C H A P T E R 2
BAY L ED
I inhale the sharp, cool morning air, hoping it will calm me.
After waking up this morning to the servants already bustling
about and preparing for the wedding, I’m relieved to have
escaped the castle. The sound of Halrendar’s gentle hoofbeats
fills the otherwise silent forest.
To watch Corene marry someone else . . . I can’t imag-
ine a worse punishment. I’ve labored at the King’s side since I
was twelve cycles into this life, helping him strategize, decide
fates, dispense justice. I’ve watched his love of wine grow as
the Kingdom’s debts pile higher and I desperately try to find
coin that isn’t there. Ruling is grueling, thankless work, even
when you have men like me refilling the goblet whenever it
runs low. I knew that this was my future; it was believing I’d
marry Corene someday that made it bearable.
Without her at my side, all that becomes meaningless tor-
ture. I wish she wasn’t so good, so dutiful. If she were more
selfish, we’d have a chance together.
I hear someone coming down the path behind me, so I rein
Halrendar around to get a look.
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