Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“Hello!” A girl close to my age, a little bit older, slides into the seat next to mine. “I’m Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth is beautiful. She has bright blue eyes, long curling blonde hair, and a round, joyful face. Her introduction is so cheerful it lifts my mood.
“Hello,” I reply politely. “I’m Mila.”
“I’ve been matched to Edward Idaho,” she says, as if that name is supposed to mean something to me.
“Congratulations!” I smile broadly and try to match her excitement. I have plenty of practice doing that, talking to Maraline. She clearly thinks this is a very special revelation, and I want her to think I also agree. That’s the only way to make sure people like you.
“He’s one of the richest men in The State,” she says very self-importantly. This really is like talking to Maraline, but a version of Maraline who still likes me. I can still hear the hatred in my sister’s voice as I was led away. She will never forgive me. She will probably loathe me until the day I die. I’ve taken everything from her.
“That’s very exciting.”
“Yes. It means I am going to be the richest woman. I am so excited. We’re going to throw a ball, you know. Edward has been messaging me about it for months.”
“You’ve heard from your match for months?”
“Oh, yes. The Artifice matched us in December. We’ve been planning our June wedding. What are you and your mate planning?”
“I’m not sure,” I say. I think we might be taking off. The plane is moving, and there is a buildup of power in the engines, a growing swiftness that…
“Oh, it’s going to be a surprise!” She beams at me. “That’s exciting for you. Who is your match? We might live close to one another. You could come to my ball!”
That actually sounds nice. It is good to have some kind of social invitation be extended. Elizabeth is kind, I can tell. A sweet, gorgeous young woman who has obviously gotten the kind of match Maraline always dreamed of.
“Thank you,” I say. “That sounds nice.”
“It will be more than nice. It will be spectacular. But you still haven’t told me who your match is?” She leans in with a cute, conspiratorial grin.
“Archon-General Arthur Darken,” I say, his full name and title a huge mouthful.
She draws back, an expression of surprise on her face. “You were matched to an Archon-General?”
“Yes?” I don’t mean to put the questioning inflection on the word, it just comes naturally in response to her clear doubt.
“Arthur Darken?” she hums. “Why do I know that name?”
I shrug.
She leans back in her chair, casting her eyes to the ceiling for a moment. They widen, and then she whips around to look at me. “Arthur Darken, the war hero?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You have no idea who you have been mated to,” she laughs. “This is classic. You’re hilarious! A complete riot!”
She seems genuinely amused. She’s not asking me to explain myself, and I know she doesn’t understand what the hell happened to me.
“I wish I had the confidence to wear such a simple dress,” she says. “But I want to impress Edward. He’s seen pictures and video of course, but it’s not the same thing as being in person, is it?”
“No,” I say.
I stay largely quiet while Elizabeth talks about the love of her life, Edward for the rest of the flight. It is a mere six hours of listening to her hopes, her dreams, her plan to be pregnant by the end of the night, her hope to have a son, or maybe a daughter.
Her talking enables me to avoid thinking. I had started to imagine I should come up with a plan of some kind, but I’m also very aware that there’s no way to plan for something you don’t know about, or have any way of knowing about until you find out.
My mother and Maraline had been having a lot of private talks about her wedding night. I wonder what they said. It would probably come in handy.
CHAPTER 2
Mila
The plane lands as smoothly as it took off, and we are all met by delegations. My name is engraved on a silver plate held by the head of a small group of people who are waiting for me.
“Good luck!” Elizabeth squeezes my hand and dances off to the people who are waiting for her. I notice that many of the brides are being met by their new husbands. At least, I assume they are, judging by the way they are falling into the arms of various well-dressed and/or handsome men.
I am met by a tall, stern-looking woman with long dark hair twisted up into a bun. Her eyes are a unique shade of blue, closer to violet. She towers over me, standing at least six foot. Her features are hard and I’d say ruthless. She is not a woman to be crossed. She has a natural authority and dominance that I have only seen in one woman before this moment—a governess my sister and I had when we were younger. Maraline was forever falling afoul of her, but she quite liked me. She is flanked by two silent men who are clearly guards. It takes me a moment to realize she is also a guard of sorts, and that is because I am not used to seeing women in uniform.