Without a word of greeting to his parents, Dancer went straight to her. “Leave him be, Dariana. As a true Andarion warrior, he gave the largest feather he collected to his princess as a gift.”

The hatred in her white eyes was searing. And when she saw the glowing red of Dancer’s, she stepped back. “You have shamed me!” she snarled.

“Dancer!” his mother growled as she approached him and saw his eyes. “What have you done?”

Facing their obvious wrath and contempt, he didn’t flinch. “I took my brother’s child to Mount Grenalyn and have returned with his heir. Darice has honored his father and his lineages.”

“And you have shamed yours! Again.” His mother struck him across his abdomen. “How dare you!”

A red stain spread over his clothes from the wound his mother had opened.

Sumi knew she wasn’t supposed to do anything. She needed to let him handle this. But she couldn’t stand here and let him be assaulted. Not even by his own mother.

Furious, she released Nykyrian and rushed to Dancer’s side so that she put herself between him and the females who wanted his life. “Leave him alone!”

“A human!” Dariana spat. “You shamed me with —”

“Bow to your princess!” Six Andarion guards came forward to protect Sumi.

It was only then that Dariana and his mother saw the markings on Sumi’s face and recognized the style of her bloodred dress.

His mother gasped before she bowed low.

Dariana hesitated. With one last feral glare at Dancer that promised retribution, she obeyed.

Sumi lifted her chin defiantly, wanting a piece of both of them. She was supposed to do this later, but…

Tolerance wasn’t part of her nature any more than it was Dancer’s.

She curled her lip at Dariana. “Dancer has done nothing save honor his family and his noble, heroic lineage. He deserves better than to be tied to the inferior blood of Terisool. Dariana of the Blood Kin Terisool, I challenge you for the right to tie my superior lineage to his.”

Dancer’s jaw dropped, but he said nothing.

Dariana rose with an evil smirk. “I accept your challenge… human.”

“Princess,” Sumi hissed in reminder, refusing to back down or blink as she stood toe-to-toe with the bitch. “And good. I look forward to ripping out your spine and beating you with it.”

The desire to respond in kind burned bright in Dariana’s eyes, but she knew better than to say anything nasty to a member of the royal family. Instead, she grabbed Darice’s arm and hauled him away.

Only then did Dancer’s grandmother and father approach as his mother straightened. His mother was much more subdued toward him than she’d been.

His grandmother and father bowed low in honor to Sumi.