Free Broken Road by Unknown

all!”
    “You should not have concerned yourselves,” the Thunder God replied, forcing a smile. “I have been busy lately, but I would not shame our family by missing your wedding.”
    “Where is your blushing bride?” Beniru lo oked around as if he expected to see Aĺakána returning from the privies at any minute. “And my strapping nephew?”
    “I have no idea where you have been hearing such rumors, but I can assure you that I did not marry Princess Aĺakána. When I found the Princess, we discussed Léi Shēng’s intentions and when I said I was not interested in…em…‘breeding’ her, she said she was relieved. The Princess enjoys her monastic life, helping mortals when she can and appealing to the Elders when she cannot.”
    Before Beniru coul d press the issue, Amihan turned to Masama.
    “It is lovely to meet you, dear sister. Has my brother been treating you well?”
    Masama, too, stepped down from her throne, but her smile was real and as genuine as her embrace.
    “As well as could be expected, my beloved brother.” The Princess lowered her voice. “I believe myself to be incredibly lucky to have married the son of an Elder God.”
    “That reminds me.” Amihan turned back to his brother. “I thought you were going to marry next year. Do not all men of our li ne wed at seventeen?”
    “I am not privy to our father’s intentions. I suppose it was my mother’s death that spurred him to an early marriage.” He paused. “My beloved has a surprise for you.”
    “I am to be Queen of Śēśa!” Masama exclaimed before Amihan had a ch ance to ask. “Queen Miruan will lay down her crown in five years and I will be the one to take her place!”
    Amihan tried not to let his shock register. Despite being the final resting place for souls, Śēśa had a reputation of being a realm in which one woul d not willingly want to spend time. He had also heard that the initiation rituals of its Queens were more… unusual than most, but then anyone would have to have a certain amount of bravery—or stupidity—to marry his brother, too.
    “Congratulations,” the Thunder God said aloud. “Will Queen Miruan be there for Beniru’s crowning?”
    Masama shot her husband a guilty look. “Her Majesty and I have not discussed it.”
    “But surely you plan to make my brother your King Consort…or at least your Prince Consort?” Amihan glanced at Beniru, who seemed to be watching his wife squirm.
    “I…em…not sure…unmarried…” The Princess turned a bright shade of red.
    “Well, I must be going,” said Amihan, trying to hide his delight at throwing a wrench between his brother and sister-in-law on their wedding day. “You have quite a few guests left to receive.”
     
     
    The problem with marriages of the Elder Gods and their progeny was that all events were usually compulsory. No one wanted to offend the Elders, so most of the gods spent an hour at the reception and those who volunteered to while away their time being of service to the bridal couple stayed even longer. But there was no such escape for the God of Thunder. As much as he longed to be home with his true family, Amihan was obligated to be a dutiful brother and stay at least as long as his father—enduring all the inane conversation that came with it.
    “If you are so anxious to see me married off, then why did you not see me betrothed to one of your own daughters?” he muttered at the back of the most recently departed Goddess. “Do not tell me you gave up sex twelve hundred years ago just because you thought chastity was the thing to embrace at the turn of the millennium!”
    “They were probably counting on your father to approach them ,” said a voice. “And when he did not, they thought he had it well in hand…even if the end result was me.”
    The Thunder God glanced around the table and his eyes widened. There could only be one guest who would attend a wedding given by an Elder God in a long gray gown and mat ching opaque