King of Battle and Blood (Adrian X Isolde #1)(89)

“One of you attempted to kill my queen—your queen,” he said as he traversed the crowd. “You have committed treason against your king and country, and until I have the name of the one responsible, no one will leave this room.”

A grave silence followed, and then someone spoke. “You are mad, Adrian.” It was Noblesse Anatoly. “At least let your council go. We would not dare harm our queen.”

I did not believe him. I knew the hatred they possessed for Adrian, and I believed that I had somehow made that worse.

“You are not my council because I trust you,” Adrian said. “You are my council because you are useful. But you are not irreplaceable.”

Anatoly scowled. “Is this woman not irreplaceable? Is she worth losing alliances? She is only a woman, after all. There are hundreds at your beck and call—”

Like his daughter, Lady Bella, I thought, my fingers gripping the arms of Adrian’s throne.

I expected Adrian to speak, to give some verbal indication that this noblesse had offended him, but instead, Adrian’s blade cut through the air, and Anatoly’s head slipped from his neck and landed at his feet as the screams of his daughter echoed in the hall.

“What have you done?” Lady Bella shrieked. Her arms were stretched toward her father, fingers splayed, but she did not touch him. She did not seem to know what to do. Over her anguished screams, another man drew his blade and charged Adrian. It was a vampire I did not know or recognize, but I assumed he had some association with Lady Bella.

His strikes were hard but no match for Adrian’s strength and speed. Their blades clashed only a few times before the vampire joined Anatoly on the floor.

Lady Bella continued to scream.

“Clean this up,” Adrian snapped and then glanced around the room. “A warning for you all before these doors open—you are here by my grace, by my mercy. I can unmake you all.”

As his final words fell from his lips, he met my gaze, and I saw the promise in his eyes.

It was then I realized how wrong I’d been about Adrian.

He was a god.





Nineteen


Three days later, I felt mostly recovered. Adrian assigned a food taster, a man who was brought into the kitchens in chains and made to sample my food and drink my wine under Daroc’s supervision. It all felt very surreal, but so had my marriage and the subsequent attack by my people.

This was my life now, I realized.

This was my life forever.

I did not hate it, however. But as the day of my father’s arrival and my subsequent coronation drew near, I became more and more anxious. I could honestly say, for once in my life, I did not know how to act. I’d grown so comfortable with Adrian. I liked him despite what he was. I’d grown to appreciate his past, even understand High Coven and despise King Dragos.

I had changed.

But I wasn’t sure how to be this person around my father or even if I could. I faced the possibility of distancing myself from Adrian or my father, and that thought made me sick. This wasn’t a world where I could have both, even though my father had surrendered to the Blood King, even though I was married to him.

I stood at the entrance of the castle upon the steps, waiting for a glimpse of my father’s blue cape and his spotted horse, Elli. I could climb to the top of the castle walls and see farther—at least to the boundaries of the Starless Forest—but I did not want to fight the stairs as I raced to his side. I shifted from foot to foot, restless, worried, unsure of what my father might face on his journey to the Red Palace.

“What troubles you?”

I looked up at Adrian, who stood beside me, dressed in his regal, black robes. He’d pulled some of his hair back, and it exposed the high parts of his face to the light. He was breathtaking—a darkness in this bright courtyard.

“I am just worried for my father,” I said.

“Gavriel will take good care of him,” Adrian said.

“I know, but I will worry until I see his face.”

I looked up as Sorin flew overhead, shifting as he landed in the courtyard below. I took a step down, anxious for information.

“Your father is well,” Sorin said. “He is almost within sight.”

I stepped beyond him then, to the edge of the courtyard where the trail snaked down the side of the hill into Cel Ceredi. A few seconds passed when my heart thrummed through my whole body, and then I saw my father and I broke wide open. I did not think it was possible to feel such happiness or such relief.

I took off at a run, my legs barely carrying me. I knew when he saw me too, because he set off at a gallop. He dismounted before he got to me and ran the rest of the way, and as we embraced, I sobbed.

I had missed him so much. I hadn’t even realized it until this moment.

“My sweet Isolde,” he said.

He pushed me away and held my cheeks, his eyes roving over my face. I felt as though he was looking for something, perhaps scars, both physical and mental. Here was the beginning of my guilt, but I quashed that thought by pulling him in for another hug.

“I missed you so much,” I said.

“Oh, my gem, you do not know the depth of my sorrow.”

Each word chipped away at my heart, and by the time we pulled apart, it sat in the bottom of my stomach in pieces.

It was then I noticed Commander Killian, who stood apart, waiting patiently with the delegation.