Winter's Bride - Candace Wondrak Page 0,25

settled on my shoulders, a new weight involving my soon-to-be bride.

Morana held Ishan’s favor. She’d been his for years, even if she didn’t know it. That’s why I felt her heat so much, why she’d been so different. My brother was the root of it. She was never meant to be mine; she was meant to be his, and yet, somehow, through a twist of fate, she’d wound up here, of her own freewill.

I should send her back. I should summon the messenger again and force him to bring her back to her village and find a new bride somewhere else. Ishan was the one person in this lonely existence I did not want to cross…

But the thought of sending Morana back, the thought of losing her before I had the chance to truly have her, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all. In fact, I rather hated it.

How long did it take for love to sprout? Did you know immediately, at first sight, at your first meeting? I did not know, but I did know that the others had never made me feel quite like this. Perhaps it was foolish, idiotic and stupid, but I could not let Morana go, even if it meant Ishan would hate me for it.

I simply couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let her go.

Chapter Five – Morana

Winter, Abner, was not what I’d expected. Honestly, at this point I did not know what I expected coming to this magical castle on this mountainside, but he was not it. He was… for lack of a better word, cold.

Cold in demeanor and cold in appearance. Cold all around.

I didn’t sleep much that night, thinking too much of the Winter king. My future husband. He’d been anything but welcoming to me, which had helped me keep a backbone while talking to him.

Of course, while talking to him, I did think about Ishan, the kiss we’d shared. How amazing it had felt. What good of a wife would I make if I was busy thinking about my husband’s brother while I was with him? It wasn’t right. None of this was right, I’d go so far as to say.

But I had no choice in the matter, so that was that. If Ishan came to me again, I’d have to tell him I could not entertain him anymore. No more stolen kisses, no more heated touches. Nothing at all.

The next morning I took a bath. It was nice having to simply turn levers to fill the tub, not having to make a dozen trips to the well. After I bathed, I dressed in a rather simple but still pretty light blue dress. Sleeves clung to my arms, its lengths stopping at my ankles. Nothing was sewn onto the fabric, save for a single ribbon just below my chest, a deeper blue than the rest of the dress. I paired it with a set of flat white shoes, not sure what I wanted to do today.

This castle, from my little exploring session last night, was empty. I hadn’t encountered anyone else here, other than Abner. The messenger that had brought me here was nowhere to be seen, nor was anyone else. An odd, empty place, and when I thought about it, it made sense that Abner looked so horribly cold and alone.

I was preparing myself to venture out when I heard a soft knock on the door. My eyebrows came together, and I went to find a small envelope at the base of it. Someone had slid the envelope through the crack. I opened it to find a simply-worded letter: Join me.

Well, I could assume Abner wrote it, but it didn’t say where I’d join him or for what. I kind of hoped it was for breakfast or something. Some kind of food. I was hungry, as much as I did not want to admit it.

Going to the door, I flung it open as I wondered where I was supposed to go, but my heart nearly leaped out of my chest when I saw the silver-armored messenger standing in the hall. He gave me a short bow before turning and walking off. I assumed I was meant to follow him, so I hurried along.

Just as before, the messenger said nothing. I might as well have been walking by myself with how much of a terrible conversationalist he was. Through the halls he led me, stopping only when we stood before an archway that opened into another room. The