1
ANA
From her carriage window, Ana watched the shadowy stain of dusk take hold of the skies.
Maddoc would be in their room now, realizing she was not there as promised and that she wasn’t coming. A strange feeling drifted in her chest; melancholy and forlorn clouding her thoughts as unbidden memories of him revolved in her mind. His twitching beard, the intensity of his eyes, that gritty bassy voice… The tremble in her stomach flickered, and her nipples hardened at the memory of his tongue grazing them, his hands gripping and squeezing the fleshy parts of her thighs, his groan when he lapped at her clit or sunk deep into—
“Ana?”
Stiffening, Ana glanced over at Ryden, who sat next to her in the carriage. “Yes?”
“Your father has been informed.”
Ana nodded, exhaling a heavy breath. So, Father knew she had left, which meant Mother did too by now. It was strange being separated from them. She’d never been apart from them in such a drastic way before, and they’d been the steady base she’d relied on for so long, but she had to take the opportunity to strike out on her own.
Never would she have considered that her parents would lie to her, but even more unbelievable was her mother’s outright admission that they wouldn’t stop lying to her. After all their talks of upholding honesty and fairness, the betrayal of it cut her deeply. Her parents and Milly were the three people in the world she’d never dreamed would lie to her about anything. How was she supposed to know what was true anymore? As reluctant as she was to believe any word that had come out of Maddoc’s mouth, if he’d been even half right about any deception on her parents’ part, her life wasn’t what she thought it was. And that gave way to another uncomfortable thought; what else was he right about?
A warm hand covered hers. “Are you all right, Ana?”
She turned to see Ryden gazing at her, concern in his blue eyes as they roamed her face. She smiled, relaxing in her seat. The one thing she could be sure of was Ryden. As her fated mate, he was the only one who was guaranteed to be there for her, to protect her and be her home, regardless of what happened. “Of course, this is just… unexpected, that’s all.”
“I know. It will take some getting used to.” He paused, staring at her. “I was surprised you came with me.”
“You were?”
Ryden nodded. “I thought you’d want to consult your parents or at least have me prove that I could do what I said.”
Ana tilted her head slightly. Was he implying she was foolish for believing him without proof? Perhaps she had been. “I desperately want the promise to be broken,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to go back into that room to… him.”
Ryden’s jaw clenched. “I don’t blame you.”
“And I know we are fated mates, Ryden. I must have faith in that. If there’s even a chance we can break the promise and be married… I have to take it, regardless of what my parents think.”
A smile spread on his handsome face. “That’s the way I feel, Ana.”
Ana squeezed his hand, returning his smile. “Good. So tell me how we can break the promise. Both my parents were adamant it couldn’t be done.”
“It has to do with the majority vote of the houses,” Ryden explained, leaning back in his seat. “There are five houses, as you know, and in all voting scenarios the majority wins. The houses can overthrow a decision made by the ruling couple if the majority of the houses agree.”
Ana nodded. She’d heard of that concept, but slightly differently. “I thought it was only if the houses were unanimous in their decision that they could overthrow a decision by the king or ruling couple?” It rarely happened because each of the houses had such different interests, but it was possible.
“Usually yes,” Ryden agreed. “But in this case, we will agree that the majority vote should count.”
Unease wormed through Ana’s stomach. “So it’s not guaranteed we can break it?”
“It will be more likely to happen if we have public support.”
Horror jumped into Ana’s throat. “We’re going to make it public?”
“Only if we need to, Ana,” Ryden said. “But it might come to it if the other houses and the king fight us on the decision.”
“But the commoners won’t agree that Maddoc isn’t owed the promise if he saved Father’s life. They would expect him to honor it—that’s been the whole reason they’ve been trying to keep it quiet.”
“Don’t panic, Ana,” he said, taking her hands again. “We’ve got a plan and strategy that will ensure we will prevail on this. You’ve just got to trust me.”
Ana held his gaze and took a deep breath. She had just learned that she couldn’t trust her parents to be honest with her, and even though Ryden had never shown her any reason not to trust him, she was nervous about his ability to judge the situation, when Maddoc was a factor they had to consider. Ryden was from House Redcrest and very experienced in arguing politics and familiar with Allandis law. Perhaps he could see a way to get through this that she wasn’t aware of? But Maddoc could not be dealt with the way the court could. “I trust you, Ryden,” she said. “But you must understand that you are not only dealing with the assembly or the crown. You are dealing with Maddoc. He has no concern or respect for innocent lives, and he will drag others into this if he does not get what he’s owed.”
Ryden shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Is he in love with you?”
A beam of something strange shot through the cloudiness in Ana’s stomach, but she pushed it away. “No, I don’t think so. It is about the principle. He was owed three nights, and he didn’t get it. He will think it is not honorable, and he will retaliate.”
“He isn’t one to determine what is or isn’t honorable considering his crimes,” Ryden barked, his eyes flashing. “It is all very well for him to murder, steal, and rape, but we are not honorable for giving him two nights out of three? That bastard cannot dictate anything to us. He is not just a nameless man or a criminal, he is the most despicable outlaw known to the kingdom. He shouldn't have been given that much power just for saving the king."
Ana’s gaze sharpened on him. "I am grateful that he did, Ryden."
Ryden met her gaze. "Ana, I know King Orick is your father, but if he was that careless while hunting, it is a sign he is losing his touch. All of his king's guard were killed or maimed, leaving him unprotected. That doesn't sound like a situation that should befall a competent king. Where were his archers? Where were his own weapons? It is well recognized that kings should take all necessary steps to protect themselves from having to be saved by anyone other than their knights."
"The men who attacked him were not from Allandis, Ryden," Ana said, grappling with the annoyance that surged in her chest. "They planned it—they must have known his schedule and attacked when he was vulnerable."
"Is there evidence of that? Did you ask your father?"
“There was evidence they carried an insignia not recognized in Allandis. I assume he would have shared that with the houses."