Page 68 of Enchanted Shadows
“Zara,” I said, lips pulling at the corners. The urge to call her princess weighed on me.
She stood and came forward, brushing invisible dirt off her hands.
When she hesitated, I just went for it. “We are to be married.” And as the women’s eyes all bugged out and variouswhatstatements were heard, I added, “Soon.”
“We thought a family member of hers died!” Molly exclaimed. “When that man showed up yesterday.”
Kessara pinched the bridge of her nose. “That?Thatis how you begin this?”
I whispered, “Telling them who you really are is not my business to share.”
She tipped her head back and added loudly, “We are getting married, but not because we can’t keep our hands off each other.”
Wren commented, “I mean, there issometension.”
I pinned her with a glare.
Kessara finally went for it. “I am Enchanted. Dually Enchanted and I am really from Agria.” And then she lifted her necklace over her head, handing it over to me again.
A silence blanketed the group like I had never heard before. They were stunned.
“I am Princess Kessara Zavatari of Agria. I am also the half-sibling of the brother kings.”
Brother kings. I knew that phrase well, but it still shook me how much life had changed in four years. Then again, I was holding a sort of vision cast into a necklace. A wearable vision? Life was wild.
Kessara kept explaining, the team remaining quiet to hear her. I was somewhat surprised to find that she left nothing out. Finally ending it with, “So we are getting married because this oaf wants to protect both Wylan from war and from my narcissistic ex fetching me and taking me back to Agria.”
“What doyouwant?” Vivian asked quietly.
Kessara took a deep breath. “I would like to stay. Full disclosure, I had ulterior motives for joining this team. I originally joined to get closer to my half-brothers. But—” her voice cracked, and she took a deep breath to steel herself. “But you all made it past my defenses. I do like it here in Wylan. I like training. I would like to stay. Marrying the general maintains the peace of the realmand allows me to make some decisions for myself for the first time in my life. It is a selfish decision, yes, but if it keeps my brother safe too, I’ll do it.”
“How long will you have to be married for?” Pippa asked. “And won’t that be a conflict of interest?”
I interrupted to answer, “No more than me training Wren is. As for how long—as long as it takes.”
“Shouldn’t we be concerned she is some sort of Agrian spy? What if all of this simply isn’t true?” Pippa countered.
It was Fern who said, “I’m proof that you can be from a different country and still be loyal to our team.”
Pippa didn’t look entirely convinced. “Had the same thought about you.”
Kessara said calmly to Pippa, “I understand your concern. I wouldn’t trust me either. But when my poor excuse of an ex arrives in Wylan in a few days’ time, you should see that at least that part of my story is true. Like Wren, I also have poor taste in men.”
“Rude to say with your fiancé present,” I deadpanned.
Molly was almost jumping from her seat with her hand in the air.
“Molly,” I groaned. “Why in the hell are you raising your hand?”
She looked at it as if surprised. “Oh. Right. It’s just that you do know that whenever this sort of thing happens, it never works right? The fake always turns real. Just ask Jor”—she cut off and corrected herself, “the queen.”
“Back to thattension,” Wren whispered to her, sending me a wink.
Kessara didn’t wince or hesitate, she held her shoulders high. And I realized she was entirely too good at taking people goading her. It didn’t really faze her at all. Which meant it happened to her often, numbing her to it. “Should it ever become real, that will be up to the two of us. For now, the general has offeredhimself up as sacrifice and it is an offer too good for me to refuse.”
Pippa snapped, “So we’ve been calling you by the wrong name this whole time? And now we are just supposed to call you by yourprincesstitle?”
Pippa the Pepper was a little mad, but honestly, I was surprised she wasn’t calling for Kessara to be immediately kicked off the team.
