Chapter 2

As the guards exited behind her and the doors closed, I looked at Lily, shocked to see her shoulders shaking.

"What is it? Are you okay?" I asked in concern.

"Girl, had started singing mother knows best I would have lost it!" She choked out, shoulders shaking harder as she leaned against my vanity.

A giggle escaped me as I pictured my mother breaking out into a classic Disney song and dance. Soon we were both laughing as quietly as we could, tears streaming down our faces as we held onto each other.

Sighing Lily stood up and wiped the last of the tears from off her face. She knelt at my side and took my hands.

"Listen, you know I’d never lie to you. This is going to be hard and it’s going to be sad and it's going to make you angry. But you can and you will get through this. You’re so much stronger than your mother knows. Than even you know. It will be okay."

She held my gaze with hers waiting while I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Good girl," she murmured approvingly. "Now let’s get you ready."

For the next two hours I sat obediently while I was primped, primed, and made beautiful, all in an effort for me to commit murder. When I was finally deemed perfect by Lily, The Queen appraised me with a critical eye. A few minor adjustments were made before I received approval for my appearance and we were on our way.

As we were escorted to the throne room by a retinue of The Queen’s guards I silently considered her earlier warning. I definitely knew what was at stake. The future of the royal line. The livelihood of my clan. The certainty of my life. This year I would be 22 years old. If I didn’t find my mate soon, Vetur would destabilize and become unbearable. In the history of the Talvines, there had been two occasions where the princess had not found her mate in time. Both times held accounts of pure destruction, near annihilation. Both princesses had nearly decimated their entire clan before they were killed.

 I didn’t want that, but found myself wondering if death wouldn’t be the better option. I didn’t want to kill another warrior. Nor did I want to become another abhorrent history lesson. If I thought I’d get away with it, I’d try to run again. Unfortunately, since my last attempt I’d been more heavily guarded—for my protection, of course. The heavy wooden doors, inlaid with marble and ivory, and bearing the image of Talvine warriors locked in battle, swung open on silent hinges, pulling me from my thoughts. I hadn’t even heard our arrival being announced, but I caught the end of it as hundreds of pairs of eyes zeroed in on us.

“. . . The Queen and The Princess,” the herald finished with a flourish and a bow. Every male present dropped to one knee; their heads bowed in deference. Those closest to the few women scattered throughout the room offered their hand so the women could half curtsey and dip their heads.

“My name is Cyan,” I mumbled.

The Queen cut me a sharp look, the brown of her eyes glazed just slightly enough to let me know that her Vetur was surging. I considered lowering my gaze, but decided against it. My little act of defiance would surely piss her off more, but that was exactly what I wanted. I knew that I was stronger than her. Even without my mate, I was lethal, as evidenced by the litany of extra warriors strategically placed throughout the room. They expected me to fail with this joining just as I had at the others, so even here at the revealing ceremony, they’d upped the security. If I could provoke The Queen to lash out, the ceremony would be cancelled.

“Do not tempt me, child,” The Queen warned.

“You insult me, my Queen. I would never,” I goaded, a saccharine smile playing about my lips.

The Queen’s glare could have frozen glaciers. Her mouth opened to lash out, but the clearing of her advisor’s throat curbed her response.

“My Queen, the clan awaits,” he implored, his eyes pleading with me to speak no more.

Forcing a deep breath, The Queen turned and began to move, her dress trailing behind her. Biting back a sigh at being thwarted, I followed at the customary five steps behind and to her left. We made our way to the front of the throne room where my father waited, his First Guard hovering nearby. I kept my head and eyes straight forward, fighting the urge to lift the hem of my dress. Even after years of making this walk, I still felt as though I would trip and fall. It wasn’t enough to have my dress reach my ankles. It had to sweep the floor, never allowing my feet to peek out when I moved. A crock of shit if you asked me. No one asked me though, so there was that.

