Allegiance by Cayla Kluver Page B

aspects before a tiara could even be considered. Her cheeks were flushed, and her blue eyes danced while she recounted her worries to me. I was amused as she flew about her bedroom, her strawberry blond curls bouncing every which way. She was probably the only person in theentire kingdom who ever thought she could look anything short of beautiful.
    After we had sorted through her wardrobe three times, I managed to convince her one of her newest gowns would be most fitting, and it wasn’t by chance that the dress I picked went well with only one of her tiaras. The decision about hairstyle would have to wait, as Ryla, the personal maid I had recently hired for her, would be assisting with that aspect of her preparations.
    Though Miranna continued to waver over her choices, she was more satisfied than she had been, and we moved into her parlor, where I sat upon her sofa while she settled into an adjacent armchair.
    â€œI don’t know how I’ll make it until the party,” she said, unable to sit still and twirling a strand of hair around her fingers with such earnestness that I feared for her scalp. “I haven’t seen Temerson in five weeks! Can you believe it? It feels like five years!”
    â€œThe Military Academy has been keeping him busy then?” I asked, though I knew that was the impediment. The school year ran from the beginning of November through the end of June, and the only reason Miranna had been able to see Temerson five weeks previously was because of my wedding. It was odd to think that the wedding might have been Miranna’s had I foregone my claim to the throne and refused to marry Steldor, and it was heartbreaking to imagine the effect it would have had on Temerson. He would have had to stand by while the woman of his dreams became the wife of a man who had always outranked, intimidated and eclipsed him, and whom he undoubtedly viewed as more deserving of her companionship than was he.
    I wondered if Narian, wherever he was, knew that I had married Steldor. If he did, what must he think of me? I hadgiven Narian my heart but had then pledged myself to a man he knew me to detest, and from whom he’d assured me I could escape. While Narian had been the one to depart, I believed he had good reason and would return to Hytanica when he could. Why hadn’t I waited for him? At the very least, he would be disappointed in me; at worst, he might not want to return, unable to bear my betrayal. In the end, if Narian ever did come back, what he thought of me would not matter. I could never be with him, for my marriage vows would eternally divide us.
    Miranna had continued to chat away about her “dearest,” as she now referred to Temerson, and had not noticed that my mind had wandered. I tried to push my bleak thoughts aside, not wanting my frame of mind to affect hers.
    â€œBut the thirtieth of June marks the end of the schooling year,” Miranna happily babbled. “Then we’ll have the whole summer together!” She stopped playing with her hair, and a touch of anxiety entered her voice. “You do think he’ll want to spend it with me, don’t you?”
    â€œI have no doubt he’ll want to spend every free moment he has with you.”
    â€œYou’re right, of course,” she agreed, with a blush. “He’s hopelessly in love with me.”
    â€œWell, someone’s hopelessly in love,” I said with a laugh.
    She sank back in the armchair, face shining with joy, spinning her fantasies out loud.
    â€œWouldn’t it be wonderful? Marrying Temerson, having a beautiful wedding—as beautiful as yours! And then we’d have children, lots of them, and they’d all be beautiful, too, and look just like him.” She paused, frowning a little. “Except for one. One will look like me. One can look like me, right?”
    â€œYes, one can look like you.”
    â€œOh, Alera,” she gushed, leaning toward me.