Court of Secrets: Reverse Harem Fantasy Book 1 (Forbidden Queen) Read online

  "I know you think I've been tough on you, Cassia." My father turned my chin so I was forced to look him in the eye. "But I do care for you, in the best way I can. And that is why I have come to an arrangement with your soon-to-be husband."

  I straightened, the tiniest flicker of hope trying to break through the unease I felt. "What kind of arrangement?"

  "You will be permitted to continue your riding," my father said. "Without a chaperone once you have grown accustomed to your new home. It took some negotiation on my part, but I was able to convince him that if he wants a happy wife, allowing you a taste of freedom on occasion would be in his best interest."

  Coming from my father, this was the best gift he could ever give. I let go of his hand and gave him a hug. The kind of hug I hadn't given him in years, not since I was a small child. He wasn't used to physical affection, and at first he tensed at the touch. But then his shoulders relaxed and he reached one arm around me and patted me gently on the back. That was about as good as it got from him.

  I let go of my father and stepped back, lifting my chin higher. If I could be given time alone, away from the confines of daily life, just a little taste of freedom every now and then, maybe I would be able to survive this marriage. I might even find my own peace there.

  "He's a good man," my father added. "He won't hurt you. Please, try to make him a little happy."

  My cheeks flushed and I hoped my father wasn't referring to the same thing that my sister had referred to earlier today. But there was no way I was going to ask him for clarification. Instead, I took his hand again and took a deep breath.

  "Are you ready?" he asked.

  "Yes," I said, feigning confidence.

  My father nodded to the servants stationed on either side of the doors. The men stepped forward, and opened them wide so that both of us could pass through the doors together.

  Soft late afternoon sunshine filtered past the doors, illuminating the entryway. In front of us, the entire world was covered in a warm, golden glow.

  It was a spectacular late summer day and no bride could have hoped for a better evening to celebrate her wedding. I licked my lips in anticipation and ignored my racing heart as my father guided me out of our house onto our manicured lawn.

  Rose petals lined our way, trimmed with boughs of pine tied with gold ribbons to form a walkway. The smell was intoxicating, filling the air with the last remains of summer intermingling with the first taste of autumn.

  I didn't plan a single detail for my wedding, but this was exactly what I would have chosen. A rush of gratitude surged through me as I considered the fact as much as I wanted to get away from them, and as much as I often disliked my sister, she and my mother had worked together to create something beautiful for me.

  With each step, the gathered crowd drew nearer and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. After three more heartbeats, heads started to turn toward us, as a low murmur sounded in the distance. Then the crowd stood in anticipation of our arrival.

  The path of rose petals cut an aisle through the crowd that led to my fate. I let my body take over, allowing my mind to detach from the moment. If I overthought this, I might not make it through. But this was my future, this was for my family, and this was better than I could hope for as the youngest daughter. I should be grateful. I tried to be grateful.

  As we walked between the waiting visitors, I felt like I wasn't even there. Like I was watching a stranger walk to her waiting groom. Ahead, I saw an archway that had been erected for us. The wooden frame woven with pine and roses, matching the path I'd just taken. A man stood under the archway, waiting for me. He was a stranger and this was the first time I'd seen him up close. The day my father and he met to agree on my marriage, I'd watched from my bedroom window as he exited our home. He'd turned and looked at me for a second, giving me a chance to see his face, before climbing atop his steed.

  I studied his face and realized he was younger than I'd originally thought. He was clean shaven, with a shadow of dark hair that was already trying to grow back over a strong jaw. His skin was tanned from the sun and he had deep brown eyes. Straight black hair was pulled into a tail at the base of his head. He was a handsome man, and likely less than ten years older than me. I should consider myself lucky. Perhaps, being married to him wasn't going to be so bad.

  We stopped in front of the waiting Baron and the high priest who was here to bind us under the eyes of the gods. My father kissed my cheek before passing my hand to the stranger who would be my husband for eternity. There were no second chances on marriage. This was my one chance. My chest constricted again and I took shallow breaths as my betrothed guided me to my place under the archway.

  "Breathe, Cassia," he whispered as he flashed a smile. "I'm just as nervous as you. Just think of me as Aaron, ignore the titles, I'm no different than you."

  His words made me relax, just a little, and I managed an actual smile as I took my place next to him.

  The priest lifted his hands, indicating the start of the ceremony and I heard the rustle of fabric and creaking of chairs as the guests took their seats.

  The next several minutes flew by as a priest completed the ceremony by setting a pair of matching floral wreaths on our heads. We turned toward each other in preparation for saying the words of commitment. My mouth was dry, my palms were sweaty as the priest set my hands into those of the man who would be my husband as soon as we said our words.

  The Baron stared into my eyes and I realized he looked just as timid as I felt. This was new to him, too. We might be strangers, but perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

  He opened his mouth to speak, but I couldn't hear the words as a roar broke through the gardens. My ears rang, and I feared I was losing my mind. Then, I realized the sound wasn't in my head. It wasn't my own fear taking over.

  The Baron dropped my hands and turned away from me. I followed his gaze and froze in fear at the sight in front of us.

