Page 183 of Enchanted Heir
“But did she die?” the king asked, sounding utterly bored.
“She could have,” I bit out. “And at least ten others did.” That had been the body count by the time we’d left, it was likely that number would only rise as they cleaned up after the fires.
The king cocked his head. “And those people will be remembered the next time anyone in any level of Wylan thinks to make a move on the legacy of my throne.”
I pointed at the ground in frustration. “Those people losteverything.”
The king squinted. “And they will lose more if they do not figure out how to remember their place in this world. If they do not find some respect for my crown.” He paused. “Between the forest and what you did with the disloyal last night, you have been more than helpful, though. I will have your mother’s bakery rebuilt immediately.”
“So why burn down our bakery to begin with then?” I asked exasperated as Krew gave my hand another squeeze in warning.
The king swallowed. “Well, the people of Nerede need to understand that though you are safe in the castle, you do have ties there that are not.”
I gasped. He wouldn’t have cared at all if he’d killed my mother. In fact, he might have actually preferred it.
“Besides, the merchants of Nerede needed a reminder that any successes or fortune they may find happens only because I allow it.”
I was going to kill him. To hell with needing magic, if I could just get close enough, I could claw him to death.Slowly.
“Are we done?” Keir asked. “It has been a long night of cleaning up your messes.”
The king gestured with a hand for us to leave. “Yes. It was a mess, a carefully crafted mess that is going to be utilized and felt for years to come.”
Finally dismissed, despite being exhausted, I found my anger was going nowhere in the elevator up to Krew’s wing. I was never going to forget this night.
Too tired to even get cleaned up, I changed and fell into bed, clutching a pillow for dear life.
Krew threw the curtains closed making his room darken. “I asked for the kitchen staff to feed Rafe for you.”
How was he always thinking of everything? Didn’t it get exhausting?
He pulled back the covers and crawled into bed, just as tired as I was. “Love, before you pass out, I’d like to know if you’d take me up on my offer.”
“Of what?” I was too tired to remember what he’d offered in the carriage ride home, if anything.
“Can we move up the wedding?”
That had my eyes popping back open.“What?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want you to ever go through the hell you did last night again.”
Tears burned my eyes. “You don’t want to wait another week? It’s not that long. I think I can manage.”
He shook his head. “No. No waiting. Well, I suppose I will need a day or so since I did use a lot of magic last night. And I also need to at least let Keir know it’s happening.”
“You want to marry me tomorrow?” I asked stunned.
He nodded. “It’s time. For you. For me. For Wylan.”
I gave him as much of a smile as I could this tired. “Okay. So marry me tomorrow then, My Prince.”
He grinned as he kissed me. “I’d love to.”
CHAPTER45
Hand in hand we took the secret passageway out to the meadow. There had been no need to wait until the ceremony for Krew to see my dress like so many other women did in Nerede on their wedding day. Krew had seen this dress before. That and he wasn’t letting me out of his sight. So we walked down to our wedding and bonding together, both quiet and nervous, but hopeful and happy.
Though I had worn this dress before, tonight it felt entirely different. I was marrying Krew. Tonight. We were in the midst of an Assemblage in which he was supposed to be narrowing down his options, and here we were about to be married.
