Once & Future (Once & Future #1)(24)

“More pageantry,” Ari said. “More lies.”

“Pageantry isn’t a lie, Ari.” Gwen stepped closer, her heart-shaped face turned straight up, eyes afire. “It’s a performance.”

Ari was a fair amount taller. She would need to lean down to agree to this kiss, and she held on to that distance as if it kept her safe. “So, Gwen,” Ari’s voice frayed, pulled apart by the storm in her pulse, “for the sake of this performance, should we pretend this is our first kiss?”

“Damn you, Ari.”

Gwen seized the neck of Ari’s breastplate and drew her down in a swift move.

Ari expected something chaste, but she was wrong. She was always wrong when it came to Gwen. The queen’s lips were soft but in charge. They pulled her further into the kiss with a seamless energy. And when Ari’s breath slipped out in surprise, the queen’s mouth stole her air.

By the time they parted, Ari had to remember how to stand upright, her entire body tilting toward Gwen. So, there were still sparks between them. Sparks that would give Merlin’s magic a run for his money.

Gwen smiled, still holding Ari close by the front of her stolen suit of armor. “Do what I say, and I’ll get you out of here and away from Mercer.”

Ari glanced at where Kay and Merlin were cheering with the rest of them. “Just get my friends out of here, too. Including Val.”

The queen took Ari’s hand and lifted their entwined fingers over their heads. People cheered, louder than when Ari had been fighting Jordan. They shouted and shook the thin pillars that held the tent over the stands. A horn blasted throughout the stadium, and all eyes turned to Val, standing on the podium, staring at Ari with a gloriously shocked look.

Ari slipped on a smile, and her childhood best friend shook his head once before bellowing for the crowd, “To the queen and her new intended!”

Flagons and mugs went up in all directions as the people toasted them.

“Intended?” Ari laughed. “That’s not something I’ve been called before.”

“It means—to them at least—that I’m going to marry you.”





Gwen never let go of Ari’s hand as they traveled swiftly across the grounds toward the castle.

“Gwen,” Ari started, “how could you let your people think you’d marry me?”

“I could hardly do otherwise at this point. You were quite the crowd favorite. My people would be furious if I rejected you on the spot. We can always tell them later that the marriage didn’t go through.”

Ari tried to drop her hand, but Gwen hung on as they approached the bridge gate. “See? Your pageantry is riddled with lies.”

The queen sighed, and this time there was no enticing purr. “Great, now that we’ve pressed our lips together, let’s do that other thing we’re so good at—call each other names while you doubt my sincerity and I vow to never again get bashed against the rocks of your sense of right and wrong.”

Val jogged to catch up, and Ari opened her mouth to argue back, but Gwen stopped her with a raised hand. “Val, go to the spaceport. Tell Mercer there’s been a change of plans and that they will wait until I’m ready to meet with them. They will not venture into my territory without permission again.”

“But they’ll want…” Val’s eyes darted to Ari.

“They will wait,” Gwen replied, her tone scorching. Val ran off in the direction of Error and the other small ships they’d seen when they landed on Lionel.

Ari looked down as she and Gwen crossed the bridge, eyeing the moat filled with swirling mercury—Lionel’s chief natural resource. Once they were inside, they wound a quick path through the castle, and if Ari didn’t feel so faintish and thirsty in her armor, she would have asked where they were going. Finally, they entered a large boudoir. Gwen kicked off her shoes and immediately began to unwind the strict braid from her brow.

Ari stood stiff and uncertain. Was she in the queen’s bedroom? She totally was.

“Where’re my friends?” Ari asked.

Gwen headed for a table bearing a large carafe. “They’re fine. The crowd will take a while to disperse. In the meantime, I need to figure out how long I can stall Mercer before I have to hand you over.”

“You wouldn’t,” Ari said, her voice scratchy with doubt. Gwen filled a goblet and handed it to Ari. Ari took a sip and spit it out. “No more wine or mead. I need water.”

“No. My planet needs water.” Gwen took the goblet back. She put it down with a sharp clap on the floor and beckoned for Ari to turn around. “I’ll get you out of that.”

Gwen began to undress her. There were thousands of buckles at every joint, holding together dozens of pieces of armor. Gwen collected a small mountain of leather, chain mail, and metal beside them while she spoke. “The Mercer fleet that flashed its superiority all over my tournament was only half your doing. The black ship is here for you. The white one is meant to mock Lionel. Every single month, Mercer nearly dehydrates the population before delivering our supplies. They want us to sell junk Mercer products, and allow Trojan building permits, and give them a higher percentage of our mercury reserves, but I will not be bullied.”

Gwen lifted off the breastplate, and Ari felt a thousand pounds lighter. “I need to go to Troy and file a claim for mistreatment. The problem is, I don’t have any bargaining chips.”