He looked stricken. “I should have never asked that of you. I don’t know what I was thinking. I… Dr. Elsie gave me the information and I was still processing. Arwen, I love you like I’ve never loved another before, and—”
“It’s okay.” I stepped closer to him, taking his hands in mine.
I glanced over my shoulder at the gravestones. “I know what you’ve been through. I would never knowingly put you through that again.”
He froze.
“Are you denying my hand in marriage?” His voice broke.
I shook my head, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. “I am not. I am simply agreeing that you should try any means possible to have an heir and save our people.”
His face relaxed and his lips curled into a smile. “Our people.”
I shrugged. “I am about to be queen after all.”
Stepping closer, he stroked my cheek. “You’ve always been a queen. I should have never tried to downgrade that title by putting you in my guard.”
“I like being in your Royal Guard, my lord,” I said formally, and he smiled.
“A king whose wife is in his army? This may be a first,” he agreed.
I leaned forward and brushed my lips across his cheek. “I will admit I am disappointed that our wedding night won’t be complete.”
I pulled back to look up at his stormy eyes. Reaching out, he slid a hand up my thigh, causing ripples of heat to bloom between my legs. “Do not say such insane things. Our wedding night will be more than complete.”
I frowned. “But… if we are to avoid having a child—”
He leaned forward and trailed his tongue along my collarbone, causing my legs to go weak. “There are ways to avoid pregnancy, my love.”
My love. I wanted to hear him say that at least a million more times.
I threaded my fingers through his hair. “I see no reason to delay the marriage. As soon as my mother and sister can get here, we should wed.”
His laughter rang throughout the space, chasing away and breaking up some of the grief here. “Eager. I like that.”
Pulling back, he nodded. “We will wed in three days. I’ll send for your mother immediately.”
Holy Hades. I’d just agreed to marry the king… and let him have children with someone else.
EIGHTEEN
The funeral for Regina and Joslyn was beautiful. Regina was laid to rest, without an actual body to bury, in the Royal Guard cemetery in the north side of town, and Joslyn was buried next to the king’s private family mausoleum. It was a great honor and the entirety of Jade City shut down in mourning. Drae had set Joslyn’s parents up with monthly payments for the rest of their lives as they were from the poorest part of Grim Hollow and he knew they would be counting on it. Word had gotten around town that I was the Lost Royal from the stories and that I’d tried to save Joslyn’s life that night. The people seemed to love me, smiling and waving happily as I passed. They knew nothing of my magic being able to suck the life from their king, and nothing of the fact that the king needed to make an heir or they would all die.
Narine told me that she had taken the liberty of spreading a rumor that the king had chosen me initially but his advisors forced him to pick Joslyn and that’s why he was marrying me so quickly, that he’d loved me all along. The city loved a good bit of gossip, and they wanted their king to be happy, for which I was grateful. I would hate for there to be a rumor he’d cheated on Joslyn with me or something awful like that.
The Nightfall queen had sent back Regina’s head as a message, but no other retaliation. Drae increased border patrols and sent an entire Royal Guard escort for my mother and Adaline. Now the wedding was tonight and my mother was arriving any moment.
I had no idea what she was going to think of all this. I was marrying the man she was originally scared would hurt me. But there was one thing she’d drilled into me since I was born…
Duty.
She’d say, “You have a duty to this family, your sister, this village, me.”
Now I would have a duty to the entire dragon-folk people, and I hoped she would understand, because I planned to tell her the truth about everything. I could live with keeping secrets from a lot of people but my mother wasn’t one of them.
“She’s here!” Narine said excitedly as she poked her head into my room.
I stood and allowed her to fix my wedding gown. This event, our wedding, was not one I wanted to wear trousers for, though I did ask the palace seamstress to put pockets in the gown for me.