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Mareleau swallowed hard and briefly scanned the crowd. She found her other two lady’s maids—Ann and Sera—as well as her mother. It was no surprise her father was missing, for he’d hardly deigned to join her wedding feast. His actions spoke clearly of his disdain for her marriage, regardless of his grudging acceptance.
Once Larylis was left in only his shirt and trousers, the audience rumbled with polite applause. Everything inside her wanted to curl forward, to fold her arms over her chest, but she forced herself to stand tall, to lift her chin, to exude the confidence she didn’t feel.
Queen Helena clasped her hands to her heart and faced the crowd. “It is now time for the bride and groom to become true husband and wife. Wish them many blessings, so they may bring forth an heir.” Another wave of applause. A few disbelieving snickers.
Breah curtsied once again, bowing her blonde head. “Is there anything you desire to be brought to you before we bid you goodnight, Your Highness?”
“Wine.” The word came out in a rush.
Helena cut a glare at her daughter, then glanced suggestively at Mareleau’s abdomen.
It took no small amount of restraint to keep from rolling her eyes. “For my husband,” she amended, lifting a hand toward him. She nearly alighted it upon his arm when she remembered they hadn’t touched since their stolen kiss over a month ago. She folded her hands at her waist and gave her mother a demure smile. “My husband would like wine. I do not.”
Breah nodded and scurried into the crowd, returning with a bottle and glass. Breah handed both to Larylis.
Helena gave a satisfied nod, and two servants opened the pair of doors. As Mareleau and Larylis turned toward them, her pulse kicked up. She was relieved to escape the eyes of the spectators, but she dreaded what would come next. Not the consummation they were expected to perform but something far more mundane.
A conversation.
She’d been desperate to speak to him all night, to explain, to apologize, but as she entered the wedding chamber and heard the doors close behind them, she wished she were anywhere else. The longer Larylis had avoided speaking to her, the more certain she’d become of his displeasure. He had every right to be upset, of course. Hopefully his love for her was stronger than his anger.
Silence hung heavy as they stood just beyond the closed doors. They studied the walls, the bed, looking everywhere but at each other. The candlelit room was relatively small while the bed was enormous, piled high with plush pillows, silk sheets, and velvet blankets in the deepest shades of red and gold. Old-fashioned tapestries adorned the marble walls, displaying romantic scenes of courtship and lovemaking.
Mareleau couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose. “This is the most hideous room I’ve ever seen.”
Larylis snorted a laugh. The sound was so familiar, so cherished, it had Mareleau’s chest warming. She glanced his way to see if he held a smile on his lips, but he was already turning away from her. He strolled over to the bedside table and set down his armload. With slow moves, he poured the deep ruby wine into the glass. She expected him to drink from it, but he didn’t. Instead, he set it back down and moved to the sole window in the room. He drew back the crimson curtain and stood silent, hardly moving but for the rise and fall of his chest. The blush of the setting sun streamed through the window, amplifying the red and gold glow of the room, glinting off the copper tones in his dark hair.
Mareleau watched him for a few moments, studying the broad expanse of his shoulders, the slim taper of his waist visible beneath his untucked shirt, the way his overlong hair curled at the nape of his neck. She was desperate to break the silence, but no words would come. So she swept over to the glass of wine, drained it in two gulps, then filled another. The burn of the fiery liquid warmed her stomach and muted her swarm of thoughts. She closed her eyes as she took another sip, relishing the way her muscles unwound.
“What about the baby?” Larylis’ voice had her eyes flying open, his tone equal parts taunting and condemning. He watched her from the window, lips pressed into a tight line.
Her heart hammered so hard, she was surprised her entire ribcage didn’t shatter in her chest. With trembling hands, she set down the cup and took a few steps toward him. She immediately set to braiding three strands of hair, hating how her stomach turned beneath his unyielding scrutiny. She paused and considered wielding hermagic trickto summon one of her false personas. It would make it easier to have the conversation they needed to have, but…it wasn’t right. Larylis deserved her true self now.
“I’m so sorry I lied, Larylis,” she said.
“Why did you do it?”
She frowned. “Why do you think I did it? I had to get out of marrying Teryn.”
He shook his head. “You could have gotten out of your engagement a hundred different ways. Why did you bring me into it? With a lie, no less. One that made me look like a traitor to my brother.”
She bristled at his rising tone. Her own voice grew sharper. “It was the only way I could think that would finally allow us to be together.”
“You should have asked me first.”
“You would have said no.”
He took a step closer. “And you’d have had my answer. What are you going to do in a few months when it’s clear you aren’t with child?”
“I have plans for that,” she said slowly. “In a few weeks, I will announce that my condition came to…to an end. My parents won’t expect me to mourn, for I am supposed to be hiding my supposed pregnancy.”
She expected some relief to show on his face after hearing she had it all under control. If anything, he looked angrier. “You shouldn’t have done this.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’d have let me go so easily? Even after everything we confessed in the drawing room, after learning what had happened to our letters…you’d have let me go? Answer me honestly.”
He opened his mouth only to snap it shut. With a slow sigh, he dragged a hand over his face, and his expression finally eased. His tone turned soft. Resigned. “Only on the outside. Inside…inside, I would have held you tight and never let you go.”
“Well, I’m not quite so noble as you. I wasn’t willing to let you go inside or out. I had to fight for you, whether it damned my reputation, ruined my chances at inheriting my father’s crown, or had me cast out as a traitor. I had to try. I had to risk everything.”
