Bonded

Chapter Fifty Five

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India

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After having the opportunity to miss my suitors... It seems as though they have grown even sweeter than when we were last together... The way they both seem to want to hold me at the same time once we stand and try to decide on where to lunch seeming so genuine and so very tender in a way that leaves me feeling raw and in need of more of the gentle touches of their battle-worn hands to act as a balm to my soul... The poems I've read making more and more sense now that I am experiencing infatuation and affection first hand...

"We should have lunch in the garden today... The Prince did give us his blessing after all...", Ronin's voice is so very gentle as one of his hands finds my cheek... His fingers giving me the most shiver-inducing caress as I nod in agreement..., "Though I am afraid that the roses shall forever be jealous of yours and Kavya's beauty..."

"Ronin! Quite the wordsmith today, I see!", Kavya's words come out in what I can only understand as a flirtatious chuckle, a lovely flush dusting his cheeks when my eyes find his handsome face... His hair seeming somehow brighter because of it.

"No word-smithing needed here, my Loves, for it is true-" before Ronin can charm us with his unusual talkativeness I find that we are quieted by none other than Jian, his hand held up after a quiet hiss that brings all conversation to a stop... The motion for us all to follow him behind one of the shelves coming silently and confusingly... Both of my future husbands seeming just as stunned as I am as we follow him...

Until I hear what he must have heard...

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Kavya

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At first, I find myself soured over having such a sweet moment hushed by our chaperone... Only to have that souring turn to true fear when I hear the one voice that causes fright in every soul in this castle...

The King...

It is not often that Mad King finds himself wandering the halls...

Normally he stays holed up in one of his throne rooms tossing down orders... Or feasting after handing down punishments that outweigh any justice that may have been served here in these obsidian halls once...

But yet...

I know that that is Xiang's voice...

And what he is speaking of causes the fire in my belly to run cold as Ronin's grip in my hand tightens almost painfully...

"If the rumors are true... I want their head mounted above my throne... But only after we've made them grow the hair out as long as I can stand it! Can you imagine it, Emrys? A fire-haired staff member somewhere in the palace, right under our noses? They shall make the most wonderful of decorations!" King Xiang's voice sounds gleefully deranged as he discusses...

The removal of my head... So that he might use it as decoration...

Because of my hair...

Something I've not heard people say outright before...

Surely I've had people envy my hair before I started dyeing it with the darkest inks I've been able to find...

But never before has anyone outright said that they would go so far as the King is speaking of...

And I must admit...

The thought terrifies me...

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Ronin

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It is easy to understand why all of the color drains out of my lover's face as we overhear something we should not have...

But I cannot fathom how King Xiang ever even found out about the true color of my sweet Bonfire's hair...

And try as I might to hear Prince Emrys's rebuttal... It is with great strain that I am about to hear the calm and collected Prince's soft-spoken voice at all as they continue their walk through the halls...

I would like to believe that Emrys would never allow his father to go as far as he is speaking of...

But with how down-trodden he has been lately I feel as if there is no guarantee that he would not or will not follow his father's footsteps into madness or when that possible transition may happen...

I know that for India this whole ordeal of overhearing something so terrible is just that... Terrible...

But he has no idea just how much weight the King's words actually carry in regards to someone we both love...

Kavya...

Though it is my turn to be confused when I peer down to check his face only to spy Jian physically shaking... India holding his hand as tightly as he can muster in a way that causes even more concern to build in my heart... The tears the scholar cannot seem to hold back are possibly caused by fear of the King himself...

Or maybe something more...

Either way...

It is not in me to leave him be with only India as comfort as he falls apart as silently as he can manage while we wait for the footsteps that have caused us all horror to fade completely... And I find myself opening up our embrace to welcome Jian into our fold so that he might find even the slightest bit of comfort while we all shake in fear.