Page 83 of The Stolen Bride

“He does.”

Wait. He knew, and he hadn’t told me? We’d have to have a talk about sharing info right away.

Where was she? How had she done this?

“Deco’s still here, though, right?” Juniper picked up her skirt and dashed toward the iron bars. She huffed with relief as I came up beside her. The shifter king still slept on his cot.

I returned my gaze to the slightly rumpled blanket where my mother had once slumbered, the chains open and empty on the ground. “Why did no one tell me?” I demanded.

“No one wished to ruin your special day,” Tabor said. “But we are also forbidden from lying to you or refusing to give you whatever you seek.”

Well, that was something, at least.

The commander gestured toward the entrance. “Come. I’ll escort you to the traveling stones. The time has come.”

I motioned to the empty cell. “Shouldn’t we postpone and, well, do something?”

He shook his head, beseeching me with his gaze. “The people need this ceremony. We are excited to cement you as our queen. Citizens have dreamed of this for centuries. Don’t take it from them.”

Well. I swallowed past the lump in my throat and stepped forward, with Juniper at my side. We pepperedTabor with questions about the investigation as he guided us out of the dungeon, through the castle, and to the round driveway, where he stopped in front of a large glass carriage.

“Seriously?” Juniper chuckled. “My sister is Cinderella.”

“Only your sister and members of the Ten will be witness to your vows,” Tabor explained. “This way, your new subjects can see you in your finery as you head toward the traveling stones.”

Sunshine bathed me as I settled inside the vehicle beside my grinning sister. The commander mounted a horse. Not one of the beauties pulling the carriage, but a black and white stallion. We eased into motion, and he remained at our left.

As he predicted, thousands of people lined the cobblestone road to wave and throw flower petals as we passed.

Juniper practically jumped on her cushioned seat, joining in the revelry. “You’re the one they’ve come to see. Give them a show.”

Commander Tabor’s words echoed.We are excited to cement you as our queen.Very well. I threw myself into my new role, waving and smiling, thrilled to include these people who wished me well on my happy day.

“Do all royal weddings take place at the traveling stones?” Juniper asked.

Did her adoptive parents not explain, even hiding truthful information in fairytales, as my mother had done? “Each house is different, but all royals must meet a peer’s firebrand and that firebrand must prove capable of calming the royal’s beast. The only requirement is that each meeting take place on neutral territory. Hence, the traveling stones.”

Her features scrunched up with confusion. “How do you prove you’reViktor’s firebrand?”

That, I didn’t know. I glanced Tabor’s way.

From his perch on the horse, he told us, “All but two royals remain in their doorways and consume gelu root to deaden their emotions. The groom and the royal best able to rouse his temper. Rage then sparks between the two, and a fight follows. If the groom doesn’t erupt in a berserkerage, the union is accepted. But that isn’t what’s happening here. Viktor is an original. His chosen is already accepted. The royals serve as witnesses for the union only.”

My spine straightened, and I knew I projected a queenly air. “I’m okay with that.” With my mother on the loose, I wanted my man battle ready, not in recovery mode.

We passed through the barbican gates, and the horses picked up speed. Juniper and I chatted until fog settled over the land. We were close.

Nervousness overtook me the second we halted. The time had come!

The commander helped both me and Juniper exit the carriage, and the three of us aimed for a circle of large black stones. Not the stones we’d used to enter Deco’s world, but bigger and more menacing.

Tabor stopped at the threshold and motioned us on, not speaking.

I didn’t speak, either, the moment thick with anticipation. Arm in arm with Juniper, I walked forward. The fog parted, revealing eight males and two females standing in the stone doorways. Though one of those women occupied a spot with a black-haired blue-eyed hottie in a kilt.

They must be the other royals, since Malachi stood among them. But oh, wow, I had never seen a more ferocious bunch of people. Aggression seeped from their pores. Especially the woman who stood alone. A tendril of smokecurled from her nostrils. Embers flickered behind her, each momentarily displaying an outline of wings.

A weird mix of anger and gratefulness sparked as I focused on Malachi. He was the one who’d started me on this journey. But where was Viktor?

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