Page 134 of The Chains You Defy

“What if I throw up?”

“Make sure to hit His Fucking Royal Majesty.”

“Haha, funny. He would have me execu—ugh—”

Stepping into the shadows, I drowned out her protest. Time to get this confrontation over with before I could consider fleeing from my grandfather like a scared little faeling.

We reappeared as planned in the middle of the grand hall, and, as usual, I relished in the surprised and alarmed outcries of the crowd shying away from me. Every single fae—well, except Galrach and my comrades—feared me.As proven earlier, I could extinguish their life flames within the blink of an eye and not even break a sweat about my actions. It was an exhilarating feeling to be untouchable to the vermin so far beneath me.

“Galrach.” Refusing to call him by his honorifics, I approached my grandfather with my head held high and holding Nayana’s hand in mine. She was about to sink into a curtsy, but I stopped her right from the beginning. Neither of us would lower ourselves anymore in front of the so-called king, who was only in power because of me.

Galrach glared at me for the longest while, then motioned to the musicians, and the stuttering tune died away.

Ignoring the evil glare my grandfather bestowed upon me, I tucked Nayana under my shoulder in an almost casual gesture.

“Speak.”

Ah, a clenched jaw as well as gritted teeth. How charming.

Even though my grandfather did his best to portray the cold ruler at all times, he couldn’t deny that the temper running in the family—even if it had skipped my mother—was strong in him.

“It is done. I, Dionadair Dorchadas Coroin De’An Scriosta, and Nayana Garnet Ortha visited the Holy Triad Temple of Alaiann, and the First Act of Courtship was supervised by Kalag as my witness, by Immaru as my witness, and by the nameless god of fate as my witness. The Triad judged me a worthy male to pursue the hand of my chosen one in courtship. And Nayana accepted.”

Mumbling broke out at my declaration, and the disbelief that the whole Triad had been present for our ceremony hung in the air like a thick blanket. This wasunheard of, and even the earlier hostage situation paled in comparison for most.

“Well. So, we’ll have a toast.” Galrach’s voice was ice cold, despite the burning hatred in his eyes.

Fuck no, we wouldn’t.

The way he was out of himself, he’d try to assassinate one of us—or both—on the spot. And even if not, compromising my magic was very low on my list of things I desired in current circumstances. “I don’t drink, and you know that. Nayana doesn’t either.”

“I insist.”

Gritting my teeth, I could feel Naya’s worried gaze on me. All her fears were coming true, and her anxiety barreled into me like a crowd of angry godlings.

“Congratulations, nephew. And to you, Nayana.”

My chest deflated with relief as out of nowhere Antas appeared and handed us glasses, bypassing the servant who had come our way. My uncle must have abandoned his duties outside, since I guessed that he’d heard what had transpired during my speech earlier.

Another name on Galrach’s shitlist, then. But admittedly, I’d never been as glad as when Antas had approached us. At least we could be sure that there was no poison in our glasses, and to my satisfaction, I realized what he’d provided me with was clear water. Antas. Always watching out for me, that one.

And so we toasted. Afterward, I spent an hour dancing with Nayana, all under the king’s watchful—and hateful—eye, until we finally could call it a night.

Dion had left his quarters early in the morning after the night of the ball. He’d announced that he wanted to assemble the males to brainstorm. I’d called his endeavor damage control, but he hadn’t agreed to my term.

One thing, though, had been very obvious. Dion didn’t wish to remain at Alaiann Palace for much longer.

As I slipped out of bed, my gaze roamed to the minuscule bedside table, where a dainty, wrapped box decorated with a red silk ribbon caught my attention.

Curiosity was one of my vices, so I picked up the item and examined the parcel from all sides until I found a small tag inserted under one of the lanes of the scarletbow. My heart somersaulted as I recognized my name in Dion’s handwriting.

He’d left me a present.

Of course, I didn’t hesitate to unravel the silky band and unwrap the gift.

My breath caught in my throat.

Inside the box, on a bed of black velvet, nested the most beautiful set of earrings I’d ever seen. Dangling strands of silver cascaded down from a single stud, each descending metal string cut to a different length. Every single thread was adorned with small opals—Dion had remembered my fascination with the rainbow effect of Ireas’ irises and had kept his jealousy in check long enough so I could have jewelry decked with these stones. The earrings were simple but stunning, and not only because of the opals.