To Stand Beside Her Read Online Free PDF Page A

who was a legend around the dinner tables he shared with neighboring kings. All told of encountering this lady so beautiful she would take your breath away and yet so cunning none could cage her long enough to make her into a wi fe . She was truly everything they talked about, and even more. Nalick didn’t need the seer’s opinion to know that this was the woman he wanted to marry.
    “Okay,” Nalick responded , taking the bait , “ a re you the woman that I should marry?”
    “ Probably, but it is not going to happen ,” Leila responded. Leila had reached marriageable age several years ago, but after Erich’s death, marriage held no interest to her.
    “And why not ? ” he inquired.
    “Because in order to have a real marriage, both people need to be willing to marry each other.” Leila looked him up and down. He was handsome, but he was also an arrogant jerk. “I am not willing to marry you.”
    She turned on her heals and walked back to the two men in the back of the room. She could see the laughter in their eyes. More than likely , Leila thought, Nalick has never been told no before . Well , there is a first time for everything. She smiled nicely at the two men.
    “Now if you could graciously escort me back to the jail , it would be appreciated. I have something I need to pick up before I leave Lexia. I would not want to get lost on the way,” she added , winking at the two grinning men .
    “I don’t think you understand,” Nalick said harshly , coming up behind her. “As king, I don’t need to ask. And in the position you are in, I don’t think you can exactly refuse.”
    “See , that’s the thing about people like you,” Leila turned to explain with dis d ain in her eyes. She did not back away from the angry man twice her size only feet away from her. “You think you don’t need to ask, when a person in your position , more than anyone else , should be asking, especially a question like marriage.”
    Leila walked to the door and opened it herself . The two men quickly followed as she walked out of the room , leaving a stunned Nalick to watch her walk away.
    “This way,” one of the men said.
    “Where to now?” Leila asked. They were not lead ing her to the jail.
    “The jail is no place for a lady,” the taller of the two me n explained. He led her to a staircase and up three flights of stairs. Leila was in a part of the palace she had never seen before. The man walked to a door and unlocked the room. “By the way , I am Theo and this is Macarius,” he indicated to the man next to him. “If you should n eed anything, knock on the door . ”
    “Sorry , Miss,” the other man, Macarius , said as he began to wrap a chain around her waist . He almost seemed to blush , wrapping his arms around her. He then locked her wrists to the chain. “The king’s orders,” he apologized.
    “So he is not as stupid as I thought,” she responded. Both men smiled. “I suppose if I asked to have these chains removed that would not be part of the anything you could do for me?”
    “No,” Theo replied as he opened the door , “ y our friend should be inside.”
    “Thank you,” Leila smiled at the two men. They were just following orders and not to blame for her situation.
    Leila prepared to be thrown into a windowless single cell, but t he lavish suite was not what she expected. It was ornately decorated in hues of purple and gold. In the middle of the room was a set of couches and chairs covered in silk. Over in the left corner was a table with six chairs. Fresh fruit and baked good s were on the center of the table. On each side of the room there were doors.
    The room to the right was a bathing room with , of course , no windows. She walked to the door on the left and it was a bedroom. There , lying curled up on the bed , was Kay in a deep sleep . Leila walked over and pulled the blanket up around Kay. Quietly, she began to rearrange the furniture to pile everything high enough to be able to see out