It must be a marriage between royalty, even after Knox is dead.
“And you’re sure the only way Theron’s people will be satisfied is if Ian and I were to marry? It makes no sense, considering the past marriage between the kingdoms didn’t do any good.”
The queen’s lips quirk into a labored smile, and she leans around Ian to pat me on the knee. “We all know that was a marriage of convenience. Theron needed someone powerful enough to appease Knox’s wishes, but not so much that it would—”
“Destroy your kingdom if she were to be harmed,” I guess, wishing I were wrong.
She winces, squeezing my knee as she retreats. “Yes, and I wish it wasn’t so. Our kingdom put a lot of thought into who would be strong enough to stand alone against Knox. Without a doubt, we knew it to be your mother. She bore the burden without a single complaint. In the end, she did even more than we could ask. She gave us you.”
Though she means well, my heart sinks at her words. Mother was simply trying to protect me by offering my hand to Theron’s prince, but I didn’t ask to be given away to anyone. Sensing my unease, Ian slips his arm around my shoulders. I look into his eyes, consumed by the peace and understanding that always seems to live there, and more than ever, I wish my mother hadn’t intervened.
Ian deserves better than this. Than me.
“But what if I were to speak with your people?” I hedge, dropping Ian’s gaze to find his mother’s. “What if I were to sign a treaty outlining our peace? Better yet, what if Mother were to? Once Knox is accounted for, she will be the one who holds the throne. I’m only the heir.”
If the queen considers my words, she doesn’t do so for long. “But what of Theron and our heir? Ian needs a strong bloodline to continue his place on the throne. The Theron people are hungry for it; they won’t take no for an answer.”
Ah, that’s what it comes down to—blood. My blood, specifically, and the mighty powers they all believe it to hold. If only I could convince them that molten veins aren’t nearly as magnificent as they seem.
“Are your people really so worried about our kingdoms’ futures? After Knox is dealt with, one of their own will sit on Orien’s throne. And then the heir will be—”
Me. The fire-breathing ice beast. The girl with the powers who started this all.
Queen Rosaline stares on in silence, allowing this new knowledge to explode inside my chest, crumpling me from within. If Theron has me, they have all the control they need. No more threats from neighboring kingdoms or foes unknown. Not when their new line of royalty can block magic as easily as they can wield it. They’d be unstoppable. Safe.
And I’d be trapped.
This time when she takes my hand, a spark of pity dances across her face. “I’m sorry, Brave, but as Theron’s queen, I must protect my people. I must give them what they want.” She pauses, a gentle smile poised at her son. “I must give them everything, whether I want to or not.”
“Mother,” Ian starts, but it’s already too late. She’s risen from the bench, her face, which was so open not mere moments ago, now hardened and closed. The true look of a queen. “Mother! Wait! I know you’ve always known my heart on the matter, but Penelope is a different story. She only learned of our betrothal months ago, while I had my whole life to prepare. I promised I’d let her choose. I promised she wouldn’t be forced.”
Queen Rosaline stops by the entrance to the garden. The bright light of the midmorning sun washes over her porcelain skin, making her look like a heavenly angel from above. An angel designed to deliver our fate, and I’ve never been more afraid. “The actual vows will occur in less than one week. Knox and his men will arrive soon after. Both weddings will take place, broken promises or not.” Her shoulders drop, all queenly presence put aside as she turns her cheek. “But I trust you, Ian; I trust you both. If there is indeed another way around this marriage, I know you’ll find it.”
Content she’s had her say, she leaves us, those same heels clicking up the stone steps and back to her home. Beside me, Ian’s chest shudders with a low growl, the sound so different and out of place for my dear prince that I almost jump out of my skin.
“Ian, did you just—”
“I don’t break my promises, Penelope,” he interrupts, a steady fire burning in his eyes. “And I won’t stop now. You heard her; she trusts us. She trusts us to find another way.”
