Page 85 of Sky’s Edge

I closed my mouth so I could use it to ask incredulously, “How doesn’t she know it?”

“He’s spelled her so she won’t.”

Oh my gods!

“Why the hells did he do that?”

“To begin with, he wasn’t ready to go there. He reached puberty before she did, so he felt it when she would not, and even at that young age, he was well aware he’d one day be king. Therefore, the choice of his queen would have wide-ranging ramifications and had to be considered carefully.”

“So he spelled her?”

“Yes, he spelled her.” Tanyn confirmed. “As they got older, he didn’t release her because he wanted her to have time to live her life and do her thing before negotiations between the two royal houses of two realms could initiate. One can say, he hasn’t been enjoying that very much.”

I actually grimaced, not even knowing how it felt to have a fated mate.

But I couldn’t imagine Aleksei ever allowing Laura to sow her wild oats before he claimed her.

Though, it had to be said—especially by me, who had my fate taken away, perhaps not by destiny but instead, my father—it was a nice thing to do.

Tanyn kept going.

“While that was happening, with very bad timing, because Bainon was ready to go for it, Aleksei got involved with Bainon’s sister, which made a mess of things, especially when they got engaged, and then rather spectacularly un-engaged.”

“This is a muddle,” I remarked.

Tanyn agreed with a nod of his head. “Now, Bainon is stuck, because the beings in Dawn’s Break are furious Aleksei threw over their golden princess. He can’t release Aleece from the spell and announce she’s suddenly his fated mate and their future queen. It would be a PR nightmare.”

It really would.

“Totally a muddle,” I mumbled.

“Indeed.”

We both fell silent.

I broke it.

“So…what now?”

“Now, my beautiful Catla, we go to dinner with your mother and father, Aleksei and Laura, and my friend Nayden⁠—”

“Your friend Nayden?”

“Yes. We met at The Eyrie.”

The Eyrie was the military academy he went to.

“Now he’s a captain in the Red Dragoons,” Tanyn told me.

“Impressive,” I said, and it was.

The Red Dragoons were the premiere infantry unit of Sky’s Edge Army. They used to fight on horseback but were also highly skilled in fighting on foot.

Now, their skills encompassed everything—land fighting, aerial battles, you name it. They could leap from a craft or moto-bike, in or on which they were attacking, and fight beam to beam, saber to saber or hand to hand.

His mouth cocked and he said, “The being most impressed with Nayden is Nayden.”

I sensed this was friendly ribbing.