Igniting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology #2) - Robin LaFevers Page 0,206

over at the queen who, instead of watching the proceedings with her usual sharp interest, is studying the rings on her fingers as if they have suddenly sprouted wings. I take a deep breath and look at Beast. “I do seem to remember making a promise to you along those lines, did I not, Sir Waroch?”

He nods solemnly. “You did, my lady. All it wanted was permission from our liege for us to proceed.”

“You did not put him up to this, did you?” I murmur.

He gives a quick shake of his head. “Not I.”

The queen clears her throat just then. “Is there a problem, Lady Sybella?” Although her face tries to arrange itself in stern lines, the twinkle in her eyes gives her away.

“No, Your Majesty. There is no problem at all.” I turn back to the king. “I will gladly accept these terms of custody, Your Majesty. And thank you for finding a way to maneuver such a decision through the twists of the law.”

“It is truly the least I could do,” he says, most graciously.

Beast’s smile of joy shifts suddenly to one tinged with faint horror. As I arch an inquiring eyebrow at him, he says, “This means I will have to ask your father for your hand in marriage.”

 Chapter 121

Genevieve

Maraud is waiting for me outside the chamber, his tall, broad form outlined by the light of the oriel window. He turns at my approach, his fingers playing with the gold chain about his neck, his eyes filled with admiration and warmth. “It appears you and I are to be stuck with chains around our necks for all our lives.”

“I am sure we will manage,” I say as I draw alongside him.

He looks back outside, at the Loire river that runs by and the fields of green grass beyond that. “So now what?” he asks. “Are those of us who serve in the Order of the Nine allowed to . . . consort . . . with one another?”

“I should hope so. I am hoping it gives us the right to do whatever we please. Besides, I should like to see the king try to keep Beast and Sybella apart. Not to mention that he consorts with the queen.”

“And what would you do, Gen, with the right to do whatever you pleased?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I want . . . to live, and explore, and see new things. I want to line the world up before me, examine what it has to offer, and choose.”

He continues to stare out the window. “Choice is a wonderful thing,” he says. “As is exploring. Would you care for company on these explorations of yours?”

And of course, he is the first one to offer me a choice in this new life of mine. I reach out and take his hand, surprising him. “I would love company. Most especially your company, if you are offering it.”

“I wouldn’t say so much offering it as throwing it at your feet,” he murmurs.

“However it comes, I welcome it gladly.”

He grins then, and I smile back. He makes a sweeping bow before extending his arm. As we begin walking away from the council chamber, he bumps my shoulder lightly with his own. “So, I must ask. Did you ever end up saving those you set out to save when you left Cognac?”

The warmth that has been building in my chest since I first heard the king speak of the Order of the Nine swells so fully that I fear my heart will burst. I turn to him and smile, smile that he would remember to ask, and smile at the answer I have to give. “Yes. Yes, I did.”

 Epilogue

Sybella

I remember very little of my first trip to the convent, half mad with grief as I was. I was told they had to tie me down for fear I would hurt myself or hurl myself out of the cart.

Beast is quiet too, although for a different reason. I check to make sure the rest of our party isn’t within earshot. “He’s not going to tell you no,” I reassure him.

He shifts in his saddle, an uncomfortable gesture that is wholly unlike him. “I don’t imagine he will, but that does not make it any less harrowing—having to ask Death for his daughter’s hand in marriage.”

“Except that he is no longer Death, but Balthazaar, Annith’s consort. Or is she his consort? I’m not sure how that works. But if he gives you any trouble, you can remind him