“Do you like it?” Liam asked.
“I love it.” Saying the words only escalated the fear filling my heart—this beautiful gift changed nothing of our circumstances. I sighed and let my hand drop. “Giving me this ring was a mistake, Liam.”
His grin vanished. “Of course it wasn’t.” He took my hands and held them close. “Performing my duty is impossible without you. If we can’t break the engagement contract, then I’ll abdicate and we’ll elope. I won’t lose you.”
“Oh, Liam.” I cradled his face, relishing the way he leaned against my touch. “As much as I need you, you know I can’t let you make such a sacrifice for me. You’re the crown prince.”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “You don’t understand. I can only be king with you at my side.”
The hopelessness of our situation tightened my heart. My tears escaped. “But we can’t,” I stuttered. “What we feel for one another can’t break the contract, and I can’t let you abdicate for me.”
“There has to be a way.” But his words were without hope. The deadline was in two days, making tonight likely the last we ever spent together since he returned tomorrow to Draceria and his engagement to Lavena.
I continued crying, unable to respond, certain I’d unravel completely if I did.
“I can’t live without you, Anwen,” he continued desperately. “I don’t believe fate would be so cruel as to have us meet only to tear us apart.”
He pressed several soft kisses along my hairline, causing me to cling to him even more fiercely. “We have to find a way so that I may keep both my throne and you.”
“Which means the engagement contract must be broken.”
We were back to the original problem that had vexed our entire relationship. I forced myself to push away all the painful emotions in order to consider the problem anew. It seemed far too strange that any contract, even a political one, could be so…permanent.
“Are you sure you and your advisors have looked everywhere?”
“We’ve searched every book in the library, but we’ve uncovered nothing.”
I wrinkled my brow, considering the puzzle. It was hard to believe that in as vast a library as the one found in the palace, a loophole couldn’t be discovered. “That doesn’t make sense,” I said. “Are you sure you’ve checked every book?”
“Yes,” Liam said. “Most more than once.”
“Even the books in the summer palace?”
Liam opened his mouth to respond but paused to think. “No, I don’t believe so.”
Hope flared in my chest. “Why not?”
“The books in the summer palace are mostly outdated volumes; many are centuries old. When the main palace was built, only the important books were transferred over.”
“But there are several books about political contracts there,” I said.
Liam frowned. “How do you know?”
“Because during our first week of marriage, I spent every spare moment searching for a way to break the contract I was bound to by the princess’s ring.”
Hope brightened Liam’s expression. “And did you find anything?”
I scrunched my forehead, struggling to remember that far back. “I found a lot of nothing in regards to my contract, but I’m afraid I wasn’t looking for information in regards to yours.”
Liam slumped. “This is so frustrating. If it weren’t for the fact that our marriage was made void due to it being performed under a false name, I wouldn’t still be bound to that horrible Lavena and we could be together now.”
That was true. It was amazing how even something as binding as marriage had been made void simply due to a name…
And then I remembered something, a faint recollection of a snippet from a book I’d stumbled upon at the summer palace. I gasped. Could it be…
“What is it?” Liam asked.
I stared at him in wonder. “I may have found the loophole.”
Chapter 27
We were forced to pass a restless night before we could leave the following morning for the summer palace, a carriage ride that would take most of the day. I sat beside Liam as the borrowed carriage rattled down the road.
“Won’t you share your epiphany with me?” Liam pleaded once more.
I hesitated. “I’m not even sure if it’s a solution,” I said. “I don’t want to give you false hope only to be wrong.”
“At this point I’ll take any hope.” He cradled my face, his expression earnest. “Please, Anwen.”
As usual, I couldn’t resist Liam. “It’s something I vaguely remember skimming during my research into the contract ring during our honeymoon,” I said. “Your mentioning the fact that our marriage was void made me think of it. Despite reciting our vows, a contract as binding as a marriage was broken simply due to it being performed under a false name. It occurred to me that your situation is similar.”
“How?” Liam asked, his previous frustration and despair cloaking him once more. “Unlike our marriage, my betrothal contract wasn’t created under a false name.”
“No, but it was created under a different name.”
“You mean Kian’s?” Liam asked. “That shouldn’t make a difference. It was created using his real name, and is thus binding, even when I inherited it upon his death and—” His eyes widened as understanding filled his expression. “Wait…”
“Exactly,” I said. “You inherited the contract. It was made with Crown Prince Kian, not Prince Liam. Was it redrawn when you became the heir?”
Liam scrunched his forehead, considering. “No, I don’t believe it was. But I didn’t think it needed to be. It was made between Princess Lavena of Lyceria and the Crown Prince of Draceria, not Kian specifically, despite him being the one who currently inhabited the role.”
I nibbled my lip. “That’s true, but I’m hoping that perhaps it still makes a difference. That’s what we need to find out.”
The endless carriage ride continued, and just as the sun began to dip below the horizon and darkness settled, we arrived at the palace.
I expected to enter by the front doors, but Liam took my hand and led me around to the back. “Where are we going?” I asked.
