Page 52 of A Kingdom's Heart
My throat tightened. I forced my legs to move forward until I stood before him. The carpet beneath my slippers felt too soft, tooquiet. I lowered myself into a curtsy, keeping my gaze on the floor.
“Father,” I said softly.
The silence stretched between us. I could hear the faint ticking of the clock above the doors. Then his voice came, calm and sharp at once.
“I have an important matter to discuss.”
The words sent a chill through me. They always did. I lifted my head slowly, afraid of what I would hear next.
His gaze stayed fixed on me, cold and steady. “The decision has
been made,” he said at last.
Something in his tone made my stomach twist. “What decision?” I asked, my voice barely steady.
He rose slightly, his voice calm but absolute. “Within a few days, you will be married off to Prince Lorenzo of Valebran.”
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. The words hit like a blade pressed against my chest. “What? No. You can’t.”
“I can,” he said firmly, “and I have. The decision is final. The threats against our borders are too great to ignore.”
“What threats?” My voice broke as I spoke. “You keep saying that, but I’ve heard nothing of it.”
He looked at me the way he always did when I questioned him, with that same quiet disappointment that felt worse than anger. “None that concern you,” he said. “Your only duty is to build an
alliance with Valebran.”
Tears stung my eyes. I shook my head, stepping back. “I don’t even know him. And I’m not eighteen yet!”
He stood then, his shadow falling across the table. His voice rose for the first time, cutting through the quiet like a crack of thunder. “Do you think that matters? Your mother did not know me when we married. She was fifteen. It is your duty to your people.”
Tears stung my eyes, hot and useless. “But I don’t love him.”
“You will learn,” he said sharply.
I flinched at the sound of it.
His tone softened only slightly as he looked past me, as though seeing something that wasn’t there. “Your mother passed seventeen years ago,” he said. “I have not taken another wife since. That is love, Iris. Love built through duty.”
I felt the floor tilt beneath me. “That’s not fair,” I whispered. “I’m your daughter. And you’re sending me away?”
He looked at me as if my words meant nothing. “I care for my people. We cannot stand against two kingdoms alone. Valebran is our only chance for hope.”
My tears blurred my vision, but I still glared at him. He didn’t flinch.
“There are tailors waiting in your bedchamber,” he said, his tone final. “You will prepare yourself. The announcement will be made tonight.”
My breath caught painfully. Tonight. He would announce it tonight. In front of everyone. I thought he found out I snuck out, but this is worse. William would hear. This wasn’t how he was supposed to find out.
Before I could speak, he flicked his hand toward the guards. Two servants stepped forward at once, their hands firm on my arms.
“Father, please—”
“Enough,” he said.
They dragged me from the throne room. My slippers slid against the polished floor as I tried to steady myself. The great doors shut behind me with a heavy thud that echoed through the hall.
I kept my head low as the servants pulled me through the corridors, my tears falling freely now.
