A Kingdom of Magic and Rain (Three Kingdoms, #1)

Prologue

I lifted my gaze to the opulent ceiling, blinking to keep my tears at bay.

Crying on my wedding day would serve no purpose beyond ruining my elaborate makeup.

How had I ended up here? Not in my bedroom at the royal palace, but in this moment.

My world had shattered two weeks ago, and I was still desperately clinging to the broken pieces, as if I could somehow fit them back together.

My life would never be the same. And though I knew exactly how I had reached this point, standing here, dressed in a wedding gown, felt surreal.

And the one I was about to marry… A shuddering exhale slipped past my lips, and my chin trembled as I found my reflection in the vanity mirror.

My golden eyes seemed too big for my face, the dark circles underneath making me appear gaunt.

No amount of skillfully applied rouge could hide that I had barely slept over the past two weeks.

“What a mess,” I muttered under my breath, fighting the urge to bury my face in my hands and weep.

My gaze left my distraught reflection and landed on my diary atop the vanity.

Bound in soft brown leather, the journal was a gift from my father and had my initials embossed on the front cover in gold letters—E.E.C.

Emelin Elise Clairborne. Soon, my name would change to signify the beginning of a new life, a new me.

Another ragged breath escaped. I wasn’t ready, but I wanted to get the ceremony over with.

Standing here, waiting for what was coming next, was torture.

In an attempt to occupy my racing mind, I slowly lowered myself onto the cushioned stool in front of the vanity, careful not to crease the bountiful skirts of my gown.

I folded my hands in my lap to still their trembling and glared at the diary as though it were to blame for my situation.

Its inked pages held the story of my downfall.

Hesitantly, I reached for the journal. I was tempted to purge the erratic thoughts from my head, but I was too afraid to get ink on my ivory dress.

Even though writing was not an option, I could still read.

Setting the diary on my lap, I leafed through the events of the past few months, agonizing over every little detail as I had done many times before, trying to figure out where I had gone wrong.

Could I have prevented what had happened if I had paid closer attention? There had to have been signs.

I kept flipping the pages until I found the date I was looking for. My heart squeezed in my chest. The day was the pivotal moment that had set things into motion—when I had made the decision that would alter not only my fate but also the future of my kingdom.