The Goblin King (36 page)

“But worth it.” His knuckles caressed her cheek. He leaned in to kiss her.

The priest coughed. “Shall we start, Mr. King?”

Roan straightened. “Yes.”

The priest gave her a look that suggested she wasn’t worthy to be standing in the house of God. What kind of woman swaps grooms at the last minute? Eliza straightened her back.

A woman who dared to dream.

The priest began to read, not the elaborate service that had been planned by Steve, but straight from the prayer book.

“If there is any reason why you may not lawfully marry, confess it now.” The priest paused for longer than necessary.

To her side Brigit scuffed her feet like she knew their secret and was struggling to keep it to herself. One day she would tell Amanda and Brigit everything. But Roan passed in modern society; he had a birth certificate and a passport. His bank, Birch Trustees, had taken care of his future. Money couldn’t buy humanity, but it could buy the documents.

Not getting the answer he wanted, the priest continued through the consent. “Roan, will you take Eliza as your wife? Will you love her, honor her, and protect her for as long as you both shall live?”

Roan held her hand. His grip was firm and cool. He glanced at her as he spoke. “I will.”

“Eliza, will you take Roan as your husband? Will you love him, honor him, and protect him for as long as you both shall live?”

A smile formed, and she almost missed her cue. “I will.”

They turned to face each other.

“Take her right hand with yours,” the priest told Roan.

Roan took both her hands. Orders still grated on his skin. The inability to carry weapons had him reaching and finding nothing. A sword lay under their pillows. How long would it take for the Shadowlands to stop haunting Roan?

“I, Roan, take you, Eliza, to be my wife. You’re the light in my dark. My hope that never died. Without you there is no life. My soul is yours. My sword is at your feet.”

Dai was still paying enough attention to the service to hand Roan the ring.

Roan slid the plain platinum band onto her finger. It sat perfectly next to the ornate, black diamond ring. “To this I pledge you my word.”

The hairs on the back of her neck pulled tight as if they were being watched by unseen eyes. For a moment the overwhelming quiet stole her voice. She took a breath before saying her vows.

“I, Eliza, take you, Roan, to be my husband.” The air in the church thickened. She had to swallow before she could go on. “You’re my wish made true. The strength that helped me fight my demons. With you I can dream. My love is yours. My heart is in your hands.”

Brigit dropped the ring and it bounced three times, ringing through the church like a solitary bell. Amanda gasped. Laughter tightened Eliza’s throat, and she glanced at Roan. He wasn’t hiding his smile. Brigit placed the ring in her hand and mouthed
sorry
.

Eliza placed the ring on Roan’s finger. The small, black diamond was almost lost in the wide band. “To this I pledge you my word.”

Thunder rolled through the church. The air became metallic, sharp like a storm was about to break within the church. Roan and Dai looked up at the vaulted ceiling. For a heartbeat the church was full. Then the past let go and made room for the future. The priest muttered a prayer to God. Dai spoke in Decangli.

Roan nodded. “And so it is. The vows are accepted.”

Ice rippled down her back. They didn’t need any paperwork to be witnessed and signed when the gods had accepted their words.

The priest spoke just loud enough to be heard. “Those who God has joined let not man put asunder.” He closed the prayer book silently and stepped back with his eyes on Roan as if he were the devil incarnate. “Kiss your bride.”

And be gone
was left unspoken. If the priest knew the truth, he would damn them both.

Eliza stepped toward Roan. The beads around her neck danced to their own tune. The music would never leave her. His lips brushed hers. A perfectly chaste kiss, suitable for priests and children to observe. But not what she wanted from her husband. She sighed and leaned into his arms.

They had survived the nightmare and created a dream. Her one and only wish was to live happily ever after with her king.

A wish Roan was more than happy to fulfill.

Read on for an excerpt from the next book in the Shadowlands series

Kiss of the Goblin Prince

by Shona Husk

Chapter 1

There were no decorations in the church, no family or friends filling the pews. Amanda paused and glanced at the altar where Eliza’s new mystery man waited with his brother. This was very different from the wedding that had been planned by Eliza’s ex-fiancé Steve. This one hadn’t been planned at all. Eliza and Roan were just making use of the church reservation. She took a breath and forced a smile. Eliza wanted this and even though Amanda thought Eliza was rushing to marry a man she hardly knew, she had to be happy for her. And Eliza seemed happy, happier than she’d been for years.

“She’s on her way,” Amanda called out as she walked down the aisle with her daughter, Brigit, at her side. The slim-fitting black-and-white bridesmaid dress restricted each step—well, that and the heels. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten dressed up. When she’d gotten married it had been in a registry office. That seemed so long ago now she could’ve been another person. She
had
been another person back then. Young and carefree. Her life had changed so fast. Widowed three months later. She glanced at Brigit, the only part of her husband she had left.

At least Brigit wasn’t hampered by her dress. Instead it was the responsibility of carrying the ring Eliza was going to give Roan that slowed Brigit. She walked very carefully clutching the it as if it were going to jump out of her fist. From her other hand hung the black-and-white little bag made especially to match the dress. But it wasn’t for show. Inside was Brigit’s inhaler. She couldn’t go out without it. Anything could set off a fatal asthma attack.

Please not today
. Brigit had been looking forward to the wedding for months—she didn’t care that Eliza wasn’t marrying Steve; instead she’d been fascinated about Roan.

But it was Dai who captured Amanda’s attention. He stood to one side, his long hair loose but not scruffy. The hair and black suit were at odds with how she’d thought he’d look. She’d been told he was a scholar. When she’d been at college, none of her professors had looked like him. He was too…too something she didn’t want to label.

