Page 3 of Mistaken as His Royal Bride

If Maddi hadn’t been as tense as her sister, she might have giggled at how out of place they looked.

Laia’s fingers were digging into Maddi’s arm painfully. ‘I can’t believe he came all the way here,’ she said.

‘You’ve been dodging meetings with him for months now,’ Maddi pointed out. ‘We left Manhattan the morning he arrived to try and take you for lunch.’

That had been one among many other similar occasions. Maddi could understand that he must be frustrated. He’d made no secret of the fact that he was ready to wed his convenient bride and have his Queen by his side.

Beside her, Laia said, ‘I only have to hold out another couple of weeks, until my twenty-fifth birthday, then I’ll be crowned Queen and I’ll have much more power to renegotiate the marriage agreement and encourage him to think of other solutions.’

King Aristedes was tracking closer. Moving swiftly through the crowd. Maddi couldn’t help but notice how he moved with loose-limbed grace. He was even taller than she’d thought. Shoulders broad, chest wide. He oozed such power and masculinity that the people in the crowd around him noticed and stopped to watch. Which, considering the other eye-popping spectacles around them, was no small thing.

Not just imposing and charismatic, he was also gorgeous, with short dark hair and a strong-boned face. A trim dark beard hugged his jaw. Maddi couldn’t see his mouth from here, but she’d seen it in photos. Well-defined. Sensual. Firm.Sexy. His eyes were covered now, but they’d appeared dark in the photos.

Maddi realised at that very inopportune moment that she was way more transfixed by King Aristedes than she should be.

She tore her eyes off the man coming towards them and turned to her sister, who was pale. Maddi gripped her arm, ‘Laia, look at me...are you okay?’

Laia’s gaze went to her sister. She shook her head. ‘I feel sick. I can’t believe he’s still determined to marry me, even after everything I’ve done to put him off.’

Laia was referring to her well-documented campaign of appearing in public at every glittering party and social event with the sole reason of deterring the famously conservative and staid King Aristedes from pursuing their marriage by making herself look like a party girl.

Maddi said, ‘Look, is it really that hopeless? What if you use this opportunity to talk to him and make him see your side?’

But Laia shook her head. ‘I tried to talk to him after my father’s funeral, but he wouldn’t listen. He said very clearly that our marriage would happen the way it had been agreed and he would not discuss the matter further. He showed no interest in who I was. He sees me only as a means to an end.’

‘Won’t you be risking the peace if you’re crowned before the marriage takes place?’

Laia shook her head. ‘No, he wouldn’t want to look petty.Weknow the marriage is due to take place before the coronation but it’s not common knowledge among the greater public, yet. The itinerary was going to be revealed much closer to the day to minimise the risk, albeit small, of old rebel elements from both kingdoms stirring things up. I can use that to my advantage now. Santanger prides itself on being a modern, forward-looking country, which makes it so ironic that he’s intent on this marriage. He’ll see it as an inconvenience that things haven’t gone exactly to plan, but if he thinks the marriage is still in play he won’t care too much. That’ll give me the time I need to go to him as an equal head of state.’

Passion mixed with panic made Laia’s eyes wide and very green.

‘Mads, I don’t want to let Isla’Rosa be swallowed up by Santanger. We’ve fought for our independence in so many battles! Our father set up the marriage agreement under pressure from King Aristedes’s father, who engineered it so that the marriage would take place before I turned twenty-five—before I could be crowned Queen—ensuring Santanger maximum leverage over Isla’Rosa.’

She shook her head.

‘I think Father thought it would be for my benefit, having my husband by my side before I was crowned Queen but over the years he saw how capable I was and I think he regretted bowing to the pressure. He told me on his deathbed that he didn’t want me to marry for anything less than love, no matter how high the stakes, so maybe he was preparing me to rebel against it, if I wanted to.’

She continued, ‘He wanted me—us—to be happy. I know I can persuade King Aristedes that a marriage is not necessary to create lasting peace between us, but I need to be Queen before I’ll have the power to do that. Until I’m crowned I’m still vulnerable, and King Aristedes knows that—which is why he’s so hell-bent on pursuing this marriage as soon as possible. It shows he hasn’t changed his view on how this should happen. He still wants his marriage of convenience and to have power over Isla’Rosa.’

Love and loyalty swelled in Maddi’s chest for her sister. She knew this was her chance to do something really useful.

She took Laia’s hands in hers and said quickly, ‘When was the last time you met King Aristedes face to face?’

Laia frowned. ‘A few weeks after my—’ She corrected herself. ‘Ourfather’s funeral, when I tried to talk to him about the marriage agreement and he refused to listen. I haven’t seen him in years.’

Maddi hid her pang of pain at the reminder that she’d never met her father behind a wry smile. ‘Wow, you’ve really turned avoiding him into a sport.’

Laia shrugged and smiled back weakly. ‘I did what I had to, to avoid the inevitable.’ She looked over Maddi’s shoulder and gulped. ‘But it didn’t work. He’s getting closer.’

The back of Maddi’s neck prickled, as if she could feel his presence. Strange... She’d never met the man. But she was about to.

She squeezed Laia’s hands. ‘You need to go—now. Into the crowd. Get lost.’

Laia frowned more. ‘But...what do you mean? You’re coming with me.’

Maddi shook her head. ‘No, I’m going to take care of this. You just need to disappear till your birthday, right?’

Laia nodded.

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