Heroes at Odds Read Online Free

payments?” I demanded.
    “It wasn’t required, under the circumstances.”
    I was appalled. “I would think decency would require it.”
    “I didn’t realize trade was part of the curriculum in the Shield Academy,” my mother said coolly.
    I felt like I’d been slapped. It hurt. But that wasn’t the important issue right then. “They can’t expect me to actually marry this man.” Of course I wouldn’t do it. I didn’t care what contracts had been signed. I hadn’t signed anything, and as far as I was concerned, I was the only one who could and have it stick.
    If these Prides had just sent me a letter, I would have reminded them that, as a Shield, I couldn’t be held to obligations created by my family. I would have saved them the trip. And the fact that my family had thought to trade me off like a sack of grain wouldn’t be made known to everyone in Flown Raven.
    Because it would be made known. To everyone. That was the nature of a small place like Flown Raven.
    This was going to be so humiliating.
    Taro was going to lose his mind.
    “The Prides are desperate, Lee. Things have been going very badly for them. They’re in textiles, too, but much of their money was tied to land they owned in the south. Nacin worms have spun in their trees for decades, but a blight has killed almost all of them. The Prides haven’t been able to honor all of their trade agreements and their name has started to acquire tarnish. A marriage will make the connection between our families undeniable to the rest of the world. We could act as a form of security for their ventures. And, of course, there is money and goods that we would then have to settle on their family as part of the wedding process.”
    Perhaps it was callous of me, but I could give a broken stick for whatever troubles the Prides were going through. “And this Marcus fellow, he’s just going to go along with this?” Had he no spine?
    “Cars has informed us that Marcus is obedient.”
    Not feeling good about Marcus. “I won’t do it. You do understand that, right?”
    “Of course. We came to warn you of their coming and to offer our support against them.”
    “Oh.” Couldn’t she have started her announcement with that? Something to tell me that she had some odd news to deliver but not to worry because nothing would come of it all? I would have been spared all the anger and panic.
    Though my emotional responses were my own fault. It was my responsibility to remain calm in all circumstances. My training in that area had been slipping further and further over the past couple of years.
    So just be calm. I was making a fool of myself. “All right.”
    And the crazy thing was, this wasn’t even the first time someone wanted to marry me. What was it with people? I had no title, no land, no business interests. There was absolutely no reason for anyone to want to marry me.
    I couldn’t believe my parents ever thought to marry me off. They’d negotiated over me like they would a cow. They’d signed paperwork.
    “Kaaren’s doing well,” my mother said. “She was quite upset she had to send Deacon away, but she is recovering her equanimity nicely.”
    I couldn’t help staring at her. She had nearly capsized my emotional equilibrium, and now she wanted to sink into gossip?
    Who the hell was Deacon?
    I cleared my throat. “If that’s all to be said about the Pride matter, I suggest we let Fiona have her office back.” Sometimes, when one doesn’t know what to do, fall back on strict civility.
    So we retired to the suite I shared with Taro, where my mother proceeded to tell me all about what was going on with the family and the business and a bunch of people I’d never met and probably never would. I tried to look as though I really cared, when all I wanted to do was ransack Fiona’s library for law texts. Maybe one would clearly state that Shields couldn’t be forced to honor family obligations. I could stand before these Prides with the text, show them