Page 25 of Enchanted Shadows (The Enchanted Kingdom #6)

“ N o!” Jorah snapped.

“But why is princedom needed if that is your plan?” Esta asked rationally.

“Have to say, didn’t see that one coming,” Keir laughed.

Everyone was speaking all at the same time, a cacophony of chaos, but my eyes were on Princess Kessara, gauging her reaction.

“Why?” Her voice had gone dangerously quiet. So much so, the others quieted down.

“If this prick arrives and you are already married, he has to honor that marriage or start a war with Wylan. One he will be less likely to start with Wylan and Dra Skor more united than ever before.” I paused, my eyes going to Esta.

“Particularly if you marry someone of influence in Wylan. Not that I’m important by any means, but if I am granted a princedom, it may help matters. Make me important.”

“You already are,” Keir snapped. “How many times has Krew tried to make you Commander?”

Here I was, offering myself up on a silver platter to be married to a princess in a pickle, and everyone was just biting my head off. The audacity.

“Won’t Calix hear that you were granted princedom recently?” Emric asked me.

I gestured with a hand. “So we spin a story. You started on my training team. You fell madly in love with me immediately, due to me being dashingly handsome, of course. So naturally, you couldn’t keep your hands off me.”

Keir choked on a laugh.

“To avoid getting in trouble for an inappropriate relationship between a general and a trainee, we were married quickly. True love doesn’t wait and all that.

And if I’m a prince then politically it’s an even more acceptable move.

So Krew took pity on us and granted me a princedom so we could be together. ”

A few others were smirking, but Zara wasn’t.

I continued, “We will be married. You can stay in Kavan Keep where you are safest, and Calix will have to go home with his tail tucked between his legs.” I beckoned with two fingers for Krew to get another drink.

“We can travel to Agria, speak to your parents about your brothers, ensure Damek doesn’t take the throne, and then leave.

Once it is safe, your brother can return.

We can go back then too, if you would like. ”

It was Amos who spoke up first. “I have to say, this plan covers everything. It’s smart, granting you protection and citizenship from Wylan immediately as well as a way to avoid Calix.”

It was about damn time someone got on my level. “I know.”

“But you do not love me,” Princess Kessara finally said.

I made sure to look her in the eyes. “I do not dislike you. Marriages have happened with far less.”

Jorah added to just me, Are you attracted to her at all? If so, it will complicate this, but I might be more for it if there is even a chance you want it to be real.

My eyes went to hers. Of course I’m attracted to her. Look at her. I don’t know that it will ever be real, but I do know we owe her the opportunity to get to know her brothers and to live a safe life. That should be more than enough to convince you.

“Out loud, please,” Krew barked.

Jorah’s lips pulled up into a quick smile. “I have a stipulation.”

I smirked. “Oh good, me too.”

She began, “Mine is that you do not bond your magic unless you both want that. Owen is already bonded to me, and I was holding out hope the second time he bonds, it will be with his soulmate.” To a confused looking Kessara, she quickly added, “Our sages believe the more you bond, the weaker the bonds will be. Two to three strong bonds is the maximum amount any of us should have.”

“Tell that to Theon,” Kessara muttered.

“Oh. They tried,” Keir agreed. “He just didn’t listen. It was kind of his entire mode of operation, really. Rational thinking and logistics optional.”

Kessara turned back to me. “What was your stipulation? If you demand we consummate the marria?—”

I held up my free hand. “Hey now. Do you really think I would? Go straight to manipulating you for your body after the hell you’ve just endured at the hands of another man pulling all the strings of your life?”

“No,” she admitted.

“I don’t bribe women into my bed.” I stopped to glare at her. “My stipulation is that you stay on the team.”

“ What? Why?”

I tipped my head back. “Because you are an integral part of that team and while all of this was going on around you, those women made it past your defenses. You love them. They love you.” And then I went in for the kill shot.

“I would think that leading the team of women here or even just being part of it would be a good excuse to your mother as to why you need to stay here. And not return to Agria. It will give you an exit strategy. For as long as you want or need it.”

“The team will never believe it,” she argued. “Believe us .”

I nodded. “We will have to bring them in on everything. Including your true identity. Along with at least Team One. For security purposes.”

She opened her mouth. Closed it. “You are an infuriating man.”

That had me grinning. “I know.” Krew had poured me a fresh whiskey and he swapped it out with my old one. “So marry me already, Princess. Make me your fool.”

She turned to Amos.

He told her, “It’s the best option we have given the time constraints, Z. Calix could arrive within a week.” To me he added, “I know we just sprung this on you, but this marriage shall have to be swift if this is really going to happen.”

“Efficient is my middle name,” I told him with a nod.

Princess Kessara looked at me with wide eyes, “I don’t even know your middle name.”

“It’s Gerald,” Jorah supplied.

“You know enough,” I added. “Anything else, you can ask. Considering once we are married and training ends, you will be staying with me. To keep up appearances. So you’ll have plenty of time to ask.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is not at all how I thought this would go.”

Keir cocked his head. “And how did you think it would go?”

She threw her hand in the air. “Quite honestly, I thought I would already be on a boat on my way back to Agria. I understand how hard all of you have fought for peace for Wylan. I don’t wish to ruin it; I merely wish to participate in it. Participate in my own life.”

I do hate it when you’re right, Jorah sent me.

I’m always right. You should be used to it by now .

Krew told his half-sister, “Fighting for peace is never over, Kessara. We will have to keep choosing it, keep finding it.”

Keir added, “Yeah. So what do you say, little sis?” As Jorah and Esta both gaped at him, he added, “Just trying it out.”

“You are overwhelming her,” Esta scolded.

“I’ve been overwhelmed the past five years,” Kessara told her. “Being called sis is the least of my concerns.”

Amos chuckled.

“So back to the biggest and best concern. Dare I say most handsome concern.” As the princess glared at me in a way I was more than familiar with, I grinned. “What do you say? Are you going to marry me or not?”

She groaned. “I’m standing before some of the most powerful and intelligent people in the country, possibly the entire realm, and this is the best plan we can come up with?”

“Pretty much,” Krew admitted. “But it has the best chance of success in removing your brother Damek from the throne before he takes it. You cannot accomplish that on your own. You’ve tried.

So, it’s time to let us help you. This is also the lowest risk because unlike your formerly betrothed, Owen here is a good man. ”

“Some might even say great,” Keir added.

I pinned him with a look. I was used to his snarky comments, the hype felt too forced.

“It’s better than no plan,” Amos said to Kessara. “And it gets you an immediate level of protection against Calix. A marriage certificate the law will protect.”

She strode for me. As she did, I considered that in an effort to help her like I told her I would, while also trying to keep Wylan out of rough waters, I was playing with fire.

It was going to be far harder not to be more attracted to her when our roles were not general and trainee, but husband and wife.

It didn’t matter that the entire thing was mostly a farce, vows still mattered to me.

I had told myself on repeat that the women on the team were young and off limits. Yet Zara wasn’t that much younger than me at all. And here I was proposing to her.

Instead of speaking to me, Kessara grabbed the whiskey out of my hand and tossed it back.

I waited. Let her get uncomfortable in the silence while we all waited for her answer.

She took a deep inhale that told me her throat was on fire. “Yeah,” she got out. “I’ll marry you.”