I frown, reaching up to smooth the deep lines of anger that run like trenches across his brow. Lines that should never occur, not on him. “But did you hear what else she said? This isn’t about us—this is about my blood. I can’t change who I am.”
He stills my hand, catching it within his own. “Any more than you can change who you love.”
“Ian,” I say, overtaken by the sorrow in his voice. “I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt anyone, but it seems that’s all I’m good at.”
Ian pulls me forward, tucking my head under his chin and locking me in a tight embrace. “I shouldn’t have said that,” he whispers, sending cool puffs of air along my cheek. “You can’t help your feelings any more than I can. I wouldn’t want anyone to tell me to let go of mine. I certainly can’t ask you to let go of yours. All I can do is ask that you trust me. Trust I’ll do what’s best for us. That if there’s a way to change your mind, I’ll do it, just as surely as if there’s a way to set you free.” He leans back, cupping my chin in his palm. His eyes swirl with a new kind of passion. Not one of love, but one of determination. A fierce will to make things right. “Do you trust me, Penelope?”
The answer, I realize, is one I don’t even have to consider. I already decided it long ago.
“I always have,” I say.
Six
“The world sure does take on a dreary tint during the dead of night.” Vivi crouches beside me, her long, dark cloak wrapped around her like a vise. I grunt in response, still not happy I couldn’t keep my little sister locked away in our room. When I tried to sneak out not more than an hour ago, she had surprised me, bursting from under the sheets dressed head to toe in her stealthiest of wear—right down to her boots.
Apparently, she had a feeling I might try to leave her behind.
The result was the loudest of disagreements, in which Vivi declared I should not treat her like a child. She is fourteen, after all, and in most kingdoms, a fourteen-year-old is almost considered an adult. Who was I to keep her from having any fun? And besides, who would protect me if Aras’ meeting went sour? I had finally relented, holding out my hand and gripping onto her fingers probably harder than I should.
Sometimes I wonder why she must be so much like me.
“Yes, that does seem to be the nature of the dark.” Peeking around the corner of the small bakery, I motion her forward with my hand. We’re not more than a few blocks south of the palace, but every step further we take sends my pulse up another notch. “When I overhead Aras speaking to Oliver, he said he would be meeting Hammel in their usual spot, which must be one of the alleyways closest to where we set off the firelights. I remember him roaming off to the left, before disappearing into the crowd. It’s all we have, but it’s better than wandering around aimless.”
Vivi nods in agreement, eager to appease our fears. We’re aimless at best.
A noise sounds to our right, and we freeze, watching the faint reflection of our dark cloaks hover in the bakery’s windows. The only light shines down from street lanterns, hung every block to keep time with the stars. For the hundredth time this evening, I reconsider our decision to come here.
“Do the bakers arrive to work at this hour in the morning?” Vivi edges closer to my shoulder, squinting her eyes as she tries to survey the empty shop. “If that’s the cause, I ought to be more thankful for my bread.”
“I don’t think it’s the—”
Cool hands clamp down over both of our mouths, as strong arms wrap around our frames and pull us into a steady chest. My breath whooshes out of me, hot against the ice, and my arms flail a
gainst our assailant’s weight, trying to pull away as he drags us back around the corner. Soft whimpers sound in my ear, and anger builds with my sister’s distress. My flames come to life just as a familiar voice speaks in my ear.
“Whoa, Penelope. If you want to fight, let’s at least do it in the shadows where Hammel is less likely to catch us all.”
The fire sputters into a lingering smoke. “Ian! What in Ashen are you thinking? I could have burned you.” Heat builds in my cheeks as I stare at the blond boy in front of me, dressed in gray rags with his green eyes shining like a cat in the night. He’s angry, I realize, but not as angry as me. “You could have announced your presence by calling our names, not by wrapping your fingers around our throats.”
