Page 46 of The Broken Elf King
EIGHT
Our wedding day arrived and I vowed to spend the next five years of our marriage making Raife think of me in every sexual way possible. This bastard was going to beg for it—and then I was going to deny him. Let him feel the crushing rejection as I had two weeks ago to this day.
Was it mature soon-to-be queenly behavior?No.
Did I care?Nope.
If he wanted to play mind games, I’d throw his head for a spin.
Somehow Raife and I had barely spent any time together the past two weeks as I was busy planning the wedding and he was working hard at the infirmary and planning his eventual war with the queen. I couldn’t believe that in just a few short hours I would be Raife’s wife and queen of Archmere. People were traveling from all over the realm to attend the grand event. White silk tents had been erected in the palace gardens, and floral garland draped over every surface of the castle.
It was pretty magical for a fake wedding.
Standing on a podium, I sighed, lost in my thoughts while the seamstress pulled and prodded at my dress. The makeup attendant dusted my cheeks with some reflective shimmer and then brushed a rosy pink lip stain across my lips.
“My lady, you look so beautiful,” the makeup attendant said. “Are you excited?”
I looked at her and put on a fake smile. “Best day of my life,” I lied.
I couldn’t get Raife’s dismissal of me out of my head. What was wrong with him? He clearly liked me at one point, right? He’d called me pretty, told me my hair looked better down, complimented my dresses, and even got mad when he was worried about my safety. My mind chewed on what the next five years of my life would be like as we approached closer and closer to the hour of my wedding.
Another hour droned by and the seamstress, and the hair and makeup ladies finally stepped away from me, massaging their hands.
“You’re ready,” they said in unison.
I steeled myself as they walked me over to a full-length mirror.
When I saw my own reflection, I gasped. I’d never looked this beautiful in my entire life. Whatever she’d done to my eyes, the makeup made them pop and look wider. The shimmer on my cheeks accentuated my heart-shaped face, and my lips looked plump and kissable.
But the dress was the real head turner. I’d sketched out the design but Samarah had really made it come to life. The neck line was a deep V, not deep enough to be improper but enough for Raife to notice the shadow of the top of my cleavage. The sleeves were a dramatic floor-dusting length of white lace, and the dress hugged my waist in white silk before belling out and trailing behind me a good ten feet. The makeup attendant rushed forward with her little shimmer brush and dabbed it on my cleavage, giving me a wink.
I burst into laughter, tears suddenly lining my eyes as I was overcome with emotion.
I knew it was a fake agreement, but for a half second I wished my auntie could be here. Growing up without parents, my aunt was all I had, and even though it wasn’t real it might be the only wedding I ever had. No man was going to want me after the king divorced me. Sure, I might find someone to share companionship with, but exes of royalty were never to legally marry again. It was like we needed to be in mourning for the rest of our lives after we were dumped. This might be my only shot walking down the aisle and sayingI doformally.
“Thank you,” I croaked, dabbing at the corner of my eyes.
They all curtsied to me, which was so weird, and then gathered their things. I sat there for another hour, reading, sweating and just generally freaking out, when a knock came at the door.
I figured it was Mrs. Tirth to come and bring me to the ballroom where the wedding would take place, but when I pulled back the door, I stopped breathing when I saw Raife.
He wore a black silk tunic that hung past his knees. It was embroidered with a shiny silver thread in a typical elvin swirl design. His hair was braided into six small braids in front, and then it was all pulled back in a thick ponytail at the nape of his neck. He looked sexier than I’d ever seen him, and I totally forgot how to speak.
I just stared at him, watching him gaze at me. Neither of us spoke.
“Umm, hi.” I finally found my words. “Do you… want to come in?”
Why was he here? We’d barely spoken the past two weeks. Was he going to call it off? My heart hammered in my chest.
Raife’s gaze ran from my face slowly down my body unabashedly as he fully checked me out. “I… don’t think I should. It’s bad luck, right?” He also seemed at a loss for words.
I laughed. “It’s bad luck toseeme. Too late for that.”
He rubbed his hands together, looking up into my eyes with a depth that gave me chills.
“I just wanted to… thank you. For doing this. I know it can’t be easy for you… you’re a good friend,” he said.
A slice went through my chest. It was like with each mutter of the word “friend” he was surgically removing my heart.
