Page 73 of The Last Dragon King
Pulling back, he nodded. “We will wed in three days. I’ll send for your mother immediately.”
Holy Hades.I’d just agreed to marry the king… and let him have children with someone else.
EIGHTEEN
The funeral for Regina and Joslyn was beautiful. Regina was laid to rest, without an actual body to bury, in the Royal Guard cemetery in the north side of town, and Joslyn was buried next to the king’s private family mausoleum. It was a great honor and the entirety of Jade City shut down in mourning. Drae had set Joslyn’s parents up with monthly payments for the rest of their lives as they were from the poorest part of Grim Hollow and he knew they would be counting on it. Word had gotten around town that I was the Lost Royal from the stories and that I’d tried to save Joslyn’s life that night. The people seemed to love me, smiling and waving happily as I passed. They knew nothing of my magic being able to suck the life from their king, and nothing of the fact that the king needed to make an heir or they would all die.
Narine told me that she had taken the liberty of spreading a rumor that the king had chosen me initially but his advisors forced him to pick Joslyn and that’s why he was marrying me so quickly, that he’d loved me all along. The city loved a good bit of gossip, and they wanted their king to be happy, for which I was grateful. I would hate for there to be a rumor he’d cheated on Joslyn with me or something awful like that.
The Nightfall queen had sent back Regina’s head as a message, but no other retaliation. Drae increased border patrols and sent an entire Royal Guard escort for my mother and Adaline. Now the wedding was tonight and my mother was arriving any moment.
I had no idea what she was going to think of all this. I was marrying the man she was originally scared would hurt me. But there was one thing she’d drilled into me since I was born…
Duty.
She’d say,“You have a duty to this family, your sister, this village, me.”
Now I would have a duty to the entire dragon-folk people, and I hoped she would understand, because I planned to tell her the truth about everything. I could live with keeping secrets from a lot of people but my mother wasn’t one of them.
“She’s here!” Narine said excitedly as she poked her head into my room.
I stood and allowed her to fix my wedding gown. This event, our wedding, was not one I wanted to wear trousers for, though I did ask the palace seamstress to put pockets in the gown for me.
Where is a girl to keep her daggers and things if she has no pockets?
“You look… like a dream,” Narine said as she creased the lace hem of my white dress.
I smiled. “Did Annabeth give you that one hundred jade coins prize money?”
Narine grinned. “I get it tonight after the ceremony. Then I’ll pay you back for the—”
“Nonsense, you keep it! I’m going to be queen. I’ll have more than enough money at my disposal.”
Narine shook her head. “No way—”
“Keep it for your own wedding.” I winked and she blushed. I’d seen her flirting with Cal lately. “And is your sister’s wedding planning going okay?” I asked.
Narine waved me off. “Yes, thanks to you. Now go see your mother and sister!”
I was stalling. To be honest, I was nervous as Hades to tell my mother I had fallen in love with the king—that I was going to marry him but could never have children with him, that instead I would be allowing him to have children with his mistresses…
What if she refused to stand by my side at the wedding? What if she left town and never spoke to me again?
With a shuddering breath, I nodded to Narine. “Please fetch her and my sister and bring them to the living room.”
Narine slipped out of my bedroom and I followed her, pacing the living room and waiting. This was the last time I would be in this apartment. Tonight, I would sleep beside Drae and share a bed with him for the rest of my life.
Holy Hades, I’m going to be sick.
Was it normal to feel like you were going to vomit every few seconds on your own wedding day?
The front door opened and my mother and sister walked in with Narine in tow. They each held a small travel pack and looked at me with wide eyes as they entered. They were expected last night but there had been a sandstorm, and delays from others coming from all over the realm.
“Holy Hades, you look like a queen!” Adaline rushed over to me. “Does this make me a princess?”
She opened her arms to hug me and my mom yelled at her. “Don’t touch her dress, you’ll stain it.”
I pulled my sister in for a bone-crushing hug, not caring about the dress. “I don’t think you can be a princess but you will be a highborn lady.”
