Realm of the Chosen

ite gown she would wear for her Proem Ceremony in less than an hour, she tried not to look at her own reflection or look down at wh

’s idea of having one of her guards perform the ceremony rather than the feeble physici

ggled, though Kit had not. She had reminded them that this was a medical procedure, no

aries from the provinces and a few from other realms, followed by music and dancing had been lovely, and a few times Kit’s mind had been swept away from the impending ceremony. There had been a few young men who had caught her eye, ones she thought she might want to invite into her chambers during her Exploration, but

e pain? She knew that she was a bit of a lightweight when it came to undergoing discomfort. It was something she had been working on since she’d caught a splinter one day in the woods several years ago, and Eli had chuckled at her for being so tender. So perhaps it was none of those things. As she stood and smoothed the lon

la said as the three of them admired

ing a smile. Her hands were trembling a bit

r a smile, and Kit nodded at her, reaching up to brush her hand across her taller cousin’s fair

h of him at the ball. He had been on duty, of course. She had only spent the one dance with him and a few stolen moments to themselves before he had to rush off. It would be nice to hear his soothing words again, now that she was on her way to th

lk the princess to

put her brave face on, pressing he

e,” Avinia said

e would do it. It was her choice, after all, to claim a mate and one day be Queen of the Realm, and the law cle

door where they were greeted by two members of the Queen’s Royal G

been sequestered,” the tall

guards could show their faces until after it was over. Kit nodded, and the soldiers began to make their way to the chapel where the ceremony was traditional

yal Council members, and the other noblewomen. The only men who would be present in the room were the physician an

the queen’s disposition at all, and Kit assumed that was precisely why he had been chosen, because he posed no threat to Rona’s reign. He was wearing dress trousers in a deep purple and a tunic almost the same shade. Even at a distance, Kit could

why the citizens of their realm didn’t believe in any gods but so readily accepted the ideas that many goddesses had created the whole world, even though many realms had kings as rulers. S

mont’s voice vibrated slightly as if he were

htly, even though as a princess she far outranked the d

shed to see you and to tell you how much I love you. I have always been so very pro

and when she leaned in to kiss his cheek and his arms came around her, Kit felt a thousand times calmer than she had in days, except, perhaps in those stolen moments with Eli the nig

ondered if he might be thinking of the little girl who used to sit on his knee and listen to stories not so many years ago. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be for him to watch her go through

ther cou

medical beds used in the infirmary, except it was draped in white, and at the bottom of it, an abundance of long sheets hung over the end supported by beams that went up and over the middle and end of the table. Once her mother said a few words, she would lie down and slide to the end of the table, where