Tonight, he was our eyes, following my sly bride from the palace to the royal township below.
Gavyn shook out the damp from his dark hair and readjusted a silk scarf over his head. His brown skin was still dripping in water from his shift. “This was more entertaining than actual noble duties. I hope the vows are equally exciting. Until tomorrow.”
With a wave, Gavyn split away from our group with a crowd of sea fae, his father, and some of the burly crew from the royal ship in his wake.
Vows. I forced a smile, a skill I perfected turns ago, whenever I wanted to hide disquiet from others.
Tomorrow, I would have a wife.
One who saw me as nothing more than a brute setting out to make her life miserable.
Perhaps she wasn’t entirely wrong. When I petitioned the elven king, I hadn’t thought much on what his granddaughter might want. Truth be told, I hadn’t thought of her much at all.
What I wanted was an end to war, a way to keep peace. When the elven tried to invade fae lands, I was desperate enough to stop it and took a magical oath that I would do anything to keep the fae realms safe.
The moment I discovered the elven created mystical familial bonds—so fierce they could not harm their kin without dreary consequences—I knew a marital vow would rid us of a threat from the Dokkalfar. With their fealty, the light elven clan would be crushed should they ever rise against us again.
Vows, a wife, were never in my plans. In truth, I purposefully avoided such a connection.
But I feared losing my people more.
Every damn kingdom in fae realms had already fought too many wars.
Once, we even battled sea fae. Nights like this where we schemed and laughed with the fae of the sea would’ve only ended in blood.
Those were wars of my childhood. Those were horrors that had never left me.
We had peace now, so it could be done again with elven clans. Even if it meant taking a reluctant wife kicking and screaming back to Klockglas, our royal township.
Warmth tangled with the chilled mist with each gust of wind. The Ever Kingdom always carried rich scents of satin blooms and clean brine. Lately, I traveled to the glittering royal city of the sea fae almost as much as I spent time in my own lands.
Livia, a friend since birth and a sister in all ways but blood, was the queen of the Ever. A surprise, to be sure. Erik Bloodsinger, the king, was a prickly sort, but she’d won his heart and sealed peace between the last of the fae realms with their alliance.
I was merely doing the same withthe elven clans.
“We ought to be going.” Tait Heartwalker, Erik’s cousin and royal grouser, pinched his herb-rolled smoke between his fingers and inspected a curious clock he pulled from his pocket. It told the clock tolls, but also warned of danger. “It’s nearly time.”
“Feel anything?” I asked when we began the walk to the royal coaches awaiting to drive us back to the palace. The man’s magic revealed the desires of hearts. If the princess had secrets, Tait would know.
Heartwalker lifted his red-brown eyes. “She wanted to be defiant for the night.”
That was . . . unexpected.
When I first caught sight of the princess’s silver hair fading into the shadows of the gardens, I thought she might be running, not merely defying fate for a few tolls.
A bite of guilt dug into my chest when I settled onto the bench of a coach. Maybe I should’ve allowed her the moment to be free.
In truth, I thought the damn woman couldn’t feel. From the word of her own people, her magic made her cold and apathetic. Nothing but fire burned in her starlight blue eyes when she realized she’d been found out.
Another surprise—I wanted to see that fire again.
Sander took the seat beside me. My twin was gentler, always feeling so fiercely and with such passion. He could’ve been the one to make the alliance, but how could I rob him of the chance to find a true mate, a true love with another?
I never sought to give up my heart and those plans remained unchanged.
Sander nudged my shoulder. “Last chance to decide if you see this through.”
“You planning to be furious with me like our parents and every other king and queen?”
