Eventually had come.
I’d had twenty years to ready myself, but if I had twenty more, it wouldn’t have prepared me for the savage man towering over me.
Decades of legend and lore from the whispers of servants and passing dignitaries hadn’t done him justice. Even though I’d been groomed to be a queen my entire life, his aura of power radiated throughout the room. He didn’t need the threat of the throne, or an elaborate crown, to assert his dominance the way I always had before I’d been cast out. And I wanted to slap the resulting impertinent smile off his face to mask my own insecurities. No one would have dared to take the throne from him, you could see it in his eyes; the way they gave warning without him having to say a word.That was why Father had gone to him for protection, even though it had been against both the Council and my mother’s wishes. She’d wanted me to mate for love, according to what my brother told me.
It wasn’t only his dominance that intimidated me. He was exactly the type of man old crones would warn their granddaughters about, in order to get them to behave.Marry a good, kind man, they’d say. You don’t want to be burdened with a brute.
My mother had married such a man, and though I loved my father beyond reason, many people said it was why she died after giving birth to me. She was cursed after marrying a man with violence in his blood.
A man like Lord Blaque.
And I was following right in her footsteps.
Whether I wanted to or not.
“Princess,” he said and knelt at my feet in such a way he made a mockery of the act. His lips remained in a firm line, everything about him hard and unforgiving. A man like him didn’tneed to kneel, but he did it anyway.
I didn’t know what to say. I was so woefully unprepared. He took my hand in greeting, his lips grazing my skin. It had been so long since I’d been so close to anyone who wasn’t bleeding that my heart stumbled in my chest.
“My lord,” I said when I could speak again. It took extra effort to keep my voice even. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for the misunderstanding.”
I couldn’t show him any weakness. The stony look in his eyes and his massive build, not to mention the rumors about his first mate, told me he’d take any weakness and devour it like the finest meal, spitting my bones out the moment his appetite was sated.
He got to his feet slowly and I wondered if living in the North had frozen his expression, because I could glean nothing of what he may be thinking from his face. “Even if I’m a brute?”
Before I could respond and ask him what he meant, Gideon appeared in the doorway once more. He was out of breath andhurried to my side pressing a palm to my back. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to reassure me or to keep me from running. “I see you’ve met,” he said in a practiced tone. “I hope you’ve found everything to your… satisfaction.”
Eyes still on me, Lord Blaque said, “Oh, I’m sure I will.” He cocked his head as though considering. I stiffened, my skin beginning to crawl with an uncanny awareness that wasn’t altogether unpleasant. I wanted nothing more than to put as much distance between us as possible. Then I realized, once we were bound to one another, there would be no such thing as distance.
My body a statue of granite, I didn’t know whether to be insulted or relieved. A gauntlet had been thrownand he’d barely said a word. Though it was warm, and I was wearing more clothes than should be allowed, a shiver coursed through me at the challenge.
Or maybe, it was due to the hint of smile now present in those ice-blue eyes.
The shivers increased, and I tucked my arms protectively around my waist. Mostly to ward off the chill, but also to hide my hand, which was still tingling from his lips on my skin. “I’d best get ready for dinner,” I said with false amicability. Ignoring his innuendo seemed prudent for the moment. Whatever political maneuvering my brother intended, The Dragon clearly wasn’t so inclined. “The Queen is eager to introduce me to her mate.” I decided to settle on relief and nod to both men as I made my escape.
Except, a hand on my arm halted my exit.
I turned to find Lord Blaque entirely too close.
“I’ll escort you to dinner,” he said.
There was no use in arguing, so I nodded and made a hasty retreat.
* * *
Hours later,I turned to Leisha and tried to prevent my voice from wavering. “How do I look?”
Leisha, who sat on a chaise in front of the fire, patient as ever, tilted her face up from her sewing. The moment she saw me, her expression brightened. “Oh,” she breathed, then went silent.
I grimaced. “That terrible?”
She set the sewing aside and came to me. “Oh, no, Elena.” With her hands on my shoulders, she turned me to face the mirror I’d been avoiding. “Look.”
I didn’t want to. Part of me was afraid to look in the mirror and find the woman who failed to become queen. I’d been able to hide underneath plain clothes and drown myself with chores. At the temple I may have been suffocated, but I was safe. Nothing would happen to me there. I didn’t have time for disappointment. From the moment I arrived, I’d been busy and hadn’t stopped.
As I met my gaze in the mirror, time did just that, then sped rapidly in reverse. In the span of a few seconds, I’d gone from the self-assured girl who’d learned the art of healing under the patient tutelage of the temple healer to the insecure princess who’d lost her way.
“What’s the matter? You look beautiful.”
