Chapter Six

Ira~

My first problem was deciding if the message was a warning or a trap.

The paper contained no name, date or detailed explanation. The thought of destroying it crossed my mind, but the phrase ‘the first bride was not his’ suggested that the previous bride may have belonged to someone else before she was sent to marry the king.

I gently hid the paper inside the lining of my sleeve and prepared for dinner.

I took a while in the bath tub, scrubbing my body slowly and hoping to kill time. I wanted to make Kael pissed as a revenge for ignoring my question earlier.

Once I was done bathing, I moved to wearing my dress. That was when a royal attendant walked in to help me with my dress. I guess Kael was tired of waiting and decided to send someone to make it quick.

“Princess Isabella” she called me with the name that made my skin itch, “my name is Mara and I was sent to help you with your preparation.”

I nodded without saying anything. What was I supposed to say? It's not like she will answer me if I asked her about something important.

“I will also be explaining the rules of the northern court to you” she continued when she saw that I wasn't going to say anything.

“Let me hear them” I encouraged her to speak.

“The king speaks first. Questions about royal matters must be answered carefully. No guest may leave the dining hall before the king dismisses them.”

“Does this rule apply to the king's bride?”

Mara went quiet for a while, but I knew she heard my question because I felt her tighten the straight of my dress and I could barely breathe. The dress already wasn't my size as it was made for Isabelle originally.

I knew she didn't mean to suffocate me to death, I guess she acted that way because she was scared.

“The previous brides were guests only until their wedding ceremony. Afterwards, they become the king's responsibility” she lets out a shaky breath as she eventually responds to my question.

I noticed the way Mara carefully avoided saying they became his wife and the thought of it didn't sit well with me, but I didn't ask her any more questions.

At dinner, Kael sat at the head of the long table that was set for twelve, although only two places had food and drinks on them.

I pulled my seat back, making sure to cause noise, but Kael didn't look up. He kept cutting his steak in a graceful manner, like he was savouring the moment.

“How was your journey? How is your family doing? And what is your supposed reason for accepting the treaty obligation?” He threw all his questions at me without giving me a chance to answer one at a time.

I glanced at him. He looked like he was forced to have a conversation with me.

I turned back to my food before answering him. I answered using the history I had been forced to memorize, repeating Isabella's rehearsed explanations while avoiding details I could not verify.

“My journey was hectic, my family is fine and for the treaty……” I paused for a while, took a deep breath and then finished my statement. “I had no choice but to accept it.”

Kael didn't accuse me of lying. Instead, he asked questions that appeared harmless but became increasingly specific.

He wanted to know which family member taught me how to ride, what I feared as a child, and if I had ever wanted to leave my pack.

I was honestly expecting harder questions. But then I realized that he was not merely testing if I could imitate Isabella, he was trying to determine what kind of person had been sent to him.

“Everyone eventually wants to leave a place where they are unwanted” I answered the question about leaving my pack honestly.

“Your family, they wanted you gone?” This time he dropped his spoon and stared blankly at me.

I caught myself before answering too quickly. “My family wanted me to fulfill my duty” I didn't answer his question directly.

Kael nodded his head in silence like he understood what I just did. He picked up his spoon and continued from where he stopped.

“Why are you wearing such perfume that is strong enough to conceal your natural scent?” Kael suddenly asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence between us.

I choked on my meal, quickly reaching out for water to push the salad that had gone down the wrong pipe.

I rubbed my chest in slowly circles while trying to blink back the tears that were threatening to come out of my eyes. He really cut me off guard, I wasn't expecting that question at all.

“I was advised to wear it before the journey” I finally answered once I made sure I could breathe well again.

“The perfume is unnecessary now. If you have a problem, the northern healers can prepare something less irritating if you wish.”

The unexpected offer unsettled me more than any threat would have. I couldn't tell if he was being considerate or simply wanted me to stop using something that interfered with his tests.

“Okay. But I refuse to surrender the bottle, not until I understand what it contains.”

Kael nodded in agreement to my condition.

Near the end of dinner, he spoke up again.

“Do you know the name of the woman who occupied your room before your arrival?”

My hand that was reaching for my drink paused midway. “No, I don't.”

For the first time since we started eating, Kael's expression changed. He set down his glass and stared at me with a piercing gaze.

“That room has remained empty since the death of my last bride” his cold voice echoed through the walls of the dining room.

I swallowed my bread forcefully, ignoring the goosebumps that were starting to rise on my skin. “Did the woman die there?”

“She disappeared there.”

Before I could ask what he meant, a servant entered the room with a sealed document. Kael read it, and the atmosphere changed immediately.

“You may leave” he ordered the servant in a low, dangerous tone that made the hairs on my skin rise.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

He pushed the document toward me without saying anything.

It contained a royal inventory of items recovered from the last bride's room. One item was marked as missing: a silver necklace bearing the Everhart family crest.

I quickly recognized it as the necklace my grandmother wore in the portrait hanging about my family's fireplace.

The missing object linked the previous bride to my family, suggesting the Everhart’s may have known far more about the northern brides than they admitted.