The Bronze Mage (31 page)

When she sat up, Tabitha saw Melanie sitting in the room's one chair, glaring at her.

"He's taciturn and autocratic, Tabitha," Melanie announced. "Arrogant. I don't think he takes any responsibility for what he's done to you."
 

Evidently her sister's fascination with the magic had worn off.

"He must take some," Tabitha said. "He's marrying me."

"Oh, he sees himself as the solution. Just not the cause of the problem."

"Even so, he's tying himself to me forever to be the solution. That's no small sacrifice."

"Not forever. Just for the rest of your life," Melanie corrected.

"He'll take good care of me, Melanie. Why would he bother saving me at all if he wanted me dead?"

"He'll probably treat you like an 8-year-old. I don't like this, Tabitha. You look much better now. Can't we just arrange to have him visit you occasionally?"

"You suggested that to Mage Crandall. He said it wouldn't be sufficient. James told me the same thing."

"Well, you could at least wait to marry him until your birthday. It looks bad having the wedding before you're nineteen."

"You won't have to live with the rumors. The mages at the college know the magic would kill me before then."

"You will. In Salbren of all places. Those Xentian noblewomen are the cattiest in the three kingdoms."

"Thanks for the reminder." Suddenly, Tabitha didn't feel good at all. How could she be moving there? She hated that city. She donned the blue riding dress, grey boots and sapphire necklace that she'd worn only once, two years ago, then brushed and braided her hair.

When they entered the private dining room, the table was already laid. James was standing by the fireplace, looking every bit the legendary villain, handsome and dangerous. He wore black with silver trim, accentuating the contrast between his raven hair and pale skin. His silver eyes were cold. He was scowling, but his expression softened when he saw her.

"Good morning, court mage," Tabitha smiled playfully, trying to cover her nerves and break the tension. "You look like you've been considering whom to transform into a toad."

"Princess Tabitha," he returned the formal greeting, but she couldn't detect any levity in his voice, "You look ready to be sacrificed to the sea monster terrorizing your village."

"Actually, if we postpone the wedding, my parents could send me to you in a glass coffin on a silk covered pallet. It would make a better story. Especially if you could contrive to wake me with a kiss." Tabitha silently cursed her traitorous cheeks. She could feel them burning.

Melanie snorted in disgust. "You're mixing up your characters. The evil mage never gets to kiss the princess."

"Yes, he could," Tabitha insisted, glaring at her sister, "if he completed several nearly impossible tasks and had a change of heart." She turned back to James. "It would also help if you befriended a talking fox. Have you met any?"

James had locked eyes with Melanie. "If not the mage then who?" His words were barely audible.

"A noble prince, of course," Melanie replied, eyebrows raised at having to state the obvious. "After he has slain the mage."

"I wish him luck." James was finally smiling, but it sent a chill up Tabitha's spine.
 

"I'm hungry," Tabitha announced and seated herself at the table. The other two followed suit, taking their places from last night. James made no contact with Tabitha, however, which added to her tension as she struggled against the pull of the affinity. With how the morning was going, she wasn't about to initiate contact. He might rebuff her or Melanie might comment. Tabitha wasn't interested in risking either.

Instead, Tabitha had James go over the schedule again. Ride to the castle. Reunite with her family for a private lunch. Greet Xentia's royal family. Change into wedding clothes. The ceremony would be followed by dinner with just the two royal families. That was it for the schedule. She'd been so busy these last few weeks trying to get to the ceremony, she hadn't thought about after. She'd be a Xentian.

Tabitha unclenched her jaw and took a slow breath. She was feeling slightly nauseated. She sipped her tea and focused on regaining her calm. If Cameron could make the transition from Westphalian to Xentian to protect his country, surely Tabitha could give up being a Val to save her own life.

The silence was broken by Melanie.

"You must be feeling awfully smug right now."

James ignored the jibe, but Melanie continued.

"You couldn't defeat our father thirty years ago, but now you've got his daughter, a princess of Valstadt, as your very own...." Melanie paused, looking for the right word. Tabitha hoped she never found it.

"Wife," James supplied, in the quiet voice that made Tabitha nervous.

