The Bride Tournament (Hexed Hearts Book 1)(56)
She shuddered with silent tears. The crowd stayed at her back. Her eyes stared into Gerard’s face, memorizing his features. She could not marry him and the role of the next queen belonged to the runner up, no doubt one of the women suffering from the pox. The fairytale had ended.
Gerard ripped off his golden mask. Anger contorted his face.
A sob escaped her lips.
“The Tournament has ended. Everyone out. Now.”
She shook, her knees knocking together as she struggled to stay upright.
Bodies scrambled, chairs scraped across the stone floor, and nervous whispers buzzed over her. Ellie took a shaky breath. She placed one foot in front of the other. She needed to escape.
Cowardly as her actions were, self-preservation took over. She had to get out of here. Away from these people. Away from the embarrassment. Away from him.
“You will not move, Ellie,” Gerard scolded.
She froze and bit her lip, tasting blood. Her fists clenched her dress. Through watery eyes, she saw the queen press her lips together and lift her chin. That brought on a whole new platoon of tears.
How they all must hate me.
Gerard stormed to her and gripped her elbow, offering no escape. “Come.”
Ellie followed, meek and ashamed. “Gerard—”
“Hush, woman. Hush.” He veered them down a hall and into the library. The room felt so different last night. “Stay here and do not move.”
His shoulders shook as he vacated the library. The door slammed shut. Ellie stood alone in firelight. Awaiting her fate.
***
“I will be marrying her now.” Gerard glared at his parents.
His father nodded wide-eyed. The king clapped Gerard on the shoulder. “It’s always been clear that you favored her. We wouldn’t dare take that kind of love away from you.”
His mother smiled up at him, her black curls framing her face. “My dear son, you are lucky enough to have found love first. Your father and I had to work at it, for years. I don’t want you to ever have to go through the trials we’ve endured.”
“It would seem that you’ve gone through a melee of your own.” The king smiled. “Besides, technically, she won.”
The queen looped her arm in her husband’s and lifted her gown as she strode past Gerard. “I knew I liked her.”
Surprise floored him. It froze him to the ground for a few seconds. His parents were retiring for the evening, leaving him standing alone like a fool.
“Why are you not fighting me on this? You demanded I go through with this stupid tournament.”
The king called over his shoulder, “She beat the competition.”
“I think she will make a grand queen,” his mother chirped as the royal couple rounded the corner and disappeared.
Gerard wasted no time. He raced to the library and flung open the door. Ellie looked up from heavy pacing, bleak sorrow in her eyes.
“Ellie, you won.”
***
She’d expected him to come barreling in, angered, and full of rage, intent on speaking his mind. Instead, he gifted her with a sincere apology, the man she’d lied to and betrayed.
“What?”
“You heard me, dear heart.” He stalked forward and gripped her hand, hazel eyes searching her face. “Ever since you barreled into me that day in the castle, I’ve wanted you. Wanted you to win. Wanted you to be mine.”
“But, I’m not a lady. And I don’t have magic.”
“So?” Gerard shrugged.
She gaped. So? “That’s all you have to say? After weeks of worry and fear that I’d be exposed. That I’d fail and others would die…all you have to say is so?”
“Yes. You saved people who treated you like a second-class citizen because you have a good heart. And that’s what draws me to you. Your goodness, your love, your smile under that scowl.”
“Queen? You can’t be serious. I can’t be your bride.”
“I have to be king, and if I’m going to be the best leader for my people, I need you at my side. I want to marry you.”
Ellie blinked. Her heart soared on fragile wings. He wanted her—needed, he’d said. Words stuck in her throat. Magic-less, ordinary me.
He frowned at her silence.
“I don’t want to be king any more than you want to be queen. The responsibility, the stress, the pressure, the decisions, the time-commitment…” Gerard trailed off, eyes vacant and pinched.
She pressed a palm to his stubble-covered cheek, gaining his attention, and found her words. “Love, you’re doing a horrible job of convincing me to marry you.”
“I know.” His lips pursed into an apologetic smile. “Schmoozing the ladies has never been my strong suit. If only Pierce were here to tell me what to say.”
“I think you’ve done a grand job all on your own.” She trailed her fingers down his warm throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “In fact, before I knew your title…I’d sort of…”
“What?” He rested his knuckles under her chin and lifted her gaze to his.
“Fallen in like with you.”
“And now? Has that changed?” Vulnerability cast light across his strong features. “For I’ve loved you since you dropped that pumpkin at my feet, cursing my presence. And now I feel rather like that gourd, one mishandling away from matching those spattered pieces on the ground.”