Page 2 of Bred By the Emperor

I nod tersely. I can try to step back and let him handle this situation like an adult. After all, someday, Kenton is going to be the King of Enovar—when and if I feel it’s time for me to step down from one of my minor roles. He’ll be waiting until I die to claim the throne, though, and considering I’m only forty-three, I intend to test his patience for the next five or six decades. I’ll never give up being emperor willingly. I fucking earned it with blood and tears.

We stay on the border at the military encampment for two days tracking down rebels and executing them after a short trial. I’m a fair man. If we catch you red-handed, I’ll give you a chance to explain yourself before you face lethal consequences. Anyone we can’t immediately prove was a rebel participant in the attack gets rounded up on a transport truck to rot in the royal jails until they get a full trial. That’s how justice works in the Enovar Empire. Swift and final.

On the flight home, I point out the window at the strip of land ruled by Princess Lilivere. From the air, it looks like a green and rugged mountaintop crisscrossed with winding rivers and waterfalls. Not much arable land. Standing on one peak is a picture-perfect castle of white stone with blue and white pennants flying from the tops of the turret towers.

“That’s who you’re going to marry,” I tell Kenton.

“A castle?” he says sarcastically. Although we’ve mostly made up from our initial argument, he hasn’t forgiven me for ordering him to the altar. He acts as if I’m sending him to his execution.

“Princess Liliviere. You’re around the same age. She’s supposed to be pretty. I’m sure you’ll get along just fine.”

“Does she know?”

“Not yet.” I shrug. “She will. Soon.”

Kenton scrubs his face. “Fucking fantastic, Dad. That’ll go over great.”

Chapter 2

Liliviere

Emperor or not, King Malakai is a domineering prick.

I stare at his royal proclamation in disbelief. The same man who could not be bothered to attend my coming-of-age ceremony, the one whom my parents turned to in their hour of need and has ignored us ever since the end of the war, now thinks he can command me to marry his son?

Asshole.

I’m not going along with this. But I need to find a plausible way to escape. Maybe I can marry one of my advisors—immediately. I set the frustrating letter aside and call in my head guard.

“Your Majesty?” he asks, bowing.

“Are you married?” I ask bluntly. He’s older than me by at least a decade, but I don’t mind that. He served my parents and was elevated for his bravery during the war. He’d be a fine king to serve beside me, ruling a country caught within an empire held together by an emperor called Malakai the Monster for the way he crushed the Gremalians in battle. I have done my level best to avoid interacting with the man ever since the Great War ended, when the King of Enovar asserted his dominance over several countries in the name of peace. I’m rather reluctant to admit that he has maintained it. I’ve never met him, but I have been aware of King Malakai for years. How could I not be?

And now I am supposed to marry one of his sons? No, thank you.

“My lady?” the head guard sputters.

“You heard me. Are you married?”

“Yes, Majesty. You sent us a wedding gift not six months ago.” His cheeks are red, but not as red as mine likely are. Heat rushes to my face. I really should have remembered that detail. I do not want to admit that my assistant, Julian, sent the gift on my behalf.

“Of course.” It’s not as though I’m friendly with my guard. Our relationship is strictly business. He keeps me alive. My grandfather pays him from the royal treasury. That’s as far as it goes. We do not chitchat. But I have to think of something to say. I can’t tell him I simply forgot the fact that he was married only months ago. “How is it going?”

“My marriage?” he asks in confusion.

“Yes.” When in doubt, act confident.

“Very well, my lady.”

“Wonderful. I am so glad to hear it. Since you are such an expert on the subject, do you consider anyone in my court worthy of the title of King?” I bat my eyes at him. He is quite handsome. Maybe I like older men. I really haven’t had much chance to find out. There is no such thing as dating for a young princess. Every move I make is heavily scrutinized on the internet, and there aren’t very many men who want to be romantically involved with a woman who will always put her people first. Understandably.

As a result, I do not have very much experience with this subject. I always assumed I would have an arranged marriage. As old-fashioned as it sounds, it’s the only practical way forward. But my parents died before they could choose someone for me, and my grandfather has mostly chosen to let me handle the issue of choosing a partner. Or not. I’m pretty sure he would prefer never to think of his granddaughter that way.

Now Emperor Malakai wants to choose for me? He is not my father. He has no right.

“I could not possibly presume to suggest a person, Princess Liliviere,” my head guard says humbly. I want to strangle him. Unfortunately, my small hands would probably not even close around his armored neck, much less be strong enough to throttle him.

“Very well, you are dismissed. If you think of anyone, please send me his name. And if you wouldn’t mind keeping this conversation between us, I would be most grateful for your discretion.” Honestly, it’s humiliating to have to ask him this way.