Zane was impressed at how his new Naga was handling the crowd as they mingled with his—their—people. He could feel the tension in her body through the arm he had around her waist, but on the outside she seemed to be relaxed. There was definitely chaos and panic in her head, but she didn't allow the people to see it. She obviously wanted to come across as a strong leader and not a scared little pigeon caught in a den of snakes; she didn't want to seem like a liability rather than a ruler. That was a trait he couldn't help but admire since he, himself, wasn't sure how he was going to be able to stand the Avian version of their wedding they were going to have to endure as well.
That particular ceremony shouldn't be as much of a stress in the way that she wasn't going to be crowned as ruler in that one, instead holding the stress that many of her people and family hated her. Not that he understood that hatred, mind.
Meanwhile, in Kyra's mind, she was screaming.
Never before had she had this many people trying to get close enough to touch her, and it was all she could do not to just shift and fly away from this plethora of cool bodies. But she would be damned if she shamed her Avian heritage by running away despite how much that exact heritage seemed to hate her very existence.
Kyra couldn't help but appreciate, however, that the Serpiente that had already accepted her as their new Naga completely didn't treat her like an abomination. Though she couldn't see them, she could hear the respect in their voices as they addressed her and her new mate. They might not know that, yet she was of hawk decent, she wasn't a hawk, but not being treated like a freak was a breath of fresh air to her that she didn't know she needed. Zane was a gust of wind in his acceptance of her strangeness and these people were a tornado.
The only problem was that with every controversial action, there were always those who strongly disagreed and would act on impulse to stop it.
This action came in the form of a knife aimed directly for Kyra's sternum wielded by a man who feigned that respect that Kyra so cherished in order to get close to the new rulers.
Before the crowd could even realize what was going on, the situation was over.
Zane was still processing the events that had just taken place when Kyra shouted for one of the guards.
In the time it had taken for the man to unsheathe his chosen weapon, Kyra had had enough time to pinpoint precisely exactly where the familiar sound of a blade being readied was coming from. In an instant, she had turned to face the man—leaving Zane's protective hold in the process—and seemed to stare at him as he approached despite the golden band that shielded her eyes from the world. One of her hands lashed out with viper-like speed to knock the blade to the side. She didn't strike hard enough that the blade would go flying into the crowd since she didn't want to risk innocents' safety.
The fingernails of her other hand sharpened into the talons of her eagle form as she wrapped those very fingers around his throat, points digging dangerously into the skin there. The assailant dropped the blade he'd been wielding in shock at how quickly the tides had turned against him. He'd expected to at least be able to kill her before being neutralized by his king.
"You've made a grave error in judgment, sir," Kyra whispered directly into the man's ear when she leaned forward threateningly. "I was trained with the very guards that protect my mother. I'm not just another Avian princess. I'm a soldier." That was all she said before she leaned back and shouted for the guards.
The man was roughly shoved into the arms of a pit viper guard with icy eyes that Zane didn't recognize and dragged away.
"And I think that is enough excitement for this evening. Good night," he bid quickly before firmly leading Kyra back to their shared suite.
"Can I ask what just happened?" he finally managed once she pulled off the circlet that protected her eyes from the world.
She shrugged. "As I told him, I trained with the palace guard; I'm not an easy target. There was a threat; I handled it."
Zane couldn't help but laugh as he pulled Kyra into his arms for a tight hug. "You. Are. Amazing."
"Why thank you," she smirked with a small, sarcastic curtsy. "You're not so bad yourself, mister crowd-pleaser."
"You realize this means that a) you've lost some of your element of surprise and b) that we are going to have to spar sometime so I can see just how good you are."
"I think the whole people-thinking-I'm-blind-thing is still a major advantage," Kyra pointed out. "And you are so on."
The couple shared a quiet laugh for a few minutes before they were interrupted once again by a knock on the door followed by Charis' voice saying, "Since the two of you are having a such a great time, mind if I barge in to ask Kyra a few questions?"
"Of course not, mother. Come in," was Zane's grinning response.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Proud of myself for getting this written and there is definitely more on the way in the next couple of weeks. I know that in the book there wasn't an assassination attempt this early on, but since she's seen as more of a liability than Danica was, I decided to throw it in there. That wasn't me jumbling the timeline I swear. As always, tell me whatcha think or message me if you have any ideas for me to consider.
~Shade