Chapter 50
Fifty
A queen marries for the good of the kingdom.
I do.
- King Richard
“If you want to back out of this,” I say to my brother as we wait inside Echo’s office, “it’s okay. There are other ways –”
“No,” Nicholas says, standing with his arms crossed by the closed door.
“It’s not your responsibility –”
“Will you stop trying to protect everyone, and just let us help you?” he snaps. Running a hand through his hair, he shakes his head. “Fabia… is infuriating, and being married to her is certainly going to be trying, but –” He stops. Looks away. “I know she won’t treat me like Stephanie did.”
“You know this won’t just be a marriage on paper. You must stay faithful to her –”
“I am aware of what it means to carry royal blood. I was told that all my childhood, remember? It’s why I was forced to stay behind while you went off to war with Aurelia.
” One of us had to survive to create heirs.
Had either of my sisters given birth, Nicholas would’ve lost all worth and been sent on a suicide mission.
“War is not heroic,” I say softly.
“Do you think I wanted to be a hero?” he grits out. “I just wanted to be beside you two instead of worrying from home. I could’ve had so many more memories of Aurelia...”
He steps away from me, frustration and pain twisting his scars. “At least by marrying Fabia, I can do something for you.”
“You do a lot of things for me.”
“Like what?”
He snorts when I don’t answer. “The entire reason I’m marrying Fabia is because I’m the weakest link.” The Court knows that he will bend if they push him hard enough. That his heart is too soft to use our people as hostages.
“It is not a weakness to be kind,” I murmur.
He opens his mouth, then closes it. “I wouldn’t believe that if you weren’t married to Arienna.”
“I’m not yet,” I say in irritation, my skin crawling. I glance at the door. “What is taking them so long?”
“Their training isn’t finished for the day,” Nicholas says.
“It’s their fucking wedding. Surely, Echo –” He looks at me, and I shut up. Of course she won’t let them out early for that even though she’s the one who’ll be marrying us.
“So the picture –” Nicholas nods at the frame on the desk, but just then the door opens, and his mouth slams shut.
We both turn. My heart bursts at the sight of my queen. She’s sweating hard, and there’s a bruise forming under her eye, but she has the biggest smile on her face. Flinging herself at me, she wraps me in her arms, and I hug her back tightly. Our lips meet as Fabia and Echo walk in.
“Let’s get this over with,” Fabia says, but I ignore her as I keep kissing my wife.
“I guess we’re going first,” Nicholas mutters.
“What the hel are you wearing?” she demands, her tone mocking but also self-conscious. She’s covered in sweat and blood, and the two of them positively reek. But whereas Arienna knows I love her regardless of how she looks or smells, Fabia knows nothing about my brother.
“It’s my wedding suit,” Nicholas says tightly. “I figured I might as well wear it.”
“It’s only going to be a marriage on paper,” she says.
He clears his throat. “There are duties –”
“I’m not doing them.”
I finally lift my head from our kiss. My brother doesn’t know she was raped.
“Come get me when you’re done talking,” Echo says as she heads for the door.
“We’re done,” I cut in, wanting to get married too badly to deal with this now. Fabia and Nicholas are both adults; they can figure out their marriage on their own. “Marry us first.”
Echo flies through the ceremony faster than Jace did the first time. Half of me wants her to slow down so we can enjoy it properly. The other half wants her to speed up even more. When she finally gets to the end, I haul my beaming wife into my arms and kiss her for everything I’m worth.
She melts into me, and neither of us come up for air until the others are wed too. They, however, do not kiss.
“Eeek!” Arienna squeals as she throws herself at her friend. “We’re both married!”
“Yeah, yeah.” She pushes her away. “I’d rather help with part two of this plan.” Kidnapping all the Court’s seconds and holding them hostage until they agree to terminate the deal.
Arienna instantly sobers. “I’m having second thoughts about that.”
“Don’t,” I say. “It’s a good plan.”
“It seems a bit mean though...”
“Given Evangeline helped you make it,” I say, “trust me, this is the nice option. You do not want to go to her Plan B.”
She frowns, but nods, trusting me as I’ve trusted her. My hand cupping her face, I look at her bruised eye. “Now, who did this to you?”
She swats my hand away. “You leave those kids alone. They’re helping me learn to kick ass.”
Fabia snorts. “They’re helping kick your ass.”
“Hey! I’m getting better. Right, Echo?”
The head of the Royal Guard looks up, and just from that, we all rush out of her office.
Arienna gasps as she turns to me. “Does she ever get less intense?”
Laughing, Fabia hugs a rib as if feeling phantom pain. “That was her being less intense.”
I nod, recalling all too well the nightmares I suffered as a child. “Come,” I tell my queen, wanting to think of better things. “Let us enjoy our wedding night.”
But she shakes her head, backing away from me. “I have to be up at four, and you have no concept of quickies! So no thank you. I am way too exhausted after training.”
“I can go on top.”
She hesitates, then shakes her head firmly. “No.”
Dammit. “I shall see you in the morning then, my queen.” I stride towards her and lower my head to hers. “But I shall spend all night thinking about you as I stroke my cock.”
Whimpering, she pedals back. “Attack, Fabia!” she says with a flail of her hand. But her friend has already gone, as has Nicholas.
I chuckle as I shake my head. “You need to work on your situational awareness.”
“I shall do that.” She stumbles back some more. “Now goodnight, my king.” She grins. “My husband.”
A smile breaks across my face even as she hurries off while my dick is hard and wanting.
But it quickly fades as I think about the rest of the plan.
Evangeline will be able to kidnap the Court’s seconds without a problem. That part doesn’t concern me. But it’s my queen, my beautiful, heart-on-her-sleeve queen, that’ll need to sell the lie of being cruel enough to follow through on her threat.
And godsdamn, is she a terrible liar.
As much as I want to trust in her, I can’t help but fear for the worst.