“The fewer servants who know I’m here, the better, just in case we can’t find what we’re looking for and they alert those at the main palace we were here. I’m afraid the moment the Lycerian royal family knows of my return, they’ll immediately insist on the marriage.”
He picked his way through the shadowy garden and approached the palace, where he pushed aside the crawling ivy and ran his hands along the stone wall, searching. He gave a triumphant cry as the wall turned inward, revealing a dark and dank passageway.
Liam grinned, basking in his victory. “I made it my personal quest as a boy to find all the secret passageways in this palace. I’m glad my childhood mischief was good for something.”
“May I ask why you didn’t show me these passageways during our honeymoon?”
“A valid question, my dear, and clearly an oversight which I hope to remedy right now. Are you ready for an adventure, darling?”
Despite the rather spooky and ominous shadows of the passageway, I nodded as I tightened my hold on his hand. He led me deeper into the secret chamber. The wall closed behind us with a resonating thud that caused fear to creep up my spine.
I swallowed. “I’m assuming you know the passageways well?”
“You assume correctly,” he said. “I needed somewhere to hide over the years whenever duty arose.”
“So your previous irresponsibility is helping us now?”
He chuckled, the sound echoing off the surrounding stone. The cold, musty air smothered us, causing me to shudder. Thankfully, Liam did know the passageway well, and several long corridors and seemingly random turns later, he pushed against a wall. It slid open, revealing the majestic library, lit up beneath the glowing moonlight tumbling through the tall windows.
Liam found a tinderbox next to a lantern and lit it. The soft, pale
light illuminated the library, casting long shadows from the dozens of towering shelves, which were stuffed to the brim with books we’d have to go through. The task felt insurmountable.
Liam wasted no time. He led me to a section bursting with stuffy-looking volumes, many titles familiar from my search of the summer palace library several months earlier, though most were new to me.
He cast me an uncertain glance. “Do you happen to remember where you saw it?”
“I don’t.”
“We won’t let that stop us.” He took a fortifying breath. “We’ll search all night if we need to.”
We examined the faded titles by the pale lantern light caressing the worn spines, occasionally pulling out several to skim. An hour crawled by, then two, and soon three. My eyes became heavy with exhaustion and the pile of books we’d gone through had grown into an unsteady tower, but still we pressed on.
As the fourth hour melted away, Liam groaned in frustration. “Where is it?”
“I just remember seeing it, though I can’t recall which book I read it in.” I yanked out Laws and Traditions from the shelf and began flipping through the pages, searching…searching…my breath caught as my gaze settled on a paragraph.
Those who inherit a title are honor-bound to fulfill all existing responsibilities associated with that title. In the case of contracts between parties or kingdoms, it is formal practice that all contracts be redrawn when a title is inherited by either party… I read the paragraph rapidly, only to reread it, and then read it again, my heartbeat escalating with each read through.
“Anwen?” Liam’s urgent tone drew my gaze to him. He searched my expression hungrily, seeing the joy slowly filling it. “What is it? Have you found something?”
I grinned and held up the book. “I do believe I have.”
The carriage ride to the main palace felt endless, even though I knew it was only a few hours. Liam and I once more shared the same seat, my head resting on his shoulder as I stared out the window. The scenery was swallowed in inky blackness at first, but as the morning broke, the darkness began to fade, and soon the beginnings of golden twilight peeked above the horizon to slowly rise and stain the sky with the soft rosy hues of dawn.
Liam pressed his lips to my hair. “We’re finally watching a sunrise together. I remember on the last day of our honeymoon you told me you loved sunrises because they represented new beginnings. This is our real beginning.”
His confidence stoked the hope filling my heart, causing it to burn brighter. My hold tightened on the stack of papers and books in my lap from our research, which had extended a few more hours after stumbling upon what we believed to be the answer. Through our additional research, we’d discovered that this seemingly insignificant, archaic law was still in force, though tradition had usurped it.
“Do you really believe it’ll work?” I asked.
Liam’s arm looped securely around my waist tightened, keeping me snuggled close. “I do. Tradition is all well and good, but the law is the law.”
His belief warmed my heart. I relaxed against him. It was easier to allow him to hold me now that we’d uncovered what could very well be the solution we’d been searching for, meaning I could keep him. This would work, and when it did, there would be no more obstacles between us—no engagement contract, no scheming Princess Lavena, and no feared rejection from Liam, for he’d seen the real me and he loved me.
The sun had fully risen by the time the carriage rolled through the gilded palace gates. Liam immediately leapt down and helped me descend. Keeping our hands intertwined, we ran up the palace steps.
The guards flanking the front doors rose their eyebrows in surprise—likely at both Liam’s unexpected arrival and his peasant attire—but they bowed and opened the doors. “Welcome back, Your Highness.”
Liam ignored their greeting and led me into the foyer, pausing only to address a footman. “Where can I find Their Majesties?”
“I believe they’re still in their private quarters.”
It was unsurprising given the early hour, but it was still disappointing that we’d be delayed in presenting our case. Liam, as usual, seemed undeterred as he led me to his parents’ suite of rooms. It was wonderful to be back within the familiar corridors of the palace I now considered home.
