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I leveled a flat look at both of them. “I don’t have time for this. Find me an assistant – for managing my schedule and my people, not my dick – and meet me in the courtyard later when the other monarchs arrive.”
Without a second glance, I stomped off, heading deeper into the ballroom where a crowd of Iron Fae gathered, grumbles and murmurs filling the air while fear and curiosity floated into my nostrils. When they noticed my approach, silence reigned, the click of my boots across the lacquered floor the only sound in the vast space. I surveyed the group, deciding enough were present to pass on the information I wanted to share.
“King Azim is dead. There will be no funeral for him, because as you know, Béke begins today. Anything with his personal crest that has been laid out, put away. The Demon Dragon sigil is the only one that any of our guests will see. Understood?” A few nods were visible in the stone-faced crowd. “As your new king, I expect your best performance for the nexttwo weeks. I want to start my reign off on a high note. Anything out of place, any mishaps, you will report to Rares immediately.” I turned to leave before I reminded myself to be pleasant. “Oh, and have a nice feast. Enjoy some time with your families, too.”
Glancing at the large clock taking up most of one of the walls in the ballroom, I whipped past the crowd, running over in my mind everything else I had to do. First, I needed to return to Izidora with the dress I’d selected for her for this evening, which was likely still at Roc Palace. I didn’t have an hour to make the trek, so I let the words for the fast moving spell spill from my lips until I reached our mountain home.
The barracks at the base of the mountain were empty save for a handful of guards who remained to keep watch over Roc. I rode the lift to my suite, jogging straight to our bedroom. Drawers in our closet were left half-open, and lines of empty hangers swayed gently as I breezed past them. Sniffing, I tried to discern who had entered the closet to take the clothes that were once there. Cedomir’s scent was the strongest, but it carried a hint of Drazen with it.
Drazen – I needed to find him and speak with him about securing Ryza. I pressed my hands to my temples as once again the pressure of all that I had to do built up in my head, hinting at my earlier headache returning.
I quickly packed Izidora’s dress, my suit, and grabbed a circlet for her to wear from my personal treasury. Laden with clothes, I moved from the bedroom at Roc to the courtyard of Ryza, hoping to find Drazen there. As I settled into the new space, I noticed the last of the Telivér mounting horses and preparing to leave the Iron Realm for good. Something like sadness panged in my gut; after all, they had been in the tunnels with me as I grew into the king I was. Despite our kinship, they were wary of me and kept their distance all those years, and that chasm had only widened since I came of age.
I nodded to each of them as they passed, escorted by my father’s former guard, until the last of the Wolves stopped before me. Thalia regarded me for a beat before saying, “Take care, Ruslan. You did not deserve the pain you have been through, so don’t inflict it on others to make yourself feel better about yours. You are better than that.” Without waiting for a response from me, she spurred her horse on, and I watched the sway of its back as it disappeared down the sloped hill. The old me would have brushed off her words, but as I paused for a moment, they cracked a sliver of ice from the case around my heart, a part of me that softened more with each passing day.
Maybe I was making a mistake.
I shook the thought away and returned to my duties, striding for the open doors of the citadel. Drazen rounded the corner just as I exited the bright daylight and entered the dim halls. “There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you,” he panted, his face flushed from exertion.
“Do not tell me there is a problem,” I snapped, my patience worn thin.
“No problems, only wanted to check how you wanted to play with the royals when they arrive,” he stated, all of the tension from the night before gone.
At least someone was competent.
“I want soldiers lining the path up the hill. Strength, wealth, and power, that is our theme. I want everyone in their best armor, intimidating but put together. Make sense?” My request was rapid fire, but it was not one that needed much consideration. Appearances were important, especially with regard to the monarch of the other realms. If my plans were to succeed, visitors needed to be inundated with the Iron Realm’s prowess from the moment they entered Radence.
“Got it,” Drazen responded. I made to leave, but one ofDrazen’s second in command called for us, his armor clanking as he sprinted toward us.
“They are almost here. Savich just stopped them between Ferzo pass and Radence,” he burst out in one breath.
“Did he say who was traveling together?” Drazen pressed.
“Savich said the kings led with about ten riders behind them and a carriage at the back,” Artur explained.
“So they are all together, then,” I assessed. It appeared the bastards from the Night Realm had been busy. I had no doubt that Kazimir was with them if they arrived together strategically. He would only show up with force, too weak to face me on his own like a true male. But with their traveling party so close, I did not have much time to dress and return Izidora’s ring. My stomach sank as I thought about Rares’s warning that she would be numb to the world around her. I was protective of her, and fearful that she would lay eyes on Kazimir and abandon me, but more than anything, I wanted to make her happy.
I would not kill her free spirit, even if it meant I lost in the end.
The realization hit me like a punch to the gut, and the need to extricate myself from this conversation and seek out my mate overwhelmed me. “Take care of everything else that needs to happen before they arrive. Drazen, I trust your judgment and discretion.”
“Yes, My King,” they replied in unison with a dip of their heads.
I was halfway down the hall before I called over my shoulder, “And ensure Rares is there.”
My heart raced faster than my feet as I returned to the tower that housed my apartment – and my mate. Two guards from my personal regiment stood on either side of the door, protecting her, and for that I was relieved. They wordlessly opened them for me, revealing a fully stoked hearth and light spilling into the room from the windows beyond. I strode into the living space,arms full of fine clothes, and discovered Izidora curled up on a couch by the fire, romance book in hand. Noiselessly, I laid the clothes over the back of a chair, then sat in another across from her. She had not noticed my arrival, too absorbed in her book, and while I’d taken to announcing myself loudly so as not to send her into a panic, I wanted to watch her moment of stolen peace. With only a few pages left, I sat quietly and allowed her to finish, hoping she’d been able to read most of it on her own.
I loved that she was secretly a hopeless romantic. I loved the way her brow furrowed while she focused, and her lips parted as characters fought for what they believed in. I loved her, and I could not go through with my plan. She deserved better than a male who was too crazed with fear to let her fly free.
Izidora closed the book with a soft sigh that caressed my ears, her happy scent filling my nostrils. A heartbeat later she noticed my arrival and leaped from the couch, her fear intoxicating in its intensity.
“How long have you been there?” she cried, her big aquamarine eyes brimming with tears.
“Long enough. I did not want to disturb you during the climax,” I winked.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again! At least announce yourself when you walk into the room.” Her watery eyes were molten as her cheeks flushed with anger.
“But I like watching you too much for that,” I purred.
