Page 2 of A Ring to Claim Her Crown
‘Of course,’ she said, unnerved. ‘Wait...you didn’t?’
He shook his head once and Minerva felt her insides twist. He was utterly miserable at the revelation, that much was very clear.
‘How long...?’ He paused, clearing his throat. ‘How long have you known that you were going to be forced to marry me some day?’
Minerva shivered in the cool breeze. This reminder of their reality was cold and wrong, his words slicking over her skin like ice water. ‘I overheard them discuss the details on the day that you arrived, that very first summer.’
‘Well...tonight is the first I heard of it.’ He remained silent and still, his eyes scanning her with disbelief.
‘I thought that you knew. I thought that was why you were so remome at first. You argued with your father that first day...you seemed so unhappy.’
‘Iwasunhappy. I’m the youngest of three sons with a miserable father who only bothers to interact with his heir and his spare. Not to mention I’m the spitting image of the woman he can’t bear to think about.’ He closed his eyes and shook his head, a pained expression crossing his fair features. ‘My father is unhinged. He’s demanding that we get married as soon as possible, Minerva.’
She froze in his arms, a strange humming beginning in her ears. She’d been raised to believe that they were a progressive kingdom, that she would be free to rule as she saw fit whenever her time came. That she was trusted to know her own mind, to make her own choices, to experience some of the world for a while without the weight of her duty.
‘We’re only nineteen,’ she said, taking a step back until she was fully out of his reach. She couldn’t think if he was touching her, not when her body still hadn’t caught up with the reality of their situation. ‘I have plans to go to college, to compete with my archery. I don’t want to give that freedom up yet.’
Silence fell between them, a fraught, empty sound filled with the suffocating weight of their situation.
‘Who says we have to give up any freedom at all?’ he said quietly. ‘Why should we live by their plans and agreements? Why should we be treated as pawns?’
Minerva shook her head softly. ‘Liro... I’m going to be queen one day.’
‘You don’t have to be.’ He met her eyes, a strange wildness to his expression.
It scared her, that wildness. She took a step away, pulling out of his grasp and pacing towards the lake. ‘Liro, I love my country, and I trust my mother’s judgement. If this marriage is a necessary part of my duty, then I have to do it.’
He glowered down at her and for the first time she felt self-conscious under his gaze. She knew to others it might seem weak, always following the rules and expectations of her role. Of course, sometimes she got tired of being the dutiful daughter, the over-achiever. She was only human. These last few weeks, during their stolen moments of illicit pleasure, she had been Min. She had felt free with Liro... Maybe once they were married they could have the best of both worlds?
‘You don’thaveto do anything,’ Liro said quietly. He took a step closer, taking her hands in his. ‘Min...haven’t you ever dreamed of running away to start over somewhere new? Don’t you ever yearn for a life of your own?’
‘Thisismy life.’ She frowned, pulling her hands from his grip.
Liro froze, his expression becoming strangely blank. The light summer breeze rustling the trees was a cacophony of sound against the unbearable silence that had fallen between them. Minerva didn’t know what to say in the face of his hurtful words. She’d known that he wasn’t fond of royal life back home, but did he truly believe her adherence to duty meant she didn’t live a life of her own?
‘I’ve never dreamed of running away from this, Liro.’ She waited until he met her gaze before continuing. ‘I’ve had five years to accustom myself to the idea of an arranged marriage. I didn’t plan for these last few weeks, but... I see it as further evidence that we will make a compatible couple.’
‘Compatible.’ He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes hard. ‘These past few weeks... Was this some kind of twisted exercise to test out our marital compatibility?’
‘Of course not.’
Liro made a cruel, scoffing sound, his anger clearly the reigning emotion. For a moment she contemplated laying it all out for him—how she’d been fascinated by him every year and had yearned for his attention. How she’d never felt happier than she’d felt these past few weeks. But then that small voice from before returned, reminding her what happened when you allowed yourself to be vulnerable. If she wanted a sensible, arranged marriage that would last, she needed to keep her emotions at a safe distance.
‘We can push for a long engagement.’ She stood upright, forcing herself to look away from him as she tried to disguise the crushing disappointment from his reaction. Clearly, Liro was not okay with the prospect of marrying her. She took a deep breath and adopted her most practised calm, regal smile, ignoring the tremor quaking in her abdomen with every word she spoke. ‘Who knows? It might not be so terrible. I believe it will be a good match.’
‘Do youwantto marry me, Minerva?’ he asked, grey-green eyes pinning her in place.
‘Of course I do. I’ve just said as much, haven’t I?’
‘Tell me why.’
She squirmed under his attention, hating every moment of this conversation. ‘I l-like you, Liro. I think you would make a great consort. We’ve been friends long enough for our union to be...believable. We’re both royals, we know what is expected of our roles. It makes sense.’
‘You make it sound like a business arrangement.’ Liro scowled. ‘Marriage should do more than make sense, Minerva. What else?’
His demand, coupled with the harsh quality of his voice, made her feel small and uncertain. Like that younger version of herself who had called her father’s number every night to leave embarrassingly long voicemails detailing every moment of her day. She hadn’t been prepared for Papa to answer one day and coldly demand that she stop. The realisation that her own father hadn’t missed her the way she missed him, that he didn’t wish to be a part of her life any more than a couple of obligatory visits a year, had been the most crushing rejection she’d ever known.
Somewhere, in the last few weeks, she had let her guard down and now Liro had got under her skin. She had begun to rely on him, to long for him in a way that was far too much of a risk for their polite, royally arranged marriage. She needed to make things right. Needed to pull this betrothal back into safer territory, even if it hurt.
