The Emerald Prince (3 page)

With an exhausted sigh, Princess Zariya said, “Fine. Fine. Fine.” and then took a ribbon from her hair and tied it right above the hilt of his practice sword.

Blaine only realized he should do something similar by how expectantly Princess Victoria looked at him. Following the example of others he’d seen in the past, Blaine knelt on one knee, holding the practice sword up to her. “Would you do me the honor?”

The princess took the sword and pressed it to her lips. She then handed it back to Blaine and said in a playfully sinister tone. “Bring me his head.”

A shiver went down Blaine’s spine.

“Are you going to flirt with my sister or are you going to fight?” The prince stood a few paces behind him with his stance open, daring Blaine to attack.

In one fluid motion Blaine rose from the ground, turned, and took a swing. The prince managed to dodge in time.

Blaine fought the prince tentatively, learning his strengths and weaknesses. He made no move to score, but wouldn’t allow the prince to get a point off of him either. The prince was a skilled swordsman, but Blaine was better.

Blaine figured out how to beat the prince and could do so whenever it pleased him, but he worried that defeating him in front of half the court would be against some sort of etiquette. Maybe it was customary to throw the match, that way the prince would be able to proclaim he beat the best sword in the kingdom. After all, why else would he challenge Blaine and fight him in front of everyone?

They had been going back and forth for a while. The prince looked strained just trying to keep up with Blaine. So the knight left an obvious opening for Prince Elliot to take. Blaine knew he saw it because the prince frowned, but made no move to strike him. So Blaine gave the prince another chance to hit him and score.

The prince threw down his practice sword in disgust, stopping the match.

Maybe his father was right. Blaine was trying to let him win and even then the prince was having a tantrum.

“Do not patronize me!” Prince Elliot’s face began to turn red.

“Your Highness?” Blaine tilted his head in confusion.

“If you’re not going to fight me for real, then don’t accept the challenge!”

Blaine had thought his attempts to let the prince score had been subtle. Clearly, if the prince picked up on that, he picked up on the fact that he couldn’t possibly beat Blaine. But still, he demanded a fair match.

“Forgive me your Highness. If you give me another chance, I promise to beat you — thoroughly.”

Prince Elliot grinned and picked his sword back up. He came at Blaine with a ferocity the knight hadn’t seen before. Blaine hadn’t been the only one holding back. Blaine managed to score the first point, getting the prince on the stomach when he raised his arms too high. The prince managed to get the next point, slapping Blaine’s back with the practice sword. His back had been turned to the enemy; his father would never let him hear the end of that one.

After Blaine got a second point, he pushed hard for the third, determined to end things quickly before he made another mistake. When the prince stumbled, he was sure he had him. But the bastard kicked him so hard he’d be limping to his wedding and scored another point on top of it. They were tied. Whoever got the next point would be the winner. Blaine was embarrassed by his overconfidence. The prince had toyed with him, playing up weaknesses he didn’t even have, and Blaine fell for it. The knight pushed all thoughts from his mind. All that mattered at the moment was the fight.

The prince took the initiative and came at Blaine. Turning just in time to avoid the prince’s hit, Blaine managed to touch his side with the sword as he went past. Three points. He’d won.

The prince stood hunched over and panting. When he caught his breath he walked over to Blaine and shook his hand. “Good fight. I guess what they say is true. You really are the best.”

The moment they touched, his heart began to burn with a desire deeper than any he’d ever felt before. It was as if the Goddess Isla herself were whispering in his ear, “This is the one. This is the one I fashioned for you.”

Chapter Four

Blaine tossed and turned. Images of the prince’s smiling face were torn to shreds in his mind. Over and over he’d run towards Elliot, calling out his name, but never quite reaching him in time. Sometimes, the prince would break into a million pieces like shattered glass. Other times, he’d lay in a pool of his own blood, looking up helplessly at Blaine. His eyes asking one question…
Why?

The knight was snatched from his fitful dreams by a knock at the door. Raking his hand over his face, he got up to answer, wondering who would be stopping by at such an hour. He opened the door to find, much to his surprise, Princess Zariya standing there.

“Your Highness?”

She stepped into his room, forcing him to step back if he didn’t want to press up against her. “May I come in?”

Blaine peeked out the door, hoping no one saw her come to his room at this hour, and then closed it shut. “Is there something I can help you with, Your Highness?”

“I wished to speak with you.”

“In my bedroom, in the middle of the night? You know how this looks.”

The princess strolled around his room as if it were her own, handling his things, running her fingers across his armor. “It couldn’t be helped. I had to make sure you were alone.”

“What is it that you wanted to tell me?”

“How can I say this? I think you’re marrying the wrong sibling.”

Blaine’s mouth fell open. Had he looked at the prince too longingly? Smiled at him too much? Failed to pay enough attention to Princess Victoria? How apparent had he made his feelings to everyone watching them? His throat began to tighten and his heart pounded in his chest.

Princess Zariya casually sat on the couch and patted the spot next to her.

Half-aware, Blaine’s feet moved him forward until he was sitting with her. “Wha…What makes you say that?”

The princess shrugged. “It’s obvious where your affections lie.”

“Even if that were true, and I’m not saying it is, there is nothing to be done about it.”

The princess brushed her fingers across his cheek, and for a moment, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge. The last time he’d felt so aware, he was back against a rock face surrounded by three Enem warriors and certain he was going to die. But as quickly as the feeling came, it faded away, leaving him more serene than he’d been since he’d heard about his impending marriage. “What? What are you doing?” he asked.

The princess moved in even closer, pressing her body against his. Everything he knew about himself told him he should be on the edge of panic. What if she was trying to somehow trap him? But he just couldn’t muster it.

“Shhhh…” she whispered. “Don’t worry about anything. Your father doesn’t seem like the kind of man content with his grandsons being second in line to the throne, what’s the entire plan?”

“After we’re married and Princess Victoria has conceived a son, the prince will have an accident.” The words flowed from his lips as if he were talking about what he wanted for morning meal.

“Surely the king has taken precautions against such a thing.”

“One of the men in the prince’s guard is loyal to us. He’ll make it happen.” Why was he telling her all this?

“How do you feel about it?”

“Ashamed. Spineless. Dishonest.” Blaine stared forward, frozen in the darkness. A tear rolled down his cheek. Princess Zariya wiped it away.

“Then tomorrow morning you’re going to go to the king. Tell him about your feelings for Elliot and ask to marry him instead.”

Like a burst of cold water, Blaine snapped back to reality, turning to Princess Zariya. “He’ll have me killed!”

Zariya continued stroking his cheek. The warmth of her hand emanated through his body, calming him once again. “He won’t kill you. If you make the request, I promise you, he’ll honor it. And then you and Elliot will be able to live together in happiness. No one will have to die. No one will have to commit treason, and everyone will get what they want. Isn’t that a much better plan?”

Blaine wasn’t sure how to answer. Everything she said made sense, except for being able to get the king to agree to it. That part didn’t make any sense at all. But even though he didn’t understand why, he trusted her, completely. “I’ll do as you ask. At morning meal, I’ll tell the king it’s Elliot I truly want to marry.”

Princess Zariya’s eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, illuminating her smile. “Excellent.”

Chapter Five

The moment the morning light touched her face, Victoria sprung from bed. Every minute of sleep she got had to be forced, and now that it was daytime, she didn’t have to try to sleep anymore. She rushed to the bath to wash. She wanted to smell like fragrant flowers when she arrived to morning meal. As she brushed her hair, she let her mind wander. Blaine Rynden was a dream, far more than what his reputation made him out to be. He was pensive and gallant. The way he knelt at her feet to ask her blessing, she almost swooned. It was as if he’d said, “Everything I do from this point forward will be for you.”

Three quick knocks at the door and Marla walked in. “I came to help you get ready, but you’re almost dressed. How long have you been up?”

