The Queen With No Name – JJ Makenzie
MY LARGE WHITE MARE FOLLOWED closely behind my husband’s black beast, which seemed impatient traversing the rocky path. I could tell he longed to run. The same desire coursed through me, but I had nowhere to go and now belonged to Rowan. I should have been terrified, the narrow path over the mountain left little room for error. One false step by the animal I had been placed upon could lead to my death, but I wondered if it might be welcome. At least I would finally be free from the ownership of men—first by my father and now by the man in front of me, whom I had not known for but a sparse few turns of the clock. Whom I had never seen until I’d knelt before the priest who’d married us at dawn—or rather, who had forged an alliance between my father’s kingdom and Rowan’s. There was no love, affection, or even a relationship between the formidable force before my eyes and myself.