Chapter 1

**4 years later**

Abigail

Alderei Castle had been a buzz for weeks with the expected arrival of the Prince and his family. The staff had gone all out – pruning the already immaculate gardens that surrounded the castle, mending the fences around the orchards, airing out and hanging the best tapestries. There was to be a reception in the entrance chamber upon their arrival, followed by a dinner in the Great Hall.

As this would be their first visit to Alderei Castle, the queen wanted the grand estate to look its best. She wanted her daughter to be on her best behavior. She was not happy earlier that day, when said daughter was brought back to the castle, dirty and scratched up, having fallen out of a tree in an attempt to escape the impending wedding.

Later that evening, I fixed my dress as I waited for the arrival of Prince Grayson of Eswen, who I had not seen in four years. Queen Sarah was currently running around the richly decorated hall nitpicking everything the servants did. I reached out and squeezed the hand of Princess Catherine, her daughter, “You look lovely, he’s going to be enchanted by you.” My old friend was to marry the princess in the morning.

Catherine grimaced, “I don’t care if he is. I’d rather throw myself out of the window than have him be ‘enchanted’ by me.”

“Don’t say that, Cat!” Rose hissed. My younger sister looked incredibly uncomfortable. “It will be better if he likes you. Right Abby?” I nodded.

Catherine fidgeted with her dress. “This dress is too tight. It’s too tight isn’t it?” She looked at me. “How do you do this all the time?”

I looked at Catherine in her dark green silk. One of Catherine’s many complaints was that she had been made to wear a dress, which only added to her misery. Her mother had curled Catherine’s short dark hair, and if you ignored her expression, she looked quite lovely. Rose had also been stuffed into a dress, per our father’s orders, and was equally lovely and miserable in her light blue silks.

“Your dress is not too tight, it fits perfectly.” I looked from Catherine to my sister, trying not to smirk. “You both look lovely. Even after falling out of a tree.”

“I can’t imagine having to dress like this all the time,” Catherine continued her complaining, ignoring my comment about the tree.

“You get used to it,” I mumbled, watching the Queen make sure everything was just right. She was as nervous to see the Prince and his family as I was.

I did not mind the dress so much as the tediousness of taming my hair. Pulling my hair back into a simple braid was a feat of strength for the maids in my attendance. My unruly curls were generally just pulled back simply, so they were out of my face and eyes, and I did not bother with it otherwise. No one else had bothered about it much until I became a Duchess a year ago.

“I hope he doesn’t expect me to be one of those ‘proper ladies’ they have in Eswen.” Catherine grumbled.

“He’ll be living here now,” Rose pointed out. “He will have to get used to our ways.”

“I remember him as being very sweet,” I said, attempting to reassure the princess.

“It wasn’t sweet when he abruptly stopped responding to your letters,” Rose responded.

“He stopped after his brother died,” I pointed out. “So did their visits.”

“I still wish we could have gotten over the orchard wall,” Catherine lamented, picking at one of the large tapestries hanging behind us. “We could be halfway to the northern border by now. Maybe hiding in one of the mountain caves in Lydisia. I could share a cave with an owlbear for a night. It would be better than this.”

“Catherine!” Queen Sarah appeared behind us and smacked her daughter’s hand away from the tapestry. “There will be no more escape attempts! You will be polite to the prince and you will not even hint that you would rather be anywhere but here with him!”

“Yes mother,” Catherine mumbled. She made a face as soon as her mother turned around, and Rose had to stifle a laugh. “I can’t even enjoy my last evening of freedom,” she said under her breath, “no, I have to spend it getting to know the prince no one else wanted.”

“What do you mean?” Rose asked, her voice low. I raised an eyebrow.

“He wasn’t even my original intended,” Catherine replied with disgust, as if it was something we didn’t already know. “His older brother was. When his brother died, they just switched out the groom like no one would care or notice. He’s still a stranger.”

“You’re a stranger to him, too,” Rose pointed out.

“Doesn’t make it any better,” Catherine countered angrily. “I don’t want any of this!” She was bordering on a temper tantrum. “I don’t want to be queen! I don’t want to marry! I don’t want to wear this stupid dress!” She tugged at her collar in anger.

“Shh, Cat,” I said, trying to reason with her. “You have a duty as the only child of the King and Queen…”

That pushed Catherine over the edge. “I don’t CARE! All you ever talk about is duty! Ever since you took your mother’s spot as Duchess of Odel!” she shouted, attracting the attention of everyone in the room. The guards moved in front of all of the exits. Someone should watch the windows.

She continued her ranting, unaware that her mother was marching our way. “You don’t understand! No one does. Your parents married for love! MY parents married for love!”

She was on a roll now and even our desperate flailing to get her to stop wouldn’t slow her down. Oh, her mouth is going to be the death of her!

“Neither of you will ever be forced into this situation! Your father promised to let you choose! He wants you to he happy and find love!” By now the Queen was seething behind her daughter, who just kept going. Rose and I stopped trying to get her attention, not wanting to get into trouble ourselves. “Your father cares about you! Mine isn’t even here!”

