A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The wedding ceremony was planned for later in the month. It served a dual purpose. Jalor and Mayah getting married, as well as Jalor receiving his new title. On top of all the usual noble wedding preparations—inviting guests, planning for parties and banquets, preparing the castle guards—there were still Mayah's other projects. She was constantly busy, approving city reconstruction plans and the banquet menu, or looking into East Draulin's finances while hand-writing wedding invitations to the most important people in the kingdom. Jalor helped where he could, but with no real authority in the city yet, there wasn't much he could do.

Tandrin arrived a few days before the wedding, which was considered late. Most of the guests who could attend had arrived a week before, to partake in parties and celebrations leading up to the wedding. It was mostly younger nobility who made the trip, as their parents or older siblings took care of their cities. Politics was at play in a big way, and whenever I ended up at an event I tried to catch bits and pieces of information that would help me understand.

East Draulin had been one of the richest cities in Zianna, behind only the capital city itself and West Draulin. Its destruction and occupation, not to mention the restorations, had carved a large dent in East Draulin's money. Still, Mayah was the last descendant of a very important mainland family. Some mainland families weren't fond of the Tandrans, and so they weren't fond of Mayah's link to them. Not only were Tannix and Mayah clearly good friends, but Mayah's betrothed had once been Lord West Draulin's guard. I heard all sorts of rumours about plots and schemes that Mayah, Tannix and Tandrin were supposedly hatching.

But not everyone was suspicious. I overheard plenty of positive conversations, as well. Young ladies swooning over the heroic stories they had heard about Jalor, young lords admiring every speech Mayah presented. Many people were just happy to have a reason to celebrate after the long war. The celebrations taking place in the very city that had been attacked seemed fitting. Every noble family seemed to have sent a representative.

Even Queen Esmeranda had come, arriving late one night in relative secrecy. She had left her younger sister, Princess Esmegara, to run Zianna in her absence. The babies were left behind, as well.

When Tannix and Jalor weren't caught up in parties or planning, we all gathered in the barracks around the fire again. Every time, there was a sense that it might be for the last time.

And then, the wedding day was upon us.

The morning of the wedding, Tannix was awake and moving around much earlier than I was. I ignored him for as long as I could, pulling the blankets up and around my ears to muffle the sounds. I had almost drifted back to sleep when I heard the door opening and loud talking.

"Finn," Tannix's voice easily cut through the blankets a moment later. "I know you're awake. Sit up."

I groaned and sat up, but any rude remark I was going to make disappeared when I noticed that Tannix wasn't wearing a tunic. Not for the first time, seeing the Zianesa amulet around his neck sent a fluttery feeling through me.

"If you keep staring at him like that people are bound to notice."

I shot Acen a look, for the first time really noticing that he was in the room. "What do you want?"

Acen shook his head with a chuckle. "I didn't realize you were so grumpy in the morning. I brought your clothes for today."

"My clothes?" That piqued my interest enough that my annoyance vanished. A moment later I was standing beside them at the desk, looking over the bundle of fine, fancy clothes. "Which ones are mine?"

"I'll leave you to it," Acen interrupted, before slipping out of the room.

Tannix started to divide the clothes into two stacks. I picked up each item he put in front of me. I admired the first piece, a dark blue, long-sleeved tunic. The next was a pair of black pants and a leather belt with a beautiful silver buckle. On the floor I noticed a new pair of shiny boots, which were much more presentably than my old, scuffed up pair. And to finish off the look, there was a blue cloak. I picked it up almost reverently. The cloak was a simple enough design—a square of cloth with a hole for my head, which would drape over my shoulders like a shawl. The fabric was by far the softest I had ever felt. It was a rich, deep blue, with silver embroidery decorating the hem and collar.