46. Crowd

Callista.

It doesn’t take long for the funeral to end.

“I changed my mind,” Theon’s voice comes, and I look up at him. The crowd had returned to their places, and the time had come for my judgment. I’ve stood tall through the funeral, and now the time had come to repeat it through whatever it is to come.

His face is as hard as ever. No trace of forgiveness can be found there. I don’t think any criminal who faced the Alpha King before had been quite looked at this way.

My sister’s pyre smoked behind us, ash flying in breeze into the air, filling the whole place with the stink of smoke. My eyes must be red from standing so close to the pyre. I hope I don’t look like I’d been crying.

I don’t speak but wait for him to continue.

“I’m not letting you mate with my brother.” He replies.

I blink at him, trying to connect that sentence with everything going on now. I’m confused, and a little hopeful. Was that the punishment he’d wanted to give me? Was he reconsidering his stance after hearing h