Chapter 25

Ellery

The small roomwe shared with another widowed woman and her four daughters was cramped last night, but it was nothing compared to the massive ballroom where they would crown Prince Ivan.

The ballroom took up an entire building of the palace and still wasn't enough to house all the amsirah Prince Ivan invited. Below, gold swirled through the marble floor and shifted as the sun rose higher.

The sun's rays spilled through the large windows encompassing the entire building. The first row of windows rose from the ground to the second-floor balcony; the second-floor ones started at the balcony and ran to the third floor.

More windows rose from the third floor to the dome spanning the room. The dome's center was gold with streaks of silver rotating through it in a beautiful pattern that reminded me of a starlit sky.

The two rows of balconies encircled all the second and third floors. Thick waves of ivy entwined around the railings and spilled down to hang a few feet below each balcony.

The neatly trimmed ivy didn't interfere with anyone's view of the room below. The vibrant green of the plant provided a beautiful splash of color in the sun-drenched room.

Below us, only the highest-ranking aristocracy sat in the chairs set up for the ceremony. The gold-backed chairs had plush, red seat cushions.

As standing-room-only guests, we weren't granted chairs. That standing room was far too cramped as, to get a better view, men and women pressed against my sides and back.

King Leonidas ruled for almost five hundred years before his death. Many here had probably never seen a coronation before and were eager to watch.

I was the odd one out in this. Just keep breathing.

My mother stood beside me, but some man I didn't know had wedged half of himself between us. It took everything I had not to elbow the pushy bastard in his too-big belly; if he breathed on me one more time, I was going to grab what I was sure were his far-too-hairy, far-too-small balls and crush them. He'd back off then.

But as I smiled while contemplating it, I looked at my mother, who grasped the rail and looked over the side. Her knuckles were white as she gazed at the more elite aristocrats filing in to fill the seats below.

Ryker and his father strode toward the front row. They settled in the first two seats, closest to the aisle the red carpet had created. Their position was a lot better than ours, but I preferred to be as far from all this pretentious bullshit as possible.

Prince Ivan had spent so much carisle here and created so much waste. Children were starving in the towns while we stood in a three-story, beautiful cage where we were expected to sing like birds.

When the last aristocracy were seated, the orchestra beneath our balcony section switched their song. I couldn't see the musicians, but I could picture them drawing their bows across the strings of their instruments while their fingers flew through the songs. Their beautiful new song was the cue for those seated below to rise.

A few seconds later, Prince Ivan strolled into view on the red carpet, dragging his red cloak across the floor behind him. He looked regal with his head held high and a golden staff in hand, but my skin crawled at the sight of him.

This man had thrown Tempest into a tumultuous tailspin of poverty and volatility. Thanks to King Leo and men like Ryker, we no longer had to worry about the ghouls trying to invade our realm, but I believed Prince Ivan was as much of a blight to our land as the ghouls.

He was a locust who settled onto his throne to survey all those he would ravage as the music stopped playing. I barely paid attention to what they said throughout the ceremony, the poems read, the songs sung, and the praise heaped upon our future king.

Ryker's father finally set the crown on King Ivan's head after, judging by the sun's position, at least a couple of hours. The two most wealthy men in the realm were on full display as the music started playing again, but they weren't the most powerful.

My gaze fell to Ryker as he remained unmoving in the front row. As a lightning bearer, he wielded more power than them, but none of them could do what I could.

And despite that, I was trapped here, with a fake smile as my mother turned to me with a big grin. As the aristocrats rose from their seats, the servants scurried to remove the chairs to make room for dancing.

From outside the doors, food carts were rolled in and set up for everyone to eat, drink, and be merry. A crush of amsirah made their way to the four separate stairwells as they exited the second and third-floor balconies to join the party below.

I tried to hold back, to let them all squish each other while I waited my turn, but my mother was too excited to join the celebration for that to happen. Despite her eagerness to go, I was still holding on to the balcony banister when Ryker's head tilted back and his gaze met mine.

I couldn't breathe as his mercury-colored eyes blazed into me. I recalled my terror in the woods when I feared he might catch me, but I couldn't stop a small thrill of excitement from running down my spine.

The man had scared the ghouls and been a bane to their existence, but there wasn't anything frightening about him now. Instead, my hands tightened on the rail as my heart beat faster, and I finally recalled how to breathe.

Then, his father said something that drew his attention away from me. I stood and stared, but when his father's attention shifted to me, I knew I'd made a mistake in lingering.

When they met mine, the duke's eyes were full of disdain. A cold chill ran down my spine as I released the balcony and backed away.

If Ryker ever learned the truth of who I was, he'd hate me for it, but his father already hated me simply because he considered me lesser than them.