Page 92 of Crown of Storm and Silence
"He swore by his own blood that no harm would come to either of them by his hand during their stay," Kaan replies, his shadows writhing with increasing agitation.
"By his hand," Elçin repeats with a warrior's attention to detail. "What about his servants? His realm's natural dangers? The other demons who might act independently?"
I watch the argument unfold with growing dread, my hand pressed protectively to my belly where our child rests, blissfullyunaware of the political machinations surrounding my baby's existence.
"There's more," Kaan admits reluctantly. "He wants us to have a proper wedding ceremony. In Kara Cehennem. To 'seal the blood bond properly' for the purification ritual."
"A wedding," I repeat faintly. "In the demon realm."
"Oh, how delightful!" Banu claps her hands together with theatrical enthusiasm. "A wedding in the realm of eternal torment! I'm sure the atmosphere will be absolutely charming—very gothic meets family dysfunction."
"Banu," I warn, but she's just getting started.
"And think of the wedding favors! Little bottles of despair for all the guests, perhaps some commemorative screaming souls..." She turns to Kaan with a bright, mocking expression. "I do hope you've considered the catering. Will the wedding feast include anything that doesn't writhe in agony?"
"This isn't a joke," Kaan snarls, his shadows writhing with agitation.
"Oh, but it is!" Banu replies with savage cheer. "It's the kind of joke where everyone dies horribly at the punchline!"
"Enough," I say sharply, rising from my chair despite the way my head spins with the sudden movement. "Both of you. This constant bickering isn't helping anyone."
The chamber falls silent except for the soft hum of healing crystals. I pace to the window, staring out at the Shadow Court's twilight landscape while my mind races through impossible choices.
"How long do we have?" I ask quietly.
"Days," Kaan admits. "The poison is spreading faster now. Soon there won't be enough of me left to make the journey at all."
"And if we refuse?"
"Then I transform completely, and our child grows up with a monster for a father," he says with brutal honesty. "If it grows up at all."
The weight of it crashes over me—the impossible choice between certain doom and probable doom, between watching him become the creature his father created and risking everything on the word of a demon who murdered his own wife.
"When?" I whisper.
"Three days," Kaan replies. "He's already begun preparations for the ceremony."
"Three days," Banu repeats thoughtfully. "Barely enough time to plan a proper funeral, let alone a wedding."
Despite everything, I find myself laughing—a sharp, hysterical sound that borders on tears. "You're right," I say, turning back to face them both. "This is insane. Completely, utterly insane."
"But you're going to do it anyway," Banu observes with resignation. "Because you love him, and because the alternative is watching him slowly turn into the kind of monster that gives other monsters nightmares."
"Yes," I admit quietly. "I am."
Kaan's expression crumbles with a mix of relief and guilt. "Nesilhan, I'm so sorry. I never wanted?—"
"I know," I interrupt gently, moving to his side despite the way his poison makes my skin crawl with wrongness. "I know you never wanted this. But we'll face it together."
"Together," Banu agrees with grim determination, struggling to sit up straighter. "Because apparently I'm coming too."
"Absolutely not," Kaan and I say simultaneously.
"Oh, please," she scoffs, waving away our protests. "You think I'm letting you walk into the demon realm without backup? I may be small, but I'm vindictive and surprisingly difficult to kill."
"You're still recovering—" I begin.
"I'm a fairy," she interrupts proudly. "We're naturally resilient and professionally paranoid. Plus, someone needs to provide commentary during the most overwrought wedding ceremony in history."
