He’d believed if he presented Lex as his future bride, it would distract long enough to get Lex out of Dark Kingdom safely. But there was no calm behind his father’s intense green gaze. No warmth from his mother’s brown one, either.
He’d watched as others attempted to come between his father and the throne and witnessed his father’s calculated maneuvers for snuffing out threats. Some involved words powerful enough to dissuade, but most entailed lethal force. Before attacking, his father always tapped the dagger he carried at his waist, a precursor to what lay ahead.
Casone Branimir suspected Lex. Possibly from the moment Garrin had brought her into the kingdom. Or earlier.
A trickle of sweat slid down Garrin’s back as the queen approached the mahogany table and gestured for them to sit. “Tell me,” his mother said, “where did you meet Lexandra?” She smiled in Lex’s direction, but the gesture, like his father’s dagger tapping, made Garrin ill at ease.
“In the Land of Sun,” Garrin said, and sipped from a crystal glass that had been set out. For humans,brunewas potent, but Lex was Fae. The beverage shouldn’t harm her.
She sent him a questioning look, and he smiled encouragingly. She must pretend to knowbrune, as everyone did in Tirnan. She lifted her glass and sipped, her eyebrows rising at the flavor or the strength, he wasn’t certain.
“You were sent on a mission to find the prophesied one,” the king said. “How did this meeting in Sunland come to be?” His attention moved to Lex. “Has my son mentioned our struggles?”
Lex set her glass down. Her gaze strayed to the king’s crown, and she flinched. It was the same crown she’d drawn after her nightmare. “He told me you have no way of leaving the land,” she said.
“Indeed.” The king’s eyes were curiously intent. “Though that’s not entirely true, or you wouldn’t have managed the trip. What else has my son said?”
Lex’s shoulders straightened. “That he wishes me here.” She held her hand out, palm up on the table, and Garrin blinked.
When he didn’t immediately respond, she glanced at his arm.
For someone so new to Dark Kingdom politics, Lex was remarkably good at rearranging the truth. He placed his hand on the table, and Lex slid her palm into his.
“And what are your plans?” his mother said, eyeing the handholding with open hostility.
Lex’s hand shook, and he sensed her panic. It seemed her ability to lie without lying had limits.
“I plan to show Lex the land and people, and to share our history,” Garrin said. “We also plan to return to the Land of Sun for Lex to meet with those she left behind.”
The king set down his glass with a heavy thud. “Return? You’ve only just arrived. Surely it will be years before your bride wishes to return to her homeland?”
“I have friends I missed,” Lex said. She glanced at Garrin. “My fiancé was so dashing when we met, I’m afraid I didn’t take time to say my goodbyes before we rushed here.”
The king made a sound of disbelief. “Sunland is more hospitable than other parts of Tirnan. Regardless, crossing the Land of Ice isn’t worth risking the life of our future princess. I’m told you both were haggard when you arrived, my son more so than his future bride. I see no reason for you to leave Dark Kingdom.”
Garrin squeezed Lex’s hand firmly in a silent plea for her to remain quiet. “As you say, Father.” Now was not the time to call more attention to them.
“And when is the wedding to be held?” his mother asked. “Had I known there was cause for celebration, I would have planned a feast.” Her smile was bitter. She smoothed her hand across the silk damask tablecloth. “You know how much time goes into our formal food preparation.”
Garrin’s shoulders tightened. He’d never seen this side of his mother. The cold side, most certainly. She was aloof in a way that put off most Fae. But the bitterness seeping off his mother’s tongue was new. Or he’d just never noticed it before. “There’s no need for a feast that uses up our larders. Lex is aware of the challenges we face producing food, and we have no wish to burden the people. We will hold a small ceremony.”
Garrin sensed Lex’s questioning glance, but he didn’t dare look in her direction and let on his concerns to the king and queen. The longer they remained in the room, the more danger they ran into with their words and actions.
The king raised a hand, and several servants placed a first course of soup in front of them.
“Now, now,” the queen said, then took a small sip from the bowl before her. “We must have a proper ceremony for our only child.” She looked at Lex. “You will come with me this evening to choose a gown. I see no reason to wait.”
Lex dropped his hand and pinched him in the waist below the table.
Garrin coughed lightly into his palm. “I fear we are both tired after our long journey, as Father pointed out. Wedding gowns can wait.”
The queen peered at Lex. “Are you having second thoughts? There is no undoing a royal wedding. Do make sure you value my son before you bind yourself to him.”
“I value your son,” Lex blurted, her skin coloring. “Very much.” She glanced at Garrin, and he couldn’t look away. Not from the declaration, and not from the sincerity in her eyes. She wouldn’t have said it if she hadn’t meant it.
“Well, then,” came his mother’s bitter tone. “There is no reason to wait, is there?”
“Every couple needs time to prepare, Mother,” Garrin said. “I will inform you when Lex has had time to tour the land, meet our people, and adjust to winter.”
