Chapter 2

When Cosette Dragomir played the pianoforte, she was whisked off on another daring adventure of fighting marauders or stealing treasure. Or when her fingers stroked the keys softly, she found herself on a mountaintop, overlooking the valley or sitting with a doe, who calmly nibbled at the grass. When she played, she could be anything she wanted. She could be anywhere in the world. Today, her fingers played jovially, stretching across the keys as her mind wandered to a meadow full of wildflowers, the sun shining down and not burning her as she spun with carefree laughter.

She reluctantly came out of her trance when she noticed another presence in the room, but she continued playing, not missing a single key as the music in her mind came to life through her fingertips.

“Cosette,” a voice said.

“Yes?” She glanced up briefly to find her father, Lucian, standing in the doorway. He was one of the very few people she felt comfortable enough to play in front of, along with her nine siblings. Like her, he had raven black hair, fair skin, and violet eyes, and while her hair was voluptuous with large curls trailing down her back, his was straight and fell to his shoulders. Hesitancy lived in his eyes, though she noticed a spark of emotion just underneath. She ceased playing as she shifted on the bench.

Her father took several steps in her direction but stopped. He turned back around and strode toward the door, then stopped again. At last, he sighed and faced her. His behavior was odd, even for him.

“Is something the matter, Papa?” Cosette asked, concern creasing her brows.

He shook his head and took a turn about the room, all while she watched carefully. He fidgeted with his cuffs, something he did when he was nervous. And the behavior made her nervous. She wrung her hands together as she watched him pace.

At long last, he turned to face her. “We have been presented with a most…unique opportunity. An arranged union. Between you and Lord Oriel Covaci.”

Her throat closed up with shock. She couldn’t breathe. Oriel Covaci? Why would he choose her? She was far too quiet and timid to attract a socialite like himself. She doubted he even knew she existed, despite them being born only five years apart.

“You are lying,” she finally spoke, turning her attention back to the piano and running her fingers softly over the black keys without making a sound. “No one would want me as a mate.”

“You think too lowly of yourself, my dear,” her father said softly as he approached the pianoforte. She didn’t glance up at him but rather kept her gaze fixed on the glistening keys before her. “Nicolae chose you for him. As I understand it, Oriel asked Nicolae to choose a mate for him. He doesn’t want to know her identity until after the ceremony is over, as his mate will wear a veil to shroud her face.”

Her heart panged at the thought. “He is making a game of this.”

“No,” her father said quickly. “I believe he wants to find love and he feels incapable of doing so himself.”

“So he is seeking an arranged union?”

Panic clogged her throat. She had always believed she was invisible to the world, and she tried very hard to maintain people’s expectations by staying that way. But Nicolae had chosen her to become his grandson’s mate? Out of all the females in the kingdom?

“I can’t,” she whispered hoarsely, bowing her head over her pianoforte.

Her father sighed and tenderly trailed one of her dark curls through his fingers. “You are my only daughter not mated, and I fear you have given up entirely. I want to see you happy.”

“I am happy.”

“Are you truly?”

She stared down into her lap. Most of the time, she was happy. More often than not, loneliness settled in her heart. But Oriel Covaci? He was handsome, socially competent, and popular. She feared she would only drag him down, and he would regret the union.

No, she would be mortified. She couldn’t accept.

“Just…think about it,” her father said before taking his leave.

With a still furiously beating heart, she ran from the Dragomir drawing room and didn’t stop until she locked herself behind her bedroom door, her breathing rapid as she fought off another wave of panic. She rested her forehead against the cool wood, grateful for even the small amount of relief it brought her.

As soon as her head stopped spinning, she slowly approached her small box of treasures. One item within the box was an opal pearl, one she had found enclosed within a budding frost flower up north in Estrass Diir. The short trip had been the first and only time she had ever seen snow.

With careful fingers, she clasped the pearl around her neck—her little drop of snowfall.

Next, she picked up a shell and ran her fingers over the bumpy surface. It was one of her most favorite treasures, and she would be mortified if anyone ever found out why. Oriel Covaci had given it to her after he had returned from the coast with Nicolae and several other members of his family. Oriel had only been about fifteen at the time, and she ten. Only children. Yet he had singled her out and stopped in the castle courtyard to give it to her. Ever since then, she had treasured his gift, despite how simple it had been. He hadn’t spoken to her since. In fact, she doubted he knew she was very much alive.

And now, Nicolae had requested she become Oriel’s mate.

A fearful shiver racked through her body, and she slammed her window closed in an attempt to ward off the chill. Surely, Oriel would regret having her as his mate. He deserved happiness. What if she was unable to give it to him?

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, but the chill remained.

She sat at her mirror less vanity, holding the small shell to her heart as she thought of all the ways accepting Nicolae’s offer could go wrong. For many years, she had fancied the handsome aristocrat.

Many other females fancied him as well, as their flirtations and whispers did not go unnoticed whenever she spotted him around the castle.

This would be her only chance for him to notice her. Another opportunity likely wouldn’t present itself.

“Iqris, help me,” she whispered, praying to her female goddess.

Minutes passed—or perhaps it was hours—as she sat with her head bowed in prayer. No matter which decision she played out in her mind, she only imagined disaster. However, there was less disaster if she refused the offer. But then nothing would change for her. She would still be lonely. She would be a social recluse. She wouldn’t move forward with her life if she lived in the shadows for the rest of her days. How could she truly call that happiness?

She clutched the shell even closer to her heart. She so desperately wanted the one thing foreign and out of reach for her.

And then her mind made a full circle as she again contemplated the possible disappointment on Oriel’s face when he saw her for the first time as her veil lifted to reveal her identity.

She took a deep breath and rose from her chair in a rare moment of bravery.

It didn’t take long for her to find her father overseeing the preparations for the family’s feast later in the evening, one they came together for twice a year. He turned as she approached, a look of uncertainty in his eyes.

She squared her shoulders. “Father, I have made my decision.”