Sisters Three (Completed)

28. Brenna

The night when Afton and Morna returned from their honeymoon Brenna felt like she was being stifled to death. The heat of the bedroom weighed on her, causing her hair to stick to her shoulders and her face to flush a deep red. Robbin lay on the bed, reading some documents that General Rydon had given him that morning. For the week that their siblings had been off in wedded bliss, Robbin and Brenna had the briefest taste of what it might have felt like to be the heirs. Left in charge, Robbin had made decisions about where to move their forces, and Brenna had commanded the ladies of the court that came to visit. Brenna could still taste the power on her lips, the way they'd all looked at her as if they would be happy for even a scrap of her attention.

And then Morna returned, and their attention left as quickly as it had arrived. Within moments Brenna was once again the wife of an illegitimate son, left to her own devices while the noble ladies giggled and asked Morna question after question, wanting to gain her favor.

Clenching her fist, Brenna smacked the tabletop and her polished silver mirror quivered. Her reflection danced in the candlelight, showing her a face that could endure hours of improvement and still not gain her anything.

From behind her Robbin sighed heavily, not even looking up from his papers. "What is it?" he asked, as if it were a question he was required to say.

Brenna considered just growling at him and storming out of the room, but she thought better of it when she realized she'd have to yank her dressing gown out from underneath him as well as stalk down the corridors where the generals and their wives had been put up for the night.

Peeling her hair away from her neck, she called her face into a studied neutral. "I just don't see why all of a sudden everyone is completely jolly with the wedding."

"They don't want Afton to get mad at them," Robbin said, flipping a page over to read the back. "He's the heir to the throne, and honestly they'll grovel to do whatever will make him happy."

"I feel like I'm the only one who realizes that if he'd married someone important like he was supposed to, we could possibly be ending this stupid feud within a matter of weeks," Brenna said, coming around to her side of the bed and flopping down on top of the blanket.

"Yes, Afton could have made all our lives much easier by picking someone with a title and a dowry that could cover the payment of more men. I think it's sheer stupidity to marry Morna when the Glenfarrows are already connected to the Ittal nobles via you. It's redundant and useless."

Brenna's hackles rose and she scowled at him across the pillows. "Well, thank you very much. It's so wonderful to know I'm as expendable as the next Ittalan. Maybe you should have married Morna and I would have been free to run off with a Silent Sea pirate. " Crossing her arms she stared up at the canopy and wondered if it was worth it to wrestle her dressing gown free and escape into the hallways.

The bed dipped as Robbin scooted over, filling the gap in the middle. His long legs crossed and as he placed an arm behind his head, he maneuvered his other arm beneath her neck. She pouted as he played with her hair.

"We married to advance ourselves," he said. Brenna rolled her eyes.

"I know, I've heard it before." She smacked his hand out of her hair but didn't pull away from his side.

"There were many different paths we could have taken, but we took this one. It's a permanent path, and we're stuck on it. Sulking about who Afton married will only give you wrinkles, and then you'll be completely ostracized from the women's little inner circle."

Brenna snorted, but part of what he said rang true. Being angry at her sister and brother-in-law wouldn't help her any. It would only use up her energy when she could be planning on how to advance her own husband.

Robbin curled his arm under her head, bringing her closer so that he could plant a kiss on the top of her head. Her cheek rested against his chest and she let out a slow breath.

The night stretched on and the candles burned low. Robbin's breathing had evened out but Brenna wasn't sure if he was asleep or not. She, herself, felt so wound up that she would be surprised if she ever slept again. But within a few minutes her eyes grew heavy and she snuggled into Robbin's side. Sleep swirled around her, slowly sinking her into the darkness.

Just as her mind shut off, so close to deep sleep that she wouldn't even remember it in the morning, Robbin's voice, whispered and quiet, floated into her thoughts. "I've sacrificed my soul and done too much to fall back to where I came. I won't let us be forgotten."