The Broken Elf King, page 24
Holy Maker.
I stepped back a pace, looking towards Piper in panic, but she was statue-still, an observer. She played the role well when she needed to, but we would no doubt be talking about this for days when we were alone.
He took another step, closing the distance I had just gained, and lowered his voice. “I have a confession to make,” he murmured.
My heart was in my throat and I swallowed hard. “What?” I breathed.
Why did he have to be so handsome?
He looked down at my lips, and then at my throat before finally meeting my eyes. “I saw you in the meadow by your house last full moon. I was traveling with some of my soldiers in the woods. We were searching for a lost hunting dog. You were dancing in the garden with your sister and…” He took in a deep breath, reaching out to catch a lock of my red hair. “I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I knew then I had to have you.”
It was as if all of the air had been sucked from the room. I couldn’t breathe. What was happening? The evil king was… complimenting me?
“Name your price, Madelynn Windstrong, because there isn’t a piece of gold in the realm I wouldn’t pay to be able to wake up next to you each morning.” He smiled sweetly then and I had to swallow a whimper. It was the sweetest thing a man had ever said to me and… it was coming from the bastard who’d caused my family so much pain in the past. I didn’t know what to say or feel. I was… at odds with myself. What I had initially assumed were a charmer’s flirtations had quickly become a serious confession.
“When you first became king and you brought the Great Freeze across the entire land, my grandmother died,” I blurted out.
A darkness cast over his face and I almost regretted saying it. I was already getting used to his smile.
I was now staring at a man devoid of all emotion. He’d retreated somewhere, a place I couldn’t follow, a place I didn’t want to follow.
“I’m sorry I killed her,” he stated. “Others too. Thirty-seven people died in Summer Court that night. Twelve in Spring. They weren’t prepared for that kind of cold.”
My brows knotted together as he confessed the horrible things he’d done without an ounce of emotion.
“You admit it?” We’d never gotten an apology or explanation. Just an extreme cold that ripped across the land and the next day it was back to normal.
“I do.” He stood tall, his back erect and his chin up, his smile gone. “My powers are tied to my emotions. Same as yours. I couldn’t control them.” He was speaking about a moment ago when I couldn’t keep the wind from entering the room.
What kind of emotions did this man have that he would end up freezing the entire realm for a full day and night? I was thirteen at the time, and it had been one of the scariest nights of my life. The cold crept into the house like a shadow and lingered no matter how high we built the fire. I didn’t sleep; my teeth chattered all night. I stood outside with Mother, pushing the frost back with our wind power. My grandmother came out to help us, but she was too old for that kind of exposure. She passed the next day. A weak heart, the healer had said, but we all knew what weakened her.
The Great Freeze.
Since he was being so open, I wanted to ask him what had happened that night to make him lose control, but I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer. I didn’t want to know what kind of man I was marrying. A scary man who could freeze me solid if I made him angry.
I didn’t know what to say. This was supposed to be a dowry negotiation and it had somehow turned into something else.
The king stared at me then and there was something deep in his eyes that brought a pain to my heart. He looked… sad. Like maybe deep inside of him there was a desolate little boy who just wanted to be loved.
“I know arranged marriages are not ideal anymore, but they are tradition,” King Thorne said. “That being said, if you do not want to tie your fate to mine, I can cancel the whole thing. I will tell your father we are simply not a good match. No harm will come to your reputation.”
I frowned, my heart thudding into my throat. He was giving me an out? A seriousness descended onto the room and I warred with what I wanted before I’d met him, how I felt now, and what my mother and father expected of me.
“Honestly,” the winter king said, “I feel like I should be asking you to pay a dowry to be married to this.” He gestured up and down his body and laughter erupted from my chest.
He was funny.
Funny.
Charming.
Sweet.
Slightly unhinged. What could go wrong?
His offer to allow me to back out of the arrangement was noteworthy, but my father had already told the elders of the Fall Court. Not to mention the king rode up here with a full contingent of royal soldiers. Half the town probably already knew what was going on. If we were to cancel, rumor would spread and people would say that there was something wrong with me, that I was impure or too independent. This would tarnish any potential future suitors.
No, I had to do this now. My family’s reputation was on the line. This would impact Libby’s prospects as well. As much as I’d wanted him to back out before, now I saw the ripple effect that would have on my family.
“We can proceed with the arrangement.” I smoothed my dress in a nervous gesture. “I just wanted you to know where I stood.”
