The Marked Lady

Seer Corvyn once foretold that House Ashveil would produce a daughter who could see the future. I hid the birthmark I was born with on my forehead, yet my younger sister painted a vivid mark on her forehead every single day.

Then, a royal decree came, naming her the Crown Prince, Prince Caelen’s fiancée, and I married Prince Aldric, just like I had wanted. For the next five years, I used my ability to foresee the future to help Aldric rise to power.

On the night he ascended the throne, I finally wiped away the layers of makeup and told him my secret. However, instead of relief, he flew into a rage. He carved the flesh from my forehead and had me executed.

“Leanora, how dare you imitate Rosalind’s birthmark? If you hadn’t chosen me first, she would never have been forced to marry Caelen! She should have been my true queen! For five years, every moment I touched you has disgusted me. You shall die in her place.”

When I opened my eyes again, Aldric burst in, cutting off Seer Corvyn mid-sentence.

“How can a mark prove that Rosalind is the chosen one?”

“I’m willing to use the blank royal decree Father once granted me to marry the Lord Chancellor’s illegitimate daughter, Rosalind Ashveil.”

Everyone in the great hall exchanged looks. Seer Corvyn tried to speak again, but I stopped him with a glance.

That blank royal decree had been granted years ago as a gift from the King in honour of Aldric’s mother, who had sacrificed her life to save him. No one had expected Aldric to use it now. In the previous life, even with my help, it was that very decree that had given him the legitimate grounds to claim the throne, and now he had spent it on Rosalind.

The Queen, however, seemed almost relieved that he had used it early. It was better that he used it now than let it fester into future trouble.

“Lady Leanora, what say you?” the Queen asked.

“His Highness does my sister great honour,” I replied, lowering into a curtsey. “It is a distinction for the House Ashveil.”

Aldric looked at me, his gaze complicated. However, his resolve never wavered.

“Your Majesty,” he said, “I seek Rosalind’s hand not out of ambition for my brother’s succession, but because she and I are of one heart. She is only an illegitimate daughter of the House. She carries no claim to the prophecy. I ask only for Your Majesty’s blessing.”

The Queen fell silent for a long moment before speaking again. “And yet all of Royal City knows that it is Lady Leanora who has been at your side since childhood. For you to now say–”

Aldric cut her off quickly. “I always saw her as a younger sister. I am sorry the court misread my intentions.”

I sneered inwardly. A younger sister? How convenient.

The Crown Prince Caelen had the aura of a born king. Without the luck I