Page 161 of The Nightmare Bride
Amryssa leaned in, breaking our stand-off. “Father? You can’t possibly intend to marry me to this man, can you? Not now?”
His fierceness softened, if only by half. “I have to, my sweet. This union is critical.”
“But...you didn’t know, did you? What he’s really like?”
Olivian made a sound like stones grinding, then offered his hands over the desk for Amryssa to take. “I’d heard rumors, pet, but they’re only that. Rumors. And I have ways of keeping you safe. Trust me when I say we need this marriage.Oceansgateneeds this marriage.”
Amryssa recoiled. I’d known this was coming, but still, the betrayal on her face gutted me. Filleted me open from neck to navel.
“But...what could possibly stand to gain?” she said.
Olivian hesitated. “Lawmen. For one.”
I frowned. In the almost-decade since the nightmares had begun, the bulk of Oceansgate’s populace had trickled away, including the entirety of the police force. Now, only our most reckless citizens remained, along with a group of lawbreakers who lived in the forest and apparently considered recurrent psychological torture a fair price to pay for lack of legal oversight. With our patron goddess lost to her divine slumber, Olivian’s territory had devolved into chaos and anarchy, and without a police force at his disposal, there was very little he could do about that.
“But Oceansgate doesn’t have any lawmen,” I said. “Not anymore.”
Olivian grunted. “Not at themoment.”
A pause. Pieces clicked together in my head, and I gaped.Thiswas what he’d sold his daughter for?
“So you intend to barter me?” Amryssa bleated, clearly having reached the same conclusion. “To buy lawmen off the king by joining me to his son, knowing full well what this man will do to me?”
“There’s...so much you don’t understand,” Olivian said. “So much youcan’tunderstand, my sweet.”
My molars grated, my palm itching for my dagger. Seven hells, if he started rhapsodizing about the deficits of the female intellect, I really would stab someone.
“As your father”—Olivian’s fingers flexed, straining toward his daughter—“I’m asking you to trust me.”
“I thought Icould.” Moisture pooled in Amryssa’s eyes. “But perhaps I was mistaken.”
Silence. The seneschal reclaimed his spurned hands with visible reluctance. He seemed not to know what to say.
My breath fled, but I would not, under any circumstances, sayI told you so. “Private ceremony,” I prompted Amryssa gently. “Remember? You said that’s what you wanted.”
“Right.” She pinned her gaze to her lap, her voice leaden. “I’d like a closed wedding, Father. No guests apart from Harlowe. No other witnesses to this...forced union. You can grant me that, can’t you? At the very least?”
Olivian shot me a thunderous look, as if to say,This is your doing. I shrugged, but my heart knocked against my ribs with such ferocity I swore the whole manor would hear.
If he refused...
“Very well,” he spat, more at me than her. “So long as this wedding happens, I don’t care what form it takes.”
Warmth cascaded through me. Just minutes ago, I’d fantasized about imbuing Amryssa with some backbone, but now I blessed her for her lack of one.
Clearly, there was no room in Olivian’s mind to suspect her of treachery. He simply assumed his daughter would obey, as she always had.
He sat back, swatting Eliana’s letter to the floor. I dove after the fallen sheets and folded them into my skirt pocket.
“The officiant arrives at seven,” Olivian grumbled. “You two will meet him in the library. I suppose this means you’d like to do away with the nuptial feast, as well?”
Amryssa nodded, not looking at him.
I leapt up and tugged her to her feet before facing the seneschal. “Well, that’s settled. You can congratulate her tomorrow. Right now, I need to get her ready.”
He lobbed me a look of pure loathing. “See that you do.”
I responded with a smarmy, insincere smile and steered Amryssa away. She didn’t resist. Her spirit seemed to have forsaken her body, leaving behind a hollow husk that moved when propelled, but had no will of its own.
