Chapter Eighteen: Suspected

The red silk was heavy and stiff. Calani spent a long time pinning my hair up, her fingers moving fast while I sat there with my mind elsewhere. The letter was gone—burned in the hearth—but the words were still stuck in my head.

"Don't fidget," Calani muttered, adjusting the high collar. "You need to look like you belong at that table."

"I'm trying," I said. My ribs still ached every time I took a deep breath, a reminder of the chase.

When I finally walked into the Great Hall, the noise was the first thing that hit me. It was the sound of hundreds of people eating, drinking, and shouting over each other. 

The King sat at the center of the high table. Beside him was a young woman I hadn't seen before. She looked young, with the same sharp features as the King, watching the room with a look of total boredom.

Eilís was already seated. He looked different in formal clothes—stiff and uncomfortable. He was staring at a silver goblet in front of him like he wanted to break it. As I approached, he didn't look up right away.

I took the empty chair next to him. The Alphas at the nearby tables stopped talking for a second, their eyes scanning me before they went back to their drinks.

"You're late," Eilís said, his voice low. He finally looked at me, his eyes flicking over the red dress.

"The dress took a while," I told him. I looked toward the girl sitting next to the King. "Who is she?"

Eilís glanced over. "My sister, Aria. She usually stays at the winter estate. My father called her back for the celebration."

Aria must have felt us looking because she turned her head. She gave me a smile that didn't reach her eyes, before turning back to the king. "She doesn't look happy to be here," I noted.

"No one is," Eilís muttered. He reached for his drink and took a long swallow. "This isn't a party, Raven. It's a show of force. My father wants everyone to see that the bond is settled so the Council will stop breathing down his neck."

I looked at the King, who was laughing at something a councilman said. He looked powerful and relaxed, but after talking to Marilyn, I knew better. This whole room was full of people who remembered his wife burning, and they were all watching his son to see if he'd snap.

The letter felt like it was burning a hole in my memory. If Mirabel showed up now, during all this tension, I didn't think even Eilís could save me.

I leaned slightly closer to him. "Eilís, what happens when someone from the South comes here without an invitation?"

He paused with the goblet halfway to his mouth. He turned his head slowly to look at me, his expression tightening. "Why would you ask that?”

How to bring this up? “My sister…one of my sisters sent a letter requesting a visit.” I watched him like a hawk, looking for any sign of what he thought.

He set the goblet down on the table with a dull thud. His eyes didn't leave mine, and for a second, I thought I saw a flash of anger.

"Requesting?" he asked, his voice a harsh whisper. "Or informing?"

"She said she was already on her way," I admitted. "She says she’s worried about me," I said, trying to make it sound believable.

Eilís let out a short, dry laugh. "Worried? Your family didn't seem worried when they shoved you into a carriage and sent you to a place they think is full of monsters. Are you forgetting I saw your memories?”

He saw my what? “You saw my memories?”

He cursed under his breath, before sighing. “How do you think I found out about your gender?”

I was stunned, the noise of the hall suddenly feeling a mile away. If he had seen my memories, he had seen the years of hiding, the way my family looked right through me, and the exact moment I was forced into that carriage.

"You saw everything?" I whispered, my voice shaking.

"I saw enough," he said, his gaze fixed on the table. "I saw how they treated you. So don't tell me she's 'worried.' People like that don't suddenly grow a conscience.”

I looked over at the King. He was watching us closely, his eyes narrowed. He nudged Aria, and she leaned forward, her fake smile gone.

I forced my face into a smile that felt like a mask. "I can't stop her. She's already past the border."

"Then we have to find a way to meet her before she reaches the gates. If she gets here there's no saying what could go wrong.”

Before I could ask how, the King stood up, his heavy chair scraping against the stone. The room went silent instantly.

"A toast," the King announced, his voice booming. "To the girl who survived the Wolf. May she be as resilient in the marriage bed as she was in the woods."

A roar of laughter and cheering broke out from the tables. I felt a surge of nausea. Beside me, Eilís’s hand gripped his goblet so hard I thought the silver might snap.

Across the table, Aria was watching me. She hadn't laughed at her father's joke either. She poked at a piece of roasted meat with her knife, her expression flat. "So," she said, her voice cutting through the fading laughter. “I heard you were too frail to even walk when you arrived."

Wow, so much for first impressions.

I set the cup down. "I've been told I'm stronger than I look." I forced an awkward smile.

Aria tilted her head, a small, dangerous smirk playing on her lips. "I hope so, my brother isn't known for his patience. Especially not with things that break easily."

Eilís shifted in his seat. "Leave her alone, Aria."

"Just making conversation, brother," she said, turning her gaze to him. "It's been a long time since we had a guest who stayed this long. Most of the girls Father brings in don't make it past the first moon."

The King laughed again, a deep, rumbling sound. "That’s because they weren't Diernas. There’s a reason I chose this house. Her father was the most resilient during the war."

The King’s words hung in the air. I looked at him, trying to keep my expression as flat as Aria’s. My father, resilient? He had been "resilient" by staying behind stone walls while other men bled, and by selling off a son he never wanted to save for a daughter he couldn't control.

"He speaks highly of you as well, Your Majesty," I lied. The words felt like ash in my mouth.

He nodded, then turned to face the crowd. 

“Your voice.” Aria began again, making me stiffen. “It fascinates me.”

“I—”

“She has a lung problem.” Eilis cut me off, replying to her.

“Hmm.” She smirked. “That explains it.”

She definitely knew we were hiding something.