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“Traditional white attire on one’s wedding day symbolizes purity, honor, and truth.”

A Seelie Guide to Matrimony

B y Tuesday evening the curfew has been lifted. An interesting development considering they never caught the wolf that everyone was so worried about. My aunt still won’t speak to me, but she has yet to kick me out. Probably because the prince has been calling at the house every day to court me.

And by “court,” I mean ensure that I still intend to hold up my end of our bargain.

According to Nia, the guards still patrol the bridge—not that I’ve seen as much with my own eyes. Every time I’ve set foot outside the cottage, at least two guards accompany me.

A prelude to my life as Princess of Willowhaven.

At noon on my twenty-fifth birthday, in the middle of the crowded Black Rose pub, I propose to Prince Ronan Reve.

Much to Ivee Lynch’s dismay, he accepts.

Ivee isn’t the only one shocked.

Nia gawks at me, and when those closest to us have finished offering their congratulations, she drags me into the garden to ask what the hell I’m thinking. I tell her Ronan’s fabricated story, that he and I bonded over our shared grief and made amends.

We don’t speak at all on Wednesday.

First thing Thursday morning, Ronan sent a carriage to whisk me away to his home in the tree where guards have been posted day and night. He claims it’s for my safety, but we both know it’s a lie. I’m being held hostage and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

Two days later, I’m sitting on Ronan’s plush sofa, all alone, wishing there was some way to escape this nightmare that has become my life.

Knowing the bridge remains open on Wednesdays is the only solace I have. Perhaps one of the Unseelie will take pity on Ever and give him some of their water.

The front door eases open, and my stomach sinks the way it always does when Ronan comes over. He’s still living in the castle, but after our wedding, that will change.

Instead of the prince stepping into the room, another familiar figure waits in the doorway. I rub my eyes. Can it really be?

“Father?” I launch off the sofa and race across the room to throw myself into his waiting arms. His embrace feels as safe as I remember, and he still smells like pipe smoke and chilly mountain air. It’s a relief to know that some things don’t change.

“Goodness, my girl.” His chuckle rumbles in his chest. “Here I thought you forgot I existed.” He eases me back, his brow furrowing as he studies me through the spectacles perched on the end of his nose.

Just like Trevor .

Perhaps that’s why I felt so safe with my friend. Why I liked him so much.

And now he’s gone.

“What is this? Why are you crying?” My father’s thumbs trace reassuring circles against my shoulders the way they used to when I was small, and my burdens felt too large to carry.

Because the world is falling apart, and I don’t know how to fix it. “I just missed you, that’s all. What are you doing here?”

“You’ll never believe it, but we received an invitation from the queen herself. She sent a carriage to collect us and everything.”

“Us?”

“Do I not get a look in?” a deep voice grumbles from the foyer. Either my ears are deceiving me or?—

My father steps aside.

“Theo!” My brother is here as well. I let go of Father to hug my brother. If this weren’t the worst time of my life, it would be one of the happiest.

Theo lets me go and gestures toward the porch. “Kerris, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

A pretty young woman with hair the color of aubergines steps into the room, her eyes the most striking shade of aquamarine.

“Kerris, this is my wife, Cora.”

Wait just a minute. Did he say this beautiful woman is his wife ? “Since when did you get married?” He never mentioned a woman in any of his letters.

Theo stuffs his hands into his pockets, a splash of pink spreading across his freckled cheekbones. “Since last week.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Or, I don’t know, invite me to the bloomin’ wedding?

Theo shrugs. “I’ve been a little busy.”

Heavens… I never thought I’d see the day my big brother settled down. I take both of Cora’s warm hands in mine and return her smile. “It’s so lovely to meet the woman who has finally convinced my brother to marry.”

“It hardly took any convincing at all.” Cora’s blush matches my brother’s as she shoots him a smile full of secrets.

When they look at each other, their love shines in their eyes. What must it be like to marry the person you love and not be blackmailed into a union?

I twist Ever’s ring around my middle finger.

If only I knew.

Theo grins down at me, looking so much like our mother that my chest aches. “I hear congratulations are in order for you as well.”

More like commiserations…

My father’s calloused hand squeezes my shoulder. “My baby girl is finally getting married.”

“And to a prince no less,” Theo adds with a wink.

Father’s eyes start to glisten as he looks between us, his lips curving into a watery smile. “Your mother would be so proud of you both.”

Not if she knew the truth .

* * *

Nia and her parents join us for an impromptu celebration of my impending nuptials. Fortunately, my husband-to-be is detained at the castle and cannot join us. Nia scrutinizes me from where she sits on the sofa, her lips pinched as she dips her teaspoon in and out of her teacup. It’s as if she can see straight through the lies that I’ve been telling everyone since I proposed to the prince.

I try to encourage Theo to tell us the story of how he and Cora met. Unfortunately, my family keeps wanting to turn the questions back on me.

“When do we meet the lucky man?” Father asks.

Never, if I have my way. “At the wedding.” If they see the two of us together beforehand, they’re bound to recognize there’s nothing but animosity between us and try to put a stop to this.

There is no stopping my fate.

Theo takes his wife’s hand, lacing their fingers together and pressing a tender kiss to her knuckles. “When is that?”

“Wednesday.” It’s no coincidence that Ronan chose a day the Unseelie will be in Rosehill to conduct the charade. Even though Ever won’t be at the well, the news will surely reach him by the time the other Unseelie return to their village.

I must take solace in the fact that the bridge is remaining open—for the time being at least. If I play my part well, perhaps the threat to the Unseelie will vanish altogether.

Father’s brow furrows. “So soon?”

I shrug. “That’s what happens when you’re in love.”

A lie has never tasted as bitter.

Nia chokes on her tea. She sets the cup down so hard, it rattles the others. When she shoots to her feet and stomps for the winding staircase, I excuse myself and drift along after her. If she cannot keep her emotions under control, our family is going to grow suspicious.

She comes to a halt in my bedroom. Birdsong drifts through the window, but the joyful song falls flat.

“Nia, please don’t be like this.” Life is difficult enough right now. I need my best friend by my side if I am to make it through.

She whirls on me, her eyes blazing and fist clenched, ready for a fight. “Don’t you dare tell me you love Ronan. We both know that’s a load of bollocks.”

What can I say? She’s right.

“I cannot help you if I do not know what’s going on.”

That’s the problem. “No one can help me.”

She takes me by the hand, her expression softening. “What has he done?”

It’s all too much, keeping these secrets. Am I to take them to my grave? I can trust Nia—she’s been with me from the beginning of this downward spiral. Perhaps I’m being foolish not enlisting her help. Even if we cannot find a way out, at least I’ll have a shoulder to cry on. “Ronan found my dress at Trevor’s. He threatened to blame me for Trevor’s death.”

Sinking onto the end of my bed, Nia presses a hand to her forehead, her face milky pale. “Oh, Kerris… What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to marry him.”

“You can’t.”

I can and I will because: “I don’t have a choice.”