Fireshrine

Six: Davina

The doors to the throne room were massive and made completely out of glass. It rippled like the waves in the ocean and made it entirely impossible to see more than vague shapes through it.

Steel Yourself.  I knew the princess had said it in jest, but her tone was more serious. I swallowed hard.

The doors opened with a loud groan and I felt my stomach flip. The room was full of people, each dressed in fine silks and pears that blurred into splotches of blues and purples. I heard Noella curse under her breath. She looked just as surprised as me at the amount of people in the room. Clearly this was unexpected.

I didn't let myself falter. I scanned the room and quickly found the only other bit of red in the room. Dimitri locked eyes with me and gave me a slight nod. I squared my shoulders and looked up.

At the far end of the room sat four thrones, two large ones flanked by two smaller, but as equally ornate, ones. Sitting in the front most one was a man who  could only be described as greasy. He had dark hair that was slicked back away from his face and curled around his collar. His eyes were so dark blue that they almost looked black. His small lips were curled into a sneer and his beady eyes gave me a once over. He made my skin crawl and I immediately felt sick to my stomach.

I swallowed hard. "The prince is... much older than I expected," I said to Noella quietly.

She looked at me confused for a minute, then at the man in the throne, and then back at me. Her eyebrows shot up as she stifled a laugh.

"That is not my brother," she said under her breath. I looked up again and found myself standing mere feet from the thrones.

She released me and smiled widely. "Uncle, how wonderful to see you. I thought you were with the western scouting mission?"

The greasy man shifted his weight in his throne. "Of course I could not miss the arrival of my dear nephew's new bride," he said. His voice was gravely and cold.

"Of course," Noella said. She then turned to me. "May I present my brother, the Crown Prince of the Cyan kingdom, Sylver Alastair Asturias."

I hadn't seen him at first but now I didn't know how I could have missed him.

He was dressed relatively plain, wearing a deep blue surcoat with the Cyan Crest in gold embroidery, and plain blue trousers. His hair was a shocking white and fell just above his shoulders. He was tall and lean, and his face was strikingly beautiful.

It was his eyes that I found myself entranced with. They were a piercing blue, so light that they reminded me of the blind men and women that would beg along the streets of the capital city in my kingdom.

Noella dipped into a low curtsy, breaking me from my trance. Blinking quickly, I curtsied as well, lowering my head.

"How formal, Noella," he said. His voice low and smooth, completely contrasting from that of his uncle.

"I am in the presence of my king," she said, a smile twitching at her mouth.

"Surely I do not require such formalities," her uncle said, standing.

"I do not believe I was referring to you," Noella muttered under her breath, but loud enough for him to hear.

His face twisted into a scowl before turning to me. "It is my honor to welcome you to Nero, Princess," he said, offering a small bow.

My mother would have scoffed at him.

He continued, "I am Duke Aeron, King Regent in place of my late brother."