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R obyn didn’t let go of my hand after he announced me as his queen and we were each ordained with the thick cloaks and crowns, both headpieces made of pure gold set with various gems—and heavy.

Robyn led me back down the aisle as the crowd continued to clap while we exited. Not knowing what else to do, I simply allowed myself to be led. At least we were moving away from all the people and their mixed reactions.

I didn’t know what to think of Robyn, or Byn . Who was he really, at his core? All I knew was that he was now my husband, he was the King of the South, and he was a liar, apparently.

I could feel my zirilium starting to become restless under my skin.

He ushered me out into the hall and around the corner, into a small room that looked like it could’ve been a bridal suite of some sort. Likely where the royals got ready to make appearances before their people.

The second the door shut behind us, I spun on my heel to face him and said, “So the King of the South is a liar on top of everything else. Great to know!”

Robyn’s lips parted in shock, but he quickly recovered. “Aviva, I’ve never lied to you, and I don’t plan to— ever .”

I scoffed. “Yeah right, Byn . You could’ve told me who you really were back in the carriage, but you didn’t. What do you call that?”

Robyn leaned against the door behind him, suddenly looking much more tired than before as he said, “Robyn or Byn, either way I didn’t lie. I told you I’d be a powerful ally, didn’t I? Just because I didn’t tell you why or how that was true doesn’t mean I lied.”

“Right, you just tell selective truths. Because that’s so much better than lying,” I retorted.

Robyn sighed and responded, “Listen, I understand you don’t trust me. I wouldn’t either if I were in your shoes. But you don’t know the whole story—or at least not my people’s version of it. Please, just let me prove myself and my people to you. You’re on the wrong side of this war, Aviva.”

Before I could respond with another sarcastic response, there was a knock on the door Robyn was leaning against.

Robyn, seeming to understand the knock to be a sort of signal, straightened up and narrowed his gaze at me.

“I understand we don’t trust each other. You have no reason to work with me. But just… try . Please,” he said. The emotion in his voice sounded genuine. Raw.

He was right—I didn’t trust him, or anybody else here in the South.

I’d grown up hearing how they were cold blooded murderers on the battlefield, that their war crimes are too horrible to be spoken aloud.

I should have been scared for my life. But…

the King of the South just said please to me, in an attempt to try to get me to work with him.

I looked down at the tattoo now adorning my left arm. If I was truly stuck with him for the rest of my too-short, mortal life, I guess it couldn’t hurt to try. Even if I did manage to escape someday, I’d never truly be free. It had been a fool’s hope to begin with.

My resolve solidifying, I met his gaze again and nodded once.

Seeming just slightly more at ease, he turned without another word and opened the door behind him, then motioned for me to follow him.

The moment I stepped out of the door, though, I nearly slammed right into a wall of flesh.

I looked up slightly, meeting the light green eyes of the female in front of me, then cocked my head to the side.

I looked over her shoulder as Robyn turned back, having noticed I wasn’t following him, and his eyes widened slightly at the sight before him.

What’s this all about?

I shifted my eyes back to the female, ready to get a better look.

The girl seemed to be roughly my age, maybe a little older, but she had a fierceness about her—like she’d seen things I couldn’t fathom.

She had a mass of wavy, bright, ginger hair, and a scar that ran down the right side of her face, cutting through her eyebrow and over her eye, straight down her cheek.

She took a half step closer to me, so close I could smell the scent of rosemary as her hair slid over her shoulder.

“ Quinn, ” Robyn said, as if warning her.

“Listen closely,” she said. “You may be my queen, and I’d lay down my life for you, but Robyn is a good person. He doesn’t deserve any of this. You may not trust us, but we don’t trust you , either. Trust is earned , understand?”

Suddenly feeling attacked, and by a stranger nonetheless, I raised my lip in a silent snarl. “That goes both ways,” I snapped in response. My skin buzzed with pent up energy.

Quinn’s eyes lit up ever so slightly, as if surprised and somewhat satisfied by my response.

She took a step back, then turned around to look at Robyn.

