Bride of the Traitor (The Prophecy of Sisters #1) - Hayley Faiman Page 0,86

We cannot stop our lives, or the lives of the people around us and hold our breaths to see what will happen with your queen or her sisters. We must just watch and wait, be ready when needed.”

Looking over my shoulder at Sybilla as she holds the hand of her handmaid, I shake my head. “If she is with child, how does this magic affect the babe?” I ask.

Aleida smirks. “My son holds no magic in his body. He was born a fat healthy babe, and as any proud mother, I do think that he is smart and handsome as well,” she boasts.

Smirking, I dip my chin. “But she is not of this world, and she holds magic, this cannot be normal... she cannot be…”

“Quiet,” Godiva snaps. “Your queen did not have a choice in coming here. This was thrust upon her. She has handled everything with the grace and courage of a true queen. She is your match, Your Highness. She is bound to her true love and he is bound to her, meaning you are bound to her.”

Her gaze bores into mine, her eyes beginning to swirl with purple and black in a way that is so unnatural, it is unnerving. I try to take a step back, but she lifts her hand and presses it against my chest.

A warm sensation fills me from the inside out as she mumbles some words that I do not understand. Then, as suddenly as she began, she drops her hand and everything is back the way that it was.

“What have you done?” I grind out.

Godiva smirks. “You shall open your heart to your queen, and I know eventually you would do so on your own. We don’t have time to wait, Your Highness. I just made things a bit easier for you.”

“How?” I demand.

Godiva and Aleida both watch me for a moment, silently. Then Aleida speaks. “You are guarded. Your past hurts have been diminished inside of you. The pain from your father, from his treatment, it is no longer there, is it not?”

Lifting my hand to my chest, I rub the center, my gaze focused on my boots. I allow myself to think about my father, about his treatment not only of me, but also my mother.

I think about how he betrayed Bunafi, for a traitor.

How he gave away my beloved country, my birthright, so that he could access her anchovy as he pleased, as if a king could not find that anywhere he liked.

The pain that usually accompanies those thoughts, the shame and embarrassment at being blood-related to that man, it doesn’t fill me as it usually does.

Shifting my gaze from my feet, I meet Godiva’s gaze. She smiles, reaching for my hand and gives me a squeeze with her bony fingers. “It was a burden too great that you carried, Your Highness.”

“A burden that I should not be rid of. For how can ensure that I not repeat the past if I do not feel the consequences of that past on my shoulders weighing me down?”

Godiva shakes her head. “You will never forget, Your Highness, I did not take your memories away from you. Plus, you are not him, therefore you will not repeat your father’s mistakes. You do not need to feel as if you betrayed Bunafi when you have done more for this country than any other man I have ever known.”

Godiva releases my hand and without another word she and Aleida turn their backs to me and walk away, heading toward the creek, no doubt to refresh themselves so that we may return to the rest of our journey for the day.

Perhaps they are right. Maybe I don’t need to feel the pain of my father’s betrayal weighing me down. I admit that I feel lighter than I have in decades. Though, I wonder if it’s a lightness that entails considerable cost.

Chapter Twenty-Six

SYBILLA

Travel log.

Day four.

My ass is killing me.

Not just a little bit either. It hurts in a way I didn’t think possible. It doesn’t matter if I’m standing, sitting, lying down, or sleeping.

It. Still. Hurts.

Elias and I made love the first night on this trip, since then I’ve been too exhausted and sore to even entertain the idea of his hands and dick anywhere near me. He must sense my absolute horrendous pain, because he hasn’t even attempted to touch me in three days.

“We will be there on the morrow’s eve, as long as we continue to ride throughout today and wake up at