Page 52 of Dueling the Suitors

“I am not deaf,” Cyrus snapped.

That didn’t deter Rowan’s amusement. “Well, it’s so good to have you back, and with a wife to keep you in check. Why don’t we all go inside? It’s starting to get chilly out here.”

Cyrus and Astoria turned to each other at the same time.

“I want to see my brother,” she said in one breath.

“I already told you that is not going to happen.”

“No? Fine! Enjoy the first day of your doomed life with your hot-blooded wife as she makes your life insufferable!” She stomped past the two men towards the wide stairs that led to the black front doors.

She was going to make him regret ever marrying her.

The guards at the doors bowed. Astoria acknowledged them with a nod and stepped into the large entry hall of the palace.Her eyebrows flew up in surprise upon seeing that the interior of the palace was as much a dark beauty as its exterior.

The grand hall was an architectural marvel with high vaulted ceilings. The floor was a polished expanse of black stone and the walls were lavender-grey, with sconces each holding a candle in a matching lavender-grey shade. The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were of blackened iron, and the draperies hanging from the windows were lavender-grey.

Things that weren’t black were lavender-grey, much to Astoria’s annoyance.

Altogether,itwasstunning and intimidating, but she also couldn’t help but notice the contrast between the dark opulence around her and the vibrant, lively colours she was used to back home.

It seemed Cyrus loved dark beauty. And with that thought, an idea sprang to her mind.

Astoria smirked to herself. He may have won his game, but he wasn’t ready for hers.

Footsteps approached her from behind. “Like what you see?”

Astoria switched her expression back to sore and turned to her husband. “You have such poor taste in decoration.”

He shrugged. “I apologize we have different tastes. But you are free to style your new room according to your wish. Your handmaiden will see to all your needs.”

At the mention of her new handmaiden, Astoria remembered her own back home, the one she had sent to visit her family while Astoria was away. Astoria was glad she did so, or her poor handmaiden would’ve been trapped in the lion’s den with her.

At least, she had Skylar.

A soft jingling grabbed Astoria’s attention at that moment. She turned towards the sound and blinked in disbelief at the creature that was hurrying towards them down the grand staircase at the far end of the hall. Skylar stiffened in her arms.

It was a red panda.

And a female!Skylar had never sounded so high-pitched before, panic in his voice. He looked to his left and right as though searching for a place to hide.

Astoria tightened her arms around him as the female panda reached them, her intelligent eyes shimmering as they fixed on Cyrus. There was a golden chain with a small locket around her neck. Astoria realized it was the source of the jingling.

Calm down, Sky. What’s the matter if she’s a female?

You don’t understand! She is—she is—

She is cute?Astoria hid a smile.

She is beautiful,Skylar said in a choked-up voice.

Astoria wasn’t sure what shocked her the most; her best friend’s sudden infatuation or the way her husband opened his arms for the panda—or when he hugged her and stroked her head as she jumped into his embrace.

She blinked once, twice, and thrice. Emperor Cyrus? The angel of destruction? Showing affection to—a mystical red panda or not, but—an animal?

“Great, now we’ll have an Emperor and an Empress who zone out during meetings—thanks to their pets!” Rowan called out from behind, entering the entryway.

Astoria pivoted to him, not hiding her surprise. “The Emperor zones out of meetings and talks with his panda?”

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