Lunar Rising

Ch.24 Fire and Ice

Chapter 24

Silence hung thick inside the roomy carriage, swallowing the warmth that the small space attempted to provide. Meera, wrapped tightly in her wool cloak, felt the biting chill creep through the seams, turning the tip of her nose beet red. She huddled into herself, attempting to fend off the cold that seemed to nibble at her very core, leaving her uncomfortably shivering.

Eryx sat across from her, his demeanor withdrawn, his gaze unreadable as always. The air around him held a certain tension, a barrier that kept Meera at a distance, even in the confined space of the carriage. Andrick, on the other hand, exuded a different energy, his green eyes gleaming with curiosity as he observed Meera's discomfort.

"What's going on with Prince Henry?" Andrick broke the silence, his eyes settling on the gold ring adorning Meera's finger.

"Ozmen gave me his word," Eryx responded, his gaze shifting from Meera to the passing woods outside. "He will see the trial through."

Andrick nodded, and Meera felt his eyes returning to her. His next words, delivered with a certain cockiness, cut through the uneasy air. "This must be difficult for you."

"Pardon?" Meera arched her brow, her discomfort growing with Andrick's invasive line of questioning.

Andrick's gaze fixated on her ring again. "Leaving your husband while he's on trial for war crimes."

"I did not marry Henry," Meera corrected him, feeling a pang of tension in Eryx's silence.

"You two were engaged, no?" Andrick prodded further.

"Yes, but," Meera's eyes sought Eryx's, a hint of vulnerability surfacing in her gaze, "I didn't marry him after everything that happened. Eryx and I married."

The words lingered in the suffocating air of the carriage, freezing like the world outside. Andrick's grin wavered as he shook his head, struggling to comprehend what he had just heard.

"I did not hear you correctly," he said, sitting up. "You married who?"

Meera's gaze shifted towards Eryx, and a heavy breath passed between them. Andrick's incredulous pause hung in the air, and the atmosphere inside the carriage seemed to tighten.

"Oh..." Andrick finally spoke, taking a moment to process the revelation.

Eryx, breaking his guarded silence, slowly shifted his attention back to the conversation inside. His eyes met Meera's, and she felt a subtle shift in the air. The guarded gaze held a weight as if he were holding his breath.

"You married her?" Andrick turned his head toward his brother, disbelief etched on his face.

"Yes," Eryx responded without breaking eye contact with Meera.

"How can that be?" Andrick asked, his tone now filled with genuine surprise. "Does the council know? Does father know?"

"Yes," Eryx answered once more, each word falling heavily and making the knot in Meera's stomach tighten further.

The carriage's uneasy atmosphere persisted as Andrick, still amused, continued to grapple with the revelation. "And they allowed it?" he gasped with amusement, a smirk playing on his lips. "I'm speechless."

"Why wouldn't they allow it?" Meera questioned, a defensive edge to her voice. "And did you not know?"

"No," Andrick laughed, his amusement evident. "I had no fuckin' idea."

Meera's heart tightened, and her gaze shifted towards Eryx. "You told your family, right?"

"I spoke to my father and the council," Eryx responded, his tone calm but distant.