The song ended and Barion stepped away with a bow. “Thank you for the dance,” he said, “and good luck, Lady Reyna.”
That was his way of saying goodbye.
Outside, the sun had dipped down below the horizon, and the evening edged into night. The wine and champagne flowed, the band sweated through their clothes, and the cake was served down to the glass stand. I was still on the dance floor with the king, exhaustion beginning to nip at my heels like a pup.
A bell sounded from somewhere in the room. The king pulled me close to his side. “That’s our cue,” he said. His voice was low, rumbling from all the talking he’d done to the guests. He looked just as tired as I felt, with his crown a little askance and sweat gathered at the collar of his fine shirt.
I leaned against him, like my body was about to give up standing on its own since he was here to hold us up. “Cue?”
The crowd began to hoot and shout out their well wishes. Scattered throughout the crowd, guests held sparklers, passed out by the servants. The lights glimmered as the crowd parted, leading us to the main door.
My father stood at the edge of the crowd, watching us leave. He caught my gaze and his eyes flashed clay-red as his hand fell to the sheathed knife on his hip.
I swallowed and looked straight ahead.
I was not my father’s pawn, and I was not going to kill the king. At least—not tonight.
L
ady Glennis led us up the stairs, away from the crowds, where Amity and Rue were waiting for me. “The maidens will escort you to the king’s quarters shortly,” Lady Glennis said curtly.
“Thank you, Lady Glennis,” the king said, fighting back a smile. He dismissed her. Then he
pulled me into his arms and kissed me hard on the mouth. “As much as I’d like to tear that dress off you,” he growled, voice low in his chest, “some things are customary. I’ll see you shortly.”
My wolf wanted that—to be claimed—while my mind reeled back at the ferocity of his desire. I was so conflicted, pulled in every direction, overwhelmed by longing and fear and exhaustion. “R-right,” I stammered. “Yes. The girls will bring me to your room.” He nodded, pleased, and then strode down the hall to his quarters.
Amity and Rue shifted back into their human forms. They were both grinning enormously as they hurried me back to my quarters. “Oh, gods,” Amity squealed, “he is so romantic! Was the wedding just marvelous? Wait, don’t answer that, you must be exhausted from talking to people—we’ll be quick and get you to his room so you can finally relax.” She opened the door and pushed me inside.
Relaxation would not be happening, that much I knew. Away from the crowd and the noise of the wedding, my anxiety began to creep back up.
Amity and Rue carefully undressed me, hanging the wedding gown up behind the dressing screen. In the ensuite, they washed the dirt from my feet, but when I moved to submerge myself in the tub, Rue stopped me. “Just your feet,” she said.
“But I’ve been sweating all night,” I said. “Shouldn’t I…?”
A slight flush rose in Rue’s cheeks, but she shook her head again.
“Custom,” Amity said. “You shouldn’t wash yourself of the memory of your wedding day until it’s consummated.”
“Ah.” Again the anxiety flared in my chest. “If that’s the custom.”
The girls dressed me in a delicate white silk gown, closer to a nightgown than a real dress. I put on a white robe over it, cinched at the waist.
“I’m still a bit chilly,” I said as I padded back into my bedroom. “I’ll just wear this, too.”
I pulled one of the heavy cloaks from the armoire and pulled it over my shoulders. As the girls packed my dress away for cleaning and storage, I pulled my small blade from my trunk and slipped it into the pocket of my robe. It wasn’t the poisoned knife—I wasn’t going to use anything my father gave me, ever again. But if Barion had taught me anything, it was to always be prepared for the worst. I wouldn’t hesitate to defend myself from the king’s advances. I could only hope it wouldn’t come to that.
Amity and Rue escorted me through the halls of the manor to the king’s quarters. On the lower floors, the party still continued, the music and laughter drifting up toward me just as gently as the snowflakes had fallen.
Anticipation and anxiety warred within me. One step I was walking to the gallows, the next to my future. The knife in my pocket felt too sharp, too heavy. Part of me wished the girls had accompanied me in their human forms, just so I’d have someone to talk to. But there was just the quiet of the halls, the vaulted ceilings, the cool floors under my bare feet.
