“Act like it then.” Growling, Ryder stood to address the crowd, welcoming them to our home for a night of celebrating before the upcoming war. When he finished, he retook his seat beside me while the bard told stories of ancient battles won by the horde and the old kings.
Ciara’s eyes caught mine, and the worry dancing in them made me pause. I surveyed the other women, finding them all inspecting me as if they thought I would explode at any moment and ruin their little party. Olivia looked terrified. Her gaze studied me. There was sadness in her eyes that I didn’t want to explore. Everyone was staring at me, waiting for me to do something inappropriate. The guards around the throne held their hands ready on their weapons. I’m guessing they would cut me down if I so much as breathed wrong.
“You will join us for the feast, preferably in something black. Go wash up and get the brain matter out of your hair. We wouldn’t want our guests to lose their appetites because of the queen’s lack of giving a fuck during her breakdown. Would we?” he mocked, loud enough that the crowd heard him.
“The queen was out murdering mages, which is more than the king was doing. The only thing he’s murdering lately is a bunch of worthless pussies. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to change into something less…bloody.”
Once in my room, I eyed the vanity before moving to the mirror, studying the blood and gore covering my lithe, well-muscled frame. My head tilted, glaring at the cut that ran from one side of my cheek to the other, blood dripping down my face.
The dress I chose to wear was silver, with sequins spread out through the design. The deep V-neck exposed an ample amount of cleavage, and yet not enough to be considered inappropriate. It was backless, stopping right above the twin dimples at the base of my spine. I didn’t bother with makeup or cared if I looked exactly how I felt: exhausted. I fixed my hair into two large braids, wrapping them around the top of my head before setting the crown onto the middle of the simple hair design.
I walked down the hallway, noticing several people arguing and bickering. It seemed like everyone was fighting or quarreling as a result of being cooped up while we prepared for war. Entering the lavishly decorated banquet hall, I paused, quietly studying the crowd as they spoke to one another, most likely about me. They’d probably started taking bets on how long it would take for Ryder to break me.
Obviously, they’d forgotten who and what I was. While I would do nothing to endanger my children—not that I thought Ryder would harm our babes—I had no plans of cowering or playing bitch to the king, either.
“Syn.” Zahruk grabbed my arm and stared into my eyes. “Not everything is as simple as you think it is. You told me nothing was black and white, remember that.”
“Unless it is, such as what I saw, Zahruk.” I pulled my arm back, shaking him off.
“Your face isn’t healing,” he pointed out.
“It will, and if not, oh well. I’m not entering a beauty contest, and being pretty didn’t stop my husband from cheating on me,” I snorted. “Are you here to ensure I don’t cause a scene?”
“Something like that, yes,” he admitted, holding out his arm.
I let him lead me through the crowd to the table until Ryder came into view with the female he’d been feeding from on his arm. He was whispering something in her ear. I stopped dead in my tracks as wind howled through the room.
“Fuck,” Zahruk said.
“Is this a fucking joke?” I demanded, tearing my arm away from his, intending to leave.
“I wouldn’t do that, Goddess,” Lucian murmured, smiling down at me, his midnight eyes sparkling with something dark in their endless depths. “I have it on good authority you’re free for dinner. Would you do me the honor of joining me?”