Page 8 of Dueling the Suitors
“Emperor Cyrus…” Emmett whispered in realization. He dropped his hands from her and began to pace back and forth, stroking his chin. “But Emperor Cyrus only usurped the throne five years ago.”
“Brother, it is aprophecy. Whoever left the letter has to be a seer.”
Emmett stopped and turned to her. “But why the marriage?”
Astoria rolled her eyes. “It’s pathetic, really. Father and Wizard Orion think I couldn’t do it alone, that I need a husband who is as powerful as me so our union will magnify our powers, andthenwe can keep Cyrus away.” She paused as something clicked in her mind. “Keep Cyrus away… But the prophecy says I will bring him to his knees, not just keep himaway.”
“And you agreed to the marriage,” Emmett groaned.
“Relax, Brother. We have a plan, remember?”
He let out a weary sigh and ran a hand over his face. “Please enlighten me.”
* * *
Emmett wasn’t happy about the duel. He begged her to call it off, concerned she would get hurt. But Astoria didn’t relent. She assured him with Skylar’s words about her powers, but he refused to accept it.
There was only one way to get him to accept it. She had to show him what she could do.
Astoria asked him to help her construct the rules and stipulations for the duel. Realizing she couldn’t be swayed, he sighed in defeat and agreed. So, they sat in her parlor that evening, planning the duel over tea and cakes.
Astoria also sent for her grandfather on the outskirts of the capital. No one would know better about constructing a duel—magical or not—than him. He was the late king’s first knight, after all.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in.”
Astoria, anticipating her grandfather, nearly rose from the sofa to run into his arms when the person who entered—burst in, rather—was Silas.
She slumped back into her seat with a scowl. “I thought you were Grandfather.”
“I heard you are getting married?” Silas glanced from her to the parchments on the coffee table to Emmett, bewildered. His curly brown hair was tousled, a clear sign he had been horseback riding.
Astoria lifted her chin and crossed her arms. “Are you here to congratulate me? Get on with it, then. I bet you are overjoyed that you will finally be rid of your mother’s murderer.”
Silas flinched, and remorse crossed his face. “Astoria, I—”
“I don’t want to hear a word from your mouth.” Astoria stood and glared at him, their argument from two days prior surging into her mind. A battle of emotions swelled within her, but she put on an indifferent mask.
“What did I ever do to you that you hate me so much?”
“Need I remind you?” Silas’ eyes flared at her, brimming with accusation and loathing. She shouldn’t be deterred—this wasn’t the first time he had looked at her that way—but she was. This time, unlike the others, his eyes pierced into her soul with hatred, and so did the words he next said. “You murdered our mother!”
It was then she realized the extent of his hatred towards her, why he never loved her as Emmett did, why he had only accusatory and loathsome eyes for her. And it was what started their fight this time; her questioning him why he was so mean to her. Now she understood why. He hated her. Her own brother believed she killed their mother.
“Storie—” Emmett began.
“No, Emmett! I will not be persuaded, not even by you!”
“I said I am sorry, alright?” Silas threw his hands in the air, his blue eyes wide with exasperation.
“Like your apology can fix anything!” Astoria shot back.
“I am trying!”
“Oh,youare trying?” She scoffed humorlessly. “Ihave tried, so many times, to earn your favor! To have you love me like Emmett does, for you to be my best friend,my brother! But no, all you did was hate me, for something that was not even my fault. Did I know our mother would die giving birth to me? Youact like I used my tiny hands to choke her the moment I was out of the womb!”
Remorse consumed Silas’ face, as though he didn’t realize the venom of his own words until then. “As—”