Read Online Burning Bridges by Nadege Richards - Free Book Online Page B

infiltrated the ballroom as people danced.
    Big smiles and warm hugs greeted me as we stopped at the table , and I played on a smile the best I could. “ Princess Echo, how very glad to meet you, ” Queen Accenia chirped, holding me in a tight hug.
    “ Nice to meet you, ” was all I could think to say.
    “ You know, all my Noah does is talk about you. It ’ s very informal, but at least I know his heart is in this wedding. How are preparations coming along for you? ” That was code for: are you ready?
    “ Does he now? ” My eyes went to Noah as I combed my mind for something to say. He arched his brow expectantly and wrapped his hand around my waist. “ Everything is coming along great. I ’ m excited, and very much so. ” I smiled at the Queen , and then up at Noah. His smile said he liked my answer, but something just felt so wrong. If I was happy—truly and utterly happy—why would I have to lie about it?
    “ Um, pardon me, but may I have a word with my cousin? ”
    Noah and I turned around and stood face to face with Isobeli. At that moment, I could have kissed her.
    I turned back to the Queen and said, “ Will you excuse me for a moment? ”
    “ Of course, ” she said, giving me a smile before sauntering off to cater to her own business.
    “ Don ’ t be gone long, ” Noah whispered in my ear. He placed another chaste kiss to my cheek, this one a hell of a lot closer to my lips. “ I have a surprise for you. ”
    I nodded and quickly left with Issy. I didn ’ t know if she saw me struggling to keep up with my façade, bu t I was glad for the break. She led me out to the balcony gallery, and as soon as we were away from the music, she began to laugh.
    “ What ’ s so funny? ” I asked. I mo ved over to a bench and sat , pressing down the folds of my dress the best to my ability. When you had over seven layers of fabric that was almost impossible.
    “ What ’ s funny, you ask? ” Isobeli said, shuffling over to sit beside me. The sunset played against her face as she spoke, brightening her natural beauty I always envied. Where she was subtle and tranquil, I was chaotic and overt. She smiled and I frowned, she was day and I was night. Though through those differences, we collided and got along in a way neither of us would have expected. We were both seeking something in thi s world— an end , we ’ d called it. It was what made us so close. “ Well, for one thing, I hate that dress on you. I suppose if you hadn ’ t taken so much time trying on dresses, you would have found something better than your mother ’ s choice. ”
    I frowned down at the dress. “ No, green is n ’ t really my color , is it? ”
    “ No, darling, it most definitely is not. Though, the Prince didn ’ t seem to care about the color as much. ”
    “ Please. ” I shrugged off all thoughts of the Prince. Right now, while I was away with my best friend, I wanted to talk about things other than him.
    My mind started to wander.
    “ Hey, Is? ” I called, staring into the sunset. She murmured her response. “ Do you ever think of escaping? ”
    There was silence for a while before she decided to speak. “ Of course. I want to leave for Kylon someday, but that ’ s so far ahead from now. I ’ m always traveling, but never to anywhere I want to go. ”
    “ No, ” I whispered with a shake of my head. “ I mean, escape . Like out of New Haven. Don ’ t you ever wonder what ’ s out there, who ’ s out there? What if there ’ s this other world so foreign to us, and we ’ re all just sitt ing here doing nothing about it? Don ’ t you ever want to pass those borders into Shado— ”
    “ No, ” Issy interrupted. Her eyes looked at me fiercely, scolding me for even daring to go that far. “ My life is here, Echo. I was born here, and here I shall die. In New Haven. That ’ s it. Why would you even think different? ”
    “ Well, I— ”
    She reached out and pulled a pin from my hair. “ Did you do something