Read Online Bound (The Guardians) by M.J. Stevens - Free Book Online Page A

seems like a simple high school boy from what he’d said.
    ‘I actually don’t know much more than what he’s said,’ Anrella admits, sliding off the bed. ‘I think he’s in the same boat as us two, just a strange twist of fate. Come to think of it, have you noticed how this generation’s brides are all… normal? That’s never happened before.’
    Maybe this particular group of Montarus Successors have some sick desire for those who stand up to them or something. I don’t know.
    Anrella yawns and stretches over her head. ‘Well, I’d better be heading off too. Arin is getting home tomorrow from a project, so I should get my work done before he gets back.’
    As the door shuts behind her, I sit back on my bed and close my eyes. Both Anrella and Demmi are lucky. They seem to love their Successor partners. With Leo and I… that’s never going to happen.

CHAPTER ten
    ‘Rise and shine, little bride,’ calls a voice in my room.
    It’s early morning and the bright light hitting my sleepy eyes blinds me. I roll in the bed to see chief-of-staff Elentia standing near me again. Thankfully this time not too close to my face. Poppy and Teri are walking around my room fixing things up.
    I start freaking out. I’d been sleeping so deeply that I didn’t even hear them enter. I mean, how long had they been in there?
    I watch Teri place thick books on the table with a thump and I turn my head to Elentia for answers. ‘Come on. Get up,’ she says.
    I rub my eyes. ‘What’s going on?’
    ‘It’s time to begin your studies of course!’
    I slowly slip out of bed and pull my hair over my shoulder. Elentia tells me to get dressed. ‘After breakfast you will begin reading these books and then there is going to be a test.’
    ‘Why am I doing this?’ I ask.
    Elentia impatiently sighs. ‘Do you think that a bride to a Successor sits around here all day looking pretty? Dancing carelessly through the fields, with your hair flying in the breeze, whilst waiting for your beloved to return?’
    I say with squinted eyes, ‘No…but you sure paint quite a picture there, Elentia.’
    She loudly says, ‘No indeed! A bride will one day walk beside the future Lord Guardian as Lady Guardian. You must know about politics, etiquette, social rank and the various regions of Selestia. You must be well educated, poised and beautiful.’
    She really gets into this… and that description sounds like the exact opposite of me.
    As Elentia straightens the books on the desk, I approach her.
    ‘You know, I wasn’t kidding when I said that can’t do this. I really can’t. And I don’t understand why I have to study anyway. I’m not going to unite with Leo. And even if I did, and that’s a big if , he’s the middle child. Arin is next in line to be Lord Guardian. Chances are I will never be Lady Guardian.’
    The moment I throw the idea of me and being Lady Guardian together in a sentence, I feel sick.
    ‘That is true,’ Elentia replies twisting on her high heeled feet. ‘But that doesn’t mean you can simply get out of studying by that logic. You will still be in the public eye and seen as member of the Montarus family. You need to present yourself as someone who would be worthy of the title Lady Guardian, if ever given it.’
    I say, ‘But “the public” will never know I exist! I’m going to be locked up in this stupid room all the time.’
    Elentia tidies her dark brown bun. ‘Once you prove your commitment through studying and hard work, your probationary period will end. Then you will be allowed to leave the Tower.’
    I excitedly reply, ‘Really?’
    ‘With escort of course,’ Elentia adds. I feel my smile drop. ‘It is for your own safety. As a future bride you are a target for those who oppose the Guardians. You would not be the first Successor bride-to-be that was killed before your uniting day.’
    ‘Oh, well great,’ I say sarcastically.
    ‘Enough chitchat. It is time to get on with the day. I will return later