Chapter 85 The King’s Banquet

Chapter 85 The King’s Banquet
The horse regarded me. For a long moment, neither of us moved. Then it stepped forward, pressing its muzzle against my palm. Its breath was warm and smelled of rocks and night blooming flowers, the smell of Hel. It knew me. It recognized the Morrigan blood.

"You'll be riding with me to the banquet," I told it. "Hidden, of course. They'll put you in the outer courtyard, away from the main entrance. When the time comes, I'll present you to Cardan myself."

The horse snorted, as if to say I am not a present to be wrapped and handed over. But it didn't argue.

I gave the stable master strict instructions: no one was to touch the horse. No one was to go near it or even attempt to ride it. No one was to enter its stall without my direct permission. The stable master, a nervous man with twitching hands, agreed readily. He had clearly already decided he wanted nothing to do with the creature.

"One more thing," I said. "The horse answers to the name Malfane. Stay out of his way."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Of course, Your Majesty."

I left the stables with the distinct impression that the stable master would be sleeping with one eye open.

\-——————————

The night before the banquet, Cardan and I lay in his bed, naked and tangled in the sheets, the Nightbloom pulsing softly on the bedside table. We had made love twice, once with desperate urgency, once with slow, deliberate tenderness, and now we lay in comfortable silence, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my shoulder.

"Elowyn spoke to me today," he said quietly. "About the banquet. About her announcement."

I went still. "What did she say?"

"She wants to announce Freya's child as my heir. Publicly. During the celebration." He paused. "She says the priestesses are confident it's a boy."

"And what did you tell her?"

"I told her I would consider it." His fingers stilled. "Nyx, I know this is complicated. I know it's painful. But if announcing the child as heir reduces the pressure on you, if it silences the whispers about your own fertility, then perhaps it's worth considering."

I sat up, pulling the sheet around me. "You want to name Freya's unborn child as your heir?"

"I want to protect you. And I want to give the people certainty. They're afraid, Nyx. The northern border is bleeding. The treasury is unstable. The court is divided. An heir even an unborn one, would give them something to hope for."

"An heir who may not even be a boy. The priestesses could be wrong."

"They're never wrong."

"So everyone says. And even if they're right, even if the child is a boy, announcing him as heir before he's even born is premature. It puts a target on Freya's back. It puts a target on the child's back. I think it's wise to proceed with caution."

Cardan was silent for a long moment. Then: "You're right. I know you're right. But Elowyn has already rallied all the lords. They're pressuring me to make a decision. If I refuse to name the child as heir, they'll say I'm putting my foreign wife above the future of the kingdom."

"Let them say it. Haven't they said much worse?" 

"I know. But..." He stopped and then he sighed. "I'm tired, Nyx. I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of the whispers and the schemes and the endless, grinding politics. If this one thing can bring even a moment of peace..." 

"It won't bring peace. It will only bring more scheming. More division. More chaos." I met his eyes. "But it's your decision. I won't fight you on it."

"You won't?"

"I've already said my piece. I think it's premature. I think Elowyn is using this for her own purposes. But I also understand why you might agree to it." I touched his face. "Whatever you decide, I'll stand beside you. I meant what I said in Hel. I'm not leaving you."

He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. "Thank you," he whispered. "For understanding. For staying."

I didn't answer. Because some part of me, the part that remembered the Seer's vision, the creature in the cradle, the child of light and darkness, was afraid that staying wouldn't be enough.

\-———————————

The day of the banquet arrived cold and crisp. The sun was bright and shining and for once, I didn't shy away from it. 

By the time I descended the palace steps, the sun had begun its slow descent toward the horizon. The sky was a blaze of amber and rose, the golden spires of Aurelia Prime catching the last light and scattering it like fire. The banquet hall had been transformed into a wonderland of gold and crystal, with chandeliers blazing and flowers cascading from every surface.

I paused at the top of the stairs.

The court was already assembled. Hundreds of nobles in their finest silks and jewels, their faces turned toward the entrance, waiting for the Queen to arrive. Elowyn stood near the head table, her golden gown glittering like captured sunlight. Lady Freya was at her side, her pregnancy now unmistakable beneath the soft folds of her rose-colored dress.

And Cardan. Cardan was at the center of it all, his silver eyes fixed on the entrance, his expression unreadable.

I descended.

The court fell silent. The rustle of silks ceased. Even the musicians paused, their instruments frozen mid-note. I walked through the parted crowd like a shadow moving through light, my Hel-made gown drinking in the golden glow and reflecting it back in shades of violet and silver and deepest midnight. My hair was swept up in an elaborate construction of braids and obsidian pins, my face painted with rouge, my eyes lined with the darkest of kohl.

I was not the Queen Consort tonight. I was the Princess of Hel. The daughter of shadows. 

Cardan's lips parted. His silver eyes went wide. He looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time, like the sight of me had stolen the very breath from his lungs.

"My Queen." His voice was rough. "You look..."

"Terrifying?"

"Magnificent." He extended his hand. "Come. Sit beside me."

I took his hand and let him lead me to the head table. Elowyn's expression, as I passed, was a study in barely controlled fury. Her golden gown, her careful arrangement of the seating and her meticulous planning all of it rendered insignificant by the simple fact of my presence.

"Princess Elowyn," I said, my voice sweet. "The hall looks beautiful. You've outdone yourself."

"Thank you." Her smile was barely civil. "I do try."

Freya stood behind her, looking uncomfortable. Her eyes met mine briefly, then darted away. She was afraid. I could see it in the way she held herself, the way her hands rested protectively on her belly.

Good, I thought. She should be afraid. She's caught between two predators, and both of them are circling.

\-————————————

The dinner was a blur of courses and conversation.

I sat at Cardan's right hand, as was proper. Elowyn had tried to seat Freya beside him, I saw the place cards, saw the way she gestured toward the chair, but Cardan had intervened.

"The seat beside me belongs to the Queen," he said, his voice calm but firm. "Lady Freya can sit with you."

Elowyn's smile had tightened, but she had complied. Freya had taken her place further down the table, her face pale and her hands still folded over her stomach.

Good, I thought again. Let her sit with the viper. Let her see what it feels like to be Elowyn's pawn again.

As the meal drew to a close, the musicians struck up a waltz, and the courtiers began to dance. I watched them from my seat, my shadows still and quiet, my mind elsewhere.

The horse was waiting in the outer courtyard. I had it moved there myself, the Hel steed that Maz had sent. My gift for Cardan. The gift that would prove, once and for all, that I was not just a foreign queen, but a queen of shadows and starlight, capable of bringing beauty even to this golden prison.

I rose.

"Cardan," I said, my voice carrying through the hall. "I have a gift for you."

The music stopped. The dancers paused. Every eye turned toward us.

"A gift?" Cardan's eyebrows rose. "Nyx, you didn't have to..." 

"I wanted to." I smiled, the cold, confident smile of a Hel princess. "Wait here."

I turned toward the entrance, my heart pounding. The horse would be brought in by my hands, led through the grand doors and into the hall. It would be a moment of pure drama, a Hel steed in a golden court, a creature of shadow and moonlight presented to the High King of Aurelia.

I never got the chance.