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I hung on to her as if I'd been thirsty a long time and was finally drinking water. Tears streamed down my cheeks, unbidden. I tried to restrain myself, but I couldn’t. Not with her. Not held in her arms like this.
"It's good to have you back home, my soè."
I didn't answer. I couldn't. Burying my face in her shoulder, it took a moment to pick out the snort that hung in the air. The bitterness spoiling the sweet moment, demanding to be seen. Heard. Felt.
"The prodigal rotpot returns. He's shamed this castle, this kingdom, our name, and this is the greeting he receives?"
An icy rage, with cycles of fuel, churned in my gut. My wrath flared, howling for release. I vowed to not lose control and box Ishaèli upside his head, but it was a hard vow to keep the longer he talked.
"He belongs in the dungeon." Ishaèli sucked his teeth. "He actually belongs in the Saelus Prison for committing high treason. I don't even understand why he's here. Looking like a savage vagabond coughed up by the?—"
"Silence, Ishaèli!"
The king's harsh rebuke was cutting, even to my ears.
I snapped my head up, meeting his swirling light eyes. The king was not happy to have me home. He looked at me in the queen's embrace, his frown deepening, his disappointment clear. A cold shiver snaked down my spine. I hadn't even done anything yet. Still, he was ready to be rid of me. I longed to embrace him like mamè, but I knew that was a dream for fools.
Mamè released me and nudged me forward.
Ignoring Ishaèli's existence, I floated over to King Izakaya. I lowered myself into a bow befitting a king, then rose enough to reach forward and leave a gentle kiss on his signet ring. When I pulled back, his eyes were bristling. I couldn't make out the expression on his hardened, earthen face.
"Yakobba Izayi," the king breathed. My name hung in the air. I waited for a lashing, for rebuke, for something of major consequence. "You haven't changed."
My eyes flicked down to his. I plastered an affable grin on my face, refusing to cower, even if my hearts were racing inside of me.
"I'm too old to change."
"Is that so, Izayi?"
The king looked at me, his expression guarded. It took everything in me to not fidget. I stood tall, proud, with my shoulders squared and chin lifted. King Izakaya looked on, stroking his bearded chin. The agelessness of angels made him look only a few cycles my senior. But payè had seen at least three millethium and had ruled for two of them.
"You came," he says after a while. "Good. I received word from the Azizi king, King Bakari Ezrathen Au'Pearl. His dayè is on her way now with an official invitation from the Azizien king. I need you here when she arrives."
I blinked at the king, confused. He couldn't have possibly made me travel all this way just for some invitation. Besides, what business did we have with the sea kingdom? In my cycles at sea, I hadn't once come across sea dwelling angels. So why were we engaging now?
"Sit down, Yakobba."
"Payè, I'm not staying long. My crew is waiting for me. I'm sure this invitation?—"
"I said sit down."
King Izakaya's eyes flashed, commanding obedience. I looked around. There was one seat left. A seat on the king's right side. The seat of power. The seat of authority.
The seat of the king's heir.
I flickered my gaze to Ishaèli. We had the same face and height. Where he had lighter features, I had darker ones. Where I had blackened hair like mamè, he had silver hair like payè. I was lean but wiry. He was wide and all muscle. Outside of that, we were practically the same.
I sat down at the king's right hand, which effectively sat me between payè and Ishaèli.
Queen Rekani and Princess Alessayi returned to their seats, eyes glued to me. King Izakaya continued speaking, without looking at me, as he began adding more food to his plate.
"The Aziziens will soon celebrate El'Tide. It is their solstice where they celebrate the glory of their kingdom. All angels, including commoners, are invited to the Pearl Palace to feast, then they travel to the Atlanthyst Trench and perform a final ritual. We have all been invited. There is something special happening this cycle and King Au'Pearl wants to build relations between our kingdoms by inviting us of Avari to witness it."
"What does any of this have to do with?—"
"Surely living like some imbecile pirate hasn't made you daft." The king glared at me from the corner of his eye, silencing my next words. "You will be here for the invitation, and you will attend El'Tide. That is final, Yakobba." He watched me, exasperated. "I fetched you from this nonsense living so you'd be aware. You will go. And if you don't, I'll have that rotting ship torched and burned." A pause. "With your crew still on it."
He leveled a hard gaze at me that made my blood run cold.
