Page 51 of Rise of a Fallen Man

“It is my duty to be informed of the matter,” she replied haughtily.

I should’ve known Leafar’s entourage would question him about our first night together. Every part of his body belonged to his county, his every action did as well. He never had any privacy. All his life, his every move must’ve been watched and every step had to be accounted for. Of course, the Olakrez Court would want to know how his first night as a husband had played out.

I just wished he would’ve talked to me first. Together, we could’ve found a better way to deal with it.

“Is there a problem, Aniri?” Mother gazed at me with concern.

The duchess sighed heavily, steepling her fingers in front of her. “The prince is distraught that he might’ve disappointed Your Highness in some way.”

Was that true? Was Leafar close with his aunt to confide in her about his true feelings? Did he not want to wait?

He seemed to have accepted my proposition for us to take time before having sex. But maybe I didn’t give him enough choice on the matter? He didn’t really argue with me about it, hardly objected at all, but he’d been taught not to speak in women’s presence. He’d likely be reluctant to argue with me in earnest.

I should’ve taken more time to discuss this with him, but I was so deadly tired that night. I thought we’d reached an understanding. I believed he’d agreed.

“There is no disappointment on my part,” I assured the duchess. “Prince Leafar is a delightful young man. For me, his worth extends far beyond his virtue.”

Lady Etah shifted in her chair impatiently. “Then why a delay, Your Highness?”

“Well, that’s none of your fucking business.”I wished I could say to them both.

Oh, how I wished to storm out of this room right now and slam the door behind me.

“It’s a private matter,” I replied calmly instead. “One to be decided between the wife and her husband. I assure you, ladies, that my husband and I have no disagreements about it.”

The duchess huffed indignantly.

Lady Etah squared her shoulders, as she often did when arguing with me in the council meeting.

“The marriage of the heiress to the queendom is hardly a private matter, Your Highness,” she said. “As a state woman, you should know it.”

Mother cleared her throat. “A lack of consummation gives grounds for an annulment, Aniri.”

The duchess darted her a reproachful glance, then leveled her heavy stare at me.

“An annulment would not be a desirable outcome for Olakrez. Our queen gave to Princess Aniri the key to her son’s virtue. He has spent two nights as a married man. There are plenty of witnesses that Your Highness visited his bed at least on one of those nights. His virtue has been gravely compromised already. As a woman of honor, you cannot discard the prince now. Doing so would upset our queengreatly.”

She put enough emphasis on the last word to leave no doubt an annulment would have dire consequences on the relationship between our countries.

I placed a hand over my heart in a demonstration of sincerity. “I assure you I am quite fond of Prince Leafar and have no intentions of ‘discarding’ him. As exciting as the wedding celebration was,” I explained, “it left both the prince and me extremely tired on our wedding night.” It was a lame excuse, but it was all I wished to disclose in this interrogation. “Instead of rushing through our wedding night, I believed that my new husband deserved a much better experience, even if at a later date.”

The duchess pursed her lips. “It’s been two nights, Your Highness. The prince is young and eager. He doesn’t need that much time to recover his strength and deliver a consummation.”

“Maybe,” I replied diplomatically. “However, a woman’s body needs some preparation in order to conceive. It’s not the best time in my cycle yet. Isn’t it in both our interests to ensure the optimal time for conception?”

The duchess looked like she saw right through my desperate attempt to postpone the inevitable.

“For the union between our queendoms to remain strong,” she said, “the prince has to become your husband in every way. Your heiress shall have the blood of both Rorrim and Olakrez, especially since this is not so in your case, Your Highness.”

My father was from Olakrez. He never made me feel like I was anything less than of his own flesh and blood. To him, I was his daughter with every right to his love. His home country, apparently, felt otherwise. Biologically, I wasn’t his.

“My visit here is coming to an end,” the duchess continued. “I’ll be leaving your queendom in two weeks. Surely, that is enough time for the body of Your Highness to complete its preparations to receive the seed of your lawfully wedded husband in the most advantageous way.”

“Some things just can’t be rushed.” My heart skipped a beat when I realized these were Salas’ words I’d just repeated.

“Well, certain things must be performed in a timely manner, and a marriage consummation is one of them. I will not leave this palace until I’m certain that Prince Leafar’s position is secure and his marriage is valid. My departure is scheduled for fourteen days from now. I will make the arrangements for a public consummation to take place on the day thirteen, unless I receive the news of it having happened before that.”

I sucked in a breath and held it, keeping my wrath and indignity bottled tightly inside me, lest I explode with fury and destroy our fragile truce with Olakrez that Mother, Council, and I had worked so hard to achieve.

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