The next morning, Hermi woke to the heavy weight of Cassian's arm draped across her waist.
"Are you awake?" his voice came before she had even managed to open her eyes.
Turning toward her husband, Hermi forced a radiant smile onto her face. "I am, Your Majesty. I trust you slept well?"
"Of course, I did," Cassian replied, his tone indulgent. "But I suspect I wouldn't sleep so well tonight, if you persist in calling me 'Your Majesty.'"
Blushing, Hermi quickly corrected herself. "I'm very sorry… Cassian."
Calling a king by his name felt like a bizarre blend of blasphemy and unexpected intimacy. The syllables felt clumsy and entirely wrong on her tongue.
"Good, that's more to my liking," Cassian approved. His lips began a slow trail along the curve of her neck.
Hermi felt a wave of relief wash over her. He had shown no sign of doubting her virginity last night, which was a miracle in itself.
In truth, she could hardly believe how the night had unfolded. Despite the ache he had left behind, Cassian had been shockingly gentle. After having done her once, and thankfully just once, Cassian eased out of her. He then caressed her to sleep, whispering more sweet nothings into her ears.
In short, her husband had been nothing but thoughtful toward her comfort. It was enough to make Hermi wonder whether the rumors about the seven kings of Ferramonte were true at all.
As his lips traced the line of her waist, his voice drifted up again, now laced with regret.
"I'm afraid we must leave right after spending time with your loved ones. As much as I don't want to see you sad, leaving your home, the journey ahead is a grueling one."
Hermi lowered her voice, shifting into the role of the sorrowful princess about to be exiled from her kingdom.
"I understand, my King."
Outwardly, she looked devastated. Inwardly, she was practically packing her bags. If it weren't for the precarious state of Lucian's safety, she wouldn't have stayed in this nightmare of a palace for another second.
When Hermi and Cassian arrived at the dining hall, breakfast was already served.
King Maximian sat at the head of the table, Queen Constantia on his right side. Both had their features arranged into expressions of tragic regret.
To the King's left sat Hermi's half-siblings, the actually legitimate ones. While Prince Jovian seemed genuinely warm, Crown Prince Hadrian appeared lukewarm at best.
Then there was Princess Aurelia, who quite literally outshone everyone. Her name alone said enough about how much Maximian adored this daughter. Not only had the King named Aurelia after Aurellanza itself, but he'd also hunted Hermi down, just to ensure Aurelia wouldn't have to spend a single night as Cassian's wife.
"My dear Herminia," King Maximian began, his voice heavy with fatherly love. "Seeing you so blissfully wed fills my heart with joy. Yet, I am devastated that you must depart in such a frantic rush."
Hermi eyed the theatrics on her father's face with quiet disdain. She'd only met him five days ago. He surely was saddened to see her go.
The fact that her father had rather address her first, instead of Cassian, made it painfully clear how he viewed the King of the North. To Maximian, just the thought of Ferramonte alone was a stain on his perfect world.
"Father," Hermi replied. "It breaks my heart to leave our home. But my husband is such a kind, righteous sovereign. You must not worry for my sake, or I shall be utterly inconsolable." She almost gagged on her own flowery words.
"How remarkably thoughtful of you, sister dear," Aurelia chimed in with a saccharine smile. "Or should I address you as 'Your Majesty' now? You look every bit the Queen of Ferramonte."
Hermi's lips curved, her scorn carefully concealed. Yesterday at the wedding, Aurelia had referred to Ferramonte as the land of the Waste. Calling Hermi Queen, Aurelia was merely tossing a thinly veiled insult her way.
"We are sisters, Aurelia." Hermi returned the smile. "There is no need for such exhausting formalities. To you, I shall always be just your sister."
Breakfast unfolded in a suffocating atmosphere, with more false niceties and well-timed sighs exchanged over unnecessarily complicated royal fare. At last, Cassian was the first to rise from his seat, mercifully breaking the spell.
"King Maximian, I should leave you to have your last private moment with your beloved Herminia. After all," Cassian noted with a chillingly polite edge, "it will be a very long time before you see her again."
He departed with the same commanding gravity he carried into every room. The moment the doors clicked shut behind him, all the masks in the room fell. The warmth vanished from Hermi's face, replaced by an icy glare.
"What happened to my Lucian? I must see him before I leave."
At the insolent shift in her tone, King Maximian's features hardened. "You would do well to concern yourself with your new husband. Not linger on the ghosts of your past."
BANG.
