Page 40 of The Princess of Nothing
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
That night, I eyedthe blue diamonds on the earrings. They shone every time the light from the lamps hit them. My thoughts, however, drifted to Cedric’s brother, the man who’d run my brother through with a sword, ending his short life on a battlefield he should have never been on.
Cedric hadn’t brought it up. Neither had I. Not in our dreams. We both had bigger things to focus on. Avenging my brother’s death would come later.
Tossing and turning and with sweat beading my head, I sighed. Who knew how much time had passed? Sleep eluded me.
I rolled out the side of the bed and my bare feet hit cold marble as I grabbed an oil lamp. Creaking the door open, I bit my bottom lip. Three guards stood whispering to each other, all facing my room. They looked up, and I closed the door. I couldn’t go anywhere undetected. How was I supposed to gather information on my enemies if I couldn’t even leave my room alone?
I placed the lamp on the window’s ledge and stared up at the stars. I wondered if there was any truth to Xenos’s beliefs. Did the stars’ positions really change anything? It was a silly notion, but why couldn’t it be true? If it were, it wouldn’t make a difference to me. I couldn’t read them.
In Magaelor, when I couldn’t sleep, I would go to my window and could swear I’d hear the steady drums of the ancestors’ song carry in the winds from Ash Forest.
Laughter and drunken chattering reached my ears. I could hear men beyond the trees. It had to be the warriors, sleeping the night before heading back to where they had come from. I didn’t know anyone lived on the islands where dragons roamed until now.
I hoped I’d see Cedric tonight, if he could find me. Climbing back into bed, I closed my eyes, praying to my ancestors for salvation.
***
The next morning, Ifelt terrible. My eyes were heavy, my shoulders hurt, and my head ached. Grumbly, I nodded at Edna when she informed me I’d be spending the day with Kiros.
Cedric didn’t come. I had an annoyingly dreamless sleep. Pulling a simple, green knee-length dress over my body, I forced a small smile onto my mouth. Time to go and be a fiancée to the man I hated for my survival, my kingdom, and Cedric.
“Father never trusted my advice in our meetings, and I studied more than Neoma or anyone else ever did,” Kiros complained as we strolled through the gardens. Neatly lined flowerbeds of uniformed colors stretched out to the far reaches of the grassy banks. We treaded over stepping-stones, looking out over the wavering horizon.
“It’s so unfair,” I replied for what felt like the hundredth time. A stream babbled, and toads croaked in the near distance.
“He always wanted a son to take his throne,” he stated, unaware of the boredom in my voice, “but he loved Neoma more. He never said so, but she won’t rule—she’s not even legitimate—so he doesn’t need to be so careful with her. They joke and fight with swords. He even goes hunting with her. His daughter.” He shook his head. “He won’t go with me. I’ve asked him again and again. She has radical beliefs too, well, you saw that for yourself, and yet he enjoys her company more than me.”
My lips pressed into a hard line. “I know it’s hard, but he loves you. I can see that. He’s harder on you and more distant because you’re going to be king one day. You are his namesake, the future of the kingdom he nurtures. He trusts you, and that’s more than Neoma will ever have.”
He stopped us close to the stream. The smell of freshly cut grass lingered, but the stench from a stagnant pond stewing nearby pinched the evocative smell into dankness. “Your support means everything to me.” He moistened his lips, holding my hands in his. “I need you to know you’ve grown to become a friend—well, more than that if I am being honest. You’re everything I want in a wife. I knew there was the right girl out there for me.” He squeezed my fingers. “And destiny brought you to me. I’ve never felt understood by my family, or anyone really. No one gets it, the values we hold as the next in line to the throne.”
I wanted to remind him I was no longer next in line, but a queen, rightfully, but I knew it best to keep my mouth shut. “You’re strong, Kiros.” I gazed up at him with an adoration that was difficult to fake. “Caring. I see it now, and we share so many beliefs. I couldn’t have asked for better. It may not have had the best start, but you’re right, destiny led me to you.”
“Staying on the topic of beliefs,” he said, turning on his heel and striding forward. “I wanted to discuss your religion.”
“What about it?”
We veered left, missing the pond and leaving its festering stench behind us, and crossed the stream toward a collection of trees. I peered over the banks. Walls surrounded us. Outside of them were hundreds of guards, stationed to stop those from coming in and me from going out.
“I want you to renounce your ancestral powers.”
My stomach knotted, but I reminded myself none of it was real. It was a game, and if I won, then I’d leave unscathed, ready to reclaim my crown with Cedric by my side. My destination was so clear in my mind, I wanted to forward through this part and get to the end. I couldn’t just say yes though. Kiros wasn’t stupid, although he was arrogant, which helped my case with hiding things. I had to show some fight to be convincing, then relent, I decided.
“I can’t do that.” I stopped us next to a shaded area. Low branches hung over a patch of yellow grass. I let out a weighted sigh. “My ancestors are important to me.”
“I knew you’d say no, but I was hoping I could change your mind.” He gestured toward the ground. “May we?”
I nodded, sat, and crossed my legs. “I know you want me to practice like you, but I can’t give it up. It’s all I know.”
“Yes.” His shoulders slumped forward. “I do understand. It seems unfair to ask such a thing, but if we are to bring our kingdoms together, you must understand how it would look to my people, whose numbers are much larger than yours, if I allow the continuation of such barbaric magic.”
I clenched my jaw. “Some would say the same about your magic. Your beliefs. The many religions Berovia allows, but I wouldn’t say that. Not anymore.”
