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Dreamwalker's Bride

“You are the least objectionable groom of all the ones I’ve seen,” Anaisa replied seriously. “Thank you for the glowing compliment,” Trace grinned, “but that didn’t quite answer my question.” ___ Anaisa is an orphan and a pariah. In an ultimate act of betrayal, her father, a Count of the Realm, is accused of deserting and betraying the army in a time of war. Not only is he immediately executed for the offense, but the king declares he must have been a fake all along! His two daughters are stripped of their titles and inheritance, replaced by a distant cousin and cast out of their home with nothing. Anaisa swears someday she will get her title and lands back, but in the mean time, she and her sister Katia have to figure out how to survive. Trace is an anomaly among his people; instead of revealing their son as a magic user and thrusting him into the public eye, his parents kept it a secret to allow him to choose the kind of life he wanted. Trace found himself content to rest and play in his own dream world instead of invading the nighttime visions of others. As an adult, his choice to remain unknown is thrown into jeopardy when a mysterious blackmailer forces Trace to enlist in the territorial war between nations, threatening to reveal his secret if the demand is not met. With the war now over, Trace believes he can finally go home to his farm and live the simple, unremarkable life he’s always desired. When Anaisa and Trace are thrown together by a royal edict, the sisters find themselves unwittingly tangled in the web of mystery and intrigue that surrounds the blackmailer’s escalating assignments for Trace. Anaisa begins to suspect it may be connected to the plot to replace her family in the noble court. As the scheme continues to unfold, lives, loves, marriages, and magic will be put to the test to see what forces in the world are strongest.

TheOtherNoble · Fantasy
Not enough ratings
343 Chs

Strong arms

Trace cringed when the new suitor pulled Anaisa far too closely as he whirled her away. The way the young man pawed at the fake princess was unseemly! She bore it calmly at first, but as the song wore on she looked as if she were about to panic, and bolt. Or worse, let her temper loose on the man, which would not only provoke him further, but might bring on the king's ire for making the princess seem unmannerly.

The couple danced further away from him, and Trace struggled to get through the press of people who were noticing and whispering.

"Excuse me, please. Pardon me, if you will…" He tried to maintain the appearance of politeness as he wound through them, but it was not to be.

There were too many people in his way, and the room let out a collective gasp of horror when the young upstart and the princess tumbled toward the floor. They pressed in tightly enough to block Trace's view, and his heart raced with anxiety.

"She shoved him!"