The Second Son (Kings of Cardenas) by Marion Elise

Author:Marion, Elise [Marion, Elise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Marion Press
Published: 2014-01-14T00:00:00+00:00

Isabelle couldn’t wait until the night was over and she could run to her room and remove the heavy, gaudy court dress she was wearing. She felt as if she weighed an extra fifty pounds, and her head hurt from the heavy hairstyle on top of her head. Isabelle saw Barony’s female soldier’s regiment clustered together in one corner and noticed that many of them sported shorter hairstyles than the women of the court. She was nearly green with envy knowing that none of them had headaches from heavy coiffures.

As if her discomfort in the heavy dress and hairstyle weren’t enough, it seemed that every lord of the court wanted a dance with her. Once Serge had taken her through the obligatory first dance, he had left her at their mercy. One after the other, they partnered her on the dance floor until Isabelle thought she would collapse on the ballroom floor.

After refusing the next dance, Isabelle found her seat at the head table where they had eaten dinner and contented herself with watching the celebration. Wine flowed freely and everyone seemed to be having a grand time. Isabelle noticed that Esmeralda’s young cousin had caught the eye of several men. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement as she talked and flirted with every man who crossed her path. Isabelle chuckled to herself and remembered when she had been that young. She almost envied Tatiana, unlike Isabelle, she did not have her life already planned out for her.

Thinking of her life and the plans that had been made caused her eyes to settle on Serge and her heart sank into her stomach. He stood with his back to her, talking with General Adams. He had barely even looked at her since the morning before and Isabelle had been too nervous to try to talk to him. She had no way of knowing what he was thinking, but the fact that he had not come to her room for bed told her everything she needed to know.

He was still angry with her and probably would be for a while. Isabelle wanted nothing more than for things to go back to the way they had been, when she and Serge had had an easy, companionable relationship.

“You’re angry with me.”

The voice that interrupted her turbulent thoughts frightened Isabelle and she nearly jumped out of her seat. Akira had taken the empty chair beside her and was propping her cane up against the table. Isabelle took a deep breath and concentrated on slowing her racing heart before she replied. “What would make you think I am angry with you?” she asked.

Akira smiled. “You do not have to be coy with me, Your Highness. You think that I am responsible for what has happened between you and King Serge.” When Isabelle gasped, Akira’s grin widened and she chuckled heartily. “I don’t have to use my powers to see the distance that has come between you. You may not want to admit it, but I know you are wondering why I pressed you into marrying him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.