by Lisa Daneils
“Why in the five flames did my brother agree to marry such an incapable human? I know him well enough to say that your beauty would not be enough to recommend you. His preferences go far beyond a pretty face.”
“I couldn’t say why he chose me, but I—”
“Of course you don’t know.” He stepped forward, and the princess felt like a small animal trapped in the gaze of a predator. Prince Grayson folded his arms across his chest and glared at her, not even trying to mask how he felt. “My brother is easily the best creature alive. I would not expect you to understand just how fortunate you are in convincing him to go ahead with this ill-advised, flagrant abuse of power that our father is displaying. But the fact that you have forced him to wed you here shows that you could not possible fathom his position. You do realize that you will have to marry him on our lands, don’t you?”
Bridget gave a desperate nod.
“And yet you insist on marrying him here. Are you that desperate for attention?”
“I—”
“I did not give you permission to speak, human.” The rage in his voice was barely contained. “I simply wanted to warn you that if you do anything—and I mean anything—to sully his name, to make him unhappy, or to put him in danger, I will take immense pleasure in killing you myself. And it will not be a quick death.”
A whimper escaped her, but Bridget could not find her voice.
The sound of two unfamiliar voices echoed around them. “I could have sworn I saw him drag a woman into the maze.”
“Don’t be daft, Ethan. Grayson is about as likely to speak to a human as you are to marry one.”
“Hey, I’m just saying what—oh, see? I was right.”
Two figures appeared at the other end of the maze passageway. From their look, Bridget knew they were shifters, and they looked only marginally friendlier than the one directly in front of her. Frozen in place, she wasn’t quite sure what to say.
“Look at the poor thing. What have you done to this little, lost lamb, Grayson?”
“His usual charms, I’m sure.” The one with longer, brown hair finally addressed her. “I take it you are the incredibly lucky bride.”
Bridget gave a little nod. Realizing this was not good enough, she forced herself into a curtsey. “I am Princess Bridget.”
“Don’t fret, my little pet,” the prince with black hair said, a lopsided smile on his face. “We aren’t going to harm you. Not even this fool.” He grabbed Grayson and pulled him back. “Isn’t that right?”
“As long as she understands her place, I won’t do anything to her.”
“There, you see? She’s a human. There isn’t anything she could possibly do to hurt our dear little Liam,” the shifter with black hair declared, as if Grayson had said something to make her feel better. Giving her a dazzling, empty smile, he said, “You are safe.”
Grayson pushed past his friends. “He should be marrying Mia.”
The shifter with long hair sighed. “I agree, but my parents don’t. In a month, she’ll be married off, so maybe this is for the best.”
The shifters turned and began to follow their friend. Realizing that neither of the new shifters planned to wait for her, let alone introduce themselves, Bridget began to hurry after them before she was left alone in the maze.
Shaken by the encounter, the princess tried to return to the preparations. Liam had said that she would not be treated like one of his people. Was this what he meant? Was this how she would be treated if she went through with the wedding?
Unable to focus on the tasks at hand, Bridget went looking for Liam. Knocking quietly on the door to the room where she was told he would be, Bridget waited for the door to open.
“Princess,” Liam tilted his head to the side. “Are we to begin early?”
“No, no. I’m not here… Do you have a couple of minutes?”
“Of course.” He opened the door wider. “Please come in.”
Not sure where to start, she looked around the room.
“What is it?” There was a gentleness to the voice that sharply contrasted with Grayson’s. The two may have looked similar, but their personalities were clearly very different. “Is something bothering you?”
Finally, Bridget looked at him. “Are you sure about this?”
He blinked, a thin film clearly crossing over his eyes before his eyes closed. “Are you having second thoughts?”
“It’s just,” she licked her lips, “I seem to have imposed far more than I realized, and I wasn’t sure—”
A look of anger passed over Liam’s face. “Has Grayson arrived?”
Shaking her head at first, Bridget had to correct herself. “Yes, he has, but that’s not why—”
“You would not be acting like this if he had not spoken to you.” His tone left no room to argue.
Trying to put her thoughts into words, Bridget said, “I did talk to him, but he made me realize that I may be imposing on you too much.”
“If you had been, I wouldn’t be marrying you today. Whatever he said to you, there is no reason for you to be concerned. Once we return to my home, we will be leaving. You won’t have to deal with him much, if at all.” More to himself, the prince muttered, “I won’t let him near you again.”
“He made a good point, though.”
Liam lifted an eyebrow.
Grabbing the folds of her dress, Bridget pressed forward. “It was because of me that you agreed to marry me here today.”
“Stop right there. I asked to marry you today. It was also my decision to stay here to see what has happened along the coast.”
“Well, now, you don’t have to do that. You could ask—”
“He does not know about it, and I don’t want him to know. Also, he does not know that in exchange for marrying a human, I will be trying to form my own kingdom, something else I do not want him to know.”
