Read Online Fist of the Furor by Frankie Rose, R. K. Ryals, Melissa Ringsted - Free Book Online Page B

shadowing us as his hands found the small of our backs. I didn’t check to see if Lochlen remained near. The dragon would observe any way he chose to observe, his eerie eyes taking in everything.
    “Trouble,” the trees sang, their rough voice mingling with the thunder. Mothelamew’s warning echoed. Sometimes what seems like a brilliant idea is often one of folly.
    Inhaling sharply, I whispered, “He can’t do this.”
    Oran dug himself against my skirts. “Don’t, Phoenix. It’s the only way. As wrong as it feels right now, this is the only way. We have a war to fight, and Sadeemia has two allied countries to appease. It is the only way.”
    I glanced down at the wolf, my eyes meeting his black pupils before moving to the throne, my free hand digging ever deeper into the satin covering my abdomen.
    Maeve leaned toward me. “Are you okay, Stone?”
    Prince Cadeyrn looked up, his gaze catching mine before sliding to the silver pendant encircling my neck. A corner of his lips twitched, his eyes finding mine once more. There was something in his gaze, a deep understanding I couldn’t discern.
    My nails bit through the dress’s fabric. Swallowing hard, I tore my gaze away from the prince just as his gaze dropped to my stomach.
    The trees whispered, but instead of ominous words, it sounded like rough sobbing. They wept, their cries filling my frame and causing my breath to hitch.
    “Stone?” Daegan breathed. His hand tightened on my back.
    I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”
    Maeve’s hand clenched mine. “It feels wrong.”
    The Henderonian holy man was speaking now, his hands lifted to the small crowd. I could only assume these nobles were trusted men and women of the king and the princesses. Strange words floated on the air. I spoke many languages, but Henderonian wasn’t one of them.
    “He’s binding them to each other and to their gods,” Reenah spoke quietly next to us. I glanced at her, and she smiled. “It is a simple ceremony. The Henderonians do not have lavish weddings. Their extravagant gatherings are reserved for holy days.” More strange words were spoken, and Reenah’s hand suddenly covered mine on my stomach, her fingers gently prying mine loose. “It is done.”
    The nobles filed from the hall toward a grand dining room reserved for guests. The smell of sumptuous foods filtered through the area.
    “We will feast all day,” Reenah announced.
    At the front of the Hall of Light, Cadeyrn led the princesses away from the dais to a doorway leading to a back stairwell. Men and women followed them, including the holy man.
    “They’ll each be taken upstairs to separate rooms,” Reenah explained. “And then Cadeyrn will be expected to visit each of them under the watchful eye of Henderonia’s hallowed brother of the gods.”
    Maeve gasped.
    Reenah glanced at her. “It is important for royal alliances that newlyweds make love in front of witnesses. It seals contracts and promises the possibility of children, of heirs.”
    Above the glass ceiling, lightning flashed, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Beyond the castle walls, the trees continued to weep, the sound echoed by the clanging Serenity Bell. Maybe the people of Sadeemia were right. Maybe it was wrong for the prince to turn his back on his gods.
    Lochlen stepped between me and the sight of Cadeyrn’s disappearing back.
    “Come,” Reenah insisted. “The couples will return after the consummation to imbibe in the feast.”
    We followed the smell of food, Maeve and Daegan tugging me after them. Lochlen watched my face, his reptilian gaze unreadable. The wedding had sealed a strong alliance between Sadeemia and two countries. It ensured us men in our quest against Raemon, but as I caught a final glance of Cadeyrn’s blue surcoat, I suddenly didn’t care. The prince was my friend, a deep friendship that could never be more.

 
     
    Chapter 9
     
    There was an overindulgence of food and an excessive amount of drinking. The hall was