Torrent of Tears (Scourge Survivor Series Book 3)(78)
My gaze was drawn straight to Rowan, sitting in the Nobles box across the open forum. He was alive and unscathed. I breathed deep for the first time in half an hour.
His gaze locked on mine. I nodded and he tilted his head so slightly no one would have noticed. He glanced to my right. Ydorus, dressed in full Strati garb, moved up my flank and slid the hilt of a second dagger into the palm of my hand.
“Princess Grace,” one of the attendants said, waving to Zale. She’s here, he mouthed, pointing and turning with a light of excitement. “Praise the gods, Princess Grace. The nuptials are about to begin.” With a firm hand at my back the little man whisked me through the crowd. “We’ve had people searching for hours. Your intended feared you had met with some ill fortune.”
“Yes. I’m sure Zale was beside himself.” I climbed the stairs, joining the Eligibles and their mates waiting for their married lives to begin. The murmurs of the crowd rose as the actors fell silent and still. Ahh, I had everyone’s undivided attention.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, folks,” I said, finding Rheagan perched in her seat of power at the side of the stage. The Queen sat straighter but made no move against me. Her gaze narrowed. Any moment she could flip her wrist and her Strati army would come down on me like hail. Stall. I needed more time. “As you’ve probably heard, a lot has been going on.”
Zale cursed and stormed to my side. He wrenched my wrist and towered over me, his threat as palpable as the smell of fear mixed with his fury. “I don’t know what you’re up to,” he said, “but you’re an Eligible and in a few minutes, we’ll be married and you will do as you’re told.”
I shook my head. “I can’t marry you, Zale.”
Zale’s cold, dark eyes narrowed. “Now is not the time for grandstanding. This is your celebration day of your sixth cycle. The laws are absolute. Go sit with your sisters—”
I laughed and pulled my wrist free of his grip. Ydorus situated himself to the side, not far from Rheagan’s throne.
I gained a bit of distance from my betrothed and raised my voice. “Poor Zale, so worried about me tarnishing his image by coloring outside the lines. Regretting your vow to marry me? Well don’t worry about the nuptials. Been there, done that, got the Noble husband to prove it, fuck-you-very-much.”
Rowan strode onto the stage and moved close behind me.
“In fact, I’am quite pleased with the upgrade. Oh, and there’s nothing you can do about it, because like you say . . . the laws are absolute.”
Rowan kissed the top of my head. “Thank you, darling.”
Zale’s glower moved from me to Rowan and back to me. “You’re lying.”
I shook my head and tapped the rhinestone camera glued to my forehead. “No, I’m not. Priest. Rings. Blood bond, blessing of the gods, the whole deal. Too bad we don’t have time to watch home movies.”
I stepped to the center of the theatre and faced the crowd. “Citizens of Attalos, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Alexannia Grace, the long-lost Eligible you’ve all been whispering about. As of this morning, I am also the wife of Rowan, Noble of the Fifth House.”
The audience erupted in a wave of mumbling chaos.
Since I had everyone’s attention, I held up my arm and willed the golden brand on my arm to glow. “I am also a Talon Enforcer and newly consummated member of the Noble Council. It is in that capacity that I declare martial law and suspend the Queen’s reign.”
Voices exploded as Strati soldiers rushed the stage and Rowan, Ydorus and I spread our stances. I glanced over my shoulder to see Rowan windmilling a sword and three Strati moving in. Ydorus was similarly occupied to my left.
And then everything suddenly stopped.
The Strati halted mid-attack and assumed a ready stance. Following their line of sight, I pivoted to the approaching Queen. She practically floated across the stage in her floor-length red gown. It was a grace shared by her brother and niece, though I’d been slow to make the connection.
“Well, well, Alexannia, it seems you have quite a lot on your mind today. I would love to hear it. After all, I believe it is my right to face my accuser, is it not?”
I lowered my blade but remained ready to strike. “I know who you are, Rheagan. It took me a while, but—”
Her head tilted back as melodic peals of laughter echoed in perfect resonance throughout the amphitheatre. She clapped slowly, laughing as if there weren’t hundreds of citizens, soldiers, and Eligibles watching.
“A while?” she said. “In a mere week, you discerned what these mice have been scurrying around for almost thirty years. I was right to choose you.”
“I told you before I won’t—”
She waved her hand at my words. “You did, but you also didn’t understand what I was capable of at the time.”
Images of Tham bombarded my mind, his attack at Haven, his death in my room, his pyre burning until the silhouette of his body was consumed by the flames. I struggled for breath, the ache in my chest and back debilitating.
Sirens screeched in the distance.
Rheagan spun to speak to one of her soldiers. With her distracted, my mind cleared. I realized then that Rowan had gripped my shoulders and was urging me to fight the mindfuck that bitch was unleashing on me.
I steadied and nodded to him that I was tight. She wouldn’t get inside me again, or if she did, I’d at least be prepared.