ir's dimly lit bedchamber,

ria, his face twisted in a petulant sneer. "This is a farce

ction. "Marrying her to a... a vegetab

oice low but carrying the weight of command. "If not for your disgustin

aphina is Alistair's wife. The Duchess. That is a f

me out. He could only glare at Se

tair's father, a quiet, grief-stricken man who had barely spoken a word. He looked at Seraphina, his eyes f

ngly gentle, and led her to a quiet alcove overlooking the

at we have asked of you is already beyond unfair. But I must ask for something more.

p Seraphina's spine. She knew, instinctive

ed you to carry Alistair's bloodline fo

she had misheard. Carry his bloodline? Give him an heir? Through a man who couldn't

e whispered, the words

ve him three months. Three months, Seraphina. If he does not wake, his bloodline

motion Seraphina had seen from her. "It is the last thing

we are asking, Seraphina. It is a monstrous thing. But if you do this

rms of the transaction,

d's mother, will be granted lifetime ownership of one-third of the ducal lands. And a fortune will be

r dignity in exchange for powe

it made her stomach churn with revulsi

ure of pity, powerless and dependent on the whims of a family that despised her? To

mother, the sneers of her stepsister. She thought of the loyal old servants

... was her only path to real power. A way to protec

wife of a comatose man. She would be the mother of

d by a cold, hard pragmatism. She had already ma

g the Princess's. The hesitation was

a single,

agr

ace, followed by a look of deep admiration. This g

," the Princess said, her voice soft with gratitude.

phina sat alone. Her maids, Lark and Fawn, had tried to tend to her,

stranger stared back at her. A young woman in a black mourning dr

t to do the