I stood in front of the door to the king’s chambers and took a slow, steadying breath. My wolf could sense his close by. I didn’t even have to knock. He must’ve sensed me, too. The door swung open.
My wolf longed to rush forward and nuzzle close to him. He smiled as he stepped out of the doorway and welcomed me inside.
“Good evening,” he murmured. “Have to admit I was already beginning to miss you.”
I nodded and stepped over the threshold. The room was warm, inviting, with the fire crackling in the hearth.
“Thank you,” the king said to my handmaidens. They lowered their heads, ears back respectfully, and then he closed the door.
We were alone in his chambers. The door to the bedroom was open, that same immense mattress and the dark, soft sheets that I’d lost myself in just a few nights before. Before everything changed. Before I was queen.
The king took my cloak delicately off my shoulders and laid it over a chair. “You look beautiful.” He smoothed one hand up my arm, from the wrist to my shoulder, his touch firm through the silk. “Even more beautiful that you did in your gown.”
My wolf urged me to move closer, to kiss him, to bury my face in the crook of his neck and erase all my reason and logic in the delicious familiar scent of his sweat. I wrestled her into submission.“We should talk,” I said.The king pulled back with an interested smile on his face. “Sure.” He moved toward the crackling fire, then gestured toward the armchair across from his own. He hadn’t changed his clothes, but did roll up the sleeves of his fine shirt, revealing the tanned muscular curve of his forearms. He poured us each a bit of brandy, then offered me the glass. “Let’s talk.” “I know it’s our wedding night,” I said.“You have a keen eye.”I ignored that. “And I know what is—customary.”“Right,” he said, that wolfish smirk reappearing on his face as his warm eyes tracked over my body.“But I—I can’t forgive as quickly as some might be able to,” I said. “I need more time.”The pleased expression dropped off his face. He raised his eyebrows. “This is about that traitor of yours?”
Before I made it, though, he caught up and caught my wrist in his hand. “Where do you think you’re going?”“Outside,” I said. “I need space.”He kept his hand around my wrist as he stepped close. “The last thing we need right now, Reyna, is more space.” He pressed his chest to my back and ducked his head closer, nosing behind my ear and inhaling. “I know you yearn for me.” His voice vibrated into my bones from the intimacy. “I can smell your desire.”I pressed my thighs together. It was no mystery that I wanted him. I’d made that clear the last night we’d spent together in this room. “My body and mind have two different opinions of you.”“Perhaps that’s part of the problem,” he said. “You’re so caught up in your mind that you ignore your body—and your wolf.”“I don’t ignore her,” I huffed, even as my wolf protested. Then I snapped my mouth shut. I didn’t need to justify myself to the king. I wasn’t an animal like the wolves of Nightfall. I had more selfrestraint than that.“We cannot
29When I woke up the next morning, it was to a brisk series of knocks at the door of the king’s chambers. I was asleep in his immense bed, but there was no indentation on the mattress next to me, nor any trace of the king’s scent on the sheets. He’d never come to bed at all.Last night, my exhaustion had overwhelmed my turmoil and I’d passed out nearly as soon as I’d hit the mattress beneath me. I’d never expected the king to give up his quarters to me though. It made my chest ache.I pulled my robe back on and stepped out into the main quarters to answer the door. Amity and Rue were on the other side, cheerful as ever despite the early hour. “Good morning, Your Highness,” Amity said brightly.“Wow,” I murmured. “Can we stick with Lady Reyna? At least until I’m a little more used to it?”“Sure,” Rue said. “This is a big change. I think you’ll love it, though.”I nodded. She had no idea how wrong she was. But, at least with Amity and Rue with me, it’d be a bit more bearable than it w
