Burning for Love by Evangeline Anderson
47
The wedding passed in a blur.
Rissa had read many a romantic novel in which the heroine is just about to wed the wrong man and then the dashing hero bursts in at the last moment to stop the wedding and rescue her so that they can ride off together and spend their lives together. Deep down inside, she kept hoping secretly that the very same thing might happen to her.
It didn’t.
Oh, she saw James in the crowd. He was being as watchful as ever, scanning the crowded chapel for threats and protecting her until the last. But his face was like stone and he showed no emotion whatsoever as he watched Rissa plight her troth to the sleekly handsome Lord Shammington and vow to love, honor, and obey him in all things from this day hence. In short, he acted like the robot he was reputed to be, with no feelings at all—only cold logic.
Rissa went through the wedding feeling like a robot herself, mouthing all the necessary words and making all the necessary motions, but feeling nothing for the man she was marrying. Even her Heat Cycle, rising with the stress of the occasion, couldn’t make her feel anything. In fact, she almost wished she could burst into flames right there at the altar, so that everything would just be over.
Other than her Heat Cycle, the only thing she was aware of was the dull, throbbing pain between her legs. Lady Mildew had forced an even bigger plug inside her that morning, saying that it would “get her ready for her wedding night.” The pain of the Chastity Device’s dull blades digging into her inner channel was intense, but it was nothing to the pain in her heart.
Rissa bore both agonies with a smile plastered on her face. She had been taught from an early age that Royalty never showed pain or unhappiness to the outside world. She must always look brave and strong and happy and set an example for the Court and, indeed, for all her subjects among the commoners as well.
The Royal wedding was being broadcast into every home on Regalia Five and the streets were thronged with adoring crowds, shouting their admiration and love. The noise was so loud, it could be heard like a dull roar outside the chapel, though the palace grounds were vast and no commoners were allowed inside the perimeter.
Rissa held her head high, aware that her image was being captured for all the world to see. No matter how much she might be hurting, inside and out, this was not the time for her private grief.
So she kept it inside and tried to ignore the way that James simply watched, his face impassive, as she was married to another man.
