Stealing His Princess (Kings of Conquest #2) - Adelaide Forrest Page 0,1
imagine the horror on my mother's face that someone might see her precious daughter unveiled before her big reveal. The entire thing seemed futile if Mother already knew who she wanted Alina to marry.
But Mother always loved her dramatics.
"Well, don’t you look pretty," I told Alina. My sister turned a shy smile my way, a flush tinting her cheeks as she waved me off. I didn't push it knowing that her discomfort came from our Mother's insistence that her looks were the sum of her value. That she was more useful to Lantis being married off than trying to help her people through service.
"Of course I do," Alina scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "You think she would let anyone see me looking anything less than ripe for the plucking?"
I winced, my face twisting into a grimace at the thought of my sister being plucked. Even knowing it was the truth of our world did nothing to stop the disgust I felt that I couldn't assist her in being treated less like...a commodity. She deserved happiness.
She deserved freedom.
"Do you have your eye on anyone tonight, dear brother?" Alina teased, her lips curving up into an innocent smile as I walked over to her place at the window. She turned to look up at me, hope in her eyes.
That maybe one of us would be happy.
"No," I laughed with a bitter shake of the head.
"You know it's time you find someone to marry. After I leave," she paused, turning her face back to the window with a swallow. "You'll be all alone. You should find someone who makes you happy."
"If only she existed," I scoffed. "Eventually, I'll have no choice but to provide Lantis with an heir. Until then, I'll enjoy the freedom to work myself to the point of exhaustion without a wife to hassle me about it. I get enough of that with Mother," I joked.
"Aric!" she scolded, swatting at my tux so I felt compelled to straighten it. "Maybe she won't be a hassle. Not all women are the Devil, you know."
"Just the majority," I teased her.
"The majority of men aren't so fabulous either," she said.
"And what do you know of men, Alina?" I asked, intending the words to tease her. Instead, my irritation with our situation tainted it, and I watched the weight of it settle on her shoulders. The truth of her cage.
"Nothing, I suppose," she admitted.
"Alina!" Mother called from her bedroom as she stepped out. Storming over to where we stood, she grasped Alina's elbow in her grip and tugged her away from the window. "Somebody could see you."
"The horror," I said with a roll of my eyes and sinking my teeth into my bottom lip to prevent any further comment. My finger coasted over the ring I'd inherited from my father, reminding myself of my purpose.
All for the good of Lantis.
"It's time to go," Mother said, glancing over at me with a scolding look. She'd mostly stopped bothering me with her demands on my life, realizing that I was free to do as I pleased, regardless of her plans. I was still the King, after all. If only my authority could save Alina from such interference, but nothing would dissuade Mother from having a grand entrance for her reclusive and beautiful daughter. "I'll walk ahead and make sure nobody sees the two of you."
As she flitted out the door, I grinned at Alina and motioned for her to follow. She swallowed, her chest heaving with her nerves before she nodded and took that first step toward her future. Her steps were slow and measured as she sensed there would be no turning back.
While I imagined it must be nice to know you'd be free from the confines of your cage, the transfer to the new one couldn't be pleasant either.
If it hadn't been for escorting Alina, I'd probably have tried to hide away in my rooms and work rather than attend at all. While I thrived in situations where I could charm my way through political alliances, I wasn't fond of the lavish pomp and circumstance. Of the reminders that my Kingdom would never be as wealthy as the others.
"Aric, give her your arm," Mother hissed as we rounded the corner to go toward the stairs. Most everyone had already gone down to the ballroom, being presented in the order they arrived.
I had no doubt Mother had arranged it so we'd be the last to be announced, as part of her grand plan.