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MARIENNE
“I have been married before, you know,” I said to Lucy as she clucked over me like a mother hen.
Behind me, in the mirror of my dressing table, Lucy’s eyes rolled in exasperation. We were sitting in my new bedroom. Erik’s room.
“I know, but not to someone you actually—”
“Love?” I smirked.
“Exactly.” Lucy held up two heavily jeweled tiaras and I turned to face her.
I wrinkled my nose at them, and she let out a sigh.
“These are traditional! I got them out of the Treasury. They are meant for a queen. And you are a queen.” She brushed a loose strand of hair over my shoulder, and I couldn’t help but smile at her. “You’re going to be the Queen of the Black Mountains, Marienne! For real this time.”
I eyed the tiaras, trying to keep an open mind.
Nope, I was right the first time. They’re still hideous.
My gaze drifted past Lucy, to the elaborate floral arrangement on the table behind her. Sprigs of white flowers clustered together, interspersed with pale lilac and gold.
“Screw tradition,” I said, standing up and arranging my dress behind me. “Let’s do something different.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow, and then caught on to my train of thought.
She smiled broadly. “Ah. Yes, I think that will work.”
My hand curled protectively over my belly, and I smiled.
It had turned out that conceiving with my fated mate was simpler than I ever thought possible. Whether Magnik was infertile, and blamed it on me instead, or he didn’t know... none of it mattered now.
I’d thought I was the problem, and that my magic refused to allow me to grow a child. But instead, I had just needed the right man. My man. My fated mate.
I wasn’t showing yet, but that wouldn’t last for long. Nobody knew except Erik and I that we were expecting. We planned to announce it at the wedding reception.
Things between me and my soon-to-be husband hadn’t gone the way everyone expected they would.
They’d turned out even better.
***
ERIK
I gazed out over the crowd of onlookers, trying not to let the nerves show on my face.
The hall was as busy as it had been on my coronation day. I thought back to that moment, standing here in a sea of strangers with no idea of what lay ahead.
The memory made me smile, now. Such a short time, and yet so much had changed.
The wedding preparations had been simple. Neither of us wanted a huge show.
We had other things on our mind.
Ruling my own kingdom took priority, but I spent time in the north when I could afford to spare it, traveling up with Stavrok and checking in on Damon to see how the rebuilding efforts were going.
His father’s debtors had been scared off for good by our alliance. Pride and happiness filled me when I thought of how much we’d achieved in such a short period of time.
Speaking of which...
I grinned to myself, thinking of the news that Marienne and I had to share later tonight.
“Something on your mind, my friend?” Stavrok’s voice startled me out of my thoughts. I glared at him, and he promptly burst out laughing. “Stop scowling! You have plenty to smile about. You’re marrying your fated mate, Erik. Not many people get to say that.”
My scowl instantly cleared. I could hardly believe it myself.
It had taken me a long time to trust that I was worthy of someone like Marienne. But we fit together, flaws and all.
“It could have ended very differently,” I reminded Stavrok, as well as myself.
His face darkened.
“Indeed.” He pointed at me, looking stern. “You—you need some sparring practice, my friend.”
“Hey, I know!” I held up my hands and burst out laughing. “You won’t hear any complaints from me on that front!”
If I had to go a few rounds in the castle courtyard with a training master to ready myself for battle one day, I would. But I couldn’t think about that today.
My gaze wandered down the aisle and flickered through the rows of guests, all decked out in their finery. All the kingdoms were here. Cass was sitting in a nearby row and I smiled at her. She grinned back, before catching sight of Stavrok and sticking her tongue out at him.
“Hey Stavrok, have you considered taking Cass up to the northern kingdom?”
Stavrok drew his eyebrows together. “No, why?”
I grinned at him, having heard from Marienne that she’d had a premonition the day she’d shaken Cass’s hand. The young girl had been interested in knowing more about the castle to the north, and Marienne believed Cass would do well up there.
“Damon’s still looking for his fated mate, and Marienne suggested to me that you might want to take Cass along on your next visit up there.”
Stavrok’s eyes widened a little. “But, she’s only nineteen.”
I shrugged. “Then wait a year or two. I’m sure Damon’s not going anywhere.”
Stavrok nodded once, though his jaw was tight with sudden tension and indecision. I’d wanted to impart that knowledge to him for months, and it was a burden I was grateful to now shift onto his shoulders.
The winter king had sent his congratulations, but he’d declined our invitation to attend. I understood; he had his hands full for the foreseeable future. If the loner king ever did decide to venture south, at least he knew he had friends waiting for him.
On the other side of the aisle, my new councilors sat whispering amongst themselves. They included representation from all over the kingdom: both the town, and the outlying countryside. One of them, my butler Thomas, caught my eye and nodded his head respectfully.
There was not a single gold chain to be seen among them. I smiled to myself.
I hope the old elders are keeping themselves warm with their gold, now that they are no longer welcome in my castle.
Stavrok leaned in again, and I turned toward him.
“Word has it that you’re quite the natural statesman,” he said. “If the rumors from my wife are to be believed.”
“That’s all Marienne.” I shrugged. “I can’t claim any credit. I couldn’t have done it without her.”
“I’m sure she’d say the same about you.”
I shot Stavrok a grateful smile. I had chosen the right guy to be my best man today.
The hall began to fill with the sounds of soft, ethereal music, and the double doors swung open. My heart clenched with nerves and anticipation.
It was finally time.
Mari stood there, haloed by sunlight. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Her dress floated and swirled around her, and her perfect face was framed by dozens and dozens of flowers.
She had a whole crown of them. They tumbled through her long hair, their tendrils trailing through her veil, the latter held up by a smiling Lucy. As she walked along the aisle, the whole room seemed to come alive in her wake.
I almost forgot to breathe. She looked like a goddess.
The tension in my shoulders drained away, and my heart warmed. Meeting Marienne’s gaze, all I felt was peace, and certainty about the future.
This was just the beginning.
THE END
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