Chapter 32

My advisors straightenin their seats, conversation dying as all eyes turn to me. I stride to the head of the table and sit.

Jude takes a seat next to Aleksander, and it takes every ounce of discipline for me to not allow his presence to flame my temper again.

I turn to Ivor, my chief counselor. "What news do you have for me?"

A grim look settles on his face. "My Lord, there are concerns among the council."

"What concerns?"

"That you have married a woman from House of Silver." His voice hardens, like iron cooling in the forge. "The people will not accept her."

"They will have no choice but to accept her," I say, my tone burning with conviction. "I will not be swayed in this."

"Of course, My Lord. But she is still silver." Ivor hesitates, a brief flicker of unease passing over his weathered features before he averts his eyes, as if weighing how to proceed. When he continues, it is with obvious reluctance. "There are whispers, questions of whether she has used her magic to influence you."

Does everyone think I'm that weak, that pliable?

I fix Ivor with a hard stare. "Our marriage is no magical manipulation. I chose her of my own free will."

If anyone influenced me, it was my mother. After all, she was the one behind linking Annora and Lyra's souls together, but I cannot tell these men that. They wouldn't understand. I don't even understand why she did what she did.

Ivor continues after a moment. "Tension is already high in Sharhavva, and now, you have married a woman from House of Silver. You must exercise caution in introducing her to our people."

I dig my fingers into the wooden arms of my chair, wrestling my anger into submission. He voices a reasonable concern. "I will take your counsel under advisement."

The man nods as I unclench my jaw and regard the rest of the council. "Now then, let us return to the business at hand."

Diplomatic Elar clears his throat, then speaks. "While you were away for two weeks, tensions within the city escalated. There were disturbances." He pauses, and I detect the faintest hint of judgement in his eyes. "With you gone, the people grew restless. There was violence between factions, looting and destruction of property."

I sit back, jaw clenched, as he continues.

"Many questioned your priorities, wondered if you had forsaken the people's needs."

Though Elar's words are delivered diplomatically, I bristle at the implication. He thinks I abandoned my duties, that my pursuit of Annora was some frivolous endeavor. Still, I cannot deny the discontent my absence caused.

I meet each advisor's gaze as I speak. "We must quell this dissent immediately before it boils over. Increase patrols. Open the storehouses to feed the people. And bring me the instigators of this chaos."

"Yes, My Lord," Ivor says. "It will be done."

I lean forward, my hands flat against the cold surface of the table. "We're adjourned. See to it that my orders are carried out."

One by one, members of the Scions of Ember rise, their chairs scraping against the stone floor. I remain seated, staring at the map of Sharhavva resting on top of the table.

The unrest in the city troubles me deeply. I cannot relax, knowing that dissent festers in the streets. As chieftain, it is my duty to maintain order and stability.

My need for my people to accept Annora also weighs heavily upon me. I must present her strength without showcasing her as a threat. Her gentle nature without painting her as weak. And I must do it all while quelling any rumors about her supposed influence over me.

When I decided to marry Annora, I knew none of this would be easy. Yet, I would do it all over again. Going to Bakva. Marrying her. Bringing her here.

She was always meant to be mine.

Someday, my people will see that truth as plain as I see it, and they will accept her.

* * *

Even after mymeeting with the Scions of Ember, I cannot forget how Aleksander accused me of thinking about other women while I'm with Annora. Nothing could be further from the truth. Annora is the only woman occupying my thoughts and desires.

Everything changed the moment I discovered she wasn't Lyra. She may have been in Lyra's body, but that wasn't who she was inside. She was someone different. Someone better. Someone not tainted by vanity and greed like Lyra.

Slowly, but surely, Annora chipped through the walls around my heart, made me care for her. Made me think about her constantly. Made me want only her.

Annora's scars don't matter to me. I barely even notice them. They are just a part of her, just like the scars marring my own skin.

