The Redwood Rebel (The Redwood War Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

Princess and scanned the expressions on his own people's faces. Considering this was supposed to be a wedding, no one seemed at all pleased.
    'It's an insult that you should be seated anywhere except at the head table,' seethed his cousin, Rayan, from beside him. 'Especially while she hangs and simpers over her Chancellor in such a way.'
    Arun's mouth twitched in slight amusement at his cousin's outrage, before he shrugged and looked back down into his wine. 'Perhaps we'll be lucky and find she doesn't fulfil the requirements after all.'
    The full weight of his words seemed to darken the mood even further. It was disgraceful to even think she might not be a virgin after his very strict stipulations. Still, it would at least mean that the marriage could be nullified, and that was something he already found himself hoping for. It was a sad state of affairs.
    'Don’t even joke about it,' the older man cautioned. ‘There’s too much at stake for you personally, as well as for the Kingdom.’
    ‘I know, I know.’ he sighed, taking another mouthful of wine and wincing slightly at the nasty after-taste. The stipulation of virginity was a tradition of his people, dating back to the very beginning of their civilisation. The Korenians believed they, particularly his own family, the royal line of Hadrian, were anciently descended from the dragons.  For a marriage to be successful, both participants must be pure on their wedding night. The dragons mated for life, and so did his people. He could testify to many frustrating years of adolescence on his own part, but watching the way Princess Adrienne’s hands kept slipping beneath the table to Lord Cygnus’ lap made him wonder how much of a risk he really was taking here.
    Apparently seeing the same things he did, Rayan spoke slowly and quietly. 'We could just end the agreement now. Their ways are not ours, and by our own laws, you are not truly married until you have shared her bed. Their ceremony means nothing to our people.'
    What Rayan was saying was indeed true, but the act would be incredibly dishonourable. The Ffionite ceremony might be nothing more than a great deal of talking, but it meant something to them. Ignoring it, despite all he was likely to face with this woman by his side for the rest of his life, would come with consequences.
    He had known that Ffionite women were different from what he was used to. They were raised differently, without the same obedience to their fathers and husbands that was normal in Koren. He hadn’t really minded that, but this woman was so profane, he couldn’t imagine living with her for any amount of time.
    In truth, he had only agreed to marry Adrienne in an attempt to re-stabilise Ilios after the Pirate Wars. It was true that things between Koren and Tsumetai were still tense, but with time that would mend. It helped that he had never wished to go to war with them in the first place, and in being so lenient with the new Empress after her surrender upon the death of her father, he had gone a long way to healing the breach. It wouldn't happen overnight, but the wheels were already turning.
    The problem now was Ffion. It was the smallest of the three continents, but it was just as important as its two larger neighbours. Where Koren traded the salt, glass, gold, precious stones and other rich minerals, Tsumetai traded in steel, silk, tea and ship building, but it was little Ffion that kept everyone going with its vast farmlands and deep forests. Most of the livestock of Ilios, which would not survive in Koren's harsh deserts or Tsumetai's frozen mountains, was raised and slaughtered here for the world's consumption. Not only that, but a great deal of the lumber needed for mining and shipping came from here, as well as grain and fruit from the fields and orchards. If Ffion starved then so did the whole of Ilios, and Ffion was starving.
    Part of Arun knew that if the old King had survived to rule after the Pirate Wars, then despite the