Tempest (The Chronicles of Winterset #2) - K.G. Reuss Page 0,7
as mother is,” he said after a moment. “He meant no harm, Analia, nor did I with giving you the hard truth. We should’ve presented this information to you in a different light after you had time to adjust to Dar’ish, or perhaps I should’ve reconsidered my words. I’m sorry.”
“Well, both of you suck,” I choked out. “How could I possibly marry someone I don’t even know when I’m in love with someone else?”
“Analia, to be fair, you could’ve never married Calix, even if he were still alive. Father wouldn’t have permitted it. We’re at war with his nation. He is the Mortae, the very thing which threatens the lives of the people of Winterset. As a princess of Winterset, of Dar’ish, of the summer court, you’re tasked with being a good example for its people, even if it wrecks you inside.”
“It’s not fair. You’ve been around for over a hundred years, Soran. How have you avoided it for so long? There had to be someone who offered enough. I just don’t understand why I have to do it. I’ve been here less than a month, and yet, you’ve been around forever and still haven’t.”
“Oh, trust me, baby sister. Father has been pressuring me for ages to take a wife. In fact, we’ll be meeting with the Duke of Norrington next week to discuss his daughter’s hand. I heard she’s a wretch.” He grimaced at the thought, and a shudder rolled through his muscular body. “I’ve staved off the sacrament of marriage by being too busy with other tasks, like wars and traveling. I’m not proud of it. It won’t last forever, though. Before you know it, you’ll be standing at my wedding while I marry someone I don’t love. It’s a destiny we must all succumb to, some sooner than others.”
“Why do you even get to discuss it?” I pressed, wiping at my eyes. “Why do you get to meet with her, yet I’m blindly pushed into it?”
“Yours was decided long ago, Analia.” Soran sighed looking away. “You were to marry the firstborn son of Lor’Lak, of the shadow court, Xalvador Shadowmoore, but he was murdered. In turn, you were passed down to Calixto Shadowmoore, his brother. Once Zaros stormed our castle, demanding to see you, and we realized exactly who and what Calixto and you were, Father broke off the agreement with Zaros.”
“How old was Calix when we met?” I asked, needing to hear a story about him. “What was he like?”
Soran sank down on the green grass beside me and picked at it.
“He was about seventeen, in Earth Realm years of course,” Soran said after a moment of silence. “He was quiet, dark, and he seemed tormented. He was quite taken with you, though. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes when he saw you. It was like sunshine on a rainy day. The moment you were brought through the doors, his entire quiet, dark demeanor changed. He lit up at the sight of you. I can only guess it was because it was a recognition of his other half. The light to his darkness.”
“And then what happened?” I pressed, thinking about how that was exactly how Calix had seemed to me. I recalled the way his lips curled up into a smile the moment he laid his eyes on me in our chemistry class only months ago.
“Well, perhaps I’d better explain it the way it happened from the beginning.” Soran licked his lips before continuing, “Zaros requested a meeting with father to discuss the incidence of the hidden kingdom of Ascaria attempting to invade his borders. Ascarians are neutrals. They are neither Seelie or Unseelie. They haven’t yet chosen, but they’ll tip the scales when they do, and I’d imagine, cause unimaginable chaos because one group would then be more than the other and the balance would be upended.” Soran cleared his throat. “You see, Xalvador, Zaros’s eldest son, the one you were meant to marry, was supposedly murdered by the Ascarians.”
“What do you mean supposedly?” I pressed, trying to absorb all the information.
“His body was burned so badly it was unrecognizable from what I’ve heard. The only distinguishing factor was the ring he wore on his finger which symbolized his house, his kingdom, his court. The story seems odd simply because the Ascarians are a secret, hidden kingdom seeped in magic. No one knows of its exact location, and no one has ever seen its king. It supposedly lies beyond the great forest. No