Page 105 of The Enemy's Daughter

“Once Tristan is free, I need to dethrone my father or nothing will ever change. But then, yes, I hope to. I know Liam will be disappointed...”

“He will be,” she says. “But he’ll be okay. There are...plentywho are interested in taking your place.”

My head lifts as she fiddles with her fingers. “Like, you?” I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. She’s never hidden her attraction to Liam.

She gives me a shy smile, almost scared of my reaction. But she has nothing to be afraid of. I throw my arms around her and hug her tightly. “You two would be wonderful together,” I say.

She laughs. “I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself;I’m not sure he’s ever even noticed me before.”

“Then we need to help him open his eyes.”

She snorts. “That’s hardly what we need to be worrying about right now. Let’s start with setting your Kingsland boy free.”

35

Freia slips back into my room with an armful of bandages and dumps them on the bed. “Okay, your mum is out, but I don’t imagine taking a load of food over to the Penners’ for your wedding night will take her long. We need to go now.”

I stuff one more knife into the backpack already filled with weapons, skins of water, and deer jerky, then pack the remaining space with the bandages and fight the zipper closed. Every pocket threatens to burst, but a nervous energy has me second-guessing that it’s enough.

No, Tristan just needs to make it back to Kingsland, and there’s only so much he can carry.

I bite my lip. “And what about the guard? Is he still at the front door?”

The door in question opens and closes with a bang. Father’s low voice rumbles as he speaks to someone. A few someones.

Freia’s eyes scream the same panic I feel, but then she jolts like she has an idea. “The dress!” She grabs my wedding dress from the closet and tosses it at me. “Put it on. I have a plan.”

Freia swings open the shutters and drops the backpack outside the window, a place where it could easily be found by soldiers passing by. This had better be an amazing plan.

I throw the dress on the bed and remove my clothes, then slip the gown over my head. Adrenaline pumps so hard through me, there’s not an ache of pain anywhere. The dress is snug, and I have to tug it into place. Only now do I notice the slit that runs nearly to mid-thigh.

Freia peeks out the door, then turns to speak to me. She falters. “Wow. That’s really stunning.”

I’m too scared to care. “What now?”

Emerging from my room feels like a parade through enemy territory.

Male voices fill Father’s office. Maybe that’s good. He’ll be distracted.

“Isadora!” Father barks.

I flinch, throwing myself off-balance, and stumble a step.

His formidable frame emerges into the hallway. “Where are you going?” His eyes flash with anger, then lower to take in my dress. The frown on his weathered face melts into a look of surprise.

“We’re...” I turn to Freia and nervously run my fingers over the fresh bandage on my neck.Where are we going, Freia?

“Going to my house!” she chirps. “Isadora doesn’t have what I need to braid her hair into a crown. For the wedding,” she adds, like he might have forgotten why I’d need my hair done. I can practically feel the heat radiating off her as she breaks into a sweat. She hugs my arm for support.

We look so guilty.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Freia croaks.

Father’s eyes narrow on me, so I drop my head in submission. Ever since I was a child, he’s never liked it when I held his gaze. “She is. Would you leave us for a minute?”

Freia squeezes my arm softly one last time. “Um... I’ll wait for you outside.”

She might be waiting a while. He knows we’re up to something; I saw it in the hard planes of his face.

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