Page 191 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
Chapter
Sixty-Two
EVIE
Ididn’t want to believe it.
Not when Banu and Valuta smiled at me victoriously.
Not when the king and queen themselves frowned at the assembly, as if something had gone very, very wrong.
Not even when my frightened eyes found Zandyr’s and he skewered–absolutely skewered–me with nothing but cold determination in his stare.
The first time I’d met her, I thought Kaya was the most beautiful woman on the continent. Standing there at the altar, dressed in the red wedding gown Leesa probably had expected for me, she looked magnificent, even with her head drooped between her tense shoulders.
She had her back to me, not even deigning to look at the supposed friend she’d been smiling at only weeks ago.
A roar resounded in my ears. I became distantly aware it was the sound of my own heart, breaking.
It numbed me more than whatever spell the imposter and shadows had cast on me.
Than the fear of drowning in the monster’s river.
Than the power Valuta had tried to use to manipulate me.
Kaya, beautiful, naive Kaya, stood right there at the altar next to Zandyr. A bit to the right, leaving the left side for–for me, I realized with a start.
One wedding.
Two brides.
Two very satisfied advisors.
And one groom who looked ready to cleave the world in two. But who stood there, unmoving, letting all of this unravel right in front of him.
It couldn’t happen.
This wasn’t real.
This…
My mind, my poor, fractured mind tried so hard–so very, very hard–to make sense of the scene before me.
In the back of my thoughts, a whisper of a memory hissed. About Blood Brotherhood rulers having more spouses. A tradition that was abandoned long ago.
A startled, mirthless laugh bubbled up to my lips at the lunacy of it all.
Stupid.
I’d been so stupid. So taken with the pretty crowns Leesa had been showing me. After all this time, after everything I’ve been through, after I’dpromisedmyself to not be blinded by comfort, here I was, falling for shiny little trinkets just like my parents said.
I hadn’t seen the lie. The secret. The ruse.
Still, I stared, distantly aware the drums had restarted their maddening tune since I’d missed my cue.
I didn’t move, frozen underneath the massive crimson doorway. I wanted to burn it to the ground, until the flames licked it black and nothing but ashes remained. My power swelled inside me, pushing against the stitches.
I blinked to refocus my eyes, willing the stinging to vanish. The last thing I would do is cry in front of all these people. Or crumple to the ground, as my shaking knees begged to do.
