Page 31 of The Broken Elf King
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The meetingwith the council was more intense than I had prepared for.
“I’m sorry to hear of another assassination attempt,” Haig said. “But this is proof we need you to take a wife and start a family lest you be wiped out by the Nightfall queen.”
Raife rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’m working on it.”
“Are you?” Aron asked. “Because the mothers say you haven’t called any of the girls back for second dates.”
Raife looked at me pleadingly and I held up the piece of parchment with my ideas on it. “Actually, gentlemen, I have his short list right here. We are going over it after this meeting. Picking the woman you will spend the rest of your life with is no small matter. You’re all married, you should know that,” I told them, eyeing the swirled elvin rings on their marriage fingers.
I knew Raife could smell the lie, but he wouldn’t care.
The council shifted in their seats. “We want a proposal by the end of the week. Wedding next month, and an heir by next year. You got it, son?” Haig said with the stern voice of a caring father.
Raife sighed. “I got it.”
Geez. That wasn’t really leaving a lot of time to fall in love and travel the countryside, to grow together before throwing a screaming baby in the mix. Don’t get me wrong, I loved children; babies smelled like new life and joy, but they also took up your entire day and night and your life was never the same after you had one. I wanted at least five years alone with my husband before popping any of those out.
Poor Raife.
His whole life was dictated by this council, this kingdom, this life.
The council bid us a good day then, and left the room, latching the door behind them as they left.
Raife turned to me and eyed the parchment. “Short list, huh?”
I shrugged. “I mean, not a total lie, it’s a short list of ideas.” I handed it to him.
He read it, his eyes going from the parchment to me and back to the parchment. His gaze returned to me and he rubbed his chin, chewing on his bottom lip. “You might be on to something here, Lani.”
The pet name took me off guard.
Lani.It’s what my auntie and close friends called me.
“Oh, which do you like?” I leaned forward to see his finger on the third, most desperate option.
Fake Marriage.
“I mean… that’s a last resort after the fancy ball and—”
“I don’t want a fancy ball or some big, drawn-out thing. I want to get married, get the council off my ass, and then get the funding for my war.”
My heart hurt a little that he didn’t want the true love option. The big ball would have been fun to plan.
I nodded. “Very well. Do you have a trusted confidant that would agree to such an arrangement? Maybe… Dara?” It killed me to say it. I didn’t know why I was jealous of his whore but I was.
His cheeks reddened and he shook his head. “She’s not… wife material.”
Relief rushed through me but I hid it. “Well, who did you have in mind?”
He stared at me for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Setting the parchment down, he reached out and took my hand. “You.”
Complete and total shock ripped through me. “Me?”
He nodded. “We spend all day together anyway, every meal, all these meetings. The council would totally buy it, and you’ve become like a best friend to me. I genuinely enjoy spending time with you.”
Best. Friend.It was like a knife to the heart. I was afraid he’d somehow feel the pain of it, so I gently slipped my hand from his. “Oh,” I said, and got up, starting to pace the room.
