by Lisa Daneils
The subject soon changed to something else, but Bridget spent the rest of the night considering what Liam had said. If he was really going to look into the attacks on her father’s kingdom, how was he going to manage that while trying to create a kingdom?
Bridget slept fitfully that night. It was impossible to quiet her mind with all of the events and information she had learned over the day. Thinking back to the way the day had started, the princess felt foolish for having been so worried about how the prince would treat her. Her father and brother had been contending with problems caused by the shape shifters, and Liam was planning to establish a new kingdom as he looked for a bride. By comparison, her problems were childish.
A quiet rapping on her door caused Bridget to sit up. “Who would be knocking on my door at this hour?”
Pulling a robe on, she began to head to the door when the rapping sounded again. After a moment of confusion, she realized that the person was standing on her balcony, not at the entrance to her rooms. Hurrying to the door, she pulled it open and found herself facing her future husband.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, but I knew you weren’t sleeping very well. Is it alright if we talk for a bit?”
“Of course,” she said, shivering a little as she stepped outside and pulled the door closed.
Liam looked at the door before pulling off his coat and wrapping it around her shoulders. “Thank you for humoring me. I hope this is not too forward.”
Bridget laughed as she drew the coat tighter around her. “We will be married tomorrow. I hardly think that tongues will wag any worse than they already are at how quickly the decision was made.” Despite the coat, she still shivered a little.
“You are cold. Would it be alright to speak in your room? Or would that make you uncomfortable?”
“Oh, no… that is… sorry, I should have thought of that. Just don’t get many visitors on my balcony. You must be quite athletic to climb up four stories.” She chatted as she opened the door, the relief of the warmth of her room helping her feel a little more relaxed.
“I did not climb.” He offered no explanation for how he did reach her balcony.
Deciding it best not to ask, Bridget asked the more obvious question, “What brings you to my room so early in the morning?”
“I’ve been thinking about what your father and brother said, and it is really bothering me.” He began to pace. “To be perfectly honest, I think that the attacks from the shape shifters are the reason why we are being required to marry humans. They know that something worse is coming, and if the shape shifters are able to get a footing in the human kingdoms, they may pose a real threat to us.”
A frown creased her brow. “Do shifters and shape shifters really not get along that well?”
He ran a hand through his strawberry-blond hair. “Not in the least. They are like… hybrids. Magic users trapped between humans and something else, but they have lost most of what made them human long ago. They are the reason why so many of our kind don’t like humans, even though that is not entirely fair.” His eyes darted to the princess. “As I’ve learned during my brief time here.” Liam ran a hand through his hair again. “I may need to make some changes to our plans.”
“What do you mean?”
“It is obvious that my father and the other kings are hoping to build relationships with humans through marriage, but they have to know that it will take more than that. Especially since the other three princes show no signs of considering human brides. The kings are threatening the heirs with losing their positions to force them, but even that is proving ineffective. I can’t believe that marriage is their only plan, though. If they were to tell us about the threat, my brother and friends would undoubtedly rise to fight the shape shifters. So I am troubled why all of this is being done in secrecy. I think that I need to find out exactly how… serious the threat is. To do that, I will need to postpone our wedding.”
Bridget put a hand to her mouth as she thought through the problem. “Do you mean to postpone it because you feel that is more important than starting a kingdom?”
“It isn’t more important. It’s just… being here, I have an opportunity to gain intelligence and see the extent of the damage. Once I return home and marry you, I will not be able to leave for at least a year, if not more.”
“So you plan to go view the damage yourself?”
“I think that would be for the best. I am sorry for shifting the plans so soon after setting them, but could I convince you to wait a few days before we marry?”
Bridget frowned for a moment. It would give her time to spend with her family, but she wouldn’t be included in any of their discussion or be told about what was happening. The only reason she had a clue was because Liam had been there to facilitate a conversation. A part of her felt hurt that no one had felt inclined to tell her anything, as if they thought she couldn’t handle it. At the very least, she could have done more for her father and brother. Instead, they had kept her in the dark. Even worse, she knew that they had opted not to tell her because no one thought she could contribute. She was expected to focus on finding a husband, and that was her sole responsibility.
Looking Liam directly in the eyes, she said, “Do you mean it when you say I should be more honest about what I want?”
“Absolutely.”
The princess took a deep breath. “Then I want to go with you to see what has happened.”
Immediately, the prince shook his head. “I cannot agree to that.”
“Why?”
“It will not be safe.”
“I understand that, but I want to be able to help. How can I do that if no one tells me what is happening?”
“I will tell you if you really want to know.”
“How do I know that you are telling me everything? You could just selectively relay what you think will placate me, as my family has done.”
“Does it anger you that you have remained in the dark?”
