Page 74 of Enchanted Shadows
CHAPTER 24
Ipicked my soon-to-be bride up from the barracks, trying not to stumble as I took in her appearance. “You look lovely.”
And that was putting it lightly. I still had her necklace, so she had been unapologetically Kessara since the moment she’d handed it to me and came clean to the team. She was wearing a long white skirt with what looked to be a tighter fitting white tank top on the top half of her body. Makeup highlighted her natural beauty, and her hair was mostly down with a part of it braided around her head. She had a small bouquet of flowers in her hand.
As far as royalty went, she looked casual. And I wondered for a moment if she preferred it this way, or if she would have wanted something grander. What had she always imagined as a little girl growing up in a castle? A huge gown with all the sparkles and glitter?
She took in my attire. Because Jorah had demanded it, instead of my formal guard wear, I was wearing a suit, shirt, and jacket. I had put my foot down at the tie. The tie was crossing a line. “You do too.”
I put out an arm for her, “Shall we run off and get married?”
She inhaled deeply. “If we must.”
We were doing this at sunset, because of training, yes, but also because I knew how she felt about this time of day. Our feet crunched against a mixture of leaves, grass, and small pebbles along the way. Kessara had asked me this morning if we could do a modified version of the vows they traditionally do in Agria. Since I had been absolutely unprepared to write vows of my own to her, not knowing exactly what to say, I had readily agreed.
As we neared the fork in the trail to The Dead Lake, I stopped us.
“Backing out?” she asked me, scanning my eyes.
What?“No.” I turned to better see her. “I just want you to know that I don’t intend to trap you with our sham of a marriage. I don’t expect anything from you. Other than the appearances we have to keep for a while.”
“General,” she began.
“Owen,” I corrected.
“Owen,” she amended. “I know you well enough to know that you wouldn’t want to cage anyone. You let some of the women leave because they didn’t want to be there when you could have forced them to stay. This may not be a marriage found of love, but it is one found ofrespect. And those types of marriages are rare where I am from.” She again inhaled deeply. “And I need you to know I am not expecting you to be my general-turned-personal-assassin. I’mnotmy brother Damek.”
Didn’t she see that all of us—the team, myself, even Krew and Keir and Jorah—we all saw who she was. She was worthy of being able to live without constant fear. Something we all knew intimately. “You don’t think I would kill for you, Kessara?”
She smiled at me. “No, I think you enjoy a good fight so you absolutely would. And that’s the problem. You shouldn’t have to.”
“There’s nothing quite like being called violent on the night of your wedding,” I told her as we fell back into step beside one another.
“Violently annoying,” she clarified.
We laughed. The heaviness of what we were doing and all the reasons for it fell away for a moment. I wasn’t her general. She wasn’t a princess. We were two people who respected one another. Liked one another. And we had each other’s backs. It would have to be enough. All of our safety was depending on it.
John Nottle had yet to return to Dra Skor with Keir and Esta, so I had insisted he do the ceremony. Sure enough, he stood under the same tree he had witnessed both Krew and Keir bonded under. Next to him was Amos, who had demanded he be present to be an Agrian witness to the ceremony. It was just the four of us. At the end of the week, when we had another rest day, the reception would occur. Which, based on our intel, would be around the same time that Kessara’s ex washed up on shore from Brakken.
I felt a brief sting of disappointment travel through me despite my best efforts. There would be no bonding ritual this time around. We were fresh out of miracles, so this fake marriage would have to do.
“Good evening; you both spiff up well!” John told us as he bowed to Kessara. Krew had already given me the prince title and ordered the very public declaration before parliament for the next large gathering. I was technically a prince now, too.
“Thank you,” Princess Kessara said.
“This should be relatively harmless,” he began.
Amos handed him over a piece of paper with what was evidently our vows.
“These are our modified Agrian vows we will do to uphold that tradition.” Kessara explained, eyes on Amos. “Minus a few words which may not apply in this particular instance.”
John nodded at her graciously. “I can appreciate that, Princess. This has to be difficult enough for the both of you as is.”
My eyes went to hers. “Breathe. It’s going to be fine.”
She turned to face me, putting her somewhat sweaty palms in mine. “Forgive me for the nerves. I have never been married before.”
I squeezed her hands gently. “Well, me neither. But the way I see it, you get the perk of protection without having to deal with any of the rest. So what’s there to be nervous about? Short of your country forcing us to consummate the marriage in front of them, it’s going to be fine.”