Dai turned his head and caught her gaze. His eyes were dark and mesmerizing. Her heart gave a solid thump, as if beating for the first time in years. Her smile widened before she could stop her lips from moving, and then a slow, creeping heat colored her cheeks. Dai gave her a small nod and a smile that made her feel like she was the one walking up the aisle.

Get a grip
. It was a wedding and she was just in a happy, romantic mood because of Eliza. She was living vicariously through her. Being in love was exciting…even if Eliza was rushing to the altar with a man she’d known for only a heartbeat.

Wonder what Dai thinks of the quick wedding
. She’d have to ask him later. And also take the opportunity to find out a bit more about the King brothers—for Eliza’s sake.

She and Brigit took their places on the other side of the altar with the scowling priest looking on. He obviously didn’t approve of the late change of groom. Brigit opened her hand for the third time to check on the ring.

“You’ll do great,” Amanda reassured her.

Brigit nodded and looked at the men on the other side. She frowned and asked, “Why does Roan’s brother still have long hair?”

Her little voice echoed in the empty church. Amanda wilted on the inside—there was no way Dai could’ve missed the comment.

“I don’t know,” Amanda whispered with an awkward smile stuck on her lips.

Dai didn’t need to cut his hair. It suited him, softened what otherwise might have been a fierce expression, with dark blue eyes someone could drown in.

Dai’s gaze landed on Brigit, his face neutral as he spoke to his brother in another language—Welsh maybe from the soft lilts. Amanda held her breath, ready to leap to Brigit’s defense, waiting for him to either laugh or scowl at her daughter. He did neither.

“To answer your question, little one—I like it long,” he said in English with an unidentifiable accent.

Amanda sighed. At least he wasn’t a children-shouldn’t-be-heard type of academic. When she realized she was checking out how nicely the suit fit his body, she looked quickly away and studied the stained glass window before he could notice she was looking, again.

It was one thing to look at Dai and wonder what he looked like beneath his clothes, but another to act on it. She glanced at Brigit. Unlike Eliza, Amanda couldn’t take risks and leaps of faith.

As she watched her sister-in-law walk down the aisle, Amanda realized she was jealous. Not pea-green, but enough that she knew what she didn’t have, and what she’d lost. Matt should’ve been here watching his sister marry, watching his daughter grow up. Part of her had died with him and the rest had forgotten how to live as she’d poured her attention into Brigit and her battle for survival.

She didn’t hear the words of the vows, only the echo of the words she’d promised years ago in a registry office. Her finger touched the wedding band Matt had given her. His was at home, barely scratched after only three months of use.

A tiny chime rang through the church. She gasped as she realized Brigit had dropped the ring and was scrambling to retrieve it as it spun on the stone floor.

Eliza let out a small laugh.

A peel of thunder rolled over the roof. Dai glanced up as if he could see something no one else could. He spoke in Welsh and his brother nodded.

“And so it is. The vows are accepted,” Roan said in English

Accepted by whom?
A trickle of ice traced down Amanda’s spine, the church suddenly cold. Who were these men? Did Eliza truly know? And if she did, what was she hiding and why?

Amanda turned away when Roan and Eliza kissed, unable to fight the rising disquiet. She couldn’t even remember what it felt like to be kissed by a man. Her gaze landed on Dai. He was watching her. The moment they realized, they both looked away as if they’d found something else suddenly absorbing.

“It’s like in Cinderella.” Brigit was grinning at the idea that her favorite fairy tale could come true.

Amanda stroked her daughter’s hair and hoped that Brigit would be saved the heartache she’d experienced. It was a relief to step outside into the warmth of the winter sun. The sky was clear, and while the sun was bright, it lacked the heat to take away the chill. She shivered as gooseflesh rose on her arms.

“Here.” Dai offered her his jacket, leaving him only a shirt and waistcoat against the cool weather.

She hesitated, not sure she wanted to take anything from him when she knew nothing about him. But that would be churlish and today wasn’t about her.

“Thank you. Are you sure you won’t be cold?”

He shook his head, his dark hair spilling over his shoulders. “This is practically summer.”

“Of course.” He was used to freezing Welsh winters and snow. He was going to find an Australian summer rather hot.

She draped the jacket around her shoulders, the lining still warm from his body. For a heartbeat she let herself be enveloped in his warmth and scent. Her body responded, craving his touch. It had been so long since she’d been close to any man.

If she could, would she? If Brigit never knew, did it matter? And how would she manage to date? She’d have to ask Eliza to babysit and then Eliza would ask a hundred questions…Eliza wouldn’t want to babysit when she could be spending time with her new husband. Amanda twisted the ring on her finger, then stopped, horrified at what she’d been thinking. Could she really betray the man she loved for a moment of pleasure?

Brigit counted out jumps and hops on the pavement, entertaining herself while they waited for the cars. Her handbag swung from her wrist. Amanda wanted to ask Brigit to stop, but bit her tongue. She couldn’t wrap her daughter up in cotton wool and force her to sit still in case she had an asthma attack—no matter how tempting the idea.

Her gaze slid sideways, but Dai had his back turned to her and was studying the church. He probably wasn’t interested in her anyway. What man wanted an instant family? And if they did, it made her suspicious. Roan and Eliza were talking softly, their hands linked as if nothing could separate them.

That was what she missed the most. Having someone there. Someone she could count on. Someone to hold her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For just a moment she let her imagination wander. What would it be like to be held by someone other than Matt? To have more than just Dai’s jacket around her? She shivered as if cold fingers traced the nape of her neck.

“The cars are here.” Brigit grabbed her hand.

Complicated
. She opened her eyes. Dating was complicated without a fragile child that required constant attention.