Excerpt
Under the Oak Tree: Volume 1 (The Novel)
Chapter 1Maximilian Calypse paced around the drawing room.
She was so nervous that she did not realize she was biting her fingernails—not until the Duke of Croyso entered the room. The clack of his heavy cane shattered the silence, and she rushed to hide her hands behind her back.
“Have I not told you time and again to cease that revolting habit of yours?”
The duke’s words were like a biting chill, and Maxi fixed her eyes on her feet.
“F-Forgive me, Father . . .”
The duke clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “You’d best not embarrass me, girl. You have been far more fortunate than you deserve. Should your repulsive behavior besmirch our family name, know that I will not forgive you.”
A cold sweat formed on Maxi’s back, and an icy bead trickled down her skin. She opened her mouth to try and form a smooth reply, but her spine stiffened with fear, choking her words.
“I-I w-w-w—I shall . . . I shall d-d-do as you c-command, F-Father. W-When he c-c-c-comes, I w-w-w . . .”
Maxi did not have to raise her head to know that her father was grimacing at her. Disgust shadowed his face whenever he heard her speak. She tried to remain calm, even as she scrambled for words.
“I-I . . . I w-will p-persuade him t-t-t . . . t-to stay i-in this m-m-marriage . . .”
“Enough!” The duke rapped his cane on the floor. “Is it too much to ask that you speak normally for a day? For even just an hour? Can you think of any man who would want a stuttering wife?!”
“I . . . I . . .”
“As you are well aware, Riftan Calypse is no longer just a lowborn knight! He is now revered as one of the best swordmasters on the entire continent, as the hero who defeated the Red Dragon, Sektor! He need only ask, and the church would rush to annul this marriage!”
The duke paused to catch his breath. He pressed a palm to his temple, as if the mere thought of divorce scandalized him.
“I will not allow the eldest Croyso daughter to be divorced by a lowborn knight! I will not stand idly by while my halfwit daughter ruins the reputation of this house!”
Maxi bit her lip, unspoken words burning her throat like bile. It’s not my fault, she wanted to say. Neither she nor Riftan had ever expressed a desire to be wed. It was her father and her father alone who had willed the marriage to happen.
The duke continued his tirade, lips snarled in rebuke. “If only you were half as beautiful as Rosetta . . . No, if only you were normal! Then I would not have to grovel at that lowborn’s feet, to humor his every whim!”
Maxi’s half-sister, Rosetta, was like a rose in full bloom. At the mention of her, what little defiance Maxi had mustered slipped from her grasp like water through her fingers. She had turned deathly pale, but her father was relentless.
“King Reuben may wish to make Riftan Calypse his son-in-law, but there is nothing he can do if Calypse refuses! If only you had managed to win your husband’s affection, you would not be facing a divorce! You have no one to blame but yourself!”
“B-But he . . . he left for the c-campaign the day after . . . after the w-wedding. . . .”
Maxi had hardly had a chance to talk to Riftan, let alone win his affection! But just as she was about to give voice to that protest, her vision flashed white as her father slammed his cane into her side. The pain was so severe that she curled over, gasping for breath and unable to scream.
“How dare you talk back to me?!” the duke demanded. “Just thinking about your wretched impediment is enough to infuriate me!”
Maxi nodded in desperate submission, lest he strike her again. The duke’s lips twitched, as if he were readying himself to spew forth another stream of vitriol.
A knock at the door saved Maxi. The duke spun to face the sound, and he was addressed by the meek voice of a maidservant.
“Your Grace,” she said. “The Remdragon Knights have arrived.”
“Show them in!”
Maxi’s face flushed with terror, and she finally raised her gaze to meet her father’s. The duke hissed through gritted teeth.
“Make it very, very clear to Calypse that the marriage will not be annulled. And a reminder, should you have forgotten—if you bring shame upon our house, you will have a price to pay.”
The duke stormed out of the room. When she was sure he was gone, Maxi slumped against a window. She tried to slow her breathing as she waited for the throbbing pain to subside.
The light of the autumn sun streamed in through the window, and Maxi blinked back her tears. Crying would only serve to drag her deeper into the abyss, where her sorrows would consume her.
Maxi clasped her shaking hands together. She had to collect herself. For a noblewoman, divorce was akin to death. Not only would she be ridiculed, but she would also disgrace her entire family. It was an unspeakable dishonor, and a duel was the only path to redemption. But a duel, against Riftan Calypse?
The Duke of Croyso had no sons, and none of his relatives or sworn knights would stand the slightest chance against Riftan. He was a swordmaster who had felled a dragon! Who could possibly match him in combat, let alone best him?
It seemed inevitable that she would tarnish her family name. The duke would never forgive her—it was possible he would even kill her with a timely “accident” before the annulment was complete. Such machinations were not beneath her father.
I must do all I can to prevent something like that. . . .
But would Riftan Calypse listen to her?
Maxi bit her lip. She was trapped at the edge of a sheer cliff, with no way to safely descend. After all, her marriage had been arranged solely for the convenience of the duke and his knights.
Three years prior, when news spread across the continent that Sektor the Red Dragon had awoken from its slumber, King Elnuima Reuben III called his vassals to arms, to embark on a campaign to subdue the beast. Duