Page 71 of All the Chaos of Constellations
She ground her teeth, annoyed with him for being so apathetic toward her.
“My future husband,” she prompted, hoping to jar his memory.
“What of him?”
Ah, so he didn’t even deny it.
“I thought we…” Novalise hesitated, framing her words carefully. Ariesian might be her brother, and he might have made a terrible mistake, but he was still the Lord of House Celestine. “That is, I thought you valued my opinion. I was of the mind that I would choose my mate.”
Ariesian nodded in agreement, not looking up from his paperwork. “And you did.”
She gaped at him. “I most certainly did not.”
He ran a hand over his face, rolling his neck back so he looked up at the ceiling. She hated it when he did that, hated it when he treated her like a child, as though she were sullen and waspish for no reason. It was infuriating.
After a sharp inhale, he faced her.
“Novalise, you told me yourself that you were fine with the contract, even when I questioned you.” His hand cut through the air. “You told me you were sure I was making the right choice by signing the agreement.”
He was speaking nonsense. Not once had they ever discussed a marriage contract.
“That is not true.” She crossed her arms over her chest, glowering down at him. “I would never?—”
“But you did!” His voice boomed, his patience with her evaporating. She jumped back, stunned by the outburst.
“I would never agree to marry Prince Aspen!” Novalise cried, her hope at convincing Ariesian to change his mind becoming weaker by the second. “And I would assume you cared for me enough not to marry me off to some cruel, inconsiderate, cold-hearted royal!”
His eyes widened, his brows lifted.
“What?” he asked, the word croaking out of him.
Novalise faltered. She knew Ariesian, she understood his mannerisms and was quite good at predicting his moods. One glance and she could easily determine his temperament. Right now, he was shocked.
“Am I wrong?” She clutched her hands together to ward off the inevitable shaking, to disperse the unease crawling down her spine. “I mean, you did agree to wed me to Prince Aspen, did you not?”
Ariesian paled, all the color leached from his face. “I did not.”
An icy shiver brushed across her shoulders like the hand of death.
When she spoke again, it was a hoarse whisper. “Then who am I marrying, Ariesian?”
“I hope you’re not too disappointed.” A rumbling voice cut through the weighted tension between them.
Novalise looked over her shoulder and there, lounging in the doorway of Ariesian’s study, was Prince Drake Kalstrand.
The Shadowblade Assassin.
* * *
Novalise stared at Prince Drake.A full minute passed before she mustered the courage to say anything, before she finally found her voice.
“No.” She spoke the word with conviction.
Ariesian pushed up from his seat, coming to stand beside her. “It’s done, Novalise. We’ve already signed the?—”
“I saidno.” She glared up at her brother, silently challenging him. Ariesian’s brows, constantly in a semi-permanent state of frowning, lifted for a moment before returning to their usual glower.
She strode over to where Prince Drake was lounging against the door and speared him with a look of pure loathing. “This was not a part of our agreement.”