A look passed between them, one I imagined would lead to a talk later, before she dipped her head to him and walked away swiftly in the opposite direction.

I looked to Robyn, tossing him a confused yet curious look, but he simply shook his head and sighed. I couldn’t help but notice the way his hair shifted, showing off the tips of his pointed ears that were adorned with small gold hoops chained together. Truly fit for a king.

He led me back the way we came, through the same tall doors I had stood at before with Teagan. Although, this time when I paused, it was because I could hardly believe I was walking into the same courtyard as what felt like just moments before.

The rows upon rows of chairs had been done away with and were now nowhere to be seen.

Instead, there were two long rows of tables with all types of foods and beverages on them, most of which I didn’t recognize, and a makeshift, checkered dance floor in the middle.

On the outskirts of the open space were tables and chairs, decorated in green table cloths and some type of gold centerpieces.

They matched the long buffet tables flawlessly.

Robyn looked back at me when he realized I had ceased following. A soft, handsome smile overcame his face as he noticed my awe-filled expression, flashing that dimple that had my stomach feeling like it was doing a flip.

“If everybody helps, it makes the load lighter and work gets done faster,” he said, still smiling.

As if that explained everything, he carried on, heading straight for the platform again. The platform now had a long, rectangular table on it with eight chairs on one side, all facing the rest of the open room and the people filling it.

Before we could walk around to the other side of the table to sit, two tall males stepped into Robyn’s path.

“Byn!” the blond one said.

“How are you feeling, brother?” the other asked, the one with a white streak in the front of his hair, slightly falling into his face.

“Fine. Good. Great, actually,” Robyn replied, seemingly flustered all of a sudden. He cleared his throat, then stepped out of the way to expose me standing behind him to the two males.

“Oh! My apologies, my queen,” White Streak said.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Queen Aviva,” the blond one said as they both bowed at the waist.

Robyn seemed like he was holding back another sigh, but his eyes had lit up since these two had shown up. They must mean something to him.

“Aviva, this is Chester, but we all call him Chess,” Robyn said, motioning towards the blond one.

He was shorter than the other two males, but still far taller than me, and had a softer face.

He was probably younger than them both. He had brown eyes that were as dark as chocolate, and his hair was barely long enough to fit into the small tie he held it back with.

I noticed he had a belt on with various bottles and pouches.

I dipped my head towards him politely in response.

“And this,” Robyn said, “is my oldest friend, Ezra. We’ve known each other since we were both very small children.”

He motioned towards White Streak, which I realized then wasn’t due to age—it must have been a birthmark of some sort.

His face and eyes were still youthful, and the remainder of his hair was all a dark brown.

His eyes were the color of fresh honey, and he wore an orange sweater vest on top of his creamy, long sleeve shirt, even though we were exposed to the warmer elements.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” I said, an automatic response.

“Chess is my royal trokav, though he’s just recently been appointed as such.

And Ezra is the most knowledgeable in probably all of the South.

We rely on him quite often,” Robyn said, providing me with further context, which I realized I greatly appreciated.

Back home in the North, both Father and Dimi would rarely fill me in on such details.

They always said they were unimportant or unnecessary for me to know.

Against my will, I could feel myself beginning to warm towards the South, just slightly. Nothing I had seen so far screamed beasts, despite what I’d been taught my entire life.

“We know this whole arrangement probably isn’t what you wanted, but we are happy to have you here, my queen. I’m confident you’ll fit in nicely,” Ezra said, a soft, genuine smile on his face.

I smiled back, but timidly. Logically, I knew I couldn’t trust any of these people, no matter how genuine they might seem. Yet, my heart desperately wanted to trust them.

Maybe coming here was a way for me to start over, to have a fresh start , I thought hopefully.

Robyn and the two other males shared a few more words before the pair broke off towards one of the buffet tables, Robyn leading me around the table before us on the platform towards the chairs. He led me to the two in the center, where he then pulled out a chair for me and signaled for me to sit.

I hesitated, then realized I didn’t exactly have anything else to do. After all, this was my wedding afterparty.