Tie It With a Ribbon

The flight there would have been more enjoyable if Mother hadn’t been flying with me. I loved her to tears, but I was afraid to have any fun. I was expected to look respectable even when only around the commoners, but when I was only flying with Alex we had fun. He let me be free of the royal obligations, and he even let me get away with not being an entirely socially correct Aquilan lady. But in front of Mother, I had to fly quietly with Alexandros right beside me.

Seven miles of flying should be exhilarating, and I should have loved the feel of the air around my wings, but all I could think about was who we were meeting. Salina had been one thing, but the King of the Leonians was another. Sure, he wasn’t King yet, but he was still just as terrifying. Even uttering Zanzibar Giovanni seemed like a curse no one would bestow even on the world’s worst criminal. His name struck fear into the hearts of my people, as well as me. I couldn’t imagine being within breathing distance of him.

“Lena,” Alex whispered in my ear as we landed. I glanced over at him, taking a deep breath. “We can turn around right now. I will carry you home personally if it is necessary. I just want you to be safe.”

I shook my head, aware of our Queen’s eyes on us. I kept from reaching out to him and weeping. “I’ll be okay. You’ll be right here with me.”

I followed Mother into the Gryphes’ land, flanked by both Reginald and Alexandros. Queen Nadia greeted Queen Chordia and King Liam with polite distance. I curtsied before walking past them and into the central building.

We were ushered to a door, which led to a hall. At the end of the hall was a single room—a large, empty meeting room. Well, it wasn’t entirely empty. In the middle were two rows of seats, one row of which had already been filled.

Salina Giovanni smiled gently at me before returning her gaze to her mother. But then the other Giovanni glanced my way.

Zanzibar was slouching in his chair, his legs comfortably apart. His black shirt was taut against his chest, and he seemed to have something on his necklace. Upon further inspection, I realized—to my horror—that it was the talon of one of my kind. He also had a bracelet on his left wrist surely woven from our eagle’s magnificent feathers. Was it not enough that he had murdered them? No. He had to desecrate their corpses as well, like it was his own sick little pleasure! Fury filled my gaze, but then...

His golden eyes caught mine, and my blood went cold. All anger fled my eyes, and I couldn’t move a muscle! A smirk formed on his lips as his eyes scanned up and down my form, and I felt blood rush to my cheeks. Alexandros stepped in front of me suddenly, blocking me from his view. Zanzibar laughed softly, shaking his head and keeping his eyes focused on more appropriate things.

“I told you we shouldn’t have come here,” he told me, glaring at the lion.

“Temper,” I minded him. “Mother is right there.” He nodded, sighing and leading me to my seat. “Thank you, Alex.” He sat down beside me, keeping his eyes on Zanzibar.

We spoke amongst ourselves—and by that I mean I spoke with Alexandros while Mother spoke to Reginald—for a few moments before the King and Queen of the Gryphes entered the room. They both walked into the center of the room, standing before us.

“You have both come here for some reason. Would somewhere care to tell me what this reason is?” King Liam asked, his voice echoing off the walls.

“We want peace,” the Leonian Queen, Cadence, told him, her voice sounding strong and firm. Still, I had grown up to fear this woman. Her speaking of peace didn’t sit will with me or my mother. “This bloodshed must be stopped by any means.”

“That is all very well,” Queen Chordia intervened, stepping forward one step. “But I would like to speak to the rulers of the kingdoms. Who are they?”

“My son will be King soon,” Cadence told her, nodding.

“And my daughter will be Queen,” Mother told her, also nodding once.

“Alright. Both sides want peace—correct me if I’m wrong.” There was a silence. “But how much do you want it? What are you willing to give?”

“Anything,” I told her, biting my lip to keep it from trembling.

“Everything,” Zanzibar told her, outshining me.

“You both wish the bloodshed to end, but is the answer not obvious?” Liam asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. “You want both sides to be one again, do you not? If you are both so willing to form a pact, then you must both be determined. But you cannot expect your people to be so willing to forgive and forget if they think their leaders cannot.”

I glanced over at Zanzibar to see if he understood where he was going with this. His eyes were narrowed as if he knew what was unfolding and didn’t like it. I glanced to Alexandros to see the same agitation on his usually well-kept face.

“The only way I can see to prove to your people how badly you want peace is to show them by tying the two families. Zanzibar, take Alena as your mate, and Alena, take Zanzibar as your betrothed. To return the kingdom to one, this is the only way.”

“This is ridiculous!” Alexandros was the first to his feet, objecting loudly.

Mother got to her feet, shouting as well. Zanzibar had already stood and was voicing his opinion as Salina and Cadence gawked at Liam and Chordia, not believing what they were hearing. I couldn’t find a voice to speak with as I sat there, struck dumb and mute.

“Enough!” Liam boomed, his voice carrying a certain amount of finalism. “I will not hear of this! Retire to your rooms and we will continue the discussion tomorrow. Rest, and think over my words.”

“Wait! Please, you can’t just—!”

Zanzibar was cut off by Liam repeating his command.

We were ushered out of the meeting room and to our respected lodging.

“I told you this was a waste of time,” Alex told me, lingering at my door for longer than necessary.

“I... How can they just expect...?” I couldn’t form a complete thought. Alex shook his head, glancing around and taking my hands in his.

“No one is expecting you to go through with that. They’ll come up with a better plan tomorrow. I won’t let you be thrown into that lion’s den for dinner.” He kissed my forehead quickly, composing himself. “Try to sleep well tonight, Lena.”

I nodded, telling him the same even though I knew he wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, not when the lions were so close. I heard him shuffling outside my closed door, obviously getting comfortable.

I pulled on a pair of sheepskin pants and a cotton shirt before falling into the warm and inviting bed. I left the many lit candles on, just for the safety of the light. I may have wanted peace, but I would not be caught off guard.

Nevertheless, I was out in a matter of seconds.