Princess Adeline shared a look with the old man still standing behind her before she took a small step forward. “My grandfather has been mortally wounded while he was overseeing the army. Word is, he will be dead by morning. I will be queen tomorrow.”
Then she would have power to halt the torture and actually listen to the diplomatic envoys this time. Assuming the lords didn’t eat her alive the moment the crown landed on her head.
Did Lorne’s father know that the Kelvernese king had been wounded? And how bad it was? Kelverny was about to be vulnerable as the crown transferred from the warmongering, strong king to this girl who, while poised and proper, didn’t have the presence or power of her grandfather.
Lorne eyed her. There was something niggling at the back of his admittedly somewhat sluggish brain. “Isn’t there some Kelvernese law about royal inheritance? Something about marriage…”
“Yes. To be crowned as queen, I must be married.” Crown Princess Adeline remained serene and poised, even if something flashed through her eyes too quickly for Lorne to read. After a moment, her gaze sharpened more fully on him. “I would like to marry you. I believe true peace can only be achieved through such a drastic measure.”
Oh.Oh. It took everything in him not to react. This princess hadno ideawhat she was proposing. She didn’t know that he wasn’t a mere Lalsacian lord. He was its crown prince. Its only heir.
Since Crown Princess Adeline was Kelverny’s only heir, their marriage would essentially unite their kingdoms. It wouldn’t just be a mere peace. They would become one kingdom.
Was that what she wanted? Had Kelverny somehow discovered his real identity? It would be a brilliant move to marry him. She would gain the Donnaris Forest and the fleech dragons without ever launching a volley.
Yet he would also gain the sylon cats and the mines on the western side of the Pernell Mountains. He would someday be King of Lalsacia as she would be Queen of Kelverny. As long as their nobles didn’t revolt over such a thing, they would co-rule the kingdoms together.
This could be peace. A lasting peace. He simply had to say yes and take the risk alongside her.
Besides, what other choice did he have? It was either marry her or break under torture, thus handing Kelverny the means to break his kingdom.
“Yes, I will marry you.” He held her gaze without wavering. He’d do it. But he wasn’t going to tell her who he was. Not yet. Not until he was sure he could trust her and this wasn’t a ploy to gain his crown and kingdom.
Her shoulders slumped slightly as she released an exhale, the only sign of vulnerability before she drew herself straight once again. “Very well. Thaddeus will see to you. I’m afraid the wedding is somewhat clandestine.”
Of course it was. She likely didn’t yet have the power to truly release him from the dungeon against her grandfather’s orders. Perhaps the guards would be bribed or she had a few on her side. Nor would most of her nobles stand for a midnight marriage to an enemy, even if no one but him would know the true political ramifications of this wedding.
“I understand.” Lorne’s knees ached from kneeling on the stone. But this would all be over soon.
Before morning, he’d be married to the enemy princess.
A new setof guards arrived shortly after the princess and her steward left. These guards hauled him up the dungeon stairs and through what felt like every deserted corridor in the castle before he was shoved into a room, his shackles finally removed. He stumbled and collapsed to his knees, too weak to stay standing.
As he rubbed his bruised and reddened wrists, thedoor behind him shut with the distinct click of the lock sliding into place. Good to know where he stood. He might be marrying the princess, but he wasn’t trusted. Not by a long shot.
Then again, he didn’t trust them either so at least they were well matched in that regard.
The room was opulent enough. He appeared to be in a sitting room, and he could see the opening to a bedchamber beyond. Several plush chairs and couches surrounded the thick rug where he knelt while tapestries featuring stylized sylon cats covered the walls.
Behind him, the lock clicked again a moment before the door opened. This time, Thaddeus stepped inside with a leather bag over a shoulder. A guard followed with a steaming kettle in one hand while another guard lingered by the door, prepared to step in if the enemy prince proved to be hostile.
Lorne kept one arm pressed to his stomach to somewhat contain the pain of his ribs. He would have laughed, but that would have hurt far too much. He wasn’t in any shape to attack anyone. Right now, even Thaddeus could take him.
The guard set the kettle on a porcelain tile on a side table. He lingered for a moment until Thaddeus gave him a nod and gestured to the door. With one last glance, the guard left, closing the door after him.
“Come. Sit.” Thaddeus pointed at the couch closest to the side table. “I’m afraid we don’t have enough time to properly tend your wounds, but let’s get you cleaned up enough to make it through the ceremony.”
Lorne gathered himself enough to push to his feet. He took two steps and fell more than sat on the couch. He remained sitting upright rather than lying down. He didn’t trust this man enough to be that vulnerable.
And, well, if he lay down, he wasn’t sure he’d have the strength to get up again.
Thaddeus set his bag on the table before he bustled into the bedchamber, returning a moment later with a porcelain basin. He set it on the table before he poured steaming water from the kettle into it.
Grimacing, Lorne struggled to untie the laces of his shirt. He managed to twist enough to get one of his arms partially out of the sleeve, but then…he got stuck. Humiliatingly stuck with his shirt wrapped around him as if he were a child who couldn’t undress himself.
Thaddeus reached out and helped him untangle himself. After some tugging—and a few cries of pain—Thaddeus finally drew a knife and cut the shirt off. Much of it was still stuck to the dried blood and open wounds on Lorne’s back and across his chest.
With a shake of his head, Thaddeus returned to the table and dipped a rag in the water. “We’ll worry about the rest of it after the ceremony when the physician can tend you. If we try to peel all that off now, we’ll reopen your wounds and you’ll likely bleed through the bandages during the ceremony. Here, clean up your face and hands as much as you can.”