"The only thing you know about marriage is how to seduce other men's wives and destroy them," Melanie retorted.

"Melanie," Tabitha said, "Stop. That was before we were born. James paid for that. He was turned into a statue for nearly three decades."

"He turned himself into a statue," Melanie corrected, "by accident. Then as soon as he finally broke that spell, he carried you off to a cabin in the middle of the woods to weave another one. He hasn't changed at all.

"In less than a day," Melanie said to James, "you have my sister halfway back to normal. I'll bet you could just visit occasionally and she'd be stable."

"You also bet you could break the spell without killing her. You were wrong," James replied.

After that, no one spoke. James and Melanie glared at each other. Tabitha nursed her tea and fought her rebellious stomach. When the meal finally ended, Tabitha asked Melanie to give her a few minutes alone with James.

"I'm your chaperone," Melanie stated. "I only leave if he goes first."

"Melanie, the wedding is this afternoon. I'm pretty sure he can restrain himself for a few more hours."
Since he hasn't even tried to kiss me in eight months,
she added silently.

"Don't even joke about that, Tabitha," Melanie huffed, but exited.

Tabitha sighed as the door closed behind her sister. She turned to James, who was staring daggers through the door, and sighed again.

He turned to her, still fierce. "You may not back out."

"James, for two years you've been rebuilding your life, making plans. I've barely even seen you. I'm grateful you want to protect me, but if there is a way for you to do it without making a permanent commitment, wouldn't that be better?"

"There isn't or I would have suggested it myself."

If she'd been hoping for something more tender, but at least the disappointment wasn't a surprise.

"Have you seen the contract?" she asked.

"No," he said, "But as long as your father doesn't insert anything ridiculous, I'll sign it."

"He hasn't let me see it. I'm afraid he might have included something intended to insult you."

"It's a private wedding. If the contract is unacceptable to me, we'll re-negotiate it there. Once your father understands that whether the contract is signed or not, you're not leaving Salbren, he'll find a way to make it work."

"Could you pretend to be diplomatic? They're going to be your in-laws. It would be nice to go home for the holidays occasionally."

James's expression was unreadable, but she guessed that he hadn't considered the prospect of in-laws. After a moment, he shook his head. "We'd better go before my soon-to-be sister-in-law realizes she can't open that door."

As they walked down to the stable, Tabitha fidgeted with the apple she'd brought for her mount. The groom brought out the bay stallion first. The horse nuzzled James's hair as he walked past its head. James grudgingly scratched between the stallion's ears before mounting. Melanie had turned her back to him, tapping her foot impatiently as Tabitha's mare was brought out. Tabitha felt a twinge of guilt when the mare looked at her as Melanie clambered into its saddle. Then she blushed self-consciously as she approached the black gelding and offered him the apple. She knew James would be watching, and hoped he'd understand what she'd done.
 

Two years ago, Tabitha had walked into her favorite garden in time to watch James break the spell that had transformed him into a statue for 28 years. He'd abducted her, keeping her in a hunting cabin hidden within a magically protected forest for three weeks. Despite the horror stories she'd grown up hearing about him, he'd behaved himself like a gentleman. When he'd finally agreed to send her home, he'd given Tabitha the enchanted necklace and outfit she now wore, this horse with its black and silver tack, and a sealed letter to her father. At the time Tabitha had wondered if they were betrothal gifts, but her father had taken them away from her and refused to disclose the contents of the letter.

Even now her father had been reluctant to return James's gifts to Tabitha, though he hadn't explained why, but Tabitha had insisted. James had always been irritated that she hadn't kept them. She looked over at him as she settled herself and gave him a small smile. James nodded at her and one corner of his mouth twitched. She decided to count it as a smile.

Although the tension between herself and James had lessened, the ride to the castle still felt longer than it was. Melanie and James had nothing to say to each other. Tabitha, never much of a conversationalist, had no idea how to overcome the silence. She tried a few general observations, but no one took the bait, so she gave up. They rode through the heavy sunshine without commenting on the humidity, the cloudless sky, the quaint construction of a house they passed, or the large number of crows perched on a scarecrow in a field.

