"Crowns topple easily. Thrones crumble like dust. Hearts cease to beat. Thorns draw blood."
In a country torn into two, there should have been no room for mistakes. Especially not at the very core of the royal family. That was what she was. Yes, a...
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"Irina, are you even listening?"
The young princess who had been staring at a piece of pie on her plate, with a dreamy smile on her face for the past five minutes snapped out of her thoughts, jolting in her seat. "Yes?"
Igor giggled at her reaction, chomping on some cake and throwing some of the pieces under the table for Vasilka. "Are you still dreaming, Ri?"
Irina rolled her eyes at that, playfully tossing a piece of crumb at her brother. "Well, I'm certainly awake enough to defend myself."
"Maybe the poison left her brain muddled." Oleg scoffed at their antics, pouring himself yet another serving of brandy. "Poor little brain-muddled princess."
On a normal day, she would have already lost her temper. Lucky for Oleg, she was feeling particularly happy that day. Especially when she had woken up beside a certain Shadow Summoner who, as she found out, mumbled words of nonsense in Old Ravka in his sleep.
The night should have left her exhausted however she only felt renewed and happy. If she wasn't going to be deemed mad, she would have climbed the roofs of the Grand Palace and announced to the whole world that she loved Aleksander. And that he loved her too.
She remembered waking up to the sunlight hitting her eyelids and when her vision had adjusted to the brightness of her chambers, she was faced with Aleksander. Still sleeping, his lashes casting a shadow across his face and his relaxed state removing all thoughts of duty, though his hold on her was tight as if he feared that she would disappear all of a sudden.
She had roused him from his slumber with a whisper of his name and a kiss on his cheek. Saints, she would never forget that moment when he realized that it was all real. The mixture of surprise, relief, and most of all, love.
Returning to the present with a smile on Irina's face, she snarkily replied to her brother. "Then who poisoned you, brother? Your brain's beyond muddled, perhaps you should see a healer."
Igor laughed aloud at that, his cheeks covered in sugar and icing. "That was brilliant."
"Thank you, thank you." Irina grinned, doing little bows much like a performer after finishing a complicated routine. Taking a sip of tea, she winked at her little brother.
Oleg looked fuming, his cheeks red. He looked right about ready to explode from his seat but instead of being afraid, she couldn't help but compare him to a tomato.
A giddy laugh threatened to emerge from her throat at picturing her brother with a tomato for a head. There was a certain sense of invincibility that came with being in love.
It was as if she drank barrels of champagne and only felt the fearlessness that came with it. She felt as if she could leap from a cliff and grow wings to fly. Perhaps not that drastic but she felt completely and utterly safe as if nothing could harm her.