“It doesn’t anger me, but I want to do what I can to help. If I don’t know what is happening, I cannot help.”
“You did not try to help your father and brother.”
Bridget’s frown deepened. “I thought that they were being open. It was only because you pressed them for more answers at dinner that I realized they have been hiding so much from me.”
“How often did you ask them?” Liam’s face remained expressionless.
“Nearly daily. I continued to ask, but they kept saying that I shouldn’t worry about it. They wanted me to focus on finding another husband, which I thought meant that things were going well. I wasn’t aware that they were hiding the truth. Perhaps they weren’t lying to me, but it still feels like they were.”
“You feel that they were being overprotective, and it feels to you like they were dismissing your ability to help them.”
Bridget clenched her teeth, taking in the prince’s assessment. Finally she looked at him directly and said, “Yes. My place was just to find a husband. That was what they decided my priority was, regardless of how I felt. Anything beyond that was too much for me to handle. No, that isn’t right.” Taking a calming breath, she closed her eyes. “They thought they were protecting me so that I could focus on what should have been my priority.” Sighing, she opened her eyes as she shook her head. “But I have absolutely no desire to marry so soon after my husband’s death. I want to be able to support the people I care about, and they cannot understand that.”
Liam walked to a window and looked out of it. When he spoke, his voice was calming. “You think that you can now do something to help them.”
“I don’t know if I can help them now. By agreeing to marry you so quickly, I will not be around to support them at all. If I don’t try to do something, I will regret it. And I don’t need any more regrets.”
“What is your intention if I were to take you with me?”
“I will see the problem for myself.”
“How will that help them now?”
“I don’t know. But I know that remaining here is the same as giving up. Perhaps I will be able to find a way to help them once I see it. My father and brother are brilliant in many ways, but when it comes to details, they always leave that up to others. Where they look at the big picture, I always take the small things into account. It is possible that whatever they have seen, they have overlooked something.”
Liam turned to look at her. “Do you not think that your lack of direction will be a problem?”
The princess could feel a glimmer of hope with those words. She had already realized that if she had no chance of going, he would have already told her no. “I will stay with you and do whatever you tell me to do.”
He considered her for a moment. “I suppose this shall have to be one more secret we share. May as well add one more.”
“So you will take me with you?”
“I have no intention to tell my people, and I will ask that you not tell anyone that I have taken you with me. You may relay information to your family, indicating that it was from me, but no more than that.”
Running forward, she threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Liam. Thank you so much. I promise to do whatever you tell me to do.” She released him, and stood with a huge grin on her face. “I will find some way to make it up to you.”
“I understand how you feel, so despite feeling that it is a terrible idea, I am willing to have you join me. However, there is one thing we will need to do before that.”
“Absolutely. Anything you want.”
“You really should not say that. Anything is far too wide, and there are many things that you would not be willing to do.”
Blushing, Bridget nodded, “You are right. But I don’t think you would ask me to do something that I would find disagreeable.”
“We will need to marry before we leave here. To properly protect you, I will need a stronger bond than what we have now. The only way to achieve it is through a more intimate relationship.”
“I thought you needed to wed back home.”
“We will have another ceremony when we reach my father’s kingdom. Since I was not able to make it back today, they will not expect me back for at least a few days. But to keep you safe, I will need more than just the promise of marriage.”
“I don’t understand.”
Liam sighed, “My kind can protect those with whom we have tight bonds. When our family members are in danger, we can sense it and react. To a lesser extent, we can feel that for friends as well. I do not know what to expect by entering places where the shape shifters have been, and I am very concerned about my ability to keep you safe going in blind. There is no way to guarantee that we will not be separated, no matter how hard we try. There will also be things that I likely will not want you to see. In such cases, I will want to be able to leave you behind to investigate. It is more important for you to listen to what I say than to stay by my side. But the only way that I will feel comfortable leaving you is if we have a connection that will alert me to potential problems.”
“And marrying you will create that connection?”
“Not the ceremony.”
“Then—oh.” His words began to fall into place in her mind, and it was suddenly much clearer what Liam was alluding to. “That’s…” her voice trailed off.
The prince’s expression betrayed nothing as he explained, “I had not intended to have those kinds of relations with you, but if you insist on going with me, I will have to insist on such a bonding. The shape shifters are incredibly dangerous, and I will need every advantage to keep you safe.”
Hesitantly, she said, “You know, we don’t have to marry first.” Bridget’s eyes traveled to the bed.
“Absolutely not. I must insist on marriage first.”
“So if I don’t go with you, then we won’t…”
“If you remain here, I will take you home when I return from assessing the situation along your kingdom’s coast. I will fill you in on everything I learned, but there would not be time for you to do anything with that information. At no point would I engage with you physically either. As you already pointed out, the marriage is a sham, which means there is no obligation to consummate it. That is only necessary if you feel that you have to walk into danger.”
