Queen of Two Hearts Read online

  Queen of Two Hearts

  Matilda Martel

  Copyright © 2018, 2019 by Matilda Martel

  All rights reserved.

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  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Follow Me

  Also by Matilda Martel

  Prologue

  The Kingdom of Verdan is a small, but prosperous, landlocked country in the shadow of the majestic Alps with a long history of maintaining peace with its more powerful neighbors. They do not start wars for conquest, spite, perceived slight or join battles that seek to subjugate others.

  The people of Verdan keep to themselves, defend their land and aspire to live quiet, morally disciplined lives. It’s a tradition born from necessity, forged from years of war and struggle. And it has been carefully maintained for centuries by an unusual solution.

  They are always ruled by two kings.

  After centuries of living like their less fortunate neighbors, Verdanians staged a bloody revolt and forever ceased being ruled by the selfish whims of one man. For four hundred years, a dual monarchy with limited power has kept the kingdom balanced. Two kings, twins or brothers, rule side by side, and keep the other from growing too powerful. To ensure the next kings are brothers and not cousins, and to keep the monarchs in a constant state of odds, they must share one queen.

  The selection of the Queen of Verdan is never taken lightly. Few decisions impact the harmony of their rule as much as choosing the perfect wife. Not only must the queen produce the next two male heirs, but it falls on her to maintain the peace between two men who will rarely agree, who will quarrel for days or weeks about the state of their nation and above all, two men who are forced to share their wife.

  No gentlewoman longs to be the wife of two men. Queen to two kings.

  For there is no easy way to rule two hearts.

  This is the story of Queen Elsa.

  Chapter 1

  IVAR

  Our father is dead. He has been King in name only since the death of his younger brother, but his death is still unexpected and painful. The country mourns. A sea of black flags fly throughout the capital and men stand ready to drape black banners across the castle in reverence to a man who dedicated his life to his country, but led a miserable life bereft of true love.

  My twin brother, Ivo and I have served as regents since the demise of our uncle, but now that we officially ascend the throne, they will expect us to marry. There is nothing I have dreaded more. Tradition dictates we marry one woman, share her, love her as one husband would. No matter how many times I have heard it throughout the course of my life, I reject it. It’s unnatural and cruel.

  If I can end it for my sons, I will.

  I should have grown accustomed by now. This tradition has persisted for centuries. But how can anyone willingly love a woman he will have to share body and soul with another man? Perhaps, I am naturally more possessive than most. Although, my brother has his own reservations, he does not seem as opposed as me.

  For me, this will not be a real marriage. How can I love a woman who does not give me her whole heart?

  “Kings wait a full year, Alecto. I see no reason to rush this.”

  I listen to her speak and know we will ultimately follow her advice. Everything she does, all wisdom she imparts is for our benefit, not hers. Alecto is a witch, she sees where others do not, and she has helped raise us since infancy.

  Ivo leans in, listening with intention. He is eager to marry. He tells me he does not know why. It’s just something he feels.

  I feel nothing. Not really.

  “I’ve seen your bride. I know your fate, but nothing is set in stone. If you wait a year, she will no longer be your subject. If you wait, they will marry her to another. Her parents are busy arranging matches for her as we speak.” She clasps her hands, hoping she’s made her point, and turns to our mother, standing nearby.

  “Ivar, this is your destiny. You will not escape it if you delay it by a year. You may, however, risk marrying a woman less-suited for this task which will be detrimental to the kingdom.”

  Clenching my fist and gritting my teeth, I watch as Ivo nods, agreeing with them both. I realize why there are two kings. We will never agree with one another long enough to do anything harmful to the kingdom.

  “How does this happen? Are we present to select her?” I’ve always been curious. No one speaks of it.

  “No. Fate decided this long ago. I’ll know when I see her. If you are concerned for her physical attributes, I can assure you she’s breathtaking.” She smiles at Ivo and his face lights up.

  Idiot. He won’t be smiling when he falls in love and is forced to watch her with me.

  Something unsettles me. I’ve been plagued by premonitions of a dark-haired girl and I fear I’ll succumb to whatever mental weakness Ivo happily surrenders to. None of this feels natural and yet, we grew up with a mother who served two husbands.

  She didn’t love them both. Ivo knows this. Why play the fool, like our father?

  “If we marry after our coronation, I want to be with her first. I am the eldest. Our father made the same request.” I address Alecto and keep my eyes averted from my brother.

  Ivo jumps to his feet and growls.

