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Chapter Nine

I needed to close my mouth. My jaw had been dangling open for far longer than was polite, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to manage it.

I could only describe the scene in front of me as utterly perplexing. Everything I thought I knew suddenly seemed… wrong. I was witnessing something that seemed entirely contrary to every expectation I’d previously held.

“You’re staring,” Rankor chastised under his breath as he came to stand at my side.

My jaw snapped shut with an audible thunk.

“I can’t help it!” I admitted. “It’s just that I’ve never seen him—”

“Show a personality?”

Instinctively, I smacked his arm, earning a soft chuckle as he pulled me away from where I had been watching Kent play with his younger sisters.

“It’s true,” Rankor continued, tucking me into his arm as we paraded through the great hall.

The Dragon had thrown a proper ball in my honor.

I had, of course, seen celebrations held in this space before, but none were quite as grand or as raucous as this one.

The entire country was celebrating their Council.

They danced and drank, laughed and ate. The people were happy, and that was what mattered.

Now that I was officially a Council member, I needed to prioritize their happiness above the uneasiness that constantly filled me.

“Kent’s always been a bit reserved. The only time he’s not boring is when he’s on stage.”

“You’re so rude,” I scoffed, aware of the playfulness in his tone. Rankor loved Kent like a brother; that much was obvious to anyone with eyes.

“I only mean to say, he comes alive around his family. It’s something special to see.”

“They’re Mortals?” I asked, searching for the signature of a Descendant’s Mark on their skin but not finding it as Kent and the younger girls chased each other around their mother. She looked tired at first glance, but still happy.

“He’s the only Descendant in the family.

They thought all the blood had been washed out, but then he was born with his Mark.

His dad was a fisherman in a small village along the shore, but he passed from a bad heart a year after the twins were born.

His mom tried to get by, but when the military knocked on the door to scout him at twelve, Kent didn’t hesitate.

He promised he’d sign up on the spot as long as they made sure his mom and sisters were taken care of. ”

Twelve.

My heart stuttered. That was so young to be taken from your family. No wonder Kent had latched onto Rankor and the others. He’d needed a family.

Just like I had needed one when I first arrived here.

“And you?” I asked, scanning the room for other towering figures with dark hair and dimples. “Did your family come for the celebration?”

He shook his head, reaching for an apple from the fruit tray along the wall and biting into it eagerly. “My parents are both gone. My younger brother sends his congratulations, though. He couldn’t get away from his sheep, but he’s dying to meet you one day. ”

“He’s a shepherd?”

Rankor chuckled under his breath, his eyes somewhere distant. “A damn proud one at that.”

“And my parents refuse to step foot in this cursed land,” Iris said, joining us with a drink in hand. “No offense to your Council, my Lady.”

Anger rolled off her in waves as her heavy eyes scanned the scene. Her sour mood was at odds with the room’s merriment, which only seemed to upset her more.

“Gods, some of these people should really take a dance lesson,” she noted, watching a couple struggle to stay in time.

“Well, we can’t all be effortlessly elegant,” I teased, bumping my shoulder against hers.

She met my eyes with a small smile. “Am I supposed to congratulate you on signing your life over to that man?”

Her reference to the Dragon was obvious.

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“I know,” she said, glaring at the Dragon from where he sat on his throne examining his cuticles. “You didn’t. I just think it’s time for people to start creating some other choices for themselves.”

“Iris,” Rankor said sharply, stepping closer. “Some thoughts are better kept in private quarters, before someone mistakes them for treason.”

Iris turned away from him, not bothering to acknowledge the warning. Her gaze swept the room before locking on the center of the ballroom. Suddenly, she stilled, her shoulders rising as her jaw snapped shut. Without a word, she shoved her drink into my hand and practically fled.

I sighed, downing the rest of her drink in one fluid motion.

“Jeez,” Rankor muttered, running a hand through his long hair. “I didn’t mean to upset her so much.”

“It wasn’t you,” I said, my gaze landing on the spot she’d been staring at. They had scrubbed the floor clean since the attack during Clay’s birthnight celebration, but I couldn’t forget that Lorelai’s blood had stained the marble there.

“You ever feel like it’s one step forward and three steps back with her?” Kent asked, joining us slightly out of breath. His sisters were now piling their plates with cupcakes at the dessert table.

“She’s grieving,” I said. “That’s not an easy process.”

“Still,” Rankor said, passing Kent a glass of dark wine. “Seems like it’s always just the three of us these days.”

“It’s okay to admit you like having my undivided attention,” Kent teased, punching Rankor’s arm playfully.

I was about to smile when it hit me. It was just the three of us here.

“Where’s Clay?” I demanded, my tone sharp.

Obviously, things had been tense between us lately, but certainly his duty required him to be at the ascension of a Council member.

As Emeryn would say, the optics of his notably being missing from today’s events were terrible.

Clayton was the Crown Prince. He would one day preside over the very Council I was now sitting on.

This major ceremony and celebration surely required his presence.

So why wasn’t he here?

Kent’s face darkened as he stared at his boots. Rankor shifted with an irritated huff.

“Apparently not here,” Rankor snapped.

“Alright, that’s it!” I said. “What’s going on with you two?”

Before I could press further, the sound of a knife against glass echoed through the ballroom. The Dragon was rising from his throne.

“Friends, family, and honored guests,” he called as the room quieted. “It is my honor to welcome you into my home. Some of you have traveled very far, and I speak on behalf of the Council in expressing our sincerest gratitude.”

A hand tugged my arm, and I tensed, power flaring in my fingertips .

“Calm yourself,” Rosalia hissed, linking her arm with mine and pulling me forward. “When he speaks on behalf of the Council, we’re expected to join him.”

Right. I wasn’t just Theadora Moore anymore. I was a Council member.

Rosalia deposited me at the Dragon’s right, completing the line of five for the first time in years.

“Lady Moore—Thea,” the Dragon corrected himself, his smile practiced. “Your arrival in our kingdom was unexpected, but it has been a joy to watch you blossom. We are lucky to have you on the Council. To Thea, to the House of Hyrax, and to the kingdom of Athenia!”

He raised his glass, and the crowd followed suit, shouting their praises. But as he leaned close, his smile twisted.

“I warned you not to continue this dance with my son,” he whispered. “Now the Court has seen him openly defy me for you .”

Panic rose in me.

“We are so lucky you call Athenia home,” the Dragon continued to the crowd. “And tonight we have so many reasons to celebrate you. Not only has Lady Moore ascended to the Council, but she has given me her permission to deliver a very special announcement!”

And in two days’ time, Lady Moore will set sail for Tenebris to meet her fiancé, my nephew Veric Starsen of House Zion.”

The blood drained from my face. The crowd waited in silence. Time slowed.

“As of this morning, Lady Moore is engaged to be married to my nephew, Veric Starsen of House Zion. In two days’ time, she will set sail for Tenebris to celebrate her engagement in her fiancé’s homeland before they return home to Athenia!”

The Dragon smiled, lifting his glass toward me in mock congratulations and I did the best I could to paint a pleasant expression on my face. .

This game he insisted on playing with me would have consequences—for the rest of my life.