Oh, shit. I grabbed my sister’s hand and looked for a place to hide from the Queen’s wrath. We all knew better than to mention the missing King. He had left ten years ago on a quest to find the Lightbringer – a magical weapon that was said to save the world from darkness – and never came home. The Queen had long been hearing rumors of demon attacks in other countries, and she had sent the King – a seasoned adventurer – to find it and bring it home. Since he left, the rumored attacks seemed to be closer to Alderei every year.

“How dare you…” the Queen started.

Fortunately for Catherine the delegation from Eswen entered the hall, and the Queen had to quickly compose herself. Not before giving her daughter a look that would have sent a lesser woman running for the hills.

I waited nervously to see my friend. Would he remember me? We had been best friends as children – could we be friends again? Four years was a long time; how had we both changed?

The king, Hayden, was a handsome man, tall with dark eyes and dark curls, but he had an arrogant look about him. He strode into the room as if this were his castle, and he expected to be obeyed. I had never cared much for Grayson’s father. His presence and reactions were so big, forced, and over the top that it was impossible to notice anyone else.

“Sarah!” King Hayden exclaimed theatrically. “You look lovely, my dear!” They exchanged cheek kisses. “How wonderful it is to see you on such a joyous occasion! And after so long!”

“You look well, Hayden, it is lovely to see you again.” Queen Sarah clearly lied before turning to Queen Arabella. “Arabella, dear, you look radiant!”

“She looks like she hasn’t slept in a week,” I heard Rose mutter. Rose had always been keenly observant of others. She leaned over to me slightly. “Why does she have her veil like that? Is she hiding something?”

I glanced at the other queen, not able to hear her response to Queen Sarah. “It looks like she’s trying to hide a bruise.” She also looks like someone whose confidence has been beaten out of her, I thought.

“Princess Catherine!” King Hayden exclaimed, the warmth in his voice betrayed by the coldness in his eyes. “My future daughter! You have grown into a lovely young woman!”

He leaned In and said in a hushed tone, though loud enough for me to hear, “I hope these rumors of your behaviors are untrue. My son will not stand for a willful wife.” He winked at her and Catherine shuddered. She chose not to answer the king – thank goodness she kept her foot out of her mouth! – and simply bowed her head and curtsied. Satisfied, King Hayden moved on to my sister and I.

Seeing us, the King exclaimed loud enough for the entire hall to hear, “Duchess Abigail! Lady Rose!” he said, awkwardly embracing each of us in turn. “I have not seen either of you since you were children running wild through your father’s gardens! You have both grown into lovely young women, just like your dear mother.” He lowered his eyes. “Such a shame she is no longer with us. She was a great beauty, and your father worshipped the ground she walked on.” He shook his head, almost hiding his look of disappointment.

“Your father… an amazing soldier and man, but such a pushover when it came to his wife and girls,” the King smiled in an unsettling way. “But I understand he has at least continued training you both to fight, since he has no sons? Is that correct?”

We bowed our heads and said in unison. “Yes, my lord.” I went on to explain, “My father believes girls and boys should be educated in the same subjects. I have taken to archery, specifically, while my sister is very proficient with the sword.”

“Only because he had no sons,” the King winked at me, as if he expected me to agree with him. I chose not to respond.

Satisfied with our answers, he turned to his wife. “I am sure you both remember my wife, Arabella.” We both curtsied to the Queen.

The Queen smiled graciously behind her sheer veil and said, “Duchess Abigail, Lady Rose, it is so wonderful to see you both again! How you have grown!” Her veil fell and my suspicion of a bruise was confirmed. She sighed. “Your mother would be so proud.” She paused and then appeared to suddenly remember something, glancing at her husband in fear and adjusting her veil before continuing.

She looked thinner than I remembered, I thought as she embraced me, and much more worn. I suppose that could be the result of losing a child. Though the bruise was another problem.

“Abby?” I heard a familiar voice, and looked up. Time stopped. The young man before me was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. Curly dark hair, a kind face with the beginnings of a beard, beautiful caramel skin, and dark eyes that seemed to look right into my soul. I know that face.

“Gray?” I asked cautiously.

He smiled and I felt my knees go weak. “You remember me!”

I recovered and smiled at him, “Of course I remember you.”

He embraced me then, wrapping me in his still familiar warmth. I returned the embrace, realizing he was much taller than I’d remembered. My head barely came up to his shoulders. He held me tightly, burying his face in my curls.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I heard him mutter into my hair.

“I’ve missed you, too,” I said softly into his chest. His dark gray doublet was soft and smelled clean. I felt a familiar sense of calm I had been missing for some time.

I heard someone clear their throat loudly, and I reluctantly let go of my friend. His father was looking at both of us disapprovingly. We parted. “We have much to catch up on,” I said to him brightly.

“Indeed, we do,” he said before turning to greet Rose, also with a hug.

The family moved on to greet the others in line, and Rose grabbed my arm. “He seemed happy to see you.”

I nodded, looking at his back as he followed his parents. “I’m happy to see him.”