Radiance (Wraith Kings Book 1)(19)
Brishen wanted to protect her, shield her from the inevitable trial of meeting not only the vipers amongst the court but those who ruled them—his parents. He was powerless to do so. She’d have to face them all, one human amongst a people who once considered all her kind food. But she wouldn’t do it alone.
He reached for her free hand. “You are also a princess of the blood through marriage, a member of the royal family. My wife. Every Kai in that room owes you their allegiance and respect. I will cut out any tongue that would try and besmirch you, Ildiko.” He pressed his lips to her palm.
The tiniest crack appeared in her serene composure. Her mouth twitched with the hint of a smile. “Or bury an axe blade in their heads?”
His guilt over his inability to rescue her from his own family eased a little at her humor. “I’m adept with spear and sword as well. Just name who you want me to skewer for you.”
Ildiko’s smile widened. “Not the best approach I think to winning supporters.” She inhaled a long breath before slowly letting it out. “I can do this, but you must promise not to let go of my hand, even if I’m breaking your fingers.”
Brishen gently pulled her into his embrace. She felt fragile in his arms—barely more than shadow wrapped around slender bones and clothed in Gauri silks. “I promise.”
“I will not shame you with my fear, Brishen,” she whispered against his neck.
He sighed into her hair. “But I might shame you with mine, wife.” He stroked her back and offered a last bit of advice before they made their introductions to the court. “They are only serpents, Ildiko. Crush them beneath your heel.”
He led her the rest of the way to the ornately carved double doors guarded by a pair of soldiers. The sentinels bowed, their faces as closed and expressionless as Ildiko’s was now. The doors swung open, revealing a cavernous chamber with tall ceilings, walls decorated in tapestry and weaponry and lined by statues of ancient Kai kings and queens—all lit by wavering torchlight.
Brishen barely registered its grandeur. He’d grown up in this palace. The hall had looked like this since before his grandfather was born and probably long before that. Instead, he focused on the pair of figures watching them from the thrones elevated on a platform reached by a set of nine steps.
The silence greeting him and Ildiko gave way to a rising din of voices, a steady buzzing that grew in volume like the approach of a locust swarm. There were shocked gasps, comments about the Gauri woman’s terrifying eyes and strange face, expressions of pity for him.
Ildiko might not understand most of what was said, but it didn’t take a fluency in the Kai language to know her appearance was causing a stir. Like him, she kept her gaze trained on the king and queen. Her fingers were icicles on his.
“Steady,” he said under his breath.
They stopped at the first step leading to the thrones. Brishen tugged lightly on Ildiko’s hand and they both genuflected.
Brishen addressed the floor. “Your Majesties, I am your humble servant. I present my bride, Ildiko, niece of the king of Gaur, Sangur the Lame. Now hercegesé to me.”
The throne room had grown silent once more, pulsing with anticipation as Brishen and Ildiko waited on their knees.
“You may rise.” King Djedor’s sepulchral voice echoed throughout the chamber. His eyes were nearly white with advanced age, and the gray skin hung on his facial bones like sodden garments clipped to strung line. “I’m told the powers in Belawat tried to have you killed to show their disapproval of this marriage.”
Brishen knew his father well enough to know that as soon as this introduction was concluded, he’d be summoned to his father’s council chamber for a full accounting of the attack. He shrugged. “We killed them all but lost three of our own. Our companions fought bravely. I carry the mortem light of one.”
Another murmuring buzz passed through the crowd of courtiers lining either side of the throne room. Brishen had done the family of the fallen soldier a great honor. The king’s expression didn’t alter at the revelation. Brishen had expected nothing more. His father had never expressed either approval or disapproval of his younger son’s actions. They had no bearing on the throne or line of succession; therefore they were of no importance.
He did turn a curious gaze to Ildiko. “I remember the first time I saw a human. A man. The women are even uglier.”
A titter of laughter passed through the crowd and just as quickly died when Brishen turned to note who laughed. Ildiko’s fingers twitched in his grasp.
Djedor’s wrinkled lips stretched into a grin, revealing teeth gone as black with age as his eyes had gone white. Brishen braced his shoulder against Ildiko’s to keep her from lurching backwards. The king turned to his silent wife. “What think you of your new daughter, Secmis?”
The queen, beautiful and as youthful as the day she married her husband, stared first at her son and then at her Gauri daughter. Unlike her husband, she spoke the Common tongue so Ildiko would understand everything she said. “Welcome to Haradis, Ildiko Hercegesé. I hope you can find your place here. My son has sacrificed a great deal to marry a human woman and seal our alliance with the Gauri.”
Her lip had curled as she spoke, and though her voice was even, Secmis didn’t bother hiding her contempt for Brishen’s wife.
Brishen fancied he heard Ildiko’s back crack as she stiffened next to him. She yanked her fingers out of his grasp and advanced to the second step, shoulders back, chin raised in a haughty manner that challenged the queen’s own arrogance. A collective gasp rose among the watching nobility.