I wasn’t eager to draw too much attention to myself if I could help it.“Lovely choice, milady,” Amity said.We had a quick breakfast in my quarters, brought in by the kitchen staff, and then the two of them dressed me in the fine gown. Rue tied the laces at the back of the dress, while Amity brushed my hair into a plait resting over one shoulder. When she was done, she pulled another lacquer box from the drawers of the vanity and opened it. Inside was a plain, delicate crown, a simple band of gold like the one the king wore for most everyday ceremonies. She set it on my head with the same care and attention she did when she’d dressed me in the tiara that represented Daybreak during the Choice. But this crown, despite its simplicity, felt so much heavier.“Gorgeous,” she said with a smile.“Thank you,” I said. I didn’t feel gorgeous. I felt tired.Amity led me to the door. “We had best go send off the guests before the hour gets any later.”Outside, it was an icy cold day, with the s
My father sucked his teeth, then turned wordlessly and climbed into the carriage. Barion lingered for a moment, gazing at me. Then he nodded and walked toward his own wagon.With my heart in my throat, I strode back into the manor. Before the doors closed, the horses’ whinnying filtered in, and the familiar strike of hooves on the road as they began to move.With the carriages went the last vestiges of my life in Daybreak.I paused in the foyer, unsteady on my feet as that realization washed over me.Amity and Rue trotted in after me, then shifted back into their human forms. “Are you all right, milady?” Rue asked.I brushed a loose strand of hair out of my eyes and nodded. “Yes,” I said. “Perfectly fine.” I was the Queen of Frasia, and I was alone.30n my new quarters, I dismissed Amity and Rue and then stood by the window, gazing out over the snowy tree line. I needed space. I needed somewhere to sit and read and think—I had a couch in these quarters, but why not a desk? Did a quee
“You see what you want to see and only that.” I flattened my hands on his broad chest and shoved him backward; to my surprise he acquiesced and took a few steps back. “You barely know me. You only think you know me. Love me. I won’t bow to your desires just because you’ve forced me into this role. From now on, no one controls me, even if that means this marriage is in name only.”The king’s expression became suddenly, strikingly hurt—like I’d hit him. Then just as quickly as the pain had appeared, it was gone, replaced by a stony anger so powerful that when he bared his teeth, it made my wolf whine internally. I’d pushed him too far this time. I’d gotten cocky, and now the Bloody king was going to make his title known to me, just like he’d done to the traitorous Lord, and then to Griffin.Then, the air crackled like an oncoming storm.The king’s wolf burst forth.He shifted effortlessly, the clothes tearing from his back and landing in shreds on the shining floors of my quarters. He s
1“Y ou’re not going to believe this,” I said. I leaned towards the map I had spread out on the oak desk. We were in the library, a round stone room with high ceilings and books lining every wall. I loved to read, sure, but the court cartographer had uncovered this map from deep in the archives just for me.Barion sighed dramatically and looked up from the novel he was thumbing through. He sank deeper into the overstuffed armchair.“What now?”His lack of interest didn’t deter me. I was used to this kind of reaction from Barion — he’d been my tutor in sword fighting and strategy since I was knee-high. He’d been the one to first encourage my burgeoning interest in cartography when I was a little girl. Now he had to deal with the consequences. I smoothed out the edge of the parchment and traced the faded ink with the tip of my finger.The map didn’t look too different from the ones I was familiar with. My country, Frasia, looked similar to its state today. The capital of Efra was still
I paused and glanced at my reflection in the mirror hanging above the fireplace in the library. My father preferred not to look at me at all, but when he did, it was easier if I looked presentable. I tucked the strands of white-blonde hair that escaped from my long plait out behind my ears and removed my reading glasses, meeting my own sharp blue eyes in the mirror. There were ink stains on my fingertips, but luckily I hadn’t gotten any on my white linen shirt and long brown skirt. My father would’ve preferred if I’d worn a bit of jewelry to show my rank. But that was his fault for summoning me on a day when I didn’t have any court responsibilities scheduled.Vuk cleared his throat.“I don’t need an escort, Vuk,” I said.“It’s my duty to ensure you make this appointment safely,” Vuk said. This meant he thought I was going to run off to the market square by the docks instead of to my father’s study. Which was, honestly, not an unreasonable assessment. I sighed and followed Vuk out of t