Page 32 of All the Chaos of Constellations
“Mm. I’m sure you’ll help her find a desirable match.” She glanced down at her teacup, sighed, then returned it to its saucer. When she smiled, the outer corners of her mouth were pinched. “Now, what can I do for you?”
“I’ve come to you with a request,” Asher began, leaving his tea untouched. “Of a private nature.”
“Oh?”
Curiosity filled the queen’s brown gaze and from the corner of Asher’s eye, he saw Prince Aspen snap to attention. He would have to walk this line extremely carefully. Asking the queen to break the bond between himself and Novalise was no easy feat. Just because he asked the favor of her didn’t mean she was inclined to grant it. Queen Elowyn could easily deny him, leaving him bound to Novalise forever. If word got out that he dismissed Novalise, it could ruin her. Questions would start to arise, and inquiries would be made about her reputation. Everything Asher did would require the utmost care, because there was more than his desires at stake. Novalise’s happiness and her future rested on his shoulders.
The queen leaned forward with an air of intrigue. “Tell me more, Lord Firebane.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” Asher placed his cup on its saucer, then leaned back in the rigid chair. “You see, I?—”
He was interrupted by a clamorous rise of shouts and voices coming from the palace’s courtyard.
Queen Elowyn stood immediately, and Asher quickly followed suit. Her gaze snapped to her son. “What is it? What’s happening?”
Prince Aspen stalked across the room and bent down toward his mother, whispering something into her ear.
“Is that so?” She arched one prominent brow. “Forgive me, Lord Firebane. It would seem I am rather popular today.”
The prince straightened, and Queen Elowyn smoothed the invisible wrinkles from her gown. She strode toward the door with Prince Aspen on her heels, and the guards standing on either side of it moved into position beside her. Following behind the queen and her entourage, Asher kept his pace steady as they turned the corner and entered the grand hall of the palace. Ornate floor-to-ceiling mirrors lined both sides of the hallway, and he couldn’t help but steal a glimpse of the prince’s reflection. He might be royal and used to maintaining a sense of propriety, but behind his carefully crafted mask was raw fury. There was no mistaking the hard glint in his eyes.
An obnoxious creaking sound echoed up into the towering ceiling as a set of massive oak doors at the end of the hallway slowly groaned open. Their surfaces were engraved with artfully crafted whorls and runes designed to resemble the Tree of Life, and the leaves of the tree glowed a shining jade color as the newcomers made their entrance into the palace.
Something angry and furious twisted inside Asher’s gut, and the bond connecting him to Novalise contracted and tugged, urging him forward.
Then she walked in on the arm of none other than Drake Kalstrand. Tendrils of lavender hair had fallen loose from her braid, framing her face. Her cheeks were flushed, pink from the wind, and her bottom lip was slightly swollen. Like she’d just been bitten. Or kissed.
Damn it. If she’d only walked in with someone other than the shadow prince, then Asher wouldn’t care so much. But not him.Anyonebut him.
“Lady Novalise, Prince Kalstrand.” The queen’s curious gaze slid between the two of them. “You arrived together…on a dragon.”
Prince Drake bowed, Novalise curtsied.
“Svartos is far more expedient than a carriage, Your Majesty. Even ones that fly.” His face remained impassive, void of expression. “And Lady Novalise wished to speak with you right away.”
Queen Elowyn smiled but it was pinched, like she tasted something sour and was trying to hide it. She clasped her hands together, one finger tapping a merciless rhythm. “How kind of you to bring her to me.”
“I find myself unable to refuse her.” The prince slid his arm around Novalise’s waist, and though she didn’t appear distraught, Asher could’ve sworn she shivered.
“Yes. She seems to have that effect on people.” The queen inclined her head, her heavy pile of braids tilting slightly. “What is it, Lady Novalise? You look most distressed.”
“The stars, Your Majesty.” She dropped into a low curtsy and Asher found himself unable to look away from her. “I’ve seen something terrible.”
“Oh?” Queen Elowyn gave the barest of gestures, beckoning Novalise to continue. “Go on.”
Asher shifted, edging closer to the conversation, and when Novalise’s gaze flicked to him, his soul caught fire.
“I fear war is coming.” Novalise threaded her fingers together, pressing her palms to her abdomen. Her magic flared, and Asher became keenly aware of her emotions as they fired through him like they were his own. She was nervous. But more than that, she was afraid she was right. “The constellations were Aedes the Fae Warrior, the Great Stag, and Vespira the Druid. Individually, they’re symbolic of Aeramere, a blessing even. But they were shown to me as a trio, an impossible alignment.”
Asher knew enough about the stars to understand that reading them was less a kind of studying than it was an innate sense of magic. Of divination. Supposedly, it was the sort of gift only a few fae ever possessed and Novalise was one of them.
“Aedes, the Great Stag, and Vespira?” Queen Elowyn pursed her lips, considering. “Those are some of the greatest and most ancient constellations in our sky.”
“I’m aware it seems absurd for all three of them to appear given the chaos of my own reading, but I assure you, I know what I saw.” Novalise tucked an errant strand of hair behind one ear, and Asher fixated on the way it curled softly against her cheek. “I could never misinterpret them.”
Prince Aspen laughed. Loudly. His mother shot him down with a sharp look.
“Do you find something humorous about this situation, Your Highness?” The queen’s brows drew to a point as she narrowed her gaze on her son.
