The next days went by in a blur , even though the boys were not that close with me they began to feel comfortable with me . the daily routine was simple , every morning we would share breakfast . then the children would go for their morning class , Leo would go for his sword training as he was in the eligible age for it and would have class till evening then we would circle around and sit in the play room . I would tell louise stories while he sat in attention listening to them intently . And Leo the ever prided child would pretend to read a book while he also listened in secret . No matter how a child try's to hide it or pretends to be strong he is a child till the end .
The peaceful days in the mansion had come to an end one fateful morning. It felt as though fate never wanted our happiness to last. I was walking around the estate, having grown tired of sitting in the library. The mansion was buzzing; the arrival of the Duke was approaching, and the dread of meeting my future husband hung over me like a cloud.
As I passed the training grounds, I heard it: the sound of someone shouting and cursing.
"Wider stance, you little fool!" a man's voice barked. "At this rate, the title will go to a common dog before it goes to an adopted brat like you."
My heart sank. I turned the corner and the scene filled me with a fresh range of anger. There was Leo, trembling as he looked at the ground with hatred and disappointment, tears forming in his eyes. Above him stood a blonde-haired man with a smirk.
"A wooden sword is too heavy for you? Perhaps we should get you a needle and thread instead—it seems more your speed," he mocked.
"Stop it now," I said, my voice cold as ice.
"Who are you, Lady? Mind your own business," he said, publicly flashing his arrogance. He clearly had no idea who I was.
"Don't talk to him like that," I replied. "Aren't you afraid the Duke may find out how you are treating his son?"
"Why would I be afraid? It's not like he cares about this good-for-nothing piece of trash."
My blood boiled. "Take that back now!"
"Or what?" he mocked, eyeing my hands. "Go back to your embroidery."
I stepped forward and picked up the fallen wooden practice sword. "I challenge you to a duel."
"Alina, no!" Leo cried, panicked.
The teacher scoffed. "I won't go easy on you."
The morning air was crisp, but I didn't feel the chill. My focus was locked intently on him. He lunged—a clumsy, heavy strike. I didn't meet his strength; I had seen his patterns. I stepped to the side, letting his blade whistle through the air.
He turned, cursing under his breath. He swung again, but I parried it easily. Each strike felt like a piece of a puzzle I had already solved. As his rising anger made him sloppy, I moved inside his guard and struck the pressure point in his wrist.
His sword clattered to the ground. I held the tip of my blade at his throat. "The challenge is over," I whispered. "If I ever see you near Leo again, we won't be using wooden swords."
I turned my back to catch my breath, but the movement caused my stepmother's gift of poison to flare up. My fingers began to tremble and my vision blurred. Suddenly, the gravel shifted.
"Die, you witch!" the coward screamed, lunging with a hidden dagger.
My instincts moved faster than the pain. I spun, my cloak flaring out as I parried his cowardly strike. I caught his wrist, twisting until he dropped the blade, and shoved him away with the last of my strength.
"Coward," I spat at him.
The world was spinning, a blurred piece of grey stone and white snow. My heart hammered against my ribs, not just from the duel, but from the rising heat of my stepmother's "gift." I took a jagged breath, forcing my hands to stop trembling as I gripped the wooden sword.
Suddenly, a voice like a mountain slide cracked through the air.
"What the hell is happening here?"
I turned my head. My vision was hazy, but I seen him. A man who looked like he was carved from the very ice of the North. He was taller than any man I'd ever met, his golden eyes locking intently on the scene.
The teacher, didn't recognize him at first—or perhaps his arrogance blinded him.
"My Lord!" Kael shouted, pointing a shaking finger at me. "This girl... this frail little thing from the South just attacked me! She interfered with my business!"
I felt a cold laugh bubble up in my throat, though it came out as a cough. I leaned on the wooden sword, my back aching. I looked straight at the Duke—my future husband. He was supposed to find a girl who was "sick" and "frail." Instead, he found me covered in mud, holding a weapon, and standing over his fallen soldier.
"I aren't... as frail as your letters suggested, Duke Liam," I managed to say. My voice sounded thin to my own ears, but I prided myself on the fact that it didn't shake.
Liam walked toward me, his heavy cloak snapping in the wind. He didn't look at the blond haird guy who regained his arragance . He didn't look at the guards. He looked at me as if he were seeing a ghost—or a miracle.
"Alina?" he whispered.
The poison flared. A sharp pain stabbed at my chest, and I felt myself slipping. The challenge of the day was over, and I had no more strength to give. As my knees buckled, I expected the hard gravel, but instead, I felt arms like iron bands wrap around me.
"I've got you," he growled, his voice vibrating through my chest. He turned his head toward the mansion, his eyes flashing with a fury that made even the guards shrink away. "Get the doctor! Now!"
The last thing I felt before the darkness took me was the steady beat of his heart. I had listened to people call him a monster, but in his arms, I felt a piece of safety I had never known.
When I woke, the room was silent. Liam was sitting by the fire, his shadow stretching long across the stone floor. My chest ached, but I forced myself to sit up. I couldn't afford to be frail right now. I needed to be a negotiator.
"You're awake," Liam said, turning his head. His golden eyes were unreadable. "The physician says the poison in your blood . He says you've been carrying it for a long time."
"I have carried many things for a long time, Duke Liam," I said, my voice raspy but firm. "But I aren't here to discuss my health. I am here to discuss our future."
He raised an eyebrow, walking toward the bed. "Our future? You were sent here to be a wife. The business is already settled."
"No," I countered, looking him straight in the eye. "I am proposing a new contract. A fake marriage."
Liam stopped at the edge of the bed. "A fake marriage? Why would a Duchess from the South want to invalidate her own position?"
"Because I have my own goals, and I suspect you have yours," I said.
"Here are my terms:
1. We are husband and wife in name only for a period of three years.
2. There will be no love. We are allies, not lovers.
3. I will provide you with what you need: a mother for your sons and a Duchess to manage your household.
4. In exchange, you will help me."
"Help you with what?" Liam asked, his voice dropping to a low rumble.
"Revenge," I spat. The word felt like iron in my mouth. "I want the power of the North to help me crush the people who sent me here. I want my father and his house to fall. I don't care what it costs, and I don't care how we do it."
Liam looked at me intently. He didn't ask why I wanted revenge. He didn't ask what they had done to me or if it involved my mother. He simply saw the cold, burning fire in my amber eyes.
"You want to use my name and my soldiers to wage a private war," Liam mused. He looked at my trembling hands, then back at my face. "Most women ask for jewels or a quiet life. You ask for blood."
"I have had enough quiet, My Lord," I replied.
Liam reached out, his large hand closing over mine. It wasn't a romantic gesture; it was a seal on a business deal. "Three years. No love. And your revenge will be mine to deliver. We have a contract, Alina."
The heavy oak door creaked open, and two small figures hurried into the room, ignoring their father entirely.
Loise reached the bed first. He didn't say a word, but he climbed onto the mattress and tucked himself against my side. He held out his small wolf plushie, pressing it against my arm as if the toy's stuffing held the cure for my pain. Leo stood at the foot of the bed, his prided shoulders tense, but his amber eyes were bright with relief.
"We heard the doctor say you were dying again," Leo muttered, his voice thick with a worry he tried to hide.
"I aren't going anywhere, Leo," I said softly, stroking Loise's hair.
Liam stood in the center of the room, his disbelief growing. He looked at the three of us as if we were a foreign language he couldn't translate. Just then, Ryder stepped in, his face grave and his armor clinking.
"My Lord," Ryder said, his voice dropping to a serious tone. "The Duchess didn't just 'arrive.' We were ambushed by assassins on the road. I was certain we were finished, but she stepped out of that carriage and ended them with the precision of a master. She saved my life."
"Damn you, Ryder!" I hissed, my voice cracking but sharp. "I told you to keep your mouth shut. You had one business—silence—and you failed at it."
My heart stopped. I felt a surge of cold fury. I turned my head and glared at Ryder, my eyes burning with a mix of betrayal and rage.
Ryder winced, taking a half-step back. He looked embarrassed, but he didn't take back his words.
Liam's head snapped toward me, his expression one of pure shock. "You killed an assassin? While suffering from this poison? And the pond—Chandler said you dived in for Loise without hesitation. Why?"
I looked down at Loise's red hair. The memory of the black lake—the incident I would never tell him—flashed behind my eyes. "I have seen enough people disappear into the water, Duke Liam. I decided it wouldn't happen on my watch again."
Liam stepped closer, his shadow looming over the bed. "Who taught you to fight like that? A 'frail' girl shouldn't know how to parry a knight. You didn't learn that from embroidery."
I adjusted the blanket over Loise, my face becoming a mask of cold stone. I evaded his gaze, looking at the fire instead.
I can't let him know, I thought, my heart hammering against my ribs. If I tell him Elizabeth trained me, he'll start investigating her. He'll find out she was a legendary knight and a close friend of my mother. She is the only family I have left; I have to keep her hidden.
"I imagine the library here has excellent books on history," I replied, my voice light but empty. "I should like to read them when I can walk, Duke Liam."
Liam's expression shifted, his intensity softening just a fraction. He looked at the way his sons clung to me—the way they looked at me with more trust than they gave their own father.
"Just Liam," he said, his voice a low rumble.
I blinked, taken aback. "What?"
"We have a contract, Alina. We are allies," he said, taking a step toward the bed. "There is no need for titles behind closed doors. Just call me Liam."
I met his golden eyes straight on. For a moment, the room felt smaller, and the distance between the North and the South felt just a little bit shorter. "Then I suppose you should call me Alina... Liam." I felt a little embaresed . It was hard to call someone by there name , that to to call the duke by his first name was hard . But I know I will get used to it .