Page 13 of Pawns of Fate
Rose paused, then remembered Ava’s encouragement. “My favorites are the roses.”
Nicholas smiled and rubbed a petal between his fingers. “Because of your name?”
Rose’s heart swelled with confidence. “Seeing them reminds me of the kind priestess who named me after the Robson roses without knowing who I truly was. It is also my favorite because…” She always lost her train of thought as they walked into her favorite section of the garden. “Because it is so beautiful,” she finished.
There had been roses in the gardens of the Robson viscounts for centuries. The family legend stated that a fairy, sleeping in a pink rosebush, had given the original viscount Robson their aural magic. Of course, no one believed in fairies anymore. But the tradition of keeping pink rosebushes had grown over time.
The floral scent pleasantly invaded her nose. More roses than one could ever hope to count populated the garden, in a hundred shades of pink and red. A few bees buzzed from flower to flower, and the spring sun’s rays caressed Rose’s skin. Shefound her favorite spot, a simple wooden bench surrounded by roses in the shade of a large cherry tree.
“I can see why you like this place. It’s so nice and quiet. Nobody moaning or yelling,” Nicholas said as he looked around at mountains of thick, pink rose bushes.
“What do you mean by —”
“It’s almost as beautiful as you,” he interrupted, gently grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close to his side.
“Oh, thank you. You are too kind,” Rose said, then turned away to hide her blush. Nicholas had surprised her with his forward behavior, but she certainly didn’t mind his touch. They were engaged to be married soon anyway, she reasoned as her heartbeat quickened.
“Can I ask you a question?” Nicholas said.
“Of course, Lord Sharp.”
“Please, call me Nicholas. We’re engaged, after all. We do not need to address each other by our titles.”
“Okay… Nicholas,” she said tentatively.
He smiled at the sound of his name on her lips. Rose’s mouth went dry.
“That is much better.”
“What did you want to ask me?” Rose asked.
His face darkened slightly.
“Have you heard that my family is wrapping up a small war with the clan that lives south of Onanish? The Ojoh? I shouldn’t call it a war. There have only been a few skirmishes.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about it.”
Everyone within a hundred miles had heard about it.Nicholas was trying to downplay the fighting. The battles had been small in scale but not in intensity. The Ojoh were fierce opponents in battle. They made up for their lack of magic with skilled and vicious warriors.
Years ago, Rose had spent an entire summer in one of the smaller Ojoh villages, serving as political collateral for her uncle. She’d seen firsthand just how fearsome the desert warriors were. The village she’d stayed at had only two dozen warriors or so. None of them were mages, from what Rose remembered. Even so, those warriors defended their home from desert monsters like the sand hydra and rock scorpions without casualties. She could still remember the day that the warriors brought a troll carcass back to the village. They used the tough, yet malleable skin to make things like armor and saddles. The memory of the carcass made her shudder, even years later.
Nicholas interrupted her thoughts. “The thing is, my family’s military is tied up with the Ojoh. There hasn’t been fighting for months, but we don’t trust the Ojoh enough to lighten the border patrols. At least, not yet.” He frowned.
An awful thought crossed Rose’s mind. She’d known that a marriage to a good, attractive man would come with a price tag. She’d suspected that her uncle was leaving out some vital detail to guarantee her cooperation. Hearing Nicholas talk about the region’s politics, it dawned on her what the problem and its solution were before Nicholas could even finish his little speech. The warm arm around her waist turned to ice.
“My father needs insurance that the Ojoh won’t attack us before he can send our soldiers to clean out the swamps for youruncle.” He pulled his arm back. “I can see from the look on your face that you know what that insurance is.”
Why was there pain and disappointment in his voice? He wasn’t the one about to be sent off as collateral. An important, first-born son like him would never understand her position— how it felt to have so little value to your family that they could just trade you away.
“I’m to be sent as a captive to them. That’s why you picked me instead of Luanna.” Rose’s voice trembled with disappointment and anger.
Why pick Hector’s daughter when they could have his already-tested niece?
Nicholas grabbed both of Rose’s hands and faced her directly. He put a finger under her chin, guiding her to look at his stormy eyes.
“No, that isn’t the reason. I picked you because you were kind to Ava. I’ve never seen another noble woman treat her as an equal.”
Rose blinked at him, unsure how to feel about his confession. “I don’t really know how to answer that.”