Liam paused outside a large oak door and turned to me. “Wait out here and I’ll go speak with my parents to request a meeting with them and the King and Queen of Lyceria.” He lifted my hand and pressed a gentle kiss along my knuckles before giving my fingers an assuring squeeze. “I’ll be right back.” He disappeared through the door after the attending footman opened it for him, and I leaned against the wall to wait.
I wasn’t waiting long when I heard footsteps at the end of the corridor. I turned to see Princess Lavena. I gaped to see her awake at such an early hour, and in her dressing gown nonetheless. “Your Highness?”
She offered me a tight smile. “It’s wonderful to see you, Anwen.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Is it?”
“Of course.” She paused in front of me. “I would like to speak with you. Might we walk together?”
I frowned at the door where Liam had disappeared through. “I’m waiting for—”
“Liam?” The princess rose an elegant eyebrow. “Yes, I suspected that. My new handmaiden saw you two arrive together and informed me. She knows how anxious I am to speak with you. Please, Anwen?” Her eyes widened imploringly, and despite myself I softened.
“Very well.” I followed her into the next hallway, this one abandoned, allowing us privacy. She immediately turned towards me with another smile.
“I’ve been giving the matter a lot of thought, and I think you and Liam are well suited for one another. I’ve decided to consent to breaking the betrothal.”
I frowned. “That’s very…amiable of you, Your Highness.” A bit too much so, and completely out of character for her. Immediately, suspicion flared in my chest.
“There’s no need to look so shocked, Anwen. Though I would certainly like to be Queen of Draceria, I really can’t tolerate Liam in the least. I detest the man and have never wanted to be married to him, but when things didn’t go well with my minstrel, I momentarily believed that even a life with him was better than the peasant life I was currently living.”
I scrutinized the distaste twisting her mouth. Her words did fit my image of the princess. Perhaps she was sincere after all. “So you’re withdrawing your claim on him?”
“Yes. I also apologize for entangling you in my scheme, although you really should be thanking me, considering you actually love the oaf.” She extended her hand. “Might we be friends?”
Before I could even respond, the princess seized my hand, pulled me closer, and shoved the contract ring onto the finger next to the one that held my promise ring. The familiar burning spread over my hand. I gasped and yanked away, but it was too late—the ring was already in place, entangling me in another contract.
“What did you do?” I gasped, already desperately trying to wrench off the scorching ring, but as before it remained unyielding.
She laughed, a cold sound that caused icy fear to seep over me. “You’re so gullible, Anwen, always determined to believe the best of everyone. Did you really think I’d ever relinquish my birthright to the likes of you? I’m a princess who is to be queen, whereas you’re nothing.”
I gaped at her while I continued to tug at the ring, but my attempts to free myself were futile. White hot pain throbbed through me at each desperate pull. “But you don’t even want to be queen. The responsibility—”
“—is something I don’t have to do. Queens can do whatever they want.”
That issue aside… “But you don’t even like—” My throat closed up around Liam’s name, and try as I might, I couldn’t say it. Each attempt to do so only caused the ring’s burning to intensify. My panic grew. What contract had the princess placed me under? I glared down at the ring before raising my gaze.“What did you do?”
She smirked. “Oh, that’s just the new contract I placed on the ring, one that will ensure you stay far away from Liam. You won’t even be able to say his name.”
Despite her words I tried again, but the attempt only sealed my throat and caused another sharp pain to spread through my hand, as if I were clutching a hot poker. My anxiety rose, suffocating me. “Please, you can’t do this.”
She coyly lifted her brow. “Can’t I? That’s where you’re wrong, for it appears that I am.” My stomach twisted at her sickly triumphant look. “Now, here’s what’s going to happen—you’re going to leave and never return, and I’m going to inform dear Liam that you considered the responsibilities that come with him too difficult for you to handle, so you’ve run away.”
I glared at her. “He won’t believe you.”
“Won’t he?” Her smirk widened. “He may think he cares for you, but he’s undoubtedly secretly worried about whether you’re fit for the role of queen. You’re so common, Anwen. Love may have temporarily blinded him to that fact, but it won’t be long before he regrets marrying you when he could have someone like me, a true princess.”
For a brief second I believed her...until I remembered my time with Liam in the cottage during the storm, specifically the adoring look that had filled his eyes as he’d assured me I was his princess.
“He loves me,” I said. “He wants me, no matter how common I may be. We belong together.”
The princess snorted. “Then he’s a fool. Even if he’s deluded into believing that now, I’ll be sure to change his mind. We have a lifetime together. Our wedding is today, and this time he can’t wriggle out of it, especially when you’re nowhere to be found.”
As if her words were a command for the ring, I felt myself tugged down the corridor, away from Their Majesties’ suite of rooms where Liam was. I gasped and struggled to resist the pull, but it was as if I were a puppet whose strings were being manipulated by the sadistic ring.
Desperate, I glanced behind me, where the princess watched with that cold, calculating look of hers. “Please, Your Highness.”
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