Against the Reign by Dove Winters

Author:Dove Winters [Winters, Dove]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Children's Books, Geography & Cultures, Royalty, Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction, Medieval, Children's eBooks
Amazon: B01A9VZON2
Published: 2016-01-05T16:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

I have never craved mead more in my life.

My legs shake and my skin is moist all over. The veil is keeping fresh air from reaching my mouth and I’m choking. Everything inside me screams at me to run, that I’m walking into a trap and to my own death. I could easily kick Ferrant over and gallop Lextus away. But not only is Vian’s life in my hands, Ward’s is now, too, as he silently follows us.

We stop at the castle entry and I dismount, giving Lextus a sad stroke on the shoulder as Etigan guards take him and the rest of the dowry horses away. Ferrant escorts me through the castle to the courtyard. We don’t speak; he knows he’s won and has nothing more to say, and anything I say right now will be unbecoming of a queen. No sense in arguing something that can’t be changed.

The courtyard is beautifully decorated and lit with many candles, large and small. The guests present rise with my entry. Their eyes are on me, but mine seek out Liam and stay on him as we make our way to the front to stand by the high bishop. Liam doesn’t look up, not even when I’m placed in front of him. We’re asked to kneel before the bishop and we both do; I bow my head and try to focus, but the words spoken are jumbled. When we finally rise again and turn to each other, my legs will barely hold me up. I feel so weak. I hope I don’t get sick in front of all these people.

At the bishop’s command, Liam reaches forward and lifts the veil from my face. For the first time our eyes meet, and I muster up all the anger I can to flash at him. The anger becomes confusion, though, because when he sees me, his eyes fill with terror and the color drains from his face. There is an exchanging of rings and when I take Liam’s hand, I find that it’s as sweaty as mine. For the rest of the bishop’s speech, Liam doesn’t take his eyes off me, and they don’t lose that fearful look. I become more unnerved with each passing second.

Something the bishop says manages to break through my foggy thoughts, and to my horror, Liam is leaning towards me. The kiss to seal the deal. I stiffen, and our first kiss is so quick and awkward I actually hear someone groan with disappointment. Polite applause follows and Liam quickly escorts me away from what I’m sure is the most awkward wedding in history.

There is no time to talk, however. We’re escorted to the Great Hall where a great feast has been prepared. Music plays, and people start to dance right away. Liam and I are brought to the head table, but someone calls out to Liam and he mumbles an “Excuse me” before heading away. I make my way alone to my seat, annoyed to see that King Ulric is already at the head of the table.

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