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“Do you not feel like you’re missing out by not being allowed to marry a fae?” he asks, after a long moment.
His question is so absurd that I can’t help but laugh. But when I look at his face, his eyebrows are turned down, like he’s confused by my reaction.
I clear my throat. “The monarchs were going to choose my husband. They didn’t care about anything except power. They want my bloodline to be strong. The strength of magic is all that matters to them. I can only imaginethat marrying you will be better than whoever they would have chosen.”
“But you don’t even know me,” he argues.
“Even if you lock me in a tower, at least I’ve got a good view. It’s more than I can say about the castle I grew up in.” I turn my attention back to the water, not wanting to see his reaction.
After that, Prince Stellan stays quiet. I close my eyes and lift my head to soak up as much sun as possible.
Hopefully being married to a stranger won’t be worse than how I grew up.
5
Odd traditions
Wisteria
Wisteria
I look at myself in the large mirror, noting how the white dress makes the purple of my eyes look brighter. My blonde—though is more white than blonde—hair is pulled back into a half up, half down style. My blonde curls get lost in the white of my dress, but I’m told wearing white is tradition for the dragons.
Awhitewedding dress—how odd. Dragon shifters have strange traditions.
Though, I suppose the really odd thing about today is the fact that I’m going to be marrying a stranger whom I’ve had exactly one conversation with.
Father and I left the dragon shifter’s island the same day we arrived. From that day forward, the council spent day and night going over the magical contract, trying to find a way out. They only allowed me to leave late last night, though they are still searching for a way to ‘free’ me.
I wonder what they’d think if they knew I don’t want to be free from this. As nervous as I am about marrying astranger, I’ll happily take this over the life they want for me.
I don’t want to be the fae empress.
So, here I am, about to marry a stranger. And my heart feels happier than it ever has before.
A knock on the door has me looking away from the mirror.
“Come in.” I turn toward the door as it opens.
My younger brother walks inside, shutting the door behind him. He cocks an eyebrow as he eyes the dress. “Awhitewedding dress?”
I shrug. “It’s tradition for the dragons.”
“Weird.” He rubs a hand at the base of his neck. “White is so plain and boring.”
He’s right—whiteisboring. If it were up to me, I’d choose a colorful dress—maybe purple to match my eyes or bright blue, to match the water surrounding the island.
“But you look beautiful.” He stops looking at my dress and looks me in the eyes. “You’re surprisingly chill considering the fact that Poppy was so scared to marry this guy that she got exiled on purpose.”
I shrug. “He seems nice.” On theoneoccasion I met the guy, that is. “He’s quiet.”
“Mom said he’s good looking.”
My cheeks grow warm as I admit, “He’s easy on the eyes.”
Cypress smirks. “Considering you’re unmoved by fae beauty, that means something. At least producing an heir for the guy won’t be a chore.”
I groan, resisting the urge to cover my face with my hands. “Cypress!”
