Flickering Shadows

Chapter 22

Aziel

"This is amazing, Zara," I saw in awe as I stare at the masterpiece in front of me.

It's a four tiered cake covered in white fondant and sprinkled with some kind of black and silver dust. It's magnificent.

Zara looks surprised at the compliment, but she smiles and nods. "Thank you, your majesty. Inara almost saw it earlier, but I think her and Kiana will stay busy now."

I nod. "How's the decorating going?"

She beams, and I immediately know that asking her to help was the right thing to do.

"When Penny asked me to do all the string lights, I was intimidated, but it looks so beautiful, and I'm so excited to see it all come full circle." Her eyes widen suddenly and she bows. "I apologize, your majesty. My rambling gets the better of me sometimes."

I smile, waving her off, and she stares at me in shock.

Honestly, I'm pretty shocked myself. The difference in me has slowly graduated as Inara has been here. I'm more lax with the staff, and my subjects no longer cower in my presence. I'm not the heartless king anymore. I'm the gracious ruler, and it feels so much better.

"Hello, Zara," a smooth voice says from behind me.

Zara glares over my shoulder. "If you so much as look at this cake, I will starve you for the next three years."

I turn around in time to see Ravior raising his hands.

"I was only gonna ask for a fruit," he says in defence.

My lips twitch despite my trying to hold in a smile.

An apple hits Ravior's head with a thunk, and he grimaces with a nod. "Thanks for that."

I turn back around to Zara. "I trust you have the meal for tonight planned?"

She whips her gaze back to mine, schooling her irritated features. "Of course, your majesty. Everything will be perfect."

I nod my thanks before walking out, but my steps don't evade the starts of a yelling match.

It's hard to keep hollowed stomach soldiers fed, but with a drill sergeant like Zara, there's no way they get anything more than what she offers.

"Henry!" I call as he walks in through the double doors.

He strides over with a smirk in place, as usual, and I barely refrain from rolling my eyes.

"What can I do for you?" He asks.

"Did you do a sweep for Sun soldiers?"

He nods. "All of them were escorted out before you came back from the Sun kingdom, and Movi and I did two extra look arounds just to make sure."

"Good. Make sure nothing like that happens again."

Confidence flashes through his eyes. "I already reinforced all of the entry points, and all of the soldiers have been informed on this incident, so they're making sure it never happens again."

I'm surprised for only a moment before I say, "Thank you, Henry."

He bows dramatically. "Anytime."

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

"I can't believe we both have royal Moon mates," Kiana says. "What are the odds?"

I sigh dramatically. "So slim."

We're in the room she was given in the palace, and lying on her bed is like sleeping on the floor after feeling how comfortable Aziel's bed is.

"Kiana, I hate to break it to you, but I think you've been duped," I say, pushing up on my elbows to look at her.