Page 23 of Fractured Souls
“I’ll just try to ignore the kingdom’s worth of people staring at me,” I teased as he tugged me forward, kissing me hard before leading me out the door.
My eyes widened as we stepped into the hallway, not having expected the dozen-plus guards that were waiting for us. I looked over at Dean, who offered me a warm look that had me relaxing.
I knew that all of them would be right there with me during this new experience, and with that always came a sense of security that was becoming fundamental to my life.
I didn’t know how to describe the interior of the Kingdom of Night’s castle except that it was the polar opposite of Desmond’s. Not in a bad way either! Where Desmond’s castle had reminded me of a Mediterranean dream with lots of sunshine and painted tiles that glinted like luxurious gemstones, this castle was decorated with shadows and its own gemstones of a sort. Darkness coated the halls like a blanket, allowing the stars to take center stage, their light seeming to shine that much brighter through the broad iron mullioned windows. Everything here was strong and fortified, and in its cold nature there was a sense of stability and strength that I could see reflected in the people around us.
Rather than seeming repressed by the serious nature of it, the people of the kingdom seemed proud of it, the uniforms for the castle attendants and soldiers alike worn proudly as we were escorted through the halls and down a set of stairs. I could hear the distant sound of voices growing, and I knew that in the time that we had slept, the hall for the ceremony had not only been prepared for the event but filled with those in the kingdom.
A kingdom and surrounding city that reminded me so much of a medieval village. I mean seriously, the similarities were startling.
My opinion was only solidified as we reached the entrance to a very long hallway at the bottom of the stairs, the long corridor decorated with iron chandeliers and suits of armor every ten feet or so before opening up into a massive hall filled with more people. I saymorebecause my attention was quickly zeroing in on all of those gathered along the edges of the hall, eagerly talking and trying to look at us.
NowI was nervous.
One of my kitty cats let out a low rumble, but all I could do was lean further into Adriel, trying to keep my chin held high so I didn’t look like a total chicken shit. Which I now felt like, if we were being honest.
As a symphony of music started up and my other men followed the guards forward, I tried to steady myself and focus on anything other than the amount of people focused on us.
I had no idea how this hadn’t bothered me before…well, that wasn’t really true. I knew exactly why—I’d been high before. Now I was painfully sober and hearing each of their desires. Luckily they were fairly run of the mill, and that strength I had felt before seemed imbued in each of them down to a subconscious level.
I had to assume that because they’d come from Kingdom of Day they’d overcome a lot, so naturally there wasn’t the same lightness as there was in Desmond’s kingdom. In some ways I found this far more beautiful.
That thought had me straightening up more, trying to look like I was as strong as they expected me to be. As Adriel deserved from the woman who was his queen.
Yeah, I still wasn’t used to that shit.
“Ready, princess?”
“Pretty sure that’s ‘queen’ to you,” I teased lightly under my breath. “But yes, I’m ready.”
And I was pretty damn sure I faked it well enough that almost everyone believed me. The walk from the stairs to the doorway of the gathering hall felt neverending, and despite the upbeat celebratory music and excited chatter, my ears buzzed with the desires flooding my brain. My siren loved it, doing little twirls and tricks, like this was her favorite part of this entire experience. I knew she couldn’t help it completely, it was in her nature, and in this I was at least thankful that the intention of the crowd here was relatively harmless.
“Are you going to have to talk and stuff?” I murmured, looking up at Adriel as he continued to guide me forward, my arm looped through his.
“Not here, but at the celebration, yes.” He offered me a knowing and amused look before saying, “You may have to as well.”
A surprised sound left my throat as I slowly started shaking my head, his chuckle causing the crowd to smile, happy for their king’s good humor even if they didn’t know the source. It was clear through their desire for his attention that many of them looked up to Adriel, and while there was a natural fear there, it was more awe than anything else.
“Just me then,” he said, his lips brushing the side of my head. “Besides, my head advisor Bararond will conduct the ceremony.”
My gaze followed his to the front of the hall, and I realized that his advisor was only a few years older than us. His smile was friendly and his intentions immediately had me relaxing, seeming genuinely happy for Adriel. I wasn’t sure how close the two of them were, but I was happy to not feel anything that would cause Adriel’s trust in him to falter.
As we entered the hall, I was blown away by the amount of people gathered. The eager and excited expressions paired with the music had a surge of adrenaline rushing through my veins, something that was only intensified as we reached the front of the room—the music cutting off and the voices becoming that much more noticeable.
Luckily, Bararond didn’t hesitate.
“Kingdom of Night!” Bararond’s voice was far deeper and louder than I expected. Adriel and I faced him with our backs to the room, and I could feel my other men staring intently at me. I’m sure they were worried about how tense I was right now, and I wanted to turn and offer them a reassuring smile, but at the same time I didn’t really want to turn around and see the crowd looking at us.
“Today we celebrate not only the return of King Adriel, we also celebrate that he has found hismaité anam—”
An explosion of applause and excited chatter filled the room as Adriel chuckled softly under his breath, causing me to feel a bit shy. It was also bringing on a heavy sense of déjà vu from the formal introduction while in Desmond’s kingdom—especially because the happiness that each kingdom showed for its rulers was a bit overwhelming, especially when it so directly involved me.
“We have gathered you today to watch and celebrate the union of their magic and the crowning of your Queen, Lady Lorcan.”
My eyes widened at two things—first that Bararond knew my name, but two—what the hell had he just said about crowning? I snapped my head up to look at Adriel, who was watching me with a slight hint of amusement, daring me with his eyes to freakin’ say something.
“A little warning,” I mumbled, narrowing my eyes but not enough that anyone in the crowd could see.
