House of Dragons (Royal Houses #1) - K.A. Linde Page 0,131

to put bruises where no one would see them.

He grinned devilishly. “Shall we?”

“I…”

But he didn’t wait for her response. He’d never cared for a woman’s answer to anything. He tugged her close to his side, and they stepped down into the ballroom.

“Lady Felicity, I love that dress,” one woman said.

“Such the height of fashion,” a second added.

Another fluttered her eyes at March. “Hello, Ashby.”

He grinned at her but continued walking with Kerrigan close at his side. It felt like an interminable distance to reach the end of the room, where her father stood with a golden goblet in his hand. He actually looked the part of a prince and not the elusive party boy he was.

“My beautiful daughter, the day has finally come for you to marry Lord March,” Kivrin said proudly. “I have been waiting for this your entire young life. I know this is what you have always wanted.”

Always wanted? No, no, it wasn’t what she wanted. It had never been what she wanted. Why was everyone looking at her like this was normal? Did no one see her for who she truly was? She wasn’t Lady Felicity any longer. She was Kerrigan. She loved fighting and colorful, sleek party gowns and flying and breaking the rules. She loved getting drunk with Clover and sneaking into fancy parties. She loved adventure and her friends, who weren’t present, and she loved her own life. Not this one that had been made for her. Not this one that they had thrown her out of.

She tried to take a step back, but March tightened his grip on her arm.

“This is what we’ve always wanted too,” March said. His gaze was steely. “Isn’t it, Felicity?”

“No,” she whispered.

A gasp went up through the room. She had never said this before. She had never denied Ashby March anything. But she would never accept this.

His grip turned painful, and she whimpered, “Let me go!”

“Tomorrow, we will be married, Felicity, and all of this weak display of disobedience will be gone,” he hissed, low and urgent.

Kerrigan looked to her father and Sonali and Audria and all the many people she knew from her time in Bryonica. She saw them wait on bated breath for her response. Saw them all judge her for not wanting the most eligible bachelor in all of Bryonica.

But none of them saw her. Not a one. They saw a lady to be wedded off. Not a girl with real feelings and emotions and wants and needs. And she could never live this life. It was the one thing she feared above all others, even more than abandonment—to be trapped forever.

She wrenched her arm free of March’s grip. He snarled at her and tried to grab for her, but she easily evaded him. He had always been sloppy on discipline. Then, she turned, and like a runaway bride, she ran back through the ballroom as fast as her feet could carry her out and away from that life.

Kerrigan came to, gasping for breath. She put her hands on her knees and tried to suck in enough life to leave that horrible nightmare behind. She knew that it was the faerie illusion that she had walked into. That it was designed to warp reality and pull out her deepest, darkest fear. She had just lived it—marrying Ashby March and living a life where no one ever saw her for who she truly was. She had come out on the other side of it, had risen above the adversity, but it had felt so very real.

Her body trembled with exhaustion from the illusion, but she was no longer helpless. Her magic flared bright and bursting within her, and all of her injuries had been healed. She straightened to her full height and found herself before a gaping audience. The cave was large enough to hold the five dragons—Avirix, Netta, Tieran, Luxor, and Evien—as well as their five Dragon Blessed handlers. Standing before them were the four competitors who had made it this far. Audria stood with wide eyes, farther from her. Roake looked shocked at her side. Noda crouched in a corner, a green tint to her visage. And then, finally, Fordham stood on the other side, pale and shaken.

“Kerrigan?” he asked in shock.

“What is she doing here?” Roake asked indignantly.

Kerrigan shook her head. “I shouldn’t be here. Darrid is going to be coming in right behind me. He was chasing me with a battle axe.”

“The room is sealed,” a small but powerful voice said