by Lucy Saxon
Harry walked her steadily past the rows and rows of guests – most of whom she’d only met once or twice, if at all – and came to a halt in front of the blond man. He leaned in to kiss her on the cheek once more, then turned to face the silver-clad holy man.
‘Who gives this woman to wed this man?’ the wizened minister asked, and Harry smiled.
‘I do, sir,’ he said clearly, slipping Cat’s hand into her bridegroom’s.
Cat focused on Ben, who stood opposite her once she turned.
‘You can do this,’ he mouthed supportively, offering a brief smile.
Her lips twitched in reply, and a slight widening of Ben’s eyes prompted her to tune back into the proceedings.
‘Do you, Catherine Elizabeth Hunter, take James Christopher Richard Latham to be your lawfully wedded husband?’
She met James’s eyes. Taking a deep breath, she gave up trying to calm her racing heart, knowing she was about to seal her fate with two little words. The country had been pushing them together since day one; the plucky young heroine and the charming prince she had rescued. And when an entire nation was involved, things like feelings had to be pushed aside. She liked James well enough, and she knew their marriage was the best thing for Anglya – storms knew they needed a stable monarchy – but despite his clear wish for more, she just didn’t feel that way about him. Cat could only hope he would eventually be content with friendship. It was all she could give him.
I will never love him, she thought fiercely, even as she opened her mouth and resigned herself to a life of politics and social sidestepping, all for the good of her people; for they were hers now, after all. And James was looking to become an excellent ruler, as she had always known he would. Everyone knew they would achieve great things together. Cat just had to focus on that, instead of the ache in her heart at what would never be.
‘I do,’ she said, her voice ringing through the large room.
Yes, how things changed, over time.
Text copyright © 2014 by L. A. Saxon
Illustration copyright © 2014 by Jeff Nentrup
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First published in Great Britain in June 2014 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published in the United States of America in June 2014
by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Saxon, Lucy.
Take back the skies / Lucy Saxon.
pages cm
Summary: To escape from a planned arranged marriage, teenaged Cat Hunter disguises herself as a boy and stows away on a smuggler’s airship where she discovers a world of excitement and adventure.
ISBN 978-1-61963-368-1
[1. Fantasy. 2. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 3. Love—Fiction. 4. Youths’ writings.]
I. Title.
PZ7.S27432Tak 2014 [Fic]—dc23 2013050276
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