Page 83 of Heir Of Sun And Moon
The sun has nearly set by the time I greet the palace guards and walk up the steps to the massive double doors. My father had asked that I join him and my mother for dinner tonight, and I only agreed on the condition that it just be our family. Normally, dinners in the palace are open to any of the council members and their families to attend, but I want time alone with my own to discuss what will be happening with the arrival of the shifter king tomorrow.
After a quick shower, I change into a sleeveless white top and a flowing green skirt and walk downstairs to the queen’s dining hall. There are two dining spaces in the palace, the queen’s being the smaller and more intimate. The throne room is where larger gatherings take place, as it has enough room for over a hundred people to not only eat but to mingle and dance as well. I pull open a large door, the image of our family sigil burned into the wood, before walking into the dining space where a long table made to fit twelve holds three place settings. Two large chandeliers hang above, each with three tiers of spelled flames held within glass orbs. The table itself has been in the palace for as long as anyone can recall, the center of the ancient wood carved with the celestial sigil of the first-ever queen of Void Magic. The shining black stone floor is covered by dark green and ocean blue rugs. On the white stone walls, twinkling under the light of the spelled flames, are portraits of our family. My favorite being the most recent one, where Nox was forced to sit on a chair for hours while the palace artist gushed about how handsome his jawline was. The thought now tugs my lips into a smile as I greet my parents and take my place at the table.
“You look lovely, my rose,” my mother says, her hand holding my father’s.
“Thank you, Mother. How late did you guys stay at the celebration?” I ask as I reach forward and scoop some salad onto my plate.
“Long enough to tire out your father,” my mother responds with a laugh and pats his hand.
“I wasn’t that tired if you remember,” he purrs back. My father reaches his hand out and gently drags a knuckle down the side of my mother’s face.
“That is gross.” I set my fork down on my plate, suddenly without an appetite, as I grimace and stare at both of them.
My parents laugh, the cheerful sound echoing in the room. Despite the fact that I now wish I could turn back time and avoid hearing them talk about last night, I do love how happy they are together. How they complete each other without forcing one another to become something they aren’t. Without making them settle into being someone new. It makes me shift uncomfortably in my seat because of my own predicament.
“Are you ready for King Kai’s visit tomorrow?” I inquire. My stomach grumbles with enough hunger that I’m willing to forget the aforementioned coupling of my parents, though it doesn’t stop the shudder that moves through my body.
The reddish-gold light in the room is enough to make out the tense lines on my father’s face as he thinks my question over. Though smiling, there is no mistaking his nervous energy as he taps my mother’s hand with a finger. Leaning back in his chair, he finally answers, “We are. We are going to tell him that we will only agree to the deal if there is a time limit on how long our mage is required to be there. Whoever the magic chooses shouldn’t have to put their life on hold indefinitely.”
“Any guesses on who might be chosen?” I know that there are still a few powerful older mages, but none of them compare to Nox—not even my father. Daje and his friend Arin—as well as my instructor, Dilan—are the next strongest of the mages in our kingdom.
“It’s hard to say. It all depends on how King Kai chooses to word the contract before it’s bound in blood,” my father answers as he looks at my mother and gives her hand a small squeeze.
I chew on my salad as I think over what the shifter king had said when we spoke with him through the Mirror. He believed that there was some sort of blight affecting their magic, causing it to actstrangely. I’m not familiar with what shifter magic entails besides the obvious ability to change them into a wild animal. A part of me does feel a small kernel of jealousy at whoever is going to be chosen to go. That envy also sparks my desire again for finding answers inthiskingdom, for my own loss of magic.
Swallowing down the bite of food, I look up at my parents and tell them what I discovered today. I explain the difference in the cells of each leaf and the shocking discovery of some sort of symbioticorganellethat had grown or appeared at some point after I had left my workshop—when I thought the experiment failed.
“Is it possible that the experiment was tainted?” my father asks. He eyes me curiously from above where his chin rests on his now-interlaced fingers.
I tilt my head in thought before answering, “I suppose it’s a possibility, as with any experiment. There could be something in the air, or someone could have snuck into my workshop. Though the physical appearance of the leaves themselves didn’t seem tampered with. So if they were, someone would have to have these organelles already separated enough and infused with adhesion molecules to drop into the cells of the leaves.” And that is nearly impossible to do. Also, what else besides magic could cause leaves to sprout new life and befedlike the ones I saw?
My parents nod in thought—my father genuinely looks like he is trying to solve the theoretical question posed, while my mother has a different sort of glint in her eye. I know that look, and I tense in preparation.
“Daje looked extremely handsome at the celebration. You two made quite the pair as you danced,” she prompts, the sweet tone of her voice making the frustration rising in me settle some.
“He looked like Daje.” I shrug at her as I push the remaining food around on my plate with my fork. The stress of the past two days and the addition of the exciting new discovery has left my stomach more in knots than anything else.
“And have you given his proposal thought?”
I drop my fork with a start—the metal echoing sharply in the room—as I stare at her. To her side, my father releases a long sigh, looking over at my mother. They communicate silently for a moment before both turning to look back at me. Cautiously, I ask, “How do you know about that?”
“Bahira,” my mother says breezily, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table. “I have known Daje as long as you have. He is like a second son to me. I recognized the look of elation on his face the moment he walked away from your private discussion at the edge of the trees.”
Fucking Daje. A scoff leaves my mouth as I force myself back in my chair. “He did propose,” I say hesitantly, deciding how much information to give my parents. “I have to answer him by tomorrow after King Kai leaves.” I leave out the part about his ultimatum, about how turning him down means losing him forever.
“And how do youfeelabout his proposal?” my father asks. His gray eyes are contemplative as he looks at me, studying my face.
I don’t answer for a few moments, my heart beating loudly in my ears. “I know he is a good man, and I know he would treat me well.Andhe has been my best friend since we were children.” Swallowing, I keep my gaze focused on the sigil in the middle of the table. “But we are different people in a lot of ways. And I know you have practically had our wedding planned since we were children, Mother, but it isn’t as simple aswillingour friendship to be somethingmore.”
“Oh, Bahira,” my mother whispers.
“Bahi, you can’t force these things. Your mother and I were lucky to have found love in an arranged situation, but that is not something that you have to do,” my father says.
“I just want you to be happy, my rose, and I had thought that perhaps you returned Daje’s affections. I thought that you were just waiting for him to act on them.” My eyes flick up to hers, the gray in them gleaming slightly under the spelled flames. “I should have made sure that was the case instead of assuming. You should never have to settle for anything other than whatyouwant, and no one—myself included—should try to take that power away from you.”
A knot forms in my throat as silence settles in the room. The permission that I didn’t realize I needed to hear until right then makes my chest feel less tight as I blow out a slow breath. Dwelling on this anymore tonight, however, is something I’m too fucking tired for.
“I assume you haven’t heard anything else from Nox?” I wonder aloud, not so subtly changing the subject as I sip some water.