When I noticed no one other than my father upon the dais, it occurred to me that my betrothed wasn’t present. He should have been there already. No one would be allowed to enter once The Queen had arrived. As if prompted by my thoughts, the doors to the throne room closed with a muted thud. A quick visual sweep of those surrounding the dais, brought me up short. For the first time since I’d come of age, strangers were present for a part of the mating festivities. And not just any strangers. Beautiful, intense, ruggedly handsome strangers, who didn’t seem to get the memo that this was a black-tie affair. All brawny and burly, an air of menace surrounded them, enhanced by the wide berth my clan was giving them. Their eyes remained on me, not once acknowledging The Queen. Well shit. Their eyes were on me. They weren’t kneeling or bowing. Instead they stood as though they didn’t have a care in the world. The fisted hands resting against their chests, right where their hearts would be, was the only sign of respect they showed and even that was directed at me. The one on the right had a shock of red hair and his lips curved slightly when he caught me watching them. The one on the left was as blond as they came. He winked when my eyes met his and I  thanked my creator for the dark skin that hid my blush. The middle one’s hair was pitch black and while they were all hulking giants, he dominated in height and width. He did nothing but stare and that bothered the hell out of me.

Something about him called forth a challenging light in me, commanded my attention, but I wouldn’t give it so easily. How dare he think he could command me or challenge me in any way. Vetur stirred within me and I tore my eyes away. I couldn’t let myself get distracted and I realized how ridiculous it was that I was getting this worked up from his presence alone.

I trained my eyes on The Queen’s back as my father stepped forward to help her up the stairs of the dais. Normally, I would follow with the help of Lily and be seated to the right of The Queen, but since this was my joining ceremony, I would remain where I stood. Once seated on her throne, she turned to me. As much as I wanted to rebel, I knew now was not the time. Dipping my head, I curtsied.

“Your majesties.”

“Rise, my princess,” she declared, her voice carrying throughout the cavernous room.

Doing as instructed, I turned to face my clan.

“Rise, Clan of Restari, and welcome.”

The Queen would never speak directly to her subjects. That duty was left to King Damon or me. Senseless, but a power play was everything to the monarch. If I lived to make it to the throne that would be one of the first rules I would get rid of. Looking toward the herald who had somehow appeared to my left, I gave him a nod indicating he should start. I tuned out his words, but kept my face interested. Appearance was everything. Besides, he would only be spewing out our history and how important it would be for me to find my mate to ensure balance. I speculated if this year’s spiel would include the horrors awaiting me should I fail to mate with whomever they’d chosen this time. The Queen would never allow that failure. She would be ashamed that her daughter, the heir to the throne, was an utter disappointment where it mattered most.

Movement in my peripheral caught my attention and I focused on it. Kormen, along with his sister and his parents, was here. I forced myself not to smile. It had been nearly three weeks since I’d seen him and if ever there was a day I needed my best friend, today was that day. Once my betrothed was reveal, we would move into the joining. He would be allowed to touch me and his fate would be fatally sealed. Kormen had been there since day one and though I couldn’t touch him directly, he’d layer me in blankets and hold me while I fell apart. I wiggled my fingers slightly, our code for hello and in this case, ‘I missed you.’ His fingers didn’t move and he didn’t give me the easy grin he usually wore. His lips were ticked up at the corners and his eyes were bright and calculating. He didn’t look like the jovial boy I’d snuck away and goofed off with all the time. He didn’t look like my friend. He looked triumphant. Smug. His family, however, looked worn down. Which was weird considering they’d been on  vacation in The Hot Springs, one of the warmest locations near Sault Ste Marie.

Kormen’s mother covered a sob with her hand as her husband pulled her into his side. It occurred to me that I should tune into the herald just as Kormen took a step forward. And another. And another. Where the heck did he think he was going? He kept moving and it took me quite a moment to realize he was coming toward me. But this couldn’t be happening. A gasp escaped me and I stumbled back. The Queen’s voice barked a command, reprimanding me for sure, but it went ignored as I stared in horror.

Kormen. My best friend. My brother in every sense of the word except by blood. My confidante. My lifeline. And my parents had chosen him to be my next victim.