Ian, holding onto a fury of his own, doesn’t sway. “And alert everyone within ten blocks to our presence? It’s a quiet night, Penelope—sounds carry better than you think. Most of all, they’ll carry right across the street, where Hammel awaits his man.” He nods his head, our eyes following his lead as we peer across the silent space, one block ahead. Sure enough, a small flame bounces in the alley, lighting the building’s walls and extinguishing in a snap.
A beast of a man playing with his new toy—borrowed magic on a tight leash.
“You see?” Ian whispers, pulling us further into the alley until the darkness covers us all. “One more step and you two would have put a stop to Aras’ meeting before it ever began. If you are worried about Hammel trusting Aras, then you shouldn’t give him any more motivation than he already has.”
My shoulders sag, anger fizzling out while sweet relief bubbles in its place. We were aimless, the two of us, and if it weren’t for Ian, we’d be more lost than ever. “I’m sorry. It’s only that things seemed to be going well. We made it out of our room without tipping off Sireen. We crossed through the palace gates without arousing the guards. It was as if our mission was meant to be.” I look up at him, squeezing his shoulder with remorse. “But I may have neglected to plan the part where we actually find Aras in the streets.”
Ian’s features relax. Without him saying the words, I know we are forgiven. “Who do you think told the guards to let you go? You didn’t believe we would let the heir to Orien and her little sister wander about in the dark alone, did you?”
My nose wrinkles at his questioning, and I look up, seeking answers in his weary stare. “You knew we would go after him?”
He laughs under his breath, humorless and quick. “I knew you couldn’t resist, and although Vivi likes to throw herself in with the likes of a silenced rat, the two of you together are more like a wild boar, set loose to wreak havoc in the kitchens.”
His words settle into the warm air, tickling our senses with the faintest of giggles. I struggle to rein in my laughter as Vivi’s tiny shoulders begin to shake at my side. Ian must read something different in my expression because he adds, “And I do consider it to be the most endearing of traits.”
I can’t leave him hanging for long.
“You’re right, Ian,” I say, tossing an arm around my sister’s shoulders to keep her from falling with laughter into the street. “Not many women can be compared to a snot-nosed animal in the kitchens.”
His jaw drops before popping up again, caught in a desperate fumble for his next set of words. But I press a quick finger to his lips, determined to stop him from righting his wrongs.
I’m also no fool; his description is fairly accurate.
“Relax, I’m kidding. Besides, you’re too kind to have such a remorseful look on your face.”
His eyes turn cloudy, the green nothing but a swirling sea. “Perhaps too kind, I think.”
And I know what he means, both in the words he says and the words he holds in deep. He’s too kind for me. Too perfect. Too lovable. I’d correct him now if I didn’t know he was right. Sometimes when I lie awake at night and think of Ian, I imagine him as a glowing beacon. A burning sun soaking his fingers into the earth, covering us all with his goodness. And when I see his future, I see hope, yes, but I also see love in its greatest form.
Love that equals his back.
“You could never be too much of anything, Ian, because then you wouldn’t be yourself.” He tries to object, his shoulders dropping with the weight of denial, but I power on, determined for him to hear me out. “Love is coming for you, my Theron prince. One that’s true and fierce and so heavy you might fear you’ll break. But you mustn’t be scared or hide from its heat. Instead, you must embrace it, pull it tight within your arms, and never let it go—even when the very universe around you tries to pry it from your hands.”
I pause, placing my hand over his heart—its rapid beat like wings against my skin. “And when you find it, you won’t ever feel as if you need to change, because every kind, perfect piece of you will be precisely what the love of your life needs.”
“Penelope…”
“It’s coming for you, Ian, and when it hits, you must be ready.”
Ian’s eyes search my own, a wandering soul looking for a well to quench his thirst. But when he finds my well emptied and dried for another, he finally nods his head, acceptance dawning in his low sigh.
I belong to Aras, and one day, someone truly magnificent will belong to Ian.
Vivi sidles up beside us, wrapping her hand around Ian’s arm while I reach out and take his hand. A friendship. An understanding. A powerful force of three.
“Now, tell us what you know about this meeting,” I say.
