Kingdom's Vice Series: Journey to Alleria ( #1 2014) #Wattys2015

Chapter Twenty-Six

Rings bind two people together when they marry, so it only makes sense that Sapphires be the gems that adorn those rings—for The Light is the foundation of Cardarh, and Cardarh is the foundation of one’s happiness.

Our rings glow in the dark, and emit a subtler glow in the daytime. During the sunlight hours, it is barely noticeable, it just appears to be another pair of silver rings—ordinary. Ours are similar to that of Faeore and Duhamas, but the engravings we requested of the Ring Maker are unique.

We chose the best location and the best time that suited us. There were no witnesses, no King to pledge an oath to—just the two of us. We are married.

~.~.~.~

We speak little afterwards, only about how much my Uncle will freak out about our secret wedding, just after he’d made the announcement about our engagement. It’s the least we can do after what we’d seen in Kennah. It’s not long before Faeore finds me in the Tale Room, alone, after Alec had retreated to his chamber.

She stands in the doorway, wearing the same green robe.

‘You don’t need to knock,’ I say, keeping my eyes glued to a page from The Book of Allerian Customs.

She sighs and walks in, ‘I thought you might say that,’

I scoff and appreciate the irony as she sits beside me.

‘I don’t know why you’re even reading that,’ she says, pulling back the cover as she examines the title, ‘Clearly you have no regard for Allerian customs.’

I frown, ‘What do you mean?’

She grabs my wrist and twists it to show my left hand.

‘Ow!’ I yelp, but she doesn’t seem to care at all.

 She examines my finger and I notice my ring is exposed. She sighs, ‘You think that by asking the Ring Maker to forge a different ring makes it any less obvious? I know you and Alec married last night, it’s no secret to me, Skaya. Nothing is now, not anymore.’

The sadness she hides behind her eyes is starting to show.

‘Your eye,’ I say, pointing to the little scar. She touches her finger to it and winces with a short laugh.

‘Nightmares,’ she tells me, ‘Silly thing. I woke up and hit my head on one of the mounted wall pieces!’

I nod, not believing her entirely. It sounds plausible; though I know she would have seen it coming and would have avoided it. I put a hand on her shoulder.

‘You can tell me,’ I tell her in a soft voice as she starts to crawl out of her little shell of silence.

She shakes her head, ‘I didn’t see it,’

‘See what?’

Tears form in her eyes, ‘I didn’t see I was going to do it, it just happened!’

My grip tightens, ‘What just happened?’

She looks to me, her mouth hovering open, ‘Don’t judge me, Skaya. Please, just listen to me.’

I nod, ‘Go on,’

She swallows and recounts the story to me, the story of how her nightmare forced Duhamas and her Uncle to sooth her with Allerian lullabies. They sedated her with a potent paste, made from a plant that only grows in Alleria, with medicinal qualities that induce deep sleep. She says she remembers hurting Duhamas that night, out of hysteria and confusion when the paste started to kick in.

My mind flicks back to when she approached me in the courtyard that day with the daisies, when Duhamas hurried her away. He winced when he grabbed her, though he tried to hide his pain from sight. He tried well, but it only now occurs to me. I piece it all together and it makes sense to me now.

She sobs, ‘That’s why a Seer wears green. A Seer wears green when they are distressed, when they have hurt one they love—it is a Seer’s shame to wear a green robe.’ She tells me, crying on my shoulder. ‘I’m not worthy of the silver robe!’ she exclaims before breaking into more violent sobs.

I rub her back, ‘Duhamas is a good man. He loves you. He will forgive you. I’m sure he already has.’ I try to sound hopeful.

She shakes her head and turns her head away, ‘He is a good man, but his sister wishes nothing but ill upon me! She hates me! She wishes her brother married another Allerian girl, one with less problems!’

I sigh and try to comfort her, though I have no idea how to. ‘Faeore, Gweyntarr has your Father’s respect, she will have to return the gesture, right?’

‘My Father only holds respect for her for the sake of Duhamas and his parents!’ she hisses, ‘If my Father were honest, he would be spewing curses at her!’

I nod, agreeing. ‘Okay,’ I say, ‘But being a Seer doesn’t make you cursed or plagued with problems. You have a gift no-one else does. You have the power to save many lives by preventing bad things from happening.’

She considers my words for a moment, but her face quickly changes when something in her head clicks. ‘But I couldn’t save Kennah. I’m too late for Kennah now. My vision was cloudy, it only became clear yesterday when I came to you. The nightmare was just the beginning.’ Then something else clicks. ‘Alec knows?’

I nod, ‘Yes,’ I reply, ‘He does. He’s barely spoken a word since the wedding. I’m afraid that if I bring it up, he’ll...’

‘I’m afraid he’ll have to face it and be able to speak about it, with you at least, since word will reach here by morning. I’ve seen that much to be true.’

**A/N: Sorry about the spelling differences in some of the names (if any) my computer editing didn't go as planned this time. If you like it, please VOTE and COMMENT!**

-YvaineRoss