Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 48853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
“It’s my wedding day, and I say it does,” Wraye insists. She looks between Cassian and me, her eyes growing misty. “Thank you both for being here. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Thanks for not kicking me out,” Cassian says, with a lazy grin.
I glance past Wraye’s shoulder to where Daddy is talking with members of his King’s Guard, the older ones who were in prison with him. It’s rare to see them smiling, but today, they all are, as if they’ve left their cells and loneliness far behind them.
“Do you think Daddy will be angry with me for long?” I ask Wraye.
Wraye shakes her head. “He’s not angry, and I think it will take him six weeks to come around completely to the idea of you marrying Cassian.”
I frown at her, wondering how she’s able to pinpoint the exact time. “How do you know that?”
Wraye shoots me a mischievous smile. “Because that’s how long it took you to come around to the idea of him marrying me.”
At my side, Cassian bursts out laughing and says to Wraye, “They’re stubborn, our partners.”
“Stubborn and proud,” Wraye agrees.
“The proudest. I could barely get Lady Aubrey to speak to me when she first came to the stables.”
“Cassian, you know for a fact that it was the other way around.”
“We’ll say goodnight now, if that’s all right, Lady Wraye? I want to take Aubrey home.”
Wraye laughs and kisses our cheeks. “Of course. You two have a wonderful evening, and congratulations.”
“You too,” I tell her, and watch her move off into the crowd, her beautiful white satin dress trailing in her wake. The Court of Paravel has been good to her. She’s happy here, as she deserves to be.
I turn to my fiancé. “You troublemaker. You were the one who wouldn’t speak to me when I arrived at the stables.”
Cassian looks at me amused and takes my hand, leading me toward the exit. “Was I? I don’t remember. I do remember what you tasted like the first time I kissed you, though. Does that count for anything?”
“I said I was new in Paravel, and you said, ‘Cool story,’ and turned away.”
“That does sound rude.”
“It was.”
He kisses my lips, with that charming grin on his face that never fails to take my breath away. “I’ll have to make it up to you by marrying you.”
17
Cassian
I lead Cinnamon and Aster out into the dusky light, and Aubrey wraps an arm around each of their necks.
“We’re getting married! You two are going to be step-horses. How awesome is that?” She plants kisses on each of their noses as they flick their tails. Aster snuffles in Aubrey’s hair, and then at her silk gown, as if curious about these strange scents and textures.
Aubrey turns to me. “Can I tell Onyx, as well? He’s part of the family, too. He got us together.”
“Oh, yeah, that was a pretty romantic moment for us,” I call over my shoulder, as I head back into the stables. I return with Onyx’s lead rope in one hand and a bucket of apples in the other.
Aubrey lavishes Onyx with attention, stroking her fingers through his mane. “We’re going to be married, you big beautiful boy. Thank you for your hand in getting the two of us together.”
I laugh as I feed apples to Aster and Cinnamon, who are trying to nose each other out of the way. I hold out an apple to Onyx who nibbles it politely from my fingers. “How about we rename him? I think he’d be happier with a new name to go with this new era.”
Aubrey strokes the horse’s silky black mane. “What a good idea. How about Ebony?”
“Ebony. I like it.”
I stroke his nose, thinking about the terrible way he was misused by Chairman Varga. He deserves a happy retirement here with us, after all he’s been through.
“Cassian,” Aubrey says slowly, feeding an apple to Ebony. It disappears with a loud crunch between his powerful jaws. “Can I ask you a question about your parents?”
I wince, but don’t say no.
“Do you think your mother loved your father? Do you think he loved her?”
“He shot her, Aubrey. That’s not love.”
“No, of course not,” she says quickly. “But it must have been some strong emotion. Maybe it was obsession, or jealousy.”
Personally, I think it was just plain fury. A violent man doing whatever the hell he wanted, even if it brought about his own destruction. “Are you afraid of the ghosts that might be in this house?”
She shakes her head. “No. I just wondered if maybe Muriel knew more about what happened. I supposed you’ve talked to her about the day…you know.”
The day it happened. The day General Lungren killed Aimee. I don’t even know where it happened. Maybe it was in the house. Maybe it was right where we’re standing. A shiver goes up my spine. “Promise me you won’t ask her. Dredging up the past makes her upset, and she’s not very strong. It’s best not to talk about it.”