Seven
“Watch it!”
The burlap bag tips dangerously to the right, threatening to spill its contents across the clean floor. My hand whips out, stopping its fall not a moment too soon. A relieved breath leaves my throat, and I look up to find an alarmed Ian frozen by the back door.
“Sorry,” Vivi whispers, hoping to appease us. “I’m not used to fumbling around in someone else’s shop after dark.”
Ian’s unease melts into a smile. He steps away from the door, the light from the windows tracing his path to our side. “Are you sure about that? I thought of the three of us, you would be the most equipped to handle such a mission.”
Vivi snorts, unsure of what to do with Ian’s teasing compliment, especially in the face of such doom. We’re in the store right beside the alley. The same alley where Hammel currently waits to meet Aras. If Vivi had spilled the contents of that bag across the stone floor, we would have been caught.
Immediately.
I reach out, running a gentle hand along her braid. “Don’t worry, Vivi. Hammel may like to think of himself as one of Knox’s caged panthers, but he certainly doesn’t have the ears of one. I doubt he would notice if we were to climb the roof and safely spy down on him from above.” Which was my suggestion… that wasn’t taken seriously. I send Ian a meaningful look, but he seems to be conveniently turned the other way.
Vivi straightens her shoulders, grabbing Ian’s hand when he offers it. “You’re right; Hammel is as dumb as a rock, and we would have been safer on the roof.”
This time, Ian can’t ignore the slight dig. “All right, I get it. You two have some fascination with scaling roofs and breaking your necks. All of which would be fine, mind you, if it actually got you close enough to hear their conversation.” When I make no effort to agree, he grabs my hand, tugging us further into the shadow-filled shop. He pauses under a high window, dropping my hand to feel along the wall. “But I have another way.”
He turns his head, giving the wall a slight push, and light floods our hole of darkness from the street. A loose stone with a perfect view of the alley. Ian, it seems, has been here before.
“Do all of Theron’s shops come with a peephole to spy into the alleys?” Vivi peers through the gap, not more than ten paces away from Hammel’s back. His long, stringy hair lays in a mess across his broad shoulders, and a red flame bounces from hand to hand. I have a feeling if Aras doesn’t show soon, that flame could be headed straight for him.
Ian holds his finger to his li
ps, motioning for us to pull away from the wall. “No, they don’t.” He pauses, deciding how much to give and how much to hold. “I actually made this one.”
Vivi has the good sense to look affronted, but the admission doesn’t surprise me. “You knew. All this time, you would follow Aras on his meetings with Hammel, yet you never spoke a word of them to me. You never acknowledged the man existed until I told you about their meeting in Aras’ chambers.”
Ian steps back, the shadows reaching out like long fingers, covering his expression. “I did. As heir to the throne, it was my responsibility to ensure the safety of Theron and all who are in it. Even if Aras could not help his situation, it did not change his situation. As long as he had the ability to hurt you and the rest of Theron, it was my business to know what he was up to. And before you object, we both know he was up to no good.”
A sour wave rises in my stomach, and I lock my hand on Vivi’s shoulder, steadying myself as I process his words. Ian knew of Aras’ meetings from the very beginning. He knew all along what Aras and his promised goons had planned for me, but he never said a word. And I think I know why. “You thought it would pain me to know of his plans. You thought it would sway—”
“I never thought it would sway your decision when it came to our future, Penelope. Clearly, there are some paths in life that cannot be changed. But I did think it would hurt you, and I decided that unless you needed to know, you wouldn’t.”
“Ian,” I say, closing the distance between us and pulling him into a hug. “You’re a good friend. I couldn’t find any better, and I don’t deserve to, either. I mean it.”
Ian leans back, and I tilt my head to look into his eyes. “I think I’ve come to realize that you are a dear friend to me, as well.”
Vivi inches closer to our side, squinting her eyes as she takes us in. “I’m confused. Does this mean the marriage is on again?”
The Reigning Star Page 4