Page 11 of The Ruthless Fae King
I didn’t want to like Lucien Thorne. This complicated things. I had heard too many horrible stories to just fall for his charms. But charming he was. Soon enough his true colors would show and then I would shine a light on them and force him to see that I could never love a man like him. At the very least, we would tolerate each other for the sake of the kingdom and any future children we had.
The mere thought of having children with him caused my cheeks to heat up.
“Darling!” my mother called after me, and I stopped and turned to face her. Piper had disappeared into the greenhouse, and my father and King Thorne were talking far off in the meadow.
She was smiling. “Well, how’s it going? He seems very… likable.”
“A superb actor no doubt,” I told her, and glared across the meadow at him.
My mother frowned. “That dowry… it was double what your father planned to ask for. Would anactorbe so generous?”
My heart beat frantically in my chest at her assessment. “I suppose not.”
A coy smile pulled at her lips as she hooked her arm in mine. “I’ve invited over some of our favorite courtiers. We can dance, drink, and get to know him better. That way you feel more comfortable going off on tour with him tomorrow.”
I didn’t want a spectacle, but I knew if the elders had already been told, then the entire court knew, or they would soon enough. That’s what the tour was all about. Let all of the town gossips come out to see us together and spread the news.
The winter king had chosen a wife.
“Should I change my dress?” I asked my mother.
She nodded. “Nothing wrong with that one, but it’s best that the king know we have provided well for you thus far.”
That was my mother, always thinking of how others might perceive her and my father. In her defense, it was practically in the job title.
I veered into my room and prepared to get to know this man I was about to marry. I prayed to the Maker that some ghastly flaws would soon show themselves, otherwise I might have to change my mind about him. And I wasn’t prepared to do that just yet.
* * *
Redheads lookedbest in emerald green and dark purple but there was another secret color that made men’s necks crane to look at us in adoration. A secret color you wouldn’t expect.
Red.
Because my hair was more of a copper shade, the blood red dress I wore now, along with my green eyes, made my hair color pop even more. It was a fashion forward dress that I’d had recently made for one of Maxwell’s parties. The neckline was appropriate but just barely so, and it hugged my hips, tightly clinging all the way to the knee before it belled out. The train was small enough that I could walk the room but long enough to be dramatic. I absolutely loved it.
“If he doesn’t marry you, I will,” Piper stated as she took in my gown.
I grinned. “It is a lovely dress, isn’t it?”
Piper was wearing a beautiful pale blue gown with her brown hair tied up in a cascade of curls. “It is. And was that a moment I noticed between you two when you were showing off your powers together?” She stepped up beside me and started to pin the sides of my hair back.
I rolled my eyes. “The powers thing was… cool, but there was nomoment.”
Piper raised one eyebrow to me. “I asked the staff. They all said that he’s been lovely and he even apologized for spilling water and offered to clean it himself.”
My mouth popped open and I turned to looked at her. I didn’t even do that. I apologized of course but the servants cleaned it up. That was their job.
“What is he playing at?” I asked her.
She simply shrugged. “You’ll have to get to know him better to find out.”
My hair was fully down and curled but for the sides pinned back away from my face. Piper pulled a metal tube of lip rouge out of her pocket and grinned at me.
“Is that my mother’s?” I inquired.
She nodded. “She caught me stealing it twenty minutes ago and then told me to give it to you.”
I smacked her arm playfully. “Piper! I don’t need to woo him, we are already engaged.”