  Behind me, I could hear screams from our guests and mass commotion of tipping chairs and running people competed against another roar from the creature standing in front of us. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the beast, it was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

  Hovering above us, flapping large leathery wings, the monster most closely resembled an overgrown bat that gained the ability to walk upright. It had leathery skin with splotches of fur in places it didn't belong. It had a snout that protruded from its face filled with large, pointed teeth. Drool dribbled down its jaw onto its hairy chest. Yellow eyes fixed on me and it tossed its head back before releasing another roar.

  Next to me, the Baron was the first to regain control of his functions. He took off running, followed by the priest. I stood alone, still frozen in terror as I stared down the creature in front of me. It spread wide, leathery wings in front of me. They were lined with veins and nearly transparent. Then, the creature dropped to the ground, landing on all fours, wings still spread wide as it scurried toward me.

  "Cassia!"

  I turned my head to see Rose calling for me. She was waving frantically trying to get my attention.

  "Cassia, run!"

  I glanced back at the approaching beast, to find that it was no longer focused on me. Instead, it had turned its gaze upon my sister. It lunged forward taking wide steps made longer by gliding on its massive wings. Snapping its jaws, the beast headed right for my sister.

  Something inside me clawed at my skin, as if trying to get out. It was as if I had my own beast that wouldn't stand for this. My sister might drive me crazy most of the time, but she was the only one I had. Fire roared to life within me and without thinking, I chased after the monster.

  Somehow, I was able to reach my sister before the creature did and I shoved her out of the way, taking her place.

  The beast reared when it approached me, rising up to its full height. Clawed forearms reached for me slashing through the air. I ducked away from them but not in time to prevent damage. The beast managed to grab my
side, dragging its claws through my beautiful gown tearing a split right down the side. It was a wonder it didn't break the skin.

  I glanced over at my sister to see her crawling away from the creature. No one else was around, everyone had fled. None of the knights, none of the merchants, none of the brave hunters had stayed to face off against this creature. I was on my own.

  Chapter Three

  I knew I couldn't fight off the creature like this by myself, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to run from it either. There weren't exactly any weapons around at a wedding, and it wasn't as if I would know how to use them anyway.

  Before I could come up with a reasonable plan, the beast charged me. Instinct took over and I ran through the chairs, dodging and weaving through the leftover chaos of the fleeing guests. I heard the snarling of the creature as it chased me, drawing closer with each beat of my heart.

  My legs burned from exertion and I pumped my arms as hard as I could trying to stay even one step ahead of those massive teeth. Confused, and terrified, I turned away from my home and two things flashed through my mind at that second. One, going opposite from all the others might draw the creature away from harming them. Two, if I could make it to the woods maybe I could hide.

  I certainly knew climbing a tree wasn't going to help me defeat a creature that had wings, but there was enough undergrowth and brush and winding paths in that forest that it wasn't unheard of for hunters to go in and never come out. It was part of why I had never been in the woods myself. The other reason was that Nani swore the woods would lead us straight to the Faerie Realm. As much as my father said it was nonsense, it would explain why so many seasoned hunters would randomly go missing. At this point, I was willing to take my chances.

  I was seconds away from reaching the tree line, my only hope at survival. When suddenly, I noticed someone or something causing a lot of commotion in the trees ahead. Just as I passed into the trees I was knocked to the ground by a group of men coming out of the trees.

  I landed face first in the dirt and by the time I rolled myself to all fours to see what was going on, the men who had nearly trampled me were chasing down the monster.

  Feeling foolish, I righted myself and brushed the twigs and dirt from my dress as best I could. The gown was shredded, most of the beads from the bodice were missing, leaving dangling thread as the only sign of what had once been exquisite craftsmanship.

  Panting, I took a few cautious steps away from the tree line back toward my family's land to see if I could catch a glimpse of what was happening with the beast.

  For a moment, all was quiet, no sign of whoever it was that had come running out of the woods or the monster I had been fleeing from. I could hear the thumping of my own heart as I worked to slow my breathing and checked my surroundings. The hair on my arms stood on edge in anticipation as I half expected the creature to snap its jaws behind me at any second.

  It took another few heartbeats for me to realize that this was my chance to run home, to join the others barricaded inside my family's manor, safely tucked away behind a locked door. Picking up the shredded remains of my skirt I wrapped the fabric around my arm near my waist so I would have more freedom to run. I took off, not bothering to look behind me, pumping my arms and legs as fast as I could, ignoring the searing pain in my lungs.

  I could see the house in the distance, I could make it if I just kept going. Once again, I wove around the fallen chairs from the abandoned wedding ceremony. I jumped over broken items and dodged the scattered remains of my wedding day. One of my shoes flew off as I jumped and I doubled back to retrieve it, which turned out to be a mistake.

  The beast was back, staring me down eye to eye. I could smell its putrid breath, and watched in horror as blood dribbled down its snout into the matted brown fur of its chest. I realized there was a familiarity to that stench. It was the smell of rotting, decaying meat. I wasn't sure what this creature had been eating, but I didn't want to be the next on the menu.

