Wicked Matrimony (Legends and Lovers)

“We’ll begin planning the wedding in the morning. It needs to be a lavish event, filled with the whole empire,” Draven says, more to Simon than me.

“Understood,” Simon answers.

“Sounds lovely,” I say, sarcastically offering my two cents, not that either of them pays me any attention.

Draven walks away, and I face Simon.

“I guess we should talk about our… er… relationship,” Simon begins. “I won’t be around once you’re married to my uncle.” He sounds defeated.

“You won’t?”

“You’ll leave to live with Draven in his castle. I guess I could visit, but mainly I’ll have my own mission.”

“Mission?”

Simon nods. “I’ll be spying on Bogdan, watching to make sure we know his every move.”

“You’ll be putting your life in danger for me?” I feel awful about this. No part of me ever asked for any of this.

Simon smiles, and again, I wish I liked him more. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Just focus on playing the part of Draven’s wife. There’ll be many events, and you’ll need to not raise any doubts about your relationship.”

“What do you mean?”

“Be believable, or they’ll suspect something isn’t right. You’re under the protection of Draven as his wife, but if they believe the marriage is a sham, they’ll have no choice but to intervene.”

I try to wrap my head around the implications of this ruse we’re trying to pull off. I still can’t comprehend it. Perhaps, I’m in shock. All I know is I possess a power that I can’t fully grasp yet. Why me?

Earlier, I broke down and tried to feel out my mom, which turned into her convinced I was high and therefore going to ruin any chances of a respectable marriage. To believe I acquired my power from my mother is laughable. She knows nothing going on in anyone’s life but her own. Selfish. Controlling. Dominating.

I don’t think she ever even really cared about me. Only the perception of our perfect lives, and how strong she is as a supermom, even though it’s more pretend than anything else.

I try to dig deep within myself, seeing if I can predict the future, wondering if everything will work out ok and I can return to school soon. Nothing happens. Nothing at all. I sink back onto the bench.

“Everything will be ok, Allison. I promise you I’ll take care of it.”

I love Simon’s enthusiasm for trying to keep me safe, but a small part of me doesn’t trust it. Not that I don’t trust him, because I do. For the first time since I arrived in Romania, I feel a sense of danger lurking in the shadows. It engulfs me, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand tall. I shiver, and rub my arms, trying to warm my temperature.

“Let’s get you out of this cool air,” Simon says, standing from the bench and offering his hand.

I don’t take it, afraid someone may be watching that might not believe I’m madly in love with my betrothed.

“Thank you,” I say as I stand. “But I think it’s best if we don’t show any affection toward each other.”

I almost want to say we should break up, but Simon has never truly felt like a boyfriend. More of a best friend, and I think if I mentioned it now, it would only make things awkward between us.

He’s my only friend here in Romania, and I don’t want to alienate him. So, I keep my mouth shut, and head toward the castle to meet my doom.

Apparently, I’m getting married.

“What do you think of this dress?” Lina asks me as I sit in her parlor on the third floor of the castle.

It’s like this woman has a dress factory in her closet, because this is the third wedding dress she’s shown me.

“Um… Do a lot of people get married here?” I ask, wondering why she has a variety of dresses.

Stefania and Lina share a look.

Lina coughs before answering, “No, well—”