Page 73 of Enchanted Crown
It didn’t take nearly as long with fewer advisors; we were down Jagen, Mikael was still being held in a cell with Zaccai filling in for him, and Morana was obviously absent. Were it not for Nana filling in Reyald’s spot, the room would have felt far emptier. The good news was that at this point at least all the shifter advisors were healed and able to go between forms.
Esta needed to promote some new generals and advisors in the middle of all this. I made some mental notes of who I thought would be good candidates and thought I should ask Malachi too.
“Having the general population also on the lookout will onlyhelp us,” Whit suggested from his human form in the chair next to me.
For twenty minutes we had gone over the pros and cons of whether or not we should make it public knowledge we were looking for Morana.
He’s right,I sent to Esta.
Her eyes flicked to mine before going back to Zaire, who was now speaking.
“She cannot hide for long. We let the people help us find her. Unite us all behind trying to find the traitor.”
Will he be able to apprehend her? Kill her if need be? Since they were together?
Esta gave me a look and a small shrug as if to sayof course.
Amory caught the motion and gave me a look across the table which warned me to behave. I had no intentions of doing so. I was patient. Hell, Esta asked me for time, so I sailed across the sea and back, hand delivering her a treaty buying her that. But it seemed my patience was not just wearing thin, it had splintered.
“Prince Keiran is quiet,” Nana chirped. “Do you have an opinion?”
“I think the people knowing and helping is a distinct advantage we can’t afford not to use at this point. That is the easy question. The hard one is how to draw her out. Once she knows she can’t show her face anywhere, where will she hide, and what can we do to get her to come out of hiding?”
That launched us into a long discussion about Morana’s motivations. The obvious answer was the crown. Which meant Esta and Jagen would not be safe so long as Morana lived.
Zaccai’s eyes went from me to Esta as Malachi offered up a fake kidnapping of Esta to get Morana out of hiding. It wasn’t a bad option, honestly the best one we had thus far.
But Zaccai kept looking at me until finally Esta said, “Zaccai?”
“Forgive me, Your Highnesses, if this is rather intrusive, but what about a wedding and bonding? Surely that would be enough.”
There was a weighted pause as I shoved both of my powers beneath my skin with everything I had.
“Or in the very least, an engagement?” Zaccai asked. “It could be real. Or otherwise.”
My eyes went to Malachi, as I pleaded for someone to help get us off this damn topic. A topic in which part of it had already transpired. A bonding the likes of which would tie our countries together for centuries. Yet a bond that was going undoubtedly ignored because of Esta’s fears of soul bound pairings.
“An engagement should do it, don’t you think?” Nana Mallick asked Esta.
“A fake engagement is absolutely unnecessary,” Esta managed.
Only a bonding which is real but treated as fake?I raged.
“Even just whispers about a bonding should do it,” Otis agreed.
“I do not mean to intrude,” Zaccai added with a hand up to me as if he could feel the tension rolling off me. “As the advisors of Dra Skor, the state of your relationship is none of our business, other than to know when things will happen so we would be able to protect you both.”
I sent him a nod and a tight smile. I truly was not mad at him. My issue was with the love of my life. My other half. My soulmate.
Oh how I wanted to shake her.
Esta leaned back in her chair. A fake sort of relaxed look that my brother used often. “I will marry Prince Keiran. That is not the issue.” A deliberate pause. “The issue I have with planning a public engagement to lure her out, or a wedding, is that something which isminewill be used as a ploy to get toher.”
Nana put her teacup up to hide her smile. Pot stirrer that she was.
I sent Esta,So you are now unafraid to marry me, make me king consort to all of Dra Skor, yet you will not use this bond?
Esta’s eyes briefly touched mine before she pinned her attention back on her advisors. “So get yourselves used to the idea.” I felt her love and respect for me come chasing down the bond, a nice break to the fear. “I will marry Keir, but I will not do so because we need a way to smoke out my traitorous cousin. I will do it on my terms. It will not be rushed, not a part of it will be about anyone other than the two of us. Absolutely no part of it will be abouther. Understood?”