Victoria had changed dresses six times; it was a good thing she had started at first light. “Not long. Though, I’m having trouble picking out something to wear.”

Marla walked over to her wardrobe and came back with a gown she’d never worn before. It had been a gift from a visiting nobleman and was very different from the dresses worn in Tys. It was sleeveless with a high neckline and a slimmer silhouette than what she was used to. “If he sees you in this, he won’t be able to take his eyes off of you.”

“Are you sure? Maybe I should wear something a bit more traditional.”

“I bet you’ve tossed aside a dozen traditional dresses already. How about being unforgettable instead?”

“Only half a dozen,” Victoria mumbled as she took off the dress she wore and let Marla help her into her new choice.

“Judging from your excitement, I take it that you like your betrothed.”

“Oh, he’s so wonderful. More handsome than I could have imagined. Even with his hair cut short, it curls into little ringlets. Our daughters will have gorgeous manes of wavy dark hair. And our sons will be a cute as girls when they are small with hair like that.”

“I don’t know. Nothing about him seemed particularly girlish to me, square jaw, evening shadow on his cheeks.”

“Well, not now. But I bet as a boy his mother left his hair long and women cooed over how adorable he was.”

“Maybe. You could always ask her.”

“And we have so much in common. You should have seen the way he put Elliot in his place about his lack of formality at evening meal.”

“I bet Elliot took that well.”

“My idiot brother just laughed and then challenged Blaine to a duel.”

“I saw. The knight is quite a remarkable fighter. Your brother is not easily bested.”

“Can you believe Blaine tried to let Elliot win? He’d sacrifice his own reputation just to make Elliot look better! As if winning a duel would help with that. He’s so amazing. Though I’m going to have to talk him out of doing things like that in the future. People will take advantage of his generosity.”

“Though you brother isn’t the type to do something like that.”

Victoria sighed, turning back and forth in front of the mirror. “You’re right. The poor boy has the guile of a dead fish.”

“I’ve always liked that about him,” said Marla.

“It’s a wonderful trait in a person, a horrible trait in a king.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. After all, he’ll have you to help him.”

“Yes, he’ll benefit from my wisdom and the massive army I’ll control once I marry Blaine.”

“You’ll control? What about Blaine and his father?”

“Everyone knows that men rule the world, but women rule men.” Victoria fought keep her expression serious, but when Marla, her hardened guard, began giggling, Victoria was helpless not to follow suit.

Time until morning meal passed ever so slowly. Marla reminded her that she had the rest of her life to gaze upon Blaine’s girlish curls. Victoria retorted by throwing a pillow at her. When the hour neared, she had stop herself from running out of her room to the dining hall. One dignified step after the other. Women of noble birth took their time.

When the doors opened, she laid eyes upon him again. Something about him seemed different from the day before. He was visibly nervous yesterday, but today he sat smiling and laughing with her father as if they were old friends. While she was glad they were getting along so well, something just seemed off about the scene in front of her. She took a seat next to Blaine. He paused his conversation with the king and turned to greet her.

“Morning Victoria.”

She blushed at the sound of her given name coming from his lips.

Soon, her brother stumbled in, half-awake and wearing clothes more casual than the night before. She knew hunting leathers were the height of his attempts to look presentable. She was only grateful he didn’t show up in a robe. Then Lord Rynden arrived, still looking strong and dignified. Lastly, Princess Zariya entered, still dressed as a harlot. She looked directly at Blaine and gave him a nod.

Victoria turned just in time to see Blaine nod back at her, then he said, “Your Majesty. There is something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

“Of course, what is it?” the king asked. Victoria knew her father well enough to know from his tone that he already knew what Blaine was about to ask him, and the entire conversation was a formality.

“While your daughter is a wonderful woman, and any man would be lucky to have her, I don’t think she’s the right match for me. I’ve been thinking things over and I feel it would be better to pair me with Elliot.”

Victoria’s heart fell into her stomach and boiled away in her belly. This was not happening to her. It had to be some sort of sick joke. To be so publicly humiliated would be unbearable.