"As I'm sure you've all heard by now," Zane started, voice clear as he spoke, "the Mistari leaders proposed an idea that would bring us peace in this never-ending war: a marriage between the two royal families."
Kyra was suddenly deafened by the crowd's collective protests at this notion. She could feel the muscles in Zane's torso flex through the arm she had around his waist as he presumably held up a hand to call for silence once more.
"I agreed to this arrangement because I am tired of losing my family in a war that we can't even remember why we're fighting it. As you know, my people are also my family, and we've lost enough. The Tuuli Thea was kind enough to accept this proposal as well, allowing her oldest daughter to be the joining link between us."
Kyra's teeth were grinding in her head at him making her mother sound like a good person for volunteering her for what could've been a death mission, but she understood that that was the only way his people were going to accept this union.
"From today forward, Kyra Shardae is my Naga," Zane finished, squeezing her slightly in reassurance.
"Sir, you cannot be serious!" a random voice called from the crowd. "She is a hawk; she knows nothing of our people."
"She will learn in time," Zane answered smoothly.
"Of course they would offer their crippled princess to make peace," a different voice shouted. "They don't think we deserve a strong leader. How do you know they didn't just want to be rid of her and put this weakness in our kind?"
The cobra's muscles were abruptly pulled taut as he fought the desire to lash out at the civilian. Instead, Kyra acted for him by throwing a knife at the man—who'd been standing near a wall—so that it embedded itself in the wall only a few inches above his head.
"I may be blind, but I am far from crippled," she snarled. "I've been trained to use my ears as my eyes, so I could tell exactly where you are."
The man wisely kept silent after that. Zane was amused to note that the look of fear in his eyes remained there long after Kyra finished speaking to him. His attention was pulled back to the woman at his side, however, when she turned to address the crowd around them.
"I am fully aware of the differences in our kinds, but I am willing to learn your ways if it means ending this suffering. My mother is not known as the most giving woman, and I can't guarantee that volunteering me for this union wasn't in part due to her wanting to be rid of me. But I can assure you that despite that, I am willing to do everything in my power to bring peace between our people. Just look at me. Between my pale skin and dark hair, traits that are obviously Serpiente in origin, it is obvious that we have lived equally in the past. If I have any say in the matter, we will have that peace again for there is much our peoples could learn from one another."
Zane didn't even bother to hide the broad smile that slid across his face by the time she finished speaking. She was so much more than he ever could have hoped for when he first laid eyes on her in the Mistari lands. A rustling in the crowd called his attention back to the room at large. Many of the people had started to kneel at her words, accepting her as their Naga, until only a handful remained standing. He was surprised to see that an acquaintance of his was among those who remained standing.
"Kendrick?" he asked, raising a brow.
"Sir, I cannot stand aside and let you throw away your happiness for this hawk," Kendrick spat the word. "She will never be right for you! You will never love her. She's a Shardae."
"Yes, she is," Zane confirmed, "but I have learned that even these Avians are not what they appear to be." He turned so that he was facing Kyra, much to her confusion at the abrupt movement. He allowed his lips to move close enough to hers that she could feel his breath when he spoke so she would know his intentions. "May I?" he whispered.
A tiny nod was her response before he pressed their lips together in a simple press that was nothing compared to the one they'd shared in bed a few hours before.
When they parted, Zane was pleased to see that that action had been enough to silence the remaining protests of his—their—people. Kendrick and the other remaining protestors knelt slowly, grudgingly accepting the woman as their new Naga. He smiled and squeezed Kyra's waist once more.
"Welcome to your people," he muttered in her ear, grin firmly on his face as he started leading her down the stairs off the platform.
Kyra could only offer a slightly strained smile in return as she fought to keep her reserve in place to hide her panic about being around so many people once more.