The Betrayed by Kiera Cass

Author:Kiera Cass
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 2021-05-20T00:00:00+00:00

Nineteen

I BRUSHED MY HAIR OUT, braiding the front pieces to hold it out of my face the way Delia Grace used to. The moment her name crossed my mind, I wondered what she was doing now. Had she been moved into the queen’s apartments? Did she have a gaggle of ladies serving her? Was she happy with her place at Jameson’s side?

I hoped she was. She had been through enough; it was time for her to have some level of ease in her life. I wondered if I ought to write her, or maybe respond to Nora. I’d feel so much better if there was a way to know that Delia Grace had something formal with Jameson.

“What are you thinking about?” Scarlet asked. “You get this look on your face sometimes like you’ve gone back to Coroa in your head.”

If my stare didn’t give me away, my guilty smile certainly did. She was far too observant. “I was thinking about those girls today, asking if I was engaged. I remembered how the holy men had to force Jameson to keep my name off the peace treaty with Quinten. If they hadn’t . . . I don’t think I could have left.”

“What? Why not?”

“I think it would have been as good as being married on paper, or at least practically engaged. Those things are all but unbreakable in Coroa.” I turned away from the mirror to face her. “I knew a girl whose parents made a marriage contract with another family when she and her intended were two years old. Contracts like that are dated. So once the date rolls around, you’re legally married.”

“Oh my goodness!” Scarlet gasped.

“I know. This one had set the date for shortly after the lady’s eighteenth birthday, but by the time they were of age, neither of them wanted any part of it. If it’s in writing like that, the king himself has to nullify the contract. You’re essentially already married, so it’s like asking for a divorce. It’s no small thing.”

“Really?”

“I’m afraid so. A contract is akin to vows in Coroa.”

“Even if they were children? Even if their parents did it without their knowledge?”

I’d never thought to question it growing up. I’d been so consumed with hope that someone, anyone, would be willing to sign themselves into a lifetime with me that I never thought about how it would feel if I didn’t want an arrangement at all.

“Yes,” I confirmed. “I was in the room the day of the proceedings. Both sets of parents were still very much behind the match, so, even though the couple were both standing there in tears, King Marcellus refused to nullify it. After being by Jameson’s side, I have to believe the king had something to gain from it, but I don’t know what. It’s the only reason they do anything.”

Scarlet crossed her arms, looking both angry and sad. “What happened to the couple?”

I smirked. “They’re getting their own revenge. They had an actual wedding, of course. No way around it.

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