Hermi slammed the table, sending the fine silver and porcelain into a rattling chaos.
"Forgive my insolence, Your Majesty," she spat. "But Lucian was the sole condition for this arrangement! Without him, I wouldn't have become a puppet for you people to toy with. I would rather die!"
Seeing Hermi's outburst, the royal siblings tensed instantly. Their bodies coiled like snakes, ready to strike the moment she moved.
It was only then that Queen Constantia deigned to speak.
"You remind me of your mother," the Queen mused, her voice as smooth and cold as a frozen lake. "My sister, Ruminia... she was every bit as stubborn as you when she was young."
Hermi turned her murderous glare toward the woman. If Constantia hadn't existed, her mother would still be breathing. Ironic enough, the Queen looked the splitting image of Hermi's mother. The only difference was her queenly bearing, and the absolute ice in her gaze.
"Don't you dare mention my mother, you disgusting monster!" Hermi snapped. "You have no right to call my mother your sister!"
To call King Maximian 'Father' these past few days had been enough to make Hermi retch. Yet it was nothing compared to the revulsion of calling Constantia 'Mother'.
Faced with Hermi's curses, Constantia merely smirked. She extended her hand, and the crystal on her ring glowed blue. At once, all the water in the room — from the crystal vases, the drinking glasses, even the humidity in the very air — swirled and lunged straight at Hermi's face.
A sphere of water swallowed Hermi's head, instantly flooding her nose and throat. It was the same vicious spell Constantia had cast when she murdered Hermi's mother.
Hermi's ring glowed white repeatedly as she fought back. Countless air blades tore through the air toward Constantia. The Queen didn't even bother to move; she plucked a handful of water and froze it into ice shields that shattered the blades on contact. Desperate, Hermi tried to slice the water sphere instead, but the liquid reformed instantly, trapping her head in place.
Through the drowning haze, Hermi could see the gloat on Constantia's face. The air Hermi commanded was all around her, yet she couldn't pull a single breath into her lungs. Being a less-than-average air mage, Hermi knew she stood no chance against the Queen. Constantia Solari was the strongest water mage in all of Aurellanza.
Just as Hermi was about to go limp, the water sphere burst. Hermi collapsed onto the floor. Around her, droplets fell like rain.
Constantia's ring glowed blue again, and the water returned to where it belonged. Hermi's drenched form dried instantly; not a single trace of moisture remained in her hair, as if she'd never been touched.
Still, Hermi's ring burned white as she desperately forced air into her lungs. She shot a murderous glare at the five faces at the table, helplessness and rage scorching her veins.
"As long as you keep Cassian Malaspina convinced you are an Aurellanza princess, your lover shall live," Constantia said. "Don't keep your husband waiting, my sweet niece. Our farewell ends here."
With a flick of the Queen's hand, two guards stepped forward. They hauled Hermi to her feet with more efficiency than grace and began dragging her toward the exit.
Just as Hermi crossed the doorway, she heard quick footsteps chasing after her.
"Wait, guards!" Aurelia's voice followed. "I require a moment with my sister!"
Scowling deeply, Hermi turned around. "What do you want, Your Royal Highness?"
Despite the venom in Hermi's tone, Aurelia's face remained infuriatingly bright.
"I felt a heavy obligation to thank you, for the sacrifice you've made on my behalf. Had you been foolish enough to put a knife to your throat when your mother died, I would've ended up packing my things to leave now."
Just as Hermi had expected, Aurelia had come to gloat.
"And yet I thought you were so swept away by His Majesty, King Cassian," Hermi scoffed. "You were practically drooling from the moment he stepped through the palace doors. You didn't even have the decency to hide it over breakfast."
Aurelia's face twisted upon being exposed. Since Cassian's arrival, Aurelia had been a moth to his flame, unable to stop her eyes from wandering.
Even Hermi had to admit the man was an anomaly. The raw masculinity he radiated made the Silver Knights of the Aurellanza Army look like tin soldiers. His gentlemanly manners were so polished they rivaled the most elite Grand Mages.
Aurelia was caught in a trap of her own making: she dreaded being married to Ferramonte, yet she was utterly captivated by the man who ruled it.
Forcing her warm smile into a sneer, Aurelia replied,
"Perhaps you've been mistaken, sister. But how could I, the true Orchid of Aurellanza, ever fall for a man with such a vile reputation? Enjoy your marriage while you can, Herminia. I have no desire to marry a tyrant king whose queens die within months."