She studied him. If she did not know better, she would think he was truly upset. “What is life without risk?”
“Indeed.” He pulled her hand to his mouth and placed a long but chaste kiss on the center of her palm. He closed his eyes as if savoring the moment. Rora’s heart thumped uncomfortably. The sooner she found a way to end their betrothal, the better. She was not sure how long she could keep pretending like this. It did strange things to her heart and head.
“You did not tell me where you were this morning.” That quickly he shed the softness, his tone turning demanding.
She fought the urge to pull her hand away from his grasp, and said, “I wanted some fresh air after being confined to my bed for a day. Is that acceptable to you?”
Well, she’d contained most of her anger. She would count that successful enough.
One side of his mouth curled up. “Quite acceptable. I like that you enjoy the outdoors. My … brother’s fiancée, before she passed … well, the ocean whispered just outside the gates of our castle, but I don’t think she ever set a toe in the sand.”
“I’ve always wanted to see the ocean.” She’d been fascinated since she first read The Tale of Lord Finneus Wolfram, and it had become her favorite. And every time she’d read it since, the hunger to experience it for herself increased. “I’ve read about it. About ships sailing out into the deep, searching for other lands, safer ones. But the closest I’ve ever gotten is rivers and lakes.”
“It’s not the same. Someday, I’ll take you. There’s this lagoon a little way up the coast from home toward the ruins of Calibah. It’s like a little private paradise, and the water is a gorgeous crystal blue, and you can see all the way down to the smooth pebbles at the bottom. I think you’d love it there.”
She probably would. Perhaps the only thing that fascinated her more than the ocean was the fall of the city of Calibah. That plus the ocean would captivate her completely. And she hated that he seemed to know this. That he could read her so easily. But she didn’t trust him, and she wasn’t sure she trusted herself either. “What did my mother discuss with your father?”
His brows furrowed, and his hand tightened on hers. “We’re moving up the wedding date.”
“What?”
“Your mother said that you’ve always wanted a wedding outdoors, and she was worried that the season change could ruin that possibility. A patrol spotted a storm coming in off the western coast, near Calibah, and set the signal fires. It might be a few days before it reaches this far inland, but it’s heading this way, and it’s massive. So we’re getting married tomorrow before it arrives.”
Funny. Rora felt like it already had. Like a twister had dropped from the sky, ripping through the roof and throwing her world into a maelstrom. Tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
She struggled to stay calm, to keep her expression neutral. But her body revolted, and tears pressed at the corners of her eyes, nausea roiling in her belly. She stood quickly, fleeing to the window. It was easier when she could see the sky in front of her, could see a way out.
But her reprieve was short-lived. Rora felt Cassius step up behind her before he spoke. “Maybe it’s better this way. No more ceremonies. No more dresses you hate. We’ll get married, and then we’ll get on with our lives.”
Get on with their lives? The future was always scary. Rora knew that. But she couldn’t fight the sinking feeling in her stomach, like she was drowning. Like she’d lost her way in the water and didn’t know up from down, and her limbs were filled with lead, and she would never find the surface again.
“Why do you want to marry me?” The question was out of her mouth before she knew exactly what she was doing. But once it was, she could not stop. “Why leave behind your home and everyone you know to be the king behind the queen? You’ll have to answer to me, give up the Locke name and take mine. You don’t strike me as the kind of man who would enjoy playing politics while his wife rules a kingdom.”
Part of her thought that if he admitted to his hunger for power now, if he told the truth, then perhaps she could salvage it all.
His eyes narrowed, and his mouth tightened. “You don’t trust me.”
“I don’t trust anyone.”
“And I destroyed the trust you gave me with your knives.”
She did not answer him. Just kept her cold gaze fixed on that handsome face.
“I’ll earn it back, Aurora,” he said fiercely. “I promise you that. And I do not make promises I don’t intend to keep. As for why I wanted to marry you? I never felt that I quite fit in my family. Maybe the king behind the queen isn’t the most ideal position, but it’s a far sight better than second heir.” He took her hand, surrounding it with both of his. “Truthfully, Aurora. I am very much looking forward to a life here in Pavan. A life with you.”
He was spinning his webs of charm as always, but that last sentence almost rang true to her ears.
Cassius continued: “We will be embarking on our life together not just as man and woman, but as king and queen. Ours is the first wedding of two royal Stormling families in over a century. We represent a historic alliance. Since the storm is due to arrive soon after our wedding … what if we fought it? Together? Between the two of us, we cover most storm affinities known to man. Our children will be the most powerful Stormlings the world has ever seen, and it would be good for people to see us working together, fighting together. It would send a strong message as our first act as husband and wife.”
Rora played along, saying the right words, smiling the right smile, and nodding, but her mind wasn’t in it. Not really. She was outside herself. Her heart grew calm and steady and quiet—the kind of quiet that came before the Rage season. As if the whole land was bracing itself for the battle to come. All the nerves and the confusing emotions melted away, and she was nothing more than a series of actions cobbled together by instinct alone.
That was what happened to an animal when it was cornered. When the danger was high and adrenaline took over. Reason disappeared then, and the only thing left was an instinct older than blood and bones. And her instinct? It told her two things.
To lie.
And to run.
A door snapped closed, and her concentration sharpened; the world no longer blurred around the edges. Cassius had left, and Rora could barely recall the end of their conversation. She leaped into action and threw open the door to her bedroom. Nova straightened from where she’d been absentmindedly dusting around the room. Rora strode toward her bed where Nova had folded the traveling cloak. Picking up the worn fabric, she asked, “Can you get me more clothes like this? Nondescript. Pants, no dresses?”
“What do you need them for?” Nova asked.
Rora looked at her. At the girl who used to be her best friend, and might still be. And even though everything else was chaos and confusion, she felt undeniably sure about something for the first time in years. “I’m making my own future.”