A group of people were gathered off to either side of the bed, and I could feel all of their eyes on me. What were they doing in here? I looked at my... maid. As though she had read my mind, she squeezed my arm reassuringly. "Royal marriage consummation must be witnessed, so there's no doubt of the validity of the union."
Witnessed? They were going to watch? Who had I even married? There was no way...
Suddenly, everyone began bowing and curtsying. Were they doing that for my sake or...
"Ah, I see you've found my queen, Hildegard."
****
My eyes flew open, and I sat up with a start. A cool sweat had broken out over my skin, causing me to shiver. My thoughts were hazy as I tried to calm my heart, which was racing. What kind of dream was that? It felt so real. Not like a dream at all, almost like a memory.
And that voice."I see you've found my queen..."
It sounded so familiar. My nightmares should have been filled with tigers and dragons. The only explanation was that I was so exhausted and traumatized from this entire ordeal that I was having dreams about horrific outcomes that I'd ensure would never come to pass. If I ever got married, it would be on my terms to someone I chose, not some royal asshole who thought they owned me. Who thought I'd let people watch our wedding night...
I'd heard rumors that royals did such things—that eyewitnesses were needed to validate the consummation of the wedding. Such topics were naturally exciting for schoolgirls and boys to discuss once they figured out what sex was. I was always open with my father about questions, but I never thought to bring up that particular thing.
"You okay, Eves?" Kael whispered, and I glanced over, finding his concerned face.
"Yeah," I whispered back. "Just had a weird dream." I scanned our group, finding that most were still asleep. Soft snores, and some loud ones thanks to Tiro, bounced around the cavern.
Kael shifted, turning toward me. "This is the most fucked up situation I've ever been in... and I've been in my fair share of shit."
"None of it makes sense, Kael. Were the royals even in the forest? Where in the damn realm are they?" I demanded, struggling to keep my voice low enough as my temper rose once again. It seemed I was just living in a current state of irritability, and I felt unstable, like the slightest thing would cause me to explode.
We sat silently as we processed. Despite the exhaustion, the urge to do something, anything, was rising inside of me. The fire had burned down considerably, while the embers’ red glow painted the dark of the cave in an ominous light. Belinda was slouched against a rock directly across from us, sound asleep. She really was beautiful. It was too bad she was completely rotten on the inside. Even though I hated the royals, I felt a modicum of pity for whoever ended up choosing her as a bride... and I just knew she'd get chosen.
"We'll have to wake them soon," Kael sighed.
I pulled my gaze from Belinda back to my guard and froze. "Kael," I said calmly, despite the strong urge to scream. "Do. Not. Move."
His blue eyes widened, and like a good soldier, he didn't so much as blink. My father's words echoed within my head."Move fast and sure. Don't hesitate."
The snake that was inches from Kael's head was seconds from striking. Snakes never scared me, and I'd run more than a few of them from our house before. This snake, though, was a sea snake, and poisonous. I could see its green scales glimmering from where it was pressed within the rocks of the cave wall.
My hand moved quickly, and I aimed as close to the head as possible. Kael jumped forward as I tightened my grip around the hissing serpent, pulling it from the rocks, both of my hands clamped firmly around its head.
"How the bloody hell did you even see that!?" Kael gasped as he looked from my face to the writing body of the sea snake that was a good three feet long.
"Snake!" A girl screeched, waking everyone.
"It's okay, it's okay," I assured them.
Rivka hopped up and produced her knife. "Looks like we have breakfast."
"Oh, don't kill it," Becca cried out.
"I'm hungry. Anyone else?" Riv questioned, looking around.
I kicked away the snake's tail, which was trying to wrap around my leg. "Um, I don't care one way or the other, but can someone decide soon because this thing isn't exactly lightweight..."
Becca clamped her eyes shut as Riv's knife slashed through the air, leaving me holding a snake head.
"I will not eat that garbage," Belinda sneered, pointing at the now still body lying in the sand.
"Good, more for the rest of us who actually want to get out of this nightmare," Riv shot back as she bent over and plucked the carcass from the ground. She didn't waste any time before setting on her self-appointed task of preparing breakfast.
Kael walked over to me and grabbed the snake head from my hands, which I realized were shaking. He tossed it into the burning coals and then guided me by the arm over to a corner in the front of the cave. "Evie. You saved my life. Thank you."