  “No! I will not agree to that. Father was years older than his brother. You are minutes older than I. You don’t want a real wife, I do. I should spend the first night with her.”

  This is no ordinary disagreement. Our shouting match soon transforms into two grown men wrestling on the floor. We throw punches. I kick Ivo. He bites me. And while Alecto and our mother scream in horror from above, it does not end until we both reach for our swords and guards pull us apart.

  “That’s enough. You will have her together.” Alecto rips the swords out of our hands. She’s much stronger than she looks.

  “No.”

  “Absolutely, not.” We finally agree on something.

  “Then she will decide the order for herself. Do you want to take the risk that she will choose the other? Her choice will haunt you forever.” She narrows her eyes, manipulating us into remaining silent.

  “I don’t think I can perform with Ivar in the room. Not with our bride. Not the very first time we are together. Some things are sacred. I want time with her alone.” Ivo appears sincere and I’m tempted to let him have his way, but if he goes first, our heirs could both be his.

  Alecto takes his hand. She’s always had a soft sp
ot for his sensitive nature.

  “Leave it to me. I have thought on this for years. There are enchantments to help. Try to remember that your discomfort is small compared to hers. Wedding nights can be an overwhelming experience for a bride with one husband. Having to face two virile men, both strangers to her, will be terrifying.”

  As they exit, she mumbles under her breath.

  “Poor girl. Yes, I will work harder on this enchantment. It’s for the best.”

  Chapter 2

  ELSA

  My father, the Count of Damaris is one of the first to receive news of the second king’s passing. He once served old King Haavek on his Privy Council and maintains favor at court. Crown Princes Ivar and Ivo will be crowned within the week. No one is invited to the coronation.

  When my mother and I approach, he hands her the message and a look of dread shadows her face.

  “There will be a selection. Elsa is eighteen now. What if they choose her?” She clasps my hand as her eyes well with tears. My mother rarely speaks of it, but I know she has long feared this day.

  “The kings wait a year after their coronation to marry and there is only a slim chance they will select Elsa. You mustn’t worry yourself about something that may never come to pass.” My father attempts to calm her, but I’m perplexed. Surely, I would know by now if I will be the next Queen. Someone would have asked for me.

  Although many speak of a royal selection carried out in privacy, I’ve always assumed the ceremony was nothing more than a formality, an empty demonstration of impartiality. There are many families grander than ours, surely the daughter of a duke or prince has been groomed since birth for this strange role.

  One queen for two kings? How monstrous!

  “A selection? No. Those aren’t real, are they? They must have chosen someone in secret by now. Why does no one speak of it? Were you involved in the last event, Mother?” I gaze at her, then my father, then back at her. They both avert their eyes.

  “No, I was married to your father by then. Your aunt attended. It is real, my love.” She hugs me and chastises my father for being too ambitious in deciding my husband. He’s refused the last two suitors, claiming unsuitability. But Mother suspects something far more nefarious motivates his decisions.

  “My dear, don’t concern yourself with such things. She’ll be married long before that time comes. We’re taking her to visit two final suitors before autumn.”

  He speaks to our back. Too distraught to face him, she whisks us away into the garden to discuss my escape in private.

  For days, she speaks of nothing else. With help from my uncles, she makes plans to smuggle me out of the kingdom. Fearing the worst, she suspects greed motivates my father and refuses to give him details of her schemes.

  “I think he wants you selected.” She paces, wearing a path in the rug.

  “That man is ripe with avarice. He wants you to be queen. He wants you to gain a fortune for your family and leave your older brothers with power and prestige when their uncles become the future kings.” She nods as she points to the castle in the distance.

  My mother’s anxious rants worry me. I have no interest in becoming the wife of two men, kings with ravenous sexual appetites preoccupied with using me until they obtain their heirs. The mere thought fills me with panic and disgust. Father assures me our concern is misspent, but it is no surprise to my mother, when three days later, we hear the new kings will break with tradition.

  On the morning of their coronation, a royal messenger arrives to inform us the kings will choose their new bride in one week. They issue a mandatory order for the day in question. As my father’s only daughter, I must attend and to ensure our timely arrival, they assign soldiers to deliver us to the palace at sunrise.

  Although I’m worried walking into the palace on the day of selection, I’m comforted by the fact that my mother’s premonitions rarely come true.

  I foolishly believe I will be home in my bed by the end of the day.

  Chapter 3

  IVO

  Her name is Elsa. I’ve known this for years. Many nights, I’ve heard her laughter in my dreams, playful giggles that tumble out of her while I chase her through the Queen’s garden. I know she’ll have dark hair. I know she’ll have green eyes, but Elsa is a common name in our kingdom and I’m certain we’ve never met.

  I don’t know why I know. But I know.

  Ivar believes I’m eager to marry and perhaps I am, but I’m not eager to share her with him. He believes if he pushes her away, he can guard himself from our father’s fate, loving a woman who didn’t love him, but it’s too late for me. I submit to this fate and to Elsa. There is no doubt in my mind that she and I will be true lovers in every sense of the word.

  After all, I am in good company.

  For two centuries, every queen has fallen in love with the younger of the two kings. Our mother loved King Aspar, over our father, King Haavek. They were inseparable until his death. Our grandmother and our great-grandmother loved the younger king more than the elder. This is a tradition I intend to keep.

  “Has she arrived?” I join Alecto and my mother on the balcony overlooking the grand ballroom. A few girls have gathered by the entrance and are waiting their cue to enter.

  “You shouldn’t be here.” My mother chides me. But I am King. I will be where I please.

  “She has not arrived, but she will. Where is your brother?” Alecto gazes at me, like she does not know the answer.

  “He left to say goodbye to his mistress, Kathleen or Katherine. I can never remember her name. Unless, she convinces him to keep her on after we marry. That would suit me fine.”

  My mother attempts to reprimand me, but Alecto hushes us, watching as a new crowd enters. Among them, is a beautiful, raven-haired girl, trailing the others as she searches the room for something, perhaps a sign that she may leave.

  But she won’t. It’s her. I feel her and I know it’s her. That’s Elsa.

  I lean over the railing, desperate to get a closer look, but Alecto snatches me back and asks me to leave before the selection begins.

  “I know you want to meet her, and you will soon. Your presence here will frighten her. Please, trust me.” She caresses my cheek and smiles.

  “That’s her, isn’t it? The girl in the green dress?” She doesn’t have to answer, but I want confirmation before I leave.

  She nods. “That is her. That is your queen.”

  Chapter 4

  ELSA

  Everyone has heard of Alecto, the sorceress who has lived in the palace for generations. She served the last two kings and helped raised the new monarchs, but when she enters the room, we all catch our first glimpse of her.

  I thought I would be frightened. I imagined a crone, but I could not have been more wrong. She’s lovely. When she glides past us in her long, black gown and smooth, blonde hair, every girl in line tenses with terror.

  No one wants to be selected.

  The closer she comes to me, the more my heart sets into a panic. She walks from girl to girl, but her dark eyes remain fixed on me, reading my reaction to every move she makes and every word she speaks. She is surely close to 80-years-old, but the woman standing before me appears only slightly older than my eighteen years.

  “Elsa?” Her voice is soft but carries an eerie force.

  “Yes?” I mumble through my breath, scarcely aware that I am speaking.

  Standing directly in front of me, she tilts her head to inspect me closer and circles me like a vulture examining its prey.

  Gently, she takes my hand in hers and turns it over, smoothing my palm out with her fingers. Tracing the lines with her nails, she smiles, first to herself then to me.

  “I’ve seen your face in my mind since you were a child. You were born to be the mother of kings.”

  Squeezing my hand, she leads me away from the others. The selection is over. As I’m dragged into an adjoining room, I hear someone release the girls who have arrived with me. The future queen has b
een chosen.

  It’s over. My life is over.

  Any hopes I have for the future quickly disintegrate before my eyes. I don’t want to be a broodmare for two men. It is perverse and unnatural for a woman to submit to such indecencies. Nowhere else in the kingdom is such behavior tolerated except in this palace that now feels like a giant ornate prison. People rarely see the queen, or the royal family. I’ve never laid eyes on the men I am about to marry. For all I know, they might be ogres.

  Alecto leads me into hallway after hallway until we reach a vast room filled with other women, attendants waiting for my arrival and assigned with preparing me for my wedding. She sends word to my parents. The ceremony and my coronation will take place in the evening, but they, along with all other guests can only witness it from the balcony of the palace cathedral.

  No one may take part. Not even my mother.

  My spirits plummet as a gaggle of women surround me and strip me without speaking so much as a word.

  “Drink this, Elsa. It will calm your nerves. It’s a medicinal tea.” Alecto, who has not left my side, hands me a cup brought in from the kitchen.

  I drink it in small sips, unsure of what a witch might serve me. When I taste strawberries, I feel comfortable enough to swallow the rest down in one greedy gulp.

  “I’ve heard they are twins. Do they look alike or are they only similar?” I ask in a broken whisper.