Page 42 of The Fated and the Damned
NINETEEN
Dante
“You’retomarryintwo days.”
My father’s words were weighted, his mouth set so rigidly the lines around his mouth deepened and the scar slicing through his eye puckered. I might have underestimated his impatience regarding my marriage to Kitarni.
Well … fuck. Not a long time to prepare for either the ceremony or the nightmares to follow.
“I can’t help but wonder why you two have waited so long as it is,” he continued gruffly, eyeing me from his seat across the table. “It’s clear you have feelings for each other—a rare gift when it comes to arrangements such as this. You are well matched, both in power and wit.”
“You don’t need to convince me, Father,” I replied, sweeping my hair back from my face. “She is more than I deserve. I know what this marriage means for our city—for the alliances in your pocket. But does now really seem the best time to gather hundreds of people together?”
The lord looked at me sharply, his brown eyes narrowing. “What better time than that of conflict? The people need security, something to take their minds off the scourge of cultists. War isn’t cheap, my son. We need the generous donations of our friends’ coffers. Soldiers need food, weapons and armour, and nobles need to feel seen and heard as they fluff their feathers. This union isn’t for you and Kitarni, so much as it is for everyone else.”
I knew that, I did, but she deserved so much better. I wanted to give her the world and I wanted to start my life with her in truth. Whole truth, not this spectacle for the public. If I had it my way, we’d marry in a quiet corner of the grounds, surrounded only by family and friends. It’s what Kitarni would want too.
I rose, striding to the balcony overlooking the gardens below. My betrothed walked the gardens arm-in-arm with her sister, the two of them thick as thieves as they bent their heads together, their laughter floating up to this level. I was glad Kitarni had her family here; the missing piece of her soul now tucked back into place in her heart.
Her sister would do well in Mistvellen. She still had dreams, still hadhope. My father was right. It’s what our people needed now—what they deserved.
“Do you love her?” my father asked as he came to my side, observing the women.
My voice was deep, but sure, as I nodded. “I do.”
He turned, placing a hand on my shoulder, looking me deep in the eyes. “When the time comes, you must do what needs to be done. I wasn’t …” He swallowed, his voice thick. “I wasn’t there when Yana needed me. I think there was always a new trade route to explore, land to gain or trades to oversee. I loved your mother, I truly did, but maybe I loved this city more. I was always too busy to give her what she needed—a husband, not a king. Some small part of me will always wonder if she might have found her way back to me if I’d given her enough reason to.
“I failed her, and look what she’s become. A monster. The woman we knew is gone, and I can’t blame that all on the cultists. Don’t make the same mistakes I did, my son. Don’t let them take Kitarni like they took your mother.”
I swallowed hard, ignoring the sharp pinch of splinters in my throat. “They took her, but it was her choice to stay. You could spend a lifetime thinking of the paths you could have taken or the things you might have done differently, but in the end her actions were her own. Some monsters are born and some are made. Mother chose her path and she forsook us the moment she accepted that cult.”
“Maybe,” he said, his eyes glassy as he looked at the lavender fields beyond the walls. A tribute neither of us could ever bear to see destroyed, despite everything. “Love is a funny thing. It burrows inside you until it’s etched into your bones. You can’t forsake it, nor can you deny it. The things she’s done, I will never forgive; the woman she was, I will never forget.” He clapped me on the back. “I hope you never truly understand how that feels.”
My hands curled into fists where I clutched the stone wall. I knew he missed her. There would always be an ache from the hole she had left, and it had hit him hard. When Adrian passed—Kitarni’s father—and Lukasz’s mother, Maria, followed soon after, my father had lost his most loyal friends and loves. He would always have Lukasz and me, but some losses couldn’t be filled with familial bonds.
We stood in silence for a while, sinking into memories of better times. I watched Kitarni as she walked. She gesticulated wildly as she talked and our eyes met as she spun around, her wild mess of curls fluttering in the breeze. She smirked as she bowed mockingly before raising her middle finger.
My little hellcat was so sweet.
To my surprise, my father laughed, shaking his head as we looked on. “You’re going to have your hands full with that one.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Hold on to that, son. You’ll need it.” He clasped my arm and paused, looking me in the eye. “Two days. Three nights after the wedding, we will hold a masquerade ball in your honour. I’ve extended invitations to our allies so that we may secure our positions in the coming days. I’d rather look a man in the eye when weighing a man’s intentions. It’s easier to snuff out the rats without a quill and parchment to hide behind.”
How I wished it was that simple, but I nodded along. “We need the clans. All of them. I assume you’ve arranged with Nora to request the covens’ presence too?”
His mouth twisted. “They’re aware. It’s a game of fate. Now to see which threads we shall tie … and which we shall cut.”
He made to move past me, but I grabbed his arm, pulling him close. “There’s something you should know about the ball.”
I told him everything about Margit’s vision and he listened intently, not uttering a word. When I pulled away, he looked at me for a long minute and smiled. “Son, if there’s one thing you should know about being a lord, it’s to be one step ahead of the game. Sylvie may think she can infiltrate our castle, and maybe she’s right, but she’s not the only one without plans.”
My brows pulled together. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying there is more than one way to skin a snake. She wishes to assassinate my own?” He set his jaw. “Nobody comes into my house and threatens my family. I have a spy planted in her cult. Once we make the announcement about the wedding and the ball, he will send us any information he has. We will get through this Dante. All of us.”
I grinned, shaking my head. “Cunning bastard. Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
