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“Vix,” I croaked, my voice raspy. “It was Vix.” Then I slipped into darkness.
Chapter 21
GOLL
I must not hurt her.
Watching from the shadows beyond Näkt Lykenzel, I’d tried to stay away, trusting in my instinct that she would be well. That she was the one.
I’d watched as she boldly marched to the edge of the black pool and slipped right in. As if death had no hold on her at all.
Gods above, she was so fucking beautiful. So brave.
I’d read every book and listened to every scholar on the accounts of mizrahs bathing in the black pool. Four had died, and one had gone mad. The kings hadn’t chosen wisely. Vix had punished the females and the kings for their arrogance, for not listening to his guidance.
Una was mine. She wasalwaysmeant to be mine. It was a fact, not a feeling or notion begot by my own superiority. Hell, what king would choose this path if they weren’t guided by fate? She was the daughter of our greatest enemy. And yet, I’d never felt the compulsion to claim and possess any woman, any creature at all, as I did her.
My gut tightened as Dalya lowered her into the water. My instinct was to run to her, to take her into my arms. But I couldn’t. This trial must be true. To ensure that our gods bless this royal union. The Rite of Servium must take place. For my people to accept and understand that it doesn’t matter she was born a moon fae. She is mine now. And so she will be theirs.
One of her slender arms thrashed out of the water, but her head was still submerged. She was having a vision, for certain. A thread of calm wound around my heart. Then her entire body shook, and a white foot lifted out of the water. She gasped.
I could stand it no longer. I marched from the shadows right as Dalya lifted her head. Una coughed the water from her mouth then said hoarsely, “Vix. It was Vix.”
Her body went limp in the arms of the priestesses right as I reached the edge of the pool and waded in. Several of the females gasped.
“My king!” shouted Dalya. “You must not be here. No one must be present at the bathing but myself and the priestesses. You must go.”
I was already nudging them aside and pulling Una’s limp weight into my arms. They let go easily so that I could hoist her close to my chest, her head lolling against my shoulder, her warm breath against my skin.
“I am king, High Oracle.” I held Una tighter against me, the anxiety unwinding. “I can change the rules.” I turned as I barked over my shoulder, “And no one will tell me I cannot hold my mizrah.”
Carrying her from the cave, I marched up the winding path and through the empty palace. On this night, every single servant, courtier, or Culled must be in the throne room as witnesses, awaiting the gods’ decision to see if their mizrah had been chosen.
Normally, the king would be waiting, too, but I couldn’t let her go through that entirely alone. I’d prayed to Vix from the moment I saw the blue-coal lanterns approach in the distance.
I carried her through the empty corridors and into her bedchamber, then lay her down on the bed. Her eyes twitched, but she was still unconscious. Finding my Meer-wolf cloak hanging over the chaise, I quickly draped it over her body. There was nothing warmer.
Dalya entered the chamber quietly as I rubbed the fur over her arms, wanting the circulation to return quickly, needing to see her eyes open, needing to see her well.
“My liege,” Dalya chastised softly. “Please go and let us prepare her. We have an herbal tea to warm her and wake her gently. But you must go.”
This time, I didn’t argue, but I took one more moment to gaze upon her lovely face. I traced the pad of one finger along her hairline and cheekbone, noting the wet braid.
“Be sure to dry her hair as best you can.”
“The blue-coal will do the trick.”
Four priestesses carried in the warming lanterns and placed them near her head on either side of the bed.
I couldn’t stop caressing the silky softness of her cheek, her jaw, recognizing the delicacy of my mizrah.
I must not hurt her. I must not hurt her.
“Goll,” Dalya pleaded quietly.
I stood and stepped back, finally turning to Dalya. “Be gentle with her.”
“Of course, my king.”
