Fantasy Romance
Being a knight to a powerful duke was far better than trying to fit in with the calificars.
Even if it meant being reminded of the perfect young lady I could never have.
But I could keep her safe. Protect her.
I met the duke’s gaze. “I accept.”
“I am Duke Hartford,” the man said. “And I came here to find a calificar-in-training that could serve my daughter. One not yet bound to the calificars. I would like you to become a knight in my service.”
That meant Elyssa was…
The walks in the gardens. The smiles. Her laughing at my jokes.
But that’s all it had been. All it could have ever been.
Why hadn’t she told me who she was?
He’d do anything to save his people. Even make her his queen.
High Prince Rohan faces war with his northern neighbor, a necromancer’s taint on his lands, and growing civil unrest. He needs the gods to send his bride so he can become king, unite his people, and legitimize his rule. A bride they have sent for every previous high prince. Rohan will marry any woman They send. Even one that wears the armor of his enemy. Even one that rejects him. After all, he never expected to love her.
As a Knight of Valor blessed by the gods Themselves, Makayla has given up everything for Them. Even love. She thought she was ready for anything They asked of her. Until a magical accident finds her in a foreign kingdom deprived of the gods’ light and married to its new king without ever having said “I do”.
But the sham marriage to a man she refuses to fall in love with is the least of her worries.
An ancient evil followed her, an evil that stalks the land and threatens to destroy everything in its path. It will take more than either of them can do alone to stop it. Together, they might just be strong enough, but only if they can accept the gods’ greatest gift: love.
It was late, and I was still in the Reverend Mother’s study when Elyssa’s father joined me.
“My daughter is shaken and worried for you.”
“A few bruises, no more.”
The man rocked back on his hips. “You defended my daughter before even Sir Gilbrand could respond, and he is my best knight. Why is that?”
“I couldn’t let them hurt her.”
Gillian was unwilling to challenge me directly.
A moment later, the room was filled with calificars and the Reverend Mother.
Kitchen duty for the rest of my life was worth Elyssa being unharmed.
“She’s a witch. We are sworn to protect mankind-“
“And the witches,” I said.
Gillian stared at me.
“We are the Architect’s hand. His will. The protectors of those who cannot protect themselves,” I recited. I had gone to services even if I didn’t like them.