She didn’t need any time to consider her options. “I accept. I will let Father know as soon as he wakes, and we should be married by the early evening. Then we can leave the next morning?”
Liam’s eyes were full of emotion, but she could not read all of them, particularly as his face and voice seemed no different than normal. Her curiosity was beginning to get the better of her because she knew that he felt something, but she knew she shouldn’t ask. People who were that adept at masking their emotions had good reason to do so. If she had to guess what that was, Bridget would say it was the fact that he had to marry a human. As it was, she was already making requests that would at least inconvenience him. Asking him for explanations was going too far.
He gave a faint, forced smile. “That will work, and it will give us a bit of extra time to prepare. I ask that you ensure you are ready to leave after the marriage is consummated. I will need to send for one of my people to witness the ceremony, and I warn you he will be angry to learn of my decision. If you can bear with me through that, I will take you with me.”
“Will you be stuck with me if we go through with this?”
“No. You will still be free to choose your own path. Since we won’t engage in the act again, the bond should fade quickly. I don’t know if you will even feel it.”
“I’m not worried about me. Are you okay with this?”
Liam looked away. “I have already offered myself to you, and you have accepted all of it based on my terms.” He turned his face to her. “I promised that I would take care of you to the best of my abilities, and I will not go back on that now.”
As happy as she wanted to be, Bridget found that the way he again carefully selected his words hid a deeper meaning. It did not escape her that he didn’t answer her question either. But if she didn’t go through with it, she would remain in the dark. Aloud she wondered, “Am I being selfish?”
“In a fashion, yes. As I have been trying to encourage it, I have no room to criticize you for following.” He walked over and kissed her forehead. “Please get some sleep. You will need as much as you can get before the rest of the palace begins to wake. The next few days are going to be very trying.”
Seconds later, the door shut behind him. “Why do I feel that it will be far worse for you than for me?”
It was only after he was gone that Bridget realized he had not taken his coat. Knowing that it would cause speculation, she hid it in a small piece of luggage, meaning to return it to him once they had left the palace. Finally feeling that she might be able to contribute, Bridget managed to drift off to a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 6
The Problem with Family
True to her word, Bridget told her father of the decision as soon as she woke and dressed. He was surprised, but did not argue with the idea of getting to watch his daughter get married again. The morning flew by in a flurry of activity. Despite his agreement to keep it small, Bridget still had her work cut out for her to keep it as scaled-down as she felt it should be.
In the early afternoon, one of the guards pulled her aside. “Your Highness, there is someone here to speak with you.”
Wiping her hands on her dress, the princess asked, “Who is it?”
“Prince Grayson.” The guard’s eyes moved to a corner of the door and she saw a very intimidating man standing like a statue in the next room. His red hair made him stand out far more.
Confused why another prince would be coming to see her, Bridget nodded. “I will see him. Did he say what he needed?”
“No, Highness, he didn’t mention it. But…” his voice trailed off and she knew what he wasn’t saying. The figure looked like he was trouble.
“I will take care of it.” Bridget was already movin
g to the doorway. Plastering a smile on her face, she entered the room. She gave a low curtsey and said, “Good day, Prince Grayson. I am Princess Bridget of the Caden Kingdom. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
His eyes traveled over her body, and she felt like this prince was finding nothing but faults in what he saw. A shiver went down her spine, and the princess felt like shards of ice were radiating from the cold eyes. It was that thought that made her look into his eyes. Immediately regretting that mistake, she at least had confirmation. Liam had said he would need to have someone from his kingdom present. Trying to keep her voice level, she forced a smile. “You must be one of Prince Liam’s—”
The man began to walk toward her. “I must ask you to accompany me for a walk. I trust that your… servants will be able to manage without you, princess.” The way he spoke definitely left the impression that the words were thinly veiled insults.
She looked to the nearby guards. “Please let them know to continue. I will accompany the prince.”
“Very well, Highness.” The guard’s eyes went to Prince Grayson as if he wasn’t sure that was a good idea.
The prince turned on his heel and began to march out into the garden without another look at the princess. Shocked at the suddenness of his motions, Bridget hurried to catch up. To her horror, Prince Greyson had marched into the maze without a single look at her. How do they know to go in there to speak privately? The thought was unnerving as she ran to catch up.
Several minutes later, Bridget realized that she had not taken the same paths. Turning around, she began to panic.
“Can you really not keep up with me? Please tell me that all humans are not this inept.”
The princess spun around and saw the cold prince glaring at her. A small voice in her mind pointed out that there were similarities between this prince and Liam, but it was quickly drowned out by the relief she felt at being saved. “My apologies, Prince Grayson. I have never had a good sense of direction, so I must ask that you not get too far ahead of me.”