“But… he should know. He has a right to know. He’s your brother!” Bridget was beginning to get impassioned, and her voice rose.
Liam closed his eyes and he took a deep breath. “And your father not only has a right to know, he deserves to know that our marriage is not sincere. He most certainly should know why we are marrying here today, yet you are keeping that a secret to protect him.”
“Yes, but… that is different.”
“How?”
“I won’t be able to go if he knows. Even if we marry, he will insist before it happens that you promise not to take me. If he knew about the marriage, he would never let me go through with it.”
“I will ask again, how is it different?”
“My father would object to everything if he knew. Unlike your brother, he can actually prevent the wedding.”
“Bridget, do you honestly think that Grayson would be incapable of stopping the wedding?”
“I—well, I mean—he wouldn’t have the same reason to stop it.”
“There you are wrong. I am every bit as worried about his reaction as you are of your father’s. If you mention anything to Grayson, there will be no marriage.”
“But it isn’t his decision.” Bridget knew she was losing the fight.
Liam walked over, stopping just before her. He placed a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. “And it isn’t your father’s decision. We are both doing what we think is best, and there are many obstacles that we have to maneuver around. If you want out of this, I will not hold you to it. I will find another human after visiting the coast.”
Bridget shook her head. “It isn’t that I want out of it, but I don’t… I don’t want you to do anything you will regret.”
The feel of soft lips on her forehead made her blush. To her surprise, something solid and warm pressed against her face. It took a moment for her to realize that Liam was holding her. “I would regret having to start over again. I think that I was very fortunate to have gotten you to agree to marry me because you clearly aren’t what I had been led to believe humans were like. Something tells me that you are mo
re of an exception than a rule, though, so I would rather not have my current hesitant optimism about humans shattered.” There was a hint of humor in his voice. Bridget wasn’t sure whether this should make her feel better or worse.
Placing her arms around Liam, the princess pressed her face into his muscular chest. “Thank you, Liam. I will work hard so that you don’t regret this. I swear, anything you need me to do to help you, I will do it. And I do mean anything.”
He squeezed her, then stepped back. “You had best hurry back to finish the preparations. I need to go find my brother.”
“I will try to find out where they are.”
“They?”
“Your brother did not come alone.”
Liam groaned, “Good divines, don’t tell me that Ethan and Aiden came too.”
“I don’t know. They didn’t introduce themselves.”
Liam popped his jaw. “Don’t worry. They will be apologizing for that when this is all done.”
Bridget shook her head vigorously, “No, it’s quite alright. It’s obvious—”
“Nothing is obvious except how rude they have been to you.” He stepped forward and kissed the top of her head. “You are looking more like a living saint. Especially after the way they have treated you. If it is any consolation, the rest of my people will at least treat you with respect, even if they do not accept you as one of our own. I promise that you shall not be treated so terribly in my lands.”
“Thank you, Liam.” She looked down, trying to hide the tears forming in her eyes. “And I promise to do everything in my power to help you achieve your goals. I will not leave your side until you have your kingdom.”
“That is most kind of you.” He put his finger under her chin and gently guided her eyes up to his. “I will try not to abuse the offer.”
“Please never hesitate to ask for my help. I feel that I am getting almost all of the benefits from this. All you are getting is more work. Remember that I want to be able to help you as much as I want to be able to help my father and brother. Anything that is in my power, I am willing to do.”
Again he pulled her into a hug. When he released her, Liam gave her a little push toward the door. “You had better hurry, otherwise we will miss the wedding, trying to comfort each other. This isn’t supposed to be a sad occasion, so let us try to enjoy it. If only for today.”
The smile that covered her face was sincere. “I agree. See you soon.” With that, she left the room and hurried back to the preparations feeling much better than she had in a long time.
Chapter 7
In His Arms
The ceremony was short, leaving many of the guests feeling cheated. Only the three shifters seemed to be thankful for the brevity of the event, and they were ready to leave nearly as soon as it ended. Liam began to escort them away from the upcoming festivities, but the one with black hair called out to the bride, “Princess Bridget, are you going to let your husband treat his friends and brother like this?”
Many heads turned to look at Liam, who was only barely able to mask his anger. He whispered something to the trio that no one else could hear. Bridget moved over to them as quickly as she could without running.
When she reached them, she gave a low curtsey. “Thank you very much for attending. I know how much it meant to Prince Liam that you cared enough to come. Even if you aren’t happy with the obligation.” She gave them a sheepish smile. “I swear that I will do whatever I can to deserve even a fraction of the care he has shown me. And I will accept any punishment you deem necessary if I fail.”
The princess kept the pose even as she felt a hand on her arm pulling her up. “Please, Bridget.” Liam’s voice was gentle.
The small group stood out in the garden, away from the other guests, so there was no one to witness the scene. There was a bit of jostling that she could see in her periphery as she kept her eyes down. Finally, a voice said to her, “You say that you will try to deserve a fraction of his care, yet you ignore him when Liam tries to stop you from prostrating yourself to us.”
