Page 7 of The Heir's Bargain

Is something wrong with him? Elyza wondered. Is that why he is still unmarried? Then, after a momentary pause, she thought, My daughter would marry him in a heartbeat. Then again, he would have to be pretty desperate to marry her. She is rather unbecoming.

I scoffed. Desperate? I am not desperate.

Despite what my mother said, I didn't need a wife. I was still young. Sure, when my mother was my age, she was already engaged to my father. My grandparents were even younger than my parents were when they married.

They all had it easy, though. They found the ones whom their souls sang for, the ones who enhanced not only their gifts but their lives as well.

They found their soul bonds.

I still had yet to find mine.

To be happy, I needed more than a marriage out of convenience and politics. I needed the connection. And with my ability, I didn't see that happening any time soon.

My mother set her teacup down and stood, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress. "The advisors have agreed. Tonight, you find a wife. You are to wed by the end of the year."

"By the end of the year? But what about?—"

My mother shook her head. "It has been decreed. Either you will choose, or we will." She waved a hand in the air, the movement delicate and light. "Rosalina is a nice girl, and the two of you have been off and on for nearly half a decade now."

I blinked. "Rosalina and I are not soul bonds, Mother. You know that."

My mother sighed. "A soul bond can appear at any time. Perhaps it is already there. Maybe that is why you two keep ending up with each other." She rounded the table and placed a hand on my shoulder. "We all wish to find our soul bond, Fynneares, but some are not as lucky as others. View it as a blessing."

My mother brushed her fingers across the worn, golden ring hanging from her necklace. With a sad smile, she tapped my shoulder again before taking her leave, her handmaiden following her.

The ring she wore was forged from a rare metal found beneath the sands of the Mist, a small island off the western coast of Pontia. According to the stories, the god Pontanius blessed the metal in the hopes of enhancing the connection between soul bonds.

However, my mother was right. Not everyone found their soul bond. Some never did, and they were said to live happy lives, nevertheless. Even those who did find their soul bond weren't guaranteed an eternity of happiness.

Soul bonds were once-in-a-lifetime connections, but losing a soul bond was said to be as painful as shedding a piece of one’s heart.

Still, I wanted that connection, craved it.

When you are gifted with the curse of hearing everyone's thoughts, it is too easy to discover your partner's true motive. I didn't wish to be with someone who wanted me for only my name or crown. I wanted a deeper connection, something unbreakable and overpowering. Something that proved that the relationship wasn't some farce or display of power.

I swallowed. "Jorian?"

My attendant stepped forward, hands folded behind his back. His hair had grayed over the years. He was nearing sixty years old but was as quick as ever and even more persistent than before. "Yes, Your Highness?"

I twirled the remnants of the tea. "Grab me some whiskey, will you?"

"But—"

"Jorian," I said, cutting him off, "I don't need to hear it from you too."

"Very well, Your Highness."

Footsteps disappeared out of the room. I leaned against the couch and threw my arm over my eyes. There was already plenty of pressure on tonight, but now I needed to find a wife, too?

Fuck me.

Chapter 2

DANI

"Come on, Moris! Keep your knees up!" Major Kentos shouted from the sidelines, his voice bellowing over the stomping feet and exhausted grunts of the hundreds of soldiers running through the obstacle course.

I chuckled, the sound barely audible. My lungs pounded against my chest as I neared the finish line. After stopping to pick up one of my comrades when they had taken a nosedive into a pool of thick mud, I had fallen behind.

---