Aleksander had no right to judge her so harshly by them. He knows nothing of what she has endured. Nothing of who she is inside.

The halls of the palace seem endless as I search for Annora. I need to see her, to be near her, after my confrontation with Aleksander.

I round a corner and catch a glimpse of silk whispering along the corridor ahead.

Annora.

My pulse quickens at the sight of her reddish-brown hair cascading down her back. She turns, and our eyes meet. The hint of a smile touches her lips as I draw closer.

"Jasce," she says, her words laden with unspoken questions, as if she knows something is amiss.

I stop before her and lift her veil, drinking in her upturned face. There is no guile in her deep blue eyes, only openness and concern. Tenderly, I brush a wayward strand of hair from her cheek, fingertips tracing the ragged edge of her scars. They do not repulse me, nor diminish her beauty in my eyes.

"I've been looking for you," I say after a moment.

She leans into my touch. "Is everything all right?"

"It is now." I take her hand and turn her toward the front of the palace. "Come with me."

She lowers her veil and follows me to a sunlit courtyard. Something stirs deep within me as she lifts her face to the sky, eyes drifting closed, as if she's savoring the warmth on her skin.

I give her hand a tug. "This way."

We cross the courtyard and pass through an arched gate into the stables. The familiar smells of hay and leather envelop us as I lead her down the row of stalls. At the far end, I stop before an enclosure housing a white mare. Her coat gleams like fresh snow, marred only by the old scars tracing her neck.

Annora's lips part in surprise. "You kept Scarlet."

The mare whickers and nuzzles Annora's palm. Nine other horses occupy the neighboring stalls, each a gift I had given to Annora during her time in Lyra's body.

Happiness glistens in Annora's eyes as she turns to me. "You kept them all."

"Of course, I kept them. They are yours."

I call for the stable hand. "Saddle Scarlet for Lady Annora. And ready my gelding as well."

The stable hand bows and moves to fulfill my command.

Annora arches an eyebrow at me. "Are we going for a ride?"

I take her hand and brush my thumb over her knuckles. "Yes."

The moment the stable hand finishes with the horses, I help Annora into Scarlet's saddle. She sits tall astride the white mare as I swing myself atop my black gelding and wheel him around.

"Come." A grin pulls at my mouth as I continue. "Try to keep up."

I spur my horse into a canter, hooves kicking up dust as we burst from the stables. Annora's laughter rings out behind me as she urges Scarlet to follow.

The wind rushes past me as my gelding gallops through the field, powerful muscles bunching and flexing beneath me. I glance back to see Annora giving chase.

We crest a hill, and the city comes into view, a haze of rooftops and towers shimmering in the distance. I rein my horse in as Annora brings her mount to a halt beside me.

I swing down from my saddle and move to the mare's side and offer Annora my hand. She accepts, and I help her dismount. As her feet touch the ground, she sways slightly. I catch her waist, pulling her against me.

"Careful," I say.

Her lips part as she gazes up at me. I remove her veil, lean down, and kiss her. Annora's body melts against mine as I deepen the kiss, one hand tangling in her hair while the other presses against the small of her back, holding her close.

Nothing exists but Annora, the hitch of her breath, the sweet taste of her lips. I pull her closer, craving more, craving everything she has to give and everything I want to offer in return.

I pull away but keep her tucked against me. She wets her kiss-swollen lips with the tip of her tongue, and I resist the urge to claim them again.

"What was that for?" she asks, her voice husky.

I smooth back her hair. "I needed to remind myself that you're here. That this…" I gesture around us, "…is real."

Annora's expression softens. "It's real."

I run my thumb over her bottom lip, tracing the delicate curve.

From the moment Jerrod died, I knew I would go to Bakva and bring Annora to Sharhavva.

She sees beyond my arrogance and fury to the man I wish to become—a leader driven by compassion as much as ambition.

With her by my side, I can transform our people's future into one of prosperity instead of destruction.