“The fact that you care for him so much shows that you deserve more than this feeble display. Yet I cannot think of a better way to let you know that I understand your concern.”
She was pulled up and into Liam’s arms. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Blasted divines, I am not going to watch this.” Prince Grayson strode away from them, but the other two remained.
When Liam released her, Bridget turned to the other princes, who were bowing in front of her.
“I am Prince Ethan of the Red Kingdom.”
“I am Prince Aiden of the Blue Kingdom.”
Giving them another low curtsey, Bridget said, “It is my pleasure to meet you, Prince Ethan and Prince Aiden.”
Ethan gave her a small smile. “I hope that our first impression was not too abysmal. You have proven to be better than we could have expected.”
To his right, Aiden gave her a cocky smile. “Not that it was a high bar.”
Liam’s fists clenched, but Bridget laughed at his words. “I can understand that sentiment. I’ve never had a suitor who was as kind or generous as Liam. If he is an example of what your people are like, you are infinitely better than humans.”
Liam wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against him. It was Ethan who responded, “I’m afraid he is the best among us. You will find that the rest of us cannot hold a flame to your husband. I sincerely wish you the best.”
“Thank you, Prince Ethan. I feel even more humbled by your words, and find that I have to agree in part with Prince Grayson. There are definitely women out there who would be better for him. Unfortunately for Liam, he chose me.”
Aiden continued to smirk, “It is good to hear that you are aware. Now make sure to keep that in mind.”
“I will never forget it.”
Liam placed his other hand on her shoulder. “Alright, you two, that is quite enough. It is time that you return home. And make sure that hopeless brother of mine makes it there safely as well, so that I don’t have to worry about him all night.”
“I dare say there will be something else for you to think about tonight. She may be human, but you got a really—” Whatever Aiden was going to say was cut off when Ethan elbowed him hard in the ribs.
Ethan smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Liam, we will take care of Grayson. Please just make sure you come home soon. His kingdom needs a level head after the fit he’s pitched since he found out you were serious about marrying a human.”
Liam just sighed and shook his head. The princes gave him a pat on the shoulder before heading off into the darkness of the garden.
“That isn’t the way to leave the palace,” Bridget looked after their figures as they began to blend into the darkness.
“They won’t be leaving through that way.” Liam released her. “Should we return to the reception?”
“I suppose that is the polite thing to do.”
“Are you alright after this rather poor showing by my fellow princes?”
“I think I’ll be alright. I’m more concerned about you.” Bridget looked up at her new husband. “I’ve never seen you display your emotions so freely, and they were not positive.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that. They are incredibly spoiled and have not learned how to treat people who weren’t born with the same advantages. Then again, no one is born with the same burdens, so I can understand their attitudes a bit.”
“They all care about you so much. I really do feel humbled that you chose me after this encounter.”
After giving her a quick kiss on the head, he told her, “Don’t let it change how you treat me. I don’t need you thinking that you need to be someone else around me. Your honesty was what made me decide to propose. Now, let’s go back to at least thank the rest of the people for coming.”
The rest of the reception went by without incident. The attendees seemed to want to celebrate all night long, even though the couple expressed their wish for it
to end. After a couple of hours, they finally excused themselves. Knowing that they would have a long couple of days ahead of them, they did not want to stay up celebrating something that was not meant to last.
At the top of the stairs, Bridget began to feel a little self-conscious. When Liam took her hand, she blushed furiously. He guided her down the hall to his room. Pausing at the door, the prince looked down at her. “Is my room alright, or would you prefer to spend the night in your own room?”
“Wherever you are most comfortable is fine. Considering we have to leave early tomorrow, it might be best to be in your room. It will offer the quickest escape and expose us to the fewest prying eyes in the meantime.”
“Understood.” He smiled, then pulled her into the room behind him.
Once the door was closed, he moved over to a small cabinet. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Water, please.”
They didn’t speak as he grabbed it and brought it over to her. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you like to sit down?” He walked over to a couple of cushioned chairs near the bed.
The princess gave a quick nod, unable to look him in the eyes. “Thank you.”
The air was silent as she sipped her water.
“Your brother told me of the places that have been struck. Based on his description, I think I know what animals they have been trying. They are trying to figure out which ones are the most efficient, which I can probably determine by the number of times they have used each. Except for the dragon. Once would be enough to show them they will want to use that form as much as possible. That will have taken a lot more out of them, and I doubt that more than a few can actually manage that change.”
“What do you think it means?”
Liam looked at her, “Do you mean why would they be trying out different animal types?”
“Yes. Wouldn’t it be enough to turn into dragons and conquer what they want?”
“It won’t be that simple, but at this point… I can tell you more about it tomorrow.” Liam stood up and offered her his hand. “Are you ready?”
