Page 25 of The Crimson Princess
That news alone would not disturb me, but his concern over her does. “Did you tell Toren?”
“No, I did not tell Toren. The vampire cannot be trusted.”
“He wants what you want. To prevent the sorceress from causing chaos and death.”
“Or use her to conquer us. I told you, there’s no negotiating with vampires. Toren cannot be allowed to come in contact with the sorceress.”
“A contradiction to the fact that we live in peace with Toren and his kind.”
“We are never at peace with them,” he snaps back. “They have an army that could overtake us at any moment, and that is a weakness we need to correct. By joining with the druids—”
My heart literally skips a beat at such a premise. “Joininghow?”
He puffs up his shoulders, an act that tells me he’s preparing for war. With me. I will not like what comes next. “You will wed Prince Bellar,” he announces, his voice pure steel. “We will become one Ravengale kingdom.”
Shock rips through me, and my anger burns as hot as the new magic but somehow it bubbles from me as laughter. “No. No, I will not wed the prince. I barely tolerate him.”
“It’s decided,” he declares, a whip to his tone.
My laughter is gone, transformed into a spark, one decibel beneath rage. “I am not your whore you can sell off.”
“We will make your couple status public at the Challenge.”
“No.”
“I am your father and your king.”
“No,” I repeat. “The druids are in bed with Toren’s brother.”
“The druids have vowed to stand with us against the vampires and together we will be strong enough to ensure neither Toren nor his brother, Ruhn, will ever dare challenge us.”
This is wrong. I feel it in every part of me, but I know my father and he’s as stubborn as stone when he’s made up his mind. He won’t listen to his daughter’s viewpoint, no matter what her future role in the kingdom. Especially now that he intends me to be second to the druid prince.
“You will allow Prince Bellar to court you publicly to allow the gales to find comfort with the idea of this union,” he adds.
“They will question us both for joining the very enemy that killed many of their family members.”
“They trust in what the book has destined as our future. You will do this and you will smile while you do it.”
It’s not a question and as sour as it is on my tongue, I comply and say, “Yes.” And I do so only out of the childhood memory of being locked away for a public display of disobedience, and I was only nine at the time. Not even my mother could save me his wrath when he flexed his crown. And now I stand alone against him, without her by my side. With a twist of my gut, I vow to figure out a way out of this. Iwillfigure out how to save the lives that will certainly be lost if we travel this path. Everything inside me that tells me this alliance with the druids is wrong.
My father’s lips curve. “Excellent. I will send news to the druid king.” He motions to my throne. “Now sit. We have visitors waiting.”
It is all I can do to force my feet to carry me to my own throne where I claim my seat. But I do it. I sit. And thankfully, the change seems to be over, and the physical discomfort that came with it,though I have no idea what my new powers might be, if any. I’ve been taught that most simply have better use of their prior skills, but some develop new abilities that gradually show themselves.
Idofeel different.
I have no idea what that means, but something inside me has changed.
A visitor steps in front of me and I begin greeting those who wish to honor my mother, trying to put my whole heart into the process. But there is much to distract me, and I silently console myself over the Prince Bellar development, reminding myself that I’m only allowing him to court me. I will never accept a true proposal. At the core of this problem though, I’m far less worried about me than I am my father’s motivation for this decision.
There is clearly much I do not know.
When the hours of greeting conclude, I’m eager for escape, but I’m halfway down the steps of our platform when my father calls out my name, “Satima.”
I grit my teeth and rotate to face him. “Yes, father?”
“I know you left the castle last night. Do not repeat that action, not while the vampire king stays in our lands. I told you. He cannot be trusted and you are the future of our people.”
