Burning Key

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

With how uncomfortable Crown Prince Malik of Krahzara looked across the council room table, Queen Cleo of Arloerin's grin widened as the silence stretched out between them. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to being by himself on the other side of treaty talks...but more than likely it was because not only was Cleo grinning at him, but also Kav, who sat on her right, Urell right behind her, and Adeena on her left.

"You all are enjoying this, aren't you?" Malik finally huffed out as he leaned one elbow on the table.

Kav was the first to start laughing. "Of course, we are, brother. You've been gone for two weeks...and we've missed having you around to pick on."

"Very true," both Cleo and Adeena seconded with twin grins.

Cleo continued on. "Too bad I had Janan go with Renna around the city to make sure everything was in order for the festival, huh?"

Even after being apart for over a hundred and twenty years, Adeena still knew exactly how to feed right off of Cleo. "Though you're not the only one who seemed...anxious...to get back, right, Cleo?"

"Exactly," she grinned at her sister.

Malik's face went blank as he looked between the two of them. "I'm seriously going to hate having you gang up on me now."

"You just make it so easy, Malik."

"There is a reason I'm back, you know."

"Oh, we know," Cleo said, leaning forward just as he was. Her gaze dropped to the new treaty between Arloerin and Krahzara, which they'd drawn up together before Malik left for Sophea's approval. "Were there any objections from Sophea?"

The crown prince shook his head, seemingly glad for the shift in conversation away from the beginning spark of a relationship with her second to the peace and trade treaty between their kingdoms. "None. Mother agreed to all your terms, of course. Even said she was proud to be aligning herself with such a strong female under conditions you both agree to. She hopes to come in the near future to meet with you and apologize for everything she's done in the past. She's still on the mend from what happened from the hold the dark god had on her."

Even after everything Kav, Adeena, and Malik told her about what happened with Sophea, Cleo was still having a difficult time separating the female they described with the one she'd known for practically all her life. Maybe being face to face with her would change that.

"Did she mention anything about having the marriage agreement between me and Kav taken out?" she continued.

"Not a word." His eyes then dropped down at the ruby engagement ring she had yet to take off. "But we all know it's going to happen anyway."

Kav lifted Cleo's hand to kiss her knuckles, hazel eyes sparkling with mischief. "Took four years for her to say yes and now I just have to get her to set a date."

"We've got plenty to do before I even think about setting a date. You've waited years, so what's a little longer before making it official?"

Malik, still looking between her and his little brother, shook his head. "No matter how much time passes, I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

"Well, looks like you're going to have to at some point."

Cleo knew they needed to really get down to business of signing the treaty. Leaning forward, she pulled the written agreement in front of her. She scanned the length of the text, finding no crossed out sections of disagreement or interjections between the lines or in the margins. Everything was just as she'd worded it a few weeks before when Malik left. Just as before, they would reassess the terms in two decades, but she doubted those would change as drastically as the current treaty would. The only thing added was Sophea's familiar elegant signature on the line next to the empty one for Cleo's.