron stared at me, clearly at a loss. After all his threats, he hadn’t expected me to defy him. But I needed the courts to hear me reject him. The last thing I needed was for someone to drag me back here, thinking I’d defected from a marriage contract.

The quiet that followed my declaration was more shock than obedience to Duron, but it quickly deepened into something more.

Something wrong.

I prayed to the Fates and the Furiosities that my plan had worked.

A scream tore through the room, echoing off the walls. My head snapped toward the sound just as a rush of putrid magic washed over me, thick and nauseating. At the back, the doors that led to the patio and the gardens beyond flew open.

Rotting, waning magic poured inside.

Along with the Withered.

Some had cloaks pulled over their faces. Some had tossed their hoods back to reveal their wrinkled, sunken features. All of them wielded swords and wore looks of pure wrath.

The crowd scattered in panicked waves as they came—foul, twisted figures with hollow, black eyes and gnarled limbs. I realized the Withered I’d seen in the street that day had been the healthier, stronger ones. Some of these were clearly much farther gone than the others. Outrage burned inside me at what their king had done to them.

The chaos heightened as the Withered surged closer. Duron was whisked away by a dozen armed guards. Gone in an instant.

Callan yelled for me to run.

But I only smiled grimly at the sight of my new friends joining the fray.

Callan drew his sword, an ornamental thing meant to match his royal wedding uniform, and pointed it at the Withered fighting to get past the line of guards who’d rushed forward to meet them. Well, that was new, at least.

I started for the back doors, aiming for the gardens where Vanya had promised to leave my leathers and swords.

Then I saw him—Rydian, shoving his way toward me through the chaos, his gaze locked on mine. Shadows poured out of him, punching out with fists of their own or shaping themselves into blades that cut a path through anyone in his way. Some of those shadows had eyes that glowed like a demon’s. Every one of them was its own unique nightmare.

Most scurried away from the mere sight of the creatures he conjured. But I was drawn to the look he wore, the relentless and utter determination etched in every line of his brow and in the flex of his jaw.

He looked like a vengeful god cutting through his enemies. Untouchable. Unyielding. Mine.

The last thought clanged through me unexpectedly. I shook it off and started in the other direction, determined to slip past him while the Withered kept him busy.

When he reached the barricade of soldiers, his form flickered, becoming more shadow than flesh. And then he was through the lines of clanging swords, closing quickly on my heels.

I ran faster and made it all the way to the open back doors before his hand snagged mine.

“Come,” he said, voice low and urgent. He took my hand with a grip that left no room for argument. “You must leave. Now.”

One of the Withered careened toward us. Rydian held up a hand, and a bolt of power knocked it back.

“Stop it,” I insisted, putting myself between him and the Withered. “They’re with me.”

Rydian looked at the cloaked figure with disbelief. The Withered raised its head, hesitating.

“Go,” I insisted.

It turned away and aimed for a royal guard instead.

I tried to pull away from Rydian, but he tightened his grip.

“Let me go,” I demanded.

“I can’t.” His gaze searched mine for a single second before he added almost pleadingly, “Trust me.”

It was a horrible thing to ask of me now. And even more awful that I gave in.

We plunged into the mass of bodies, ducking and weaving as my mind spun with questions. The Withered were everywhere, screams tearing through the night as they attacked the soldiers in their path. And still, Rydian led me, his hand never leaving mine as he cut a path through the patio doors and down the terrace steps into the garden.

Freedom washed over me.

I’d made it out.

A few more steps and I’d be clear enough?—

“And where exactly do you think you’re going?”

The sound of the male’s voice cut through my silent victory like a killing knife. Still, I might have taken my chances and kept running, but Rydian pulled us up short as Koraz stepped out ahead of us, blocking our escape.

“This is as far as you go, traitor,” Koraz hissed at Rydian.

Rydian snarled at him and drew his sword. But the voice behind us spoke again, stilling Rydian’s hand.

“My bastard son running off with his brother’s bride. Now this is quite the entertainment.”

With arms and legs full of lead, I turned to face the king.