He nodded, assessing me coolly. “You don’t want children right away, will only bed me for children, and I can take a whore. Got it.”
I winced when he said it like that, and then gave a nervous peal of laughter. “Okay, the whore comment was a little strong. I’m sorry. This is… a lot for me all at once. I was only told today.”
He regarded me with a grin. “Does this mean you are taking away my promised whore?”
I reached out and slapped his shoulder like I would an old friend, forgetting for a second I was in the presence of the king. But he caught my hand, holding my fingers lightly, which caused my mind to race.
“I would never do that to you… take a whore, or a mistress, or anything in between,” he promised, and my stomach flipped over itself.
He was so… not what I thought he would be.
“How much dowry did your father pay your mother’s family?” I asked him, pulling my fingers from his and trying to get a feel for what was a good amount to ask for.
The mention of his deceased mother caused his face to fall a little before he regained composure. “A hundred gold coins, ten acres of land, and a dozen horses. But that was a simpler time.” His voice was monotone, and I wondered if speaking of his mother after so long was something he didn’t like to do.
A hundred gold coins was how much my father made in a year, and King Thorne would be taking me from my father for life.
“I want a thousand gold coins,” I told him, ready for him to whittle me down to five hundred.
“Done,” he stated without missing a beat.
I froze, and then swallowed hard. He was awfully agreeable. “And I want my beloved lady-in-waiting to come as well.” I nodded to Piper, who stood erect in the corner.
“Done,” he said again.
My heart hammered in my chest. “Also, I think a hundred acres of farmable land for my people is a fair price for the two heirs I will give you.”
The king looked my body up and down slowly, his gray eyes caressing my skin so that I could almost feel it. “I was hoping to have more children than that, especially since you stated you will only lie with me when making children.”
Piper’s snort-laugh came from the corner, and I turned over my shoulder to glare at her. Heat traveled up my cheeks and I knew that they probably resembled the color of my hair.
“The number of children can be discussed later.” I fanned myself and stepped away from the fire.
“A hundred acres. Done,” he said.
“As far as horses, we have twenty elders in Fall Court. I would like you to gift each one a new stallion. They do most of our farming and this will help—”
“Done,” he interrupted me. “Anything else?”
I looked at him incredulously. That had been way easier than I thought. He was saying yes without hesitation. “Will I be able to see my family?” My voice broke as I thought of Libby.
“Of course.” His lips pulled into a frown. “Whenever you like. They are welcome at Winter Court anytime. We have a lovely guest house I can have ready at a moment’s notice.”
I had planned to tell him that if he ever hurt me I would tear his body in two with the strongest wind imaginable, but now I felt that might be too unkind of an assessment. Had he done bad things in his past? Yes—he admitted to the Great Freeze. But there was something else there, a gentleness I couldn’t describe, an eagerness to please, to be loved. It held me in confusion and tempered my anger towards him.
I knew that dowries were sealed with a handshake, so I stepped forward and extended my hand.
“I look forward to the upcoming nuptials and serving our people as queen,” I told him.
He smiled then, taking my hand into a strong, firm grip and shaking it. “I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you, Madelynn. I hope I can make you happy.”
I stopped breathing for the umpteenth time. The way he spoke was… so intense, so real. He leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to the top of my hand before gently dropping it, and I was almost sad to see it go. The winter king then crossed the room, tipping his head to Piper as he went. When his hand rested on the door handle, I called to him. “King Thorne!”
He turned back to look at me, and I met his steely gaze.
“I could have asked for more, couldn’t I?”
The slow halfcocked grin that spread across his face made my knees go weak. Good night, he was handsome. “There is nothing I would have denied you.”
He turned then and shut the door softly. Probably to go in search of my father and put all of this in writing.
I stood there stunned as Piper peeled herself away from the wall and stood before me.
“Do we still hate him?” she asked with a frown. “I’m so confused.”
I shrugged. “What the Hades just happened?”
She chewed her bottom lip. “I kind of liked everything about him.”
So did I.
So. Did. I.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Always a big thank you to my amazing readers! I truly could not do this without you. It still amazes me that I get to be creative and do this for a living and someone actually wants to read what I write. Thank you to my Wolf Pack who is so supportive. To my editors Lee and Kate, I am a sloppy mess without you. And always to my husband and children for sharing me with my art. <3
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Leia Stone, The Broken Elf King
