Page 123 of The Chains You Defy

Even if ignoring him almost destroyed me.

“Listen, darling. Danartha is one of those rare beings even I wouldn’t touch. She could be the last breathing creature alive, and I’d rather resort to fucking my hand for all eternity. She’s rotten to the core, that one.”

“Uh, who are you, and what have you done to Thain? Isn’t your entire personality that anyone is welcome to park their shoes under your bed?” Teasing him was easy and enjoyable for both of us. The tension in the background that had existed between us for a while had evaporated into thin air.

The revelation that he might not be as shallow as he pretended to be and that he had good reasons to maintain such a front had changed something. I still had some unresolved issues with him, but in the end, I was convinced that we would be able to clear the air someday soon.

Surely, we could reconcile one day about how all had gone down when we’d trained together. If I learned one thing lately, then it was that nothing was as it seemed when it concerned the males I considered friends.

“You wound me, fair Nayana.”

“Jester.”

“Hm, oddly fitting.”

“Don’t tell me I’m the first one to call you that.”

“Hm, well, then I won’t.”

“Thain.” A genuine giggle freed itself from my chest, and moments later, we were both laughing to a degree that bordered on hysterical.

The lively song the other couples and we were moving to wasn’t close to being finished when the piece stopped mid-melody, leaving an ominous silence behind. Confused voices echoed through the quietness, and, like me, everyone seemed clueless as to why the musicians had lowered their instruments.

“Why did the music stop, Thain?”

“Beats me.”

“Huh.”

The redhead was craning his neck as he observed the hall, never letting me go—was he intending to protect me from potential harm? It surely felt like that, and a fond warmth engulfed my heart.

“Ah, well, that makes more sense.”

“What do you mean?”

Tension eased from Thain as he unwrapped himself and stepped next to me.

“I’d better keep my hands far away from you, sweet thing. If I’m correct, His Royal Highness insists on giving a speech, but His Royal Majesty isn’t in agreement, the prince doesn’t give a single flying fuck about his grandfather’s wishes, has stopped the musicians, and is currently stalking to the dais while the High King fumes.”

Thain sounded too amused. If only half of his observations were accurate, mirth was the last thing they evoked in me. There was no future imaginable in which the unhinged and raw version of today’s Dion could make wise choices. And voicing dumb ones publicly in front of his grandfather, whom he was already angering in addressing the High Court against his will, was a total disaster. “This isn’t good.”

“Probably not.”

“Can’t we stop him?”

“Unlikely. If the High King decides that presenting a unified front with his heir is more important than keeping his scion from staging a public display, who are we to interfere?”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“What can I say? I like chaos.”

The herald appeared next to the dais where Dion had assumed his position. The dark prince held himself with the feline grace and the predatory stillness I connected to him. Even across the entire hall, his piercing stare burned into me, leaving me with the desire to squirm, to run, to flee.

Gods, if there were ever a good time for you to intervene, it would be now.

“Silence! His Royal Highness Dionadair Dorchadas Coroin De’An Scriosta, Scion of High King Galrach Folus Iadrann, Crown Prince of Galanta, Heir to the Eternal Throne of Alaiann, and FieldMarshal of the Endless Legions, wishes to address the High Court in an urgent matter.”

At least Dion wasn’t drunk, although alcohol consumption would have been an explanation for his erratic behavior. But as far as I could tell, he hadn’t consumed a single drop of wine, let alone something stronger. Or maybe that was just me, hoping he’d be reasonable enough not to risk his magic in this den of vipers.