Grace Draven

The Prince of No Value~Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined.~The Noblewoman of No Importance~Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn't just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she's known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light.Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart.

A Novel

Radiance

Their quick friendship and playful banter is soooo good!

Megan BV

“We’ll manage well enough together, Ildiko of Gaur.” 

She briefly touched his shoulder. “I believe you, Brishen of Bast-Haradis.”

 A hard pounding on the door warned them their private meeting was over. Brishen presented his arm to Ildiko. “Ready to get shackled, madam?”

She rested her hand in the crook of his elbow. “Try not to smile too widely, Your Highness. You’ll scare the children in the crowd.”

Her hands jerked in his grasp before she arched an eyebrow. “Wolf,” she said softly. 

“Horse,” he replied just as quietly. Ildiko’s lips twitched before she finally gave in and let loose a peal of laughter. The sound was magic, more powerful than any sorcerer’s spell, more startling than the roll of a Gauri’s eyes. Both the Gauri court and the much smaller Kai contingent visibly relaxed. Hands dropped from pommels, stiff shoulders relaxed and nearly everyone stared at the newly wedded couple as if they were mad. 

Brishen took her in his arms and squeezed her until she squeaked. “Well done, princess,” he whispered in her ear. “Well done.”

He kissed her forehead. “No, you’re going to eat. We still have a formal dinner to suffer through in a few hours.”

 “You’ll need it,” he cheerfully replied.

“You’re very clever, wife and have a talent for saying much while saying little.” The lines at the corners of his eyes deepened, and the corners of his mouth turned up. “This will more than do.”

“You make a very handsome dead eel, my husband,” she said and winked. Sinhue and Kirgipa both gasped.

 “For a boiled mollusk, you wear black quite well, my wife,” Brishen shot back, and his smile stretched a little wider.

Radiance quotes

Join the club