  Trying not to break eye contact, I slowly backed away, hoping I could get some distance between us before I turned my back on it. The creature growled low in its throat, a warning sound. I froze, continuing to look in its eyes. If I stayed still it didn't seem to have any issue with me. So I waited, trying not to breathe in the smell through my nose.

  Where had everybody gone? I had hoped by this time, my father and some of the other knights who had been invited to the wedding would have returned with weapons. Clearly, this beast would be an excellent trophy for any hunter. Why were they taking so long?

  Slowly, I took another backward step and again the beast growled. I couldn't wait here all day, waiting for it to devour me. With one deep breath, I pivoted and took off again, hoping the creature wouldn't follow. I only got a few steps away before I was knocked to the ground.

  I could feel the heat of the beast's breath on the back of my neck and I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see those fangs as they bit into me. I gasped as a leg or arm or something pinned me to the ground, making it difficult to breathe.

  Suddenly, the beast howled and I felt the pressure release from my back. I rolled over, to find the monster rearing on its hind legs, howling in pain. Using the opportunity to run for my life again, I rolled away from the creature and made it to my hands and knees before an arrow flew over my head and landed in the side of the monster, causing it to cry out in agony again.

  I dropped to my stomach, not wanting to get hit by one of the flying arrows as it sought its target. Three more flew over my head hitting the beast in staccato succession. This time there was no cry of protest from the creature, only the sound of the beast hitting the ground. I lifted my head to look at the fallen creature and before I could bring myself to standing, it grabbed me. The long talon-like claws dug into my side as it dragged me over to it.

  The creature held on to me as if I could shield it from any more damage. I screamed as pain splintered through my body from those claws. It spread through me like fire shooting through my veins.

  The monster pulled me on top of it, and once again I found myself face-to-face with the terrible fangs. I turned away from the stinking breath, and the monster snapped its jaws at me. I didn't want to die and I tried to squirm away from its grasp, but the movement only made the claws dig further into my flesh.

  I screamed again and used my arm to brace myself against the sweaty, matted fur. My hand brushed against one of the arrows that had impaled the falling creature. I yanked it out causing it to roar again, sending slime and saliva all over my face.

  I gagged, bile rising to my throat, but fought it back, swallowing it down. Grasping the arrow in my hands I used every ounce of strength I had to lift that arrow above the creature's neck and thrust it into the soft skin under its powerful jaw.

  The creature's eyes widened and blood sprayed from the wound and dribbled from its open jaw. I turned away, shielding my eyes as best I could as the warm liquid covered me. With one last contraction the beast drew me nearer to it until my nose was touching its snout.

  It took everything I had not to vomit all over the stinking beast. Then the creature shuddered, driving its claws deep into me. My insides felt like they were on fire. Searing heat shot through me, filling every inch of me with an explosion of pain that I feared might turn me inside out.

  I cried out, fighting against the invading feeling. The beast's legs fell limp causing me to roll off of its gray body onto the ground, claws still impaled in my side. I wanted to cry again, but all I could do was whimper as tears streamed down my face.

  My breathing was shallow, and I was worried that this was it. I was going to die right here with the claws of the stinking, horrible creature still in my side.

  Using the last bit of energy I had, I tugged on the paw, yanking it away from me. A fresh wave of pain screamed through me as the claws tore out of my skin. Blood bloomed on my beautiful gown turning most of the bodice crimson within seconds. The world spun and I swore I saw two men looking down at me, but I was
n't certain of anything anymore. I felt like I was floating, and the pain eased as everything went black.

  Chapter Four

  Somewhere far away I could hear the sound of people talking. It sounded like my father and my mother and I thought I even heard Rose in the background. Everything hurt and I wanted to open my eyes to make sure I was still here, to make sure my body was there, but it hurt too much. So I let myself slip back into sleep.

  I woke to the feeling of someone touching my side. I waited for the pain to crash in around me, but it didn't come.

  "Cassia?" A woman's voice floated around my head.

  It still wasn't clear where I was or what was happening.

  "Cassia, can you hear me?"

  I took deep breaths in and out. I didn't hurt anymore and fear seized me. Shouldn't I be in pain? Hadn't something terrible happened to me? I couldn't remember the details, but I knew the absence of pain was worrisome. Was I dead?

  It all came flooding back in an instant, the wedding, and the attack by a giant beast creature with expansive bat like wings. Two male faces I didn't recognize floated before me then vanished into mist just as quickly as they had arrived. A memory of searing pain made me clench my side and then the pain was gone.

  "Cassia, open your eyes," Nani's voice said.

  I was sure it was her now, though I wasn't sure if I was really here. Perhaps this was just a dream, perhaps this was the underworld. There was only one way to find out.

  Hesitantly, I opened my eyes and bright light momentarily blinded me. I lifted a hand to shield my face from the sunshine pouring in through my bedroom window.

  Then it hit me, I was in my bedroom, where I belonged, with Nani. Did that mean that the attack had been a nightmare? Perhaps today was my wedding day and I was nervous about what was going to happen.