Page 70 of Desperately Yours

With a darting glance, I caught sight of the one who watched her.

The one who loved her.

He seemed to understand the ache and panic I felt, because he looked trapped in his skin as well. With a jerk, he freed his arm from the grasp of the man who stood next to him.

Strange. It appeared as though he was being… detained.

“That’s it,” the kind voice of our officiant brought me back to the awful present, “take her hands.”

Our fingers brushed, but I felt no sparks, no eagerness to deepen our connection. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

Duty or not, I couldn’t do this. I dropped my grip on her fingers and reversed a step, shaking my head.

“I’m sorry, I can’t go through with this. I don't lov—”

The doors at the back of the ballroom burst open, a gush of wind and groaning metal as they flew beyond the reach of the guard who’d been startled to attention.

“Wait!” Her voice was the sound of a hallelujah chorus. Like a full cohort of angels in all their glory. Michaela rushed forward, dressed in a ballgown of pale blue that rushed around her legs like surging waters. “Wait! Don’t marry her!”

Guards tore from their stations, alerted to the supposed intruder. I could hardly speak with the shock that took hold of my frame. My mind went in thirty directions at once, unsure if I wanted to collapse and cry in my relief that she wasn’t dead, or sprint to her and smother her in kisses until she could hardly breathe, and never mind the impulse that told me to scoop her into my arms, shove Sadie from her place, and marry the woman of my dreams before she had a chance to disappear again. But as the thoughts congealed, worry gripped my chest.

Blood trickled over her forehead. Bruises marred her beautiful skin. Her gait favored the right as if injuries forced her to use one side over the other. She looked as though she’d been in a fight for her life. And yet, her eyes stayed true, locked with mine, just as full of love as I remembered.

“I object!” she shouted as she ran haphazardly up the aisle between the chairs full of shocked attendees.

The priest stuttered for a moment, stunned by her audacious nature. “We don’t do that part of the ceremony here in Nolcovia.”

It was enough to stop her in her tracks, face collapsed in confusion. “Why not?”

“Well, I suppose,” he straightened his robes as if she’d ruffled them with her appearance alone, “it invites theatrics.”

“Point taken, but I have a good reason.” Michaela’s finger pointed directly at Sadie. “She’s a fraud.”

“Your Highness!” Sadie’s exclamation burst from her at once. “Will you let her talk to me that way?”

Guards surrounded Michaela, seizing her arms to pull her from the room. Anger swelled in my heart and I rushed down the steps toward her. “Stand down! Stand down immediately!”

“Ignore that order!” My mother’s voice sounded from where she rose from her throne. “Remove her from this room and the very country she has infiltrated.”

“Mother!” I hated that I sounded more like a child than the future king. “You can’t be serious!”

A squawk drew my attention back to where the guard held Michaela. Or rather, where they used to hold her. Instead, one sprawled on the ground and as another reached for her, she balled up a fist and faced him. “Two years community center self-defense classes, buddy. You wanna dance?”

Despite the gravity of the situation, I had to suppress a smirk. Could she make me love her any more than I already did?

“Your Majesty,” she spoke to my mother directly without the reverence she expected, “let me say my piece and if you still want to kick me out of the country, fine. But I worked awfully hard to get here and I’m not about to go without a fight.” She didn’t wait for permission, instead she let loose her awful truth.

Michaela

Istill felt faint from my mad dash through the hallway. That exit had dumped me out farther away than I’d intended and after everything with Kabir, I still hadn’t caught my breath yet. But my words couldn’t wait another second. She had to be exposed.

As did the one who had put her up to it in the first place.

“LadySadira has been poisoning the king.” I made sure to slander her name with my tone as much as I could. “That’s why he’s sick.” I felt like every set of eyes in the room were focused on me. The guards held ready, just in case the order was made clear again, but my words shocked them. I dug my hand into the pocket of my dress and withdrew the vial. “And he needsthisantidote to get better.”

Fitz stared at the vial, mouth agape. He whirled to face Sadie. “Is this true? Have you been poisoning my father?”

“Guards!” Reginald rushed down the steps, face red with fury. “The queen issued an order. Take this treacherous woman into custody.” His meaty hand reached for the vial and tore it from my grasp. “Lies! All Lies!”

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