Bride of the Traitor (The Prophecy of Sisters #1) - Hayley Faiman Page 0,31

your sire. You are good, you are a brave soldier and you are loyal not only to your men, but also to your people. In this, I trust you not only as my cousin, but as my king.”

He could not know. He did not know that the words he had just spoken mean absolutely everything to me. Clearing my throat, I lift my own hand and wrap my fingers around the side of his neck.

“Thank you, cousin.” We release one another and I take a step back. “Gather my soldiers for a special meeting in our place following the nuptials and feast.”

“Won’t you be attending your bride?” Merek asks, his brows rising toward the sky.

I snort. “She will have her attendance when my meeting is concluded. It will be the time for her to understand that she is not more important than any single one of the matters I must attend to. Sybilla will come last, always.”

We part without saying another word. He promises to gather my men, and I find the cook and the rest of the staff, instructing them to prepare for a small wedding feast tomorrow.

Thankfully, none are close enough to me to voice their opinion, though they can’t hide the looks of shock on their faces, instead they nod and go about their business. Next, I go in search of Sybilla’s handmaids. Jasmine is the first one that I see and seeing as she is the one in charge, I am thankful.

“Sybilla will need a wedding gown by the morn. She needs to be prepared first thing tomorrow morning for our nuptials,” I order.

She blinks, her eyes wide and almost frightened-looking, much like everyone else in this damned castle. “Speak before you expire,” I order.

She gulps, then looks to her feet before lifting her head and staring at my neck. “Your Majesty, there is no dressmaker in all of Aerilon that will be able to make a dress befitting a queen with such short notice, a month perhaps, but not one evening.”

I grunt. “Are there any dressmakers that will have something, anything that will fit her and not show off all of her charms as the dresses she currently traipses around in do?”

Jasmine makes a noise in the back of her throat but doesn’t speak. “I can fetch the royal dressmaker and see what he has, but in all honesty, Your Majesty, we may not be able to make something work. Miss Sybilla is…”

“What, what is she?” I growl, my patience waning thin on what people think of Sybilla as. None of them know her, not the way that I do.

Jasmine clears her throat. “She is a bit curvier than other royalty.”

I press my lips together, careful not to burst out into laughter, for Jasmine is correct. Sybilla is quite a bit curvier than the women who typically grace the world with their titles, at least in Bunafi and the surrounding countries. I find that it’s one of the many reasons I quite enjoy my time with her. Where most royalty are bony things, dainty, almost frail.

Sybilla is lush, soft, and curvy. She will bear me many children. She will also keep me satisfied in all my appetites. She truly is the perfect match, even if it is only to use her for the purposes that she can and will provide me, all while I keep my country safe and secure.

“Do the best that you can. We marry on the morrow, with or without a dress,” I snap before I turn around. Instead of going upstairs to enjoy Sybilla’s lush curves, I make my way outside and find my stallion, Storm.

I need freedom.

I need to ride with the wind against my face.

I need to breathe.

SYBILLA

Staring out of the window, I’m sure that Elias would demand that I drop the thick drapery, but he isn’t here. In fact, I watch him ride away from the castle on his horse. It’s a beautiful sight, his big black horse. I’ve never seen a horse the size of his before in my life and seeing him riding on its back, my mouth goes dry.

I stay there. Ignoring the chill long after Elias and his strong horse disappear. I wait for him to return, and as the sun sets, I wonder if he will indeed come back. Then as the minutes pass, I know deep in my bones that he won’t, at least not tonight.

There is something simplistic about this place. People don’t venture out after dark falls. There are no