force represents…”
Bound
209
Beck saw someone who might be more helpful. “Thank you, Bri.
Tell your father I’d like to talk to him about the mill. We’ll need more
flour if this goes on for too long.”
“Don’t worry, Your Highness,” Bri said as he started to walk
away. “The queen already took care of it.”
Well, of course she had.
Beck pursued Liadan across the square. Liadan wouldn’t be under
the new Queen’s spell as everyone else seemed to be. “Lia!”
The blonde turned and, when she saw it was him, made her bow.
She was cool and polite. “Your Highness. You returned early. You
weren’t due back for another week.”
A thought struck Beck. In another week, the three weeks of
celebration would be over. His brother was a tricky bastard. Cian
might not have been able to cover the fact that he’d called the
festivities, but he would have been able to say they were small. He
would have attempted to convince Beck that they were small but
necessary to the villagers’ acceptance of Meg. He was a sly one, his
other half, and about to get that magnificent brain of his bashed in.
“Would you like to tell me what the bloody hell has been going on
while I was away?”
Liadan smiled sweetly. “It is a celebration for your queen, Your
Highness. I was surprised you authorized it. It is very expensive and
seems a strange thing to do when so many are hungry. I wouldn’t be
surprised if our food stores are empty by the end of the festivities.”
Beck hadn’t thought of that. Cian had always handled things like
that, but he seemed to be very derelict in his duties lately. Beck had
hoped that once he bonded he would go back to his responsibilities.