“You will have to produce children,” she whispered low, worry in her voice for her friend.
Darby squeezed her hand. “You have enough to worry about. You don’t have to worry about me too.”
“Too late.”
“I love you. Now, make your escape before Audria notices. I’ll be fine.”
Kerrigan didn’t believe her, but she couldn’t make the choice for Darby. So, she hugged her one more time and then stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. She was only outside for a moment when she realized that she wasn’t alone. She jerked her magic to her all at once, instinct taking over. Kerrigan put up a shield of solid air and then shoved it back against her attacker.
The Fae male’s shocked face as she crushed him back against the wall might not have hurt his ego, but then she started to laugh in his face.
“What are you doing? Don’t you know not to sneak up on a girl?”
He straightened, dusting off the effects of her spell. “My lady.”
Then, he hastily retreated.
Kerrigan bit her lip as she watched him disappear. Guess she wouldn’t get a dance after all.
“Impressive,” another voice said. “That’s one way to get rid of unwelcome suitors.”
Kerrigan’s smile vanished. “What do you want?”
Kivrin Argon, First of the House of Cruse, stepped out of the shadows to stand before his daughter.
“Hello, Kerrigan.”
Well, the night had just gone from bad to worse.
“At least you can get my name right.”
“I see that you’ve taken on my house again.”
“Not by choice,” she spat. Nothing could turn her into a mouse caught in a trap faster than her asshole father. “I don’t need a surname or a Bryonican house to still be important.”
“Certainly not. You used neither when you made it into the Society.”
“Oh, so this is what this is about? You only care about me because I have a position?”
“No.”
And he was so blatant with the answer that she actually stilled.
“I didn’t want to give you up.”
She couldn’t help herself; she laughed. “I don’t believe you.”
“I had to do it for your safety.”
She put her hand to her chest. “For my safety. Right. Right, right, right. I’ve heard that one before.”
“If you’d let me explain for one minute.”
“You’ve had twelve years to explain to me why you abandoned me, Kivrin. You no longer have the right.”
She whirled away from him. She didn’t want to have this conversation. He could have told her why he’d done it for years. Now that he had to claim her as his daughter again, he was going to make something up to appease the masses. And she couldn’t care what he came up with.
She pushed back into the ballroom.
Kivrin followed on her heels. “Kerrigan, wait. There’s one more thing I need to warn you about.”
“Don’t care,” she snapped.
The front door to the mansion burst open then, and the attendant called out in a clear voice for all to hear, “Lord Ashby March, First of the House of Medallion of Bryonica.”
23
The Lord
Kerrigan’s eyes widened to saucers. She was frozen in place as she stared at the man who had been her betrothed and her worst nightmare.
When they had been children, March’s family had been the closest to Kerrigan’s home, Waisley. Their parents had tied them together as soon as they legally could do so. A year of courting when they came of age would still be required, of course, but it was known from day one that their bloodlines and money would stay together. They would stay together.
But though Ashby March was the handsomest child with round baby cheeks and irresistible charm that got him whatever he wanted, there was something wrong with him. And his parents refused to see what was right there. That he learned early on where to give bruises so no one but her bathing attendants would notice. She stumbled upon him in the woods between their two properties, skinning a squirrel. The poor animal was still alive. She cried all the way home, and no one believed a word from her.
She’d been left at the House of Dragons soon after that. A blessing. A curse.
Even in her final test before she’d matched with Tieran, March had been her biggest fear. The one thing that she could never live through.
And now, he was here.
As if he was drawn to her presence like a magnet, March found her face in the crowd. Those endless ocean-blue eyes locked on hers, and a corner of his mouth twisted upward. She couldn’t move. Gods, she’d seen that look from him before. She’d seen it that day when he looked at the squirrel. Only now, she was the squirrel.
A flurry of debs rushed to his side, eager to gain the attention of the most eligible bachelor at the party. Not to mention, one of the handsomest. He had grown into an exceedingly stunning man. His round baby cheeks hollowing and those eyes almost throwing a glamour across the entire crowd. He was tall, strong, regal. Anyone would be lucky to have him. Anyone but her.