Tabitha allowed her thoughts to drift and found herself contemplating the directional tug, which James still wasn't countering. She wondered what it would be like to just follow the pull and end up in his arms. She supposed she would find out tonight. James had kissed her twice, very differently. She wondered how he would kiss her when there was no reason to stop. It made her a little anxious. Although James's protectiveness occasionally convinced Tabitha he loved her, he had never said anything to confirm her hopes.

 
Tabitha felt a gentle magical push and realized she must have been leaning into the tug. Her gelding was edging James's stallion off the road. Blushing as if he could read her thoughts, she corrected her course. Soon after that, they reached the castle.

Lunch was awkward. Tabitha hardly knew how to act. Her parents had first known James as the nefarious agent of an enemy kingdom and, as Melanie had pointed out, he hadn't made a very good second impression either. Jerrold, the oldest sibling and her father's heir, was the only one who trusted Tabitha's judgement. Everyone else assumed James had some malevolent secret motivation for marrying Tabitha. The meal dragged on in silence.

Afterwards, she followed her parents back to their suite, where her mother and sister helped her change for the wedding. Despite her reservations about the groom, Queen Bernice had insisted Tabitha have a proper gown. Tabitha had given her mother full creative license with it. That had been the most enjoyable part of the last two weeks. Although nothing she could wear would make her as breathtaking as Xentia's Princess Anya had been at her wedding a few months back, Tabitha was still impressed. The dark blue brought out the color in her eyes, the silk swirled gracefully around her. Her mother had even had sapphire earrings made to match James's necklace. The woman who arranged Tabitha's hair spent an hour on it, but it looked elegant and softened the angles of Tabitha's face. Tabitha hardly recognized the girl in the mirror-- which in her mind was a very good thing.

Queen Bernice evaluated her handiwork. "You look stunning, Tabitha."

"You actually look like a princess for once," Melanie agreed. "Too bad you're marrying a...."

"Enough, Melanie," their mother interrupted. Taking Tabitha's hand, she added, "It's time to go."

Tabitha's heart raced as they walked to a small audience chamber to perform the ceremony. The halls were completely empty, which might have been odd if
 
Tabitha hadn't known their path had been intentionally cleared of gawkers. When they finally entered, she saw James waiting. Her step quickened, then slowed, neither by her choosing.

"What's he doing?" whispered Melanie, the only one besides James who could see that it was his spell causing her changes of pace.

Tabitha had a theory, but she didn't voice it. The spell occasionally compelled Tabitha to do what James wished, if he was wishing it hard enough. Whenever he noticed it doing that, he'd stop it. How Tabitha could think a man like him, who had disdained women far more beautiful than she, would wish her closer...that was the unbelievable part. Although, he might be wanting to hurry the ceremony along, wishing it over and done. That seemed possible.

Tabitha found she was too embarrassed to meet anyone else's eyes. She couldn't bear to see her parents' distress, her sister's disapproval, or King Fenril's satisfaction. This wasn't about them. James looked handsome and solemn. Tabitha's father placed her left hand in James's outstretched right, and her right hand on top of that. James covered hers with his left. His hands were warm and strong. They closed around hers like one might trap a grasshopper, firmly closed but barely touching. She wished the ceremony allowed her to simply hold his hand. The symbolism was too close to the truth.

The ceremony was essentially a legal proceeding: The contract was read aloud, then James and the two kings signed it. If she'd been nineteen, Tabitha would have signed, too. It was a much shorter contract than Anya and Cameron's, since it was less about an exchange between parties and more of a medical necessity. Tabitha's fears were mostly baseless. There was an awkward clause explaining the legal and financial liabilities that King Fenril would incur if James was found to have intentionally harmed Tabitha. There was also an embarrassing paragraph about how infidelity would be dealt with on either side, but that was mostly financial. Then they moved on to the vows.

As James swore to love and protect her, body, soul and spirit, to the best of his ability for the rest of his life, Tabitha looked into his eyes. They were fierce. By accepting him as her protector, Tabitha was relinquishing her right to choose for herself what was best. How much choice she'd had before now was debatable.