Page 7 of Mistaken as His Royal Bride

‘Straight to Santanger. The wedding will take place in a couple of weeks and there will be a lot of preparation.’

Maddi gulped. Further confirmation that King Aristedes was clearly set on having their marriage take place exactly as planned. No deviation.

A small rogue inside her was tempting her to test him. She said, ‘What if we delay the wedding until after I’m crowned Queen of Isla’Rosa?’

King Aristedes looked at her. Stern. No emotion. No softness. ‘That is impossible.’

‘Nothing is impossible,’ Maddi said, hoping to sound defiant but fearing she sounded hesitant.

He shook his head. ‘This will happen as per the agreement. You’ll become Queen of Isla’Rosa when we marry.’

Yes, but not before you become King of Isla’Rosa through that marriageand its precious independence is gone for ever.

King Aristedes looked impatient. ‘You’ve always known this was the agreement. You’ve had your whole life to prepare for this moment.’

That was true. She had to be careful. She was responding as Maddi, not Laia. Laia would be cool, calm and collected.

‘You’re right. I have.’

‘And I can trust that you won’t do a disappearing act once we land?’

Maddi envisaged Laia on another flight, hopefully to the other side of the world. No way would she jeopardise that.

She forced a smile. ‘Of course not. I’m committed to this.’

Right up until he realises I’m not Princess Laia and kicks me off Santanger.

Or, worse, locks her in a dungeon. She wouldn’t put it past this brooding taciturn king who had obviously reached the end of his patience to do something so drastic. Laia had shown her the terrifying dungeons in the castle on Isla’Rosa. They’d given Maddi nightmares for weeks.

Clearly satisfied that he had his errant fiancée under some kind of control at last, the King turned back to his laptop.

Maddi could understand Laia’s misgivings now. She could see how her sister had clashed with King Aristedes and his arrogance, and had taken the drastic actions she had to try and deter him. But he was like a rock. Immovable.

As for Maddi...she could only imagine what his reaction might be when he discovered the truth about who she was.

‘Are you sure you’ve nothing more substantial to change into?’

Maddi had an absurd urge to giggle at the look of distaste on the King’s face. Well, it was an urge either to giggle or melt in a puddle. Because when he looked at her like that he caused all sorts of illicit flutterings deep in her belly.

She glanced down at her attire. The hot pink Spandex leotard and cut-off shorts sparkling with plastic diamonds. Bare legs. Flat sandals. That little rogue inside her was almost glad on Laia’s behalf that she was causing such a spectacle.

‘I really don’t have anything else. It’s this...or what I was wearing before.’

They were due to land in the next few minutes.

King Aristedes made a sound and said ominously, ‘That will be rectified as soon as we get to the palace.’

Maddi looked out of the window and her heart quickened at the sight of Santanger in the distance. It was officially winter time now, but the sun glinted off the sea and the rocky island as if it was summer. Maddi knew the temperature would still be comfortable. Like Isla’Rosa, it had the perfect all-year-round climate.

A big change from growing up in damp Ireland, where you were lucky to get a summer and rain was a far too frequent reality.

Isla’Rosa was somewhere in the distance, to the west of Santanger. Too far away to be visible. It took an hour to fly from Isla’Rosa to Santanger. As Maddi had heard Laia say under her breath more than once,‘Too close for comfort.’

As the plane grew closer and closer, Maddi could see a very impressive palace high on a hill overlooking the city down below. The palace made the castle on Isla’Rosa look like a shed. It was seriously impressive, both as an obviously defensive fortress but also as a royal palace, with whimsical towers and turrets.

Waves crashed against jagged rocks and Maddi shivered involuntarily again. She spotted some pristine beaches in the distance. White sands.

They were approaching the airport now, and the runway spread before them, a long black ribbon. The airport building was surprisingly modern. Perhaps an example of progress on Santanger, the vastly richer country.

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