Read Third Daughter (The Dharian Affairs, Book One) for Free Online Page A

Devesh here, and it felt wrongly intimate to have Prince Malik by her side now. Janak continued to trail behind them, but he was holding close to the prince’s overly large servant.
    Aniri’s silk slippers whispered next to the hard tempo of the prince’s heeled boots. After a moment of pretending to inspect the garden as they walked, the prince spoke. “Your beauty truly outshines this astonishing garden, Princess. The rumors do not do you justice.”
    “Do you expect to flatter me into accepting your marriage proposal?” She kept her voice as cool as she could manage. “If you knew anything about Dharia,”
or me
, she thought, “you would have known better.”
    He looked amused, but not insulted. “Is it bad manners in Dharia to tell a woman she is beautiful? If so, I’m a barbarian through and through.”
    She fought back a smile and ran a glance over him. “You don’t look the barbarian part, Prince Malik.”
    “I try to keep up on Dharian fashion. It’s a hobby of mine.”
    “Is it truly?” She turned to stare at him.
    “No.”
    A laugh threatened to erupt out of her, but she managed to keep it in, amazed more at herself than the prince’s attempts to charm her. “That’s a good thing. I would hate to be the one to tell you how you’ve failed utterly to capture the latest nobleman’s fashion sense at court.” It wasn’t true, but he certainly needed more practice filling out the clothes.
    He fell quiet and studied the white granite pavers in front of their measured steps. “Princess Aniri...” He tilted his head towards her and lowered his voice. “You are a beautiful and powerful woman in the richest country in our world. I come from the poorest one, seeking your hand in an arranged marriage you surely do not desire. I understand this, and yet I’m here to personally entreat you to consider my proposal that we might have peace in our lands.”
    You say no
. Her sister’s words pressed on her, and every fiber of Aniri’s being wanted to say just that. But her refusal might bring war. Which wouldn’t be only a few barbarians with clubs if this new flying weapon was more than a rumor. “Of course, Dharia wishes for peace with Jungali,” she said carefully.
    “And Jungali wishes for peace as well,” Prince Malik replied.
    Aniri wasn’t so sure. The prince stopped her with a light touch on her elbow. He was tall and not unhandsome, except for the coldness of those eyes peering earnestly at her.
    “I may not follow the fashions of your great country, but I have studied its customs. I know you are the Third Daughter and your birthday draws near. The Queen has informed me the decision rests in your hands. I would give my life to bring peace to Jungali, to end the fighting between our clans as well as the border skirmishes with Dharia. They take too many lives each year. My brother was lost in such a clash at a border station. It wasn’t long after that our mother, the Queen, succumbed to a chill the warmth of summer couldn’t banish. She was always most fond of him, being the youngest.”
    Aniri couldn’t help but feel the pain that radiated from him. “I’m sorry for your loss. And I don’t want to seem... unkind. But if you wish to stop the border skirmishes, you only have to stopping making incursions into Dharian territory. Dharia never would cross the border—”
    “It’s not that simple.” The prince gave her a sad smile. “I don’t know which province is behind the most recent incursion. I will make every effort to find out, but it was likely marauders acting alone, in which case… their clan will likely protect them. During my mother’s reign, she won the loyalty of all the provinces—she brokered trade agreements, and with peace between the provinces, the raids lessened. When she died, that bond was shattered. I have enforced peace, for the moment, but the clans are restless and the raids have started again… I fear we’re falling back into the ways of the