Forbidden |18+
I shakily unzip the backpack and withdraw the chocolate, reaching my arm out. My voice is a little louder this time when I say, "I-I'm sorry. You just seem so...I-I don't know, I-I liked how much you were i-into the things you are st...
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I: Monday
"What are you doing?" Eli asks me, my brother approaching as I stand idly near one of the windows. With the drapes pulled back, the overhang above the window casts away the direct sunlight, able to get a clear view of the courtyard of Paramount Conservatory.
I flinch slightly and falter my grip on the drapes at the sound of his voice, slowly releasing the fabric from my hand. Glancing away, I hear him sigh, walking toward me and halting but a few feet.
He's giving me that look again.
Eli tells me, that knowing look in his eyes, "Wren, you know better."
"You don't know what I was doing," I grumble slightly.
"Watching the humans again?" He arches a brow.
Nope...
...if only it were that simple.
Eli steps toward me, reaching out and resting his hands on my shoulders. While I slowly bring my gaze back to meet with his, he states, "Don't cause father and mother any trouble. The Dance of the Lilies is only a few weeks away."
I shrug him off and snort, "You're one to talk."
Eli is forty and hasn't selected a beloved.
"Well, I'm not a woman who's unmated," Eli muses as if this answer should suffice. He then adds, "The heir to the royal bloodline only transfers once a millennium, and you...along with the rest of the unmated females, are required to attend."
"How is it my fault the prince can't ascend the throne without selecting, claiming, and mating with a beloved before he takes the crown? I didn't make the rules, why do I have to partake in them?" I arch a brow and groan, not wanting to be part of this. The slim chance he wants me is rare and there are higher power aristocratic bloodlines than ours. Myrkur is just one of the dozens that hold greater power.
Eli shakes his head, "You're still young—"
"Yes, I'm only eighteen!" I suddenly snap, though I quickly stifle my anger as Eli's irises shift. Crimson pools stare back hard at me. I know better than to argue with him...he's father and mother's eyes and ears when they're not around.
"You are of perfect selection age..." Eli concludes and I entirely disagree. I'm nowhere old enough to make those types of choices...
