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group, gossip and speculation about what it all meant, that Luke s
hunting party had been the first in generations to encounter the
white stag, the symbol of the gods blessing and benediction. It
couldn t be taken as anything but a good omen. Even Darrin
couldn t manage to twist it to something damaging, though surely
he would try.
While the rest of the party speculated about the hart, all Addy
could think about were the severed billets. What use was a good
omen when someone in their own court was trying for Luke s life?
* * *
Conall had Luke settled in bed by the time Addy was able to
get to him, his back propped against a mountain of pillows. The
physician was there already, she saw with relief. They d taken
Luke s boot off and had his pants cuffed up to the knee. His ankle
was red and inflamed, swollen twice its size.
Oh, Luke. She came over to sit next to him on the bed. How
are you?
He s being a damned fool, Conall growled, turning from
where he d been pacing at the end of the bed. He had his arms
crossed tight over his chest, and his expression was set with
displeasure. That s what.
Addy looked at Conall, and then at Luke, who didn t look any
happier. Goodness. She sighed. What s happened now?
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Conall had a sheaf of papers in his hand, clutched so tight he d
rumpled them. He brandished them, then passed them over to
Addy to look at.
What s this?
It s a letter from Emperor Shukio. Luke sighed and pulled his
hands through his hair. There s no need to read all that, Addy.
The point of it is, he says if I do not marry Nume promptly, he ll
bring her and the entire delegation home, and cut off our alliance
negotiations completely.
Addy s gaze flew up from the papers, her heart dropping down
into the very pit of her stomach. What? But Nume She How
long? Has he said how long you have to comply?
I m not going to comply. Luke shifted up abruptly. He
groaned at the movement, and Conall and the physician both
snapped at him to lie down. He scowled at the physician, gave a
somewhat softer look to Conall, and settled back down before
turning his attention back to Addy. I don t intend to marry her any
more now than I did before she arrived, of course. She s been very
pleasant to have around I ll admit, much more so than I expected,
but surely you didn t think I d grown that fond of her
Addy s head snapped up. No, of course not. I didn t mean
that, I just It s only She broke off, digging her teeth into her
lip, and pushed up to her feet to walk a few steps away, wrapping
her arms around her stomach.
Addy? Luke s voice rose sharply with surprise and
bewilderment. What s wrong?
Nothing, of course, I just She waved a hand at him over
her shoulder, struggling for control of herself. It s just been rather
a lot of excitement for one day, that s all. I m overcome.
Luke tried to ask another bewildered question, but Conall
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A QUEEN S DOWRY
interrupted him. Lad, don t be daft, he said softly. Her heart s
breaking, of course. He paused a moment, then continued, droll,
You might have been a bit gentler in breaking the news to her.
But I don t understand. Luke sounded more and more
bewildered by the moment. Addy& Addy, are you crying?
Of course not. She hadn t been, not quite, but the question
made her eyes burn even fiercer. She sucked in an unsteady breath
and wiped at her cheeks just to be sure. She plastered a false-bright
smile on her face and turned back to face him. I m just tired, and
worried for you, that s all. You scared me near to death when that
horse threw you.
But he hadn t been the one she d rushed to first, and if Luke
hadn t noticed that, the shrewd look Conall gave her said that he
certainly had.
I m fine. Addy, come here.
She came because it would have been too cowardly not to,
when he was bed-bound and could do nothing about it. She knelt
down next to the bed and bent over it, clutching his hand between
both of hers. He brought his other one up, and she shut her eyes as
he stroked it over her hair.
Tell me the truth. Is what Conall said true?
Oh, honestly, lad, Conall scoffed. You hurt your leg, you
didn t blind yourself. Don t tell me you didn t notice that she s a
little in love with your Ilian princess.
What? Addy lifted her head to gape at him. Love, no, it s
not that at all. It s just She s very She bent her head again,
and this time she was crying. Luke made a small, pained sound as
her tears dripped down onto the back of his hand. He pulled out of
her hold and brought his hand up to her cheek, brushing the tears
away with the pad of his thumb.
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Heavens, Addy. He sighed. I thought you d never lose your
heart to anyone. What a knot this is.
Well, it s not one that needs sorting out today, Conall said
briskly, coming forward to join him. It can wait a while. He
caught Addy s gaze. Six weeks is the answer to your question.
He s given Luke six weeks to marry her, or send her home.
Addy nodded and pressed the backs of her hands to her cheeks,
struggling to contain the trickle of tears. Six weeks was time
enough to make it count, and enough of it that she d be a fool to
waste it all in weeping now.
She dried her eyes again, and did a better job of it this time.
Does anyone else know what he s said?
The Ilians received their own letters. They know.
Which meant it would only be a matter of time until Nume did,
too. And unlike Addy, she wouldn t have a brother to comfort her.
She took a steadying breath and got to her feet. I d best go see
her, then.
* * *
Luke drew a sharp breath when the physician pressed fingertips
against his ankle. He glanced up at Luke, his expression grave and
his brows furrowed. You ve been giving it the rest it needs,
haven t you?
Yes, yes. Luke looked from the physician to Conall, who was
all the way across the room, pressing his shoulders to the wall as
though he wanted to step through it. He had his arms crossed over
his chest, his expression dark and displeased.
He caught Luke s eye for a moment, then his gaze slid away to
the physician. He hasn t set foot out of that bed since we put him
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into it. I ve seen to it.
He had, it was true, despite Luke s many protests. In fact, the
physician was only there because Conall had been troubled by how
tired Luke had been recently. Luke had insisted it was only that his
body needed rest while it healed, and Conall had stood just as he
was now, stern and unhappy and frowning down at him. He d
insisted they call the physician out again, and Luke had protested,
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