I caved, closed my eyes, and reached with my lips …
“Roki!” I screamed into my empty room. I sat upright in bed, sweating and hot.
“Just a dream …”
I was disappointed and more than a bit confused. The dream had been so vivid, so real. Even Roki’s scent continued to linger. It seemed like the universe was trying to tell me something. Did I need Roki back in my life?
I shook my head, trying to shake the dream from my system. It felt insane that he would appear to me in my mind on today of all days. I hadn’t seen Roki for three years. I hadn’t been back in NordHaven since Lordin’s funeral two years ago. Yet there I was, in my old bedroom, my brother married to my best friend the previous night, and Roki’s ghost was playing midnight tricks in my head. I already knew it was going to be a strange day. I could feel it in the air.
The service had been splendid. Tissa and Raad exchanged Gaard-Nurlie vows, and the massed crowd went nuts. Nurlie was happy because their chances of having an Ava-Nurlie queen were exceptional with Tissa’s marriage to my brother. Gaard was happy because they adored Raad and figured he was sure to be picked by the Crown of Crowns. But Surrvul was displeased. They craved the throne with dangerous ambition. I was beginning to wonder what any of it meant for the common folk. What did the coronation mean for the people?
“Morning, newlyweds,” I said as I entered the kitchen. Raad and Tissa were eating breakfast. The whispers of new lovers permeated the space.
“Morning, sister,” Raad said. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes,” I told him, moving to the platter of strawberries on the counter. “Did you?”
“Hardly,” Raad said, and he and Tissa erupted in secret giggles.
I was happy to see them like this. The past year had seen a lot of courting, a lot of travel back and forth between the capital and NordHaven. Now Tissa and Raad were finally wed. They were radiant together. I felt ashamed for being a touch sad that Nnati and I would soon fly back to the capital in our flyrarc while Tissa remained in NordHaven. She deserved some rest after the hard work she had put in over the past two years at the foundation. But for me, it felt like the end of an era. I could only hope everything would turn out well in the end.
“I have to talk to you about something,” Raad said while chewing his eggs. “It’s quite a serious something …” He looked to Tissa. “Do you mind, wife? It really is rather private.”
“Of course.” Tissa bowed to Raad in the humble fashion of an Ava-Gaard wife. Then she came to me and kissed my cheek, squeezed my arm. “We’re sisters now for real. You’ll never get rid of me now, Kaelyn.”
I laughed and said, “I’d never dream of it,” and Tissa went into the hall and left Raad and me alone.
“What is it?” I asked him. He was squirming uncomfortably.
“As you know, sister, Prince Zawne had his homecoming two days ago. He survived the brutal trial of Aska training and made it home in one piece.”
“I do know,” I said. “I watched the ceremony on my visin. Zawne looks …” I bit my lip. “Improved.”
Raad flashed his teeth. “You mean he looks hotter, more muscular, tanned, and totally kissable?”
“No!” But my protest was useless. It was all true. Zawne had become a hunk from his two years of training. He had transformed from a prince into … well, into a man.
“It’s encouraging that you feel that way,” Raad said, “because nearly two years ago I made a pact with Zawne’s brother. I’m sure you’re aware of the trade conundrum between Gaard and Shondur right now. People are scared that once the Shondur-born king and queen step down and a different clan takes the reins, the already shaky trade deal between our continents will crumble, and chaos will erupt.”
“I’ve heard reports,” I said, not at all liking where Raad was steering the conversation.
“Good. It’s something you should be concerned about as the heiress to Gaard. I am. Papa is. Jaken too. It’s why Jaken and I made the pact. We want to keep the balance between our prosperous domains. The best way to do this is through marriage. Since Jaken married a high-class lady from Krug to keep that alliance strong, Zawne is the only way. And you are the only daughter of Gaard. Get what I’m saying?”
My mouth opened and closed like a fish’s. I had no words. Raad wanted me to marry Prince Zawne. Was he crazy? Zawne was Lordin’s ex-fiancé. Might as well be her widower. Their bond was legendary. I could never fill such shoes.
“Are you serious?” I asked. “You’re acting like Mama, trying to sell me off to a stranger.”
“Don’t be silly,” Raad said, still chomping away at his eggs. “Zawne isn’t a stranger. You’re acquainted. I can tell by your reaction to his new physique that you’re attracted to him. What’s the issue?”
“I barely even know him!” I was irate. Sure, we had met, but I didn’t know him. “And I could never replace Lordin. She put her entire faith in me, gifted me the prosperous foundation I have now. Who knows where GMAF would be if it wasn’t for Lordin? For me to marry her living fiancé would be … it would be treachery!”
“Nonsense,” Raad said. “People move on. It’s necessary. It’s also one of the things you learn during Aska training, that the world continues to spin without you when you’re gone, that people continue with their lives. Zawne surely learned the same thing through his ordeal in the desert and in Lodden. I’m sure he will be happy at the thought of keeping our kingdom intact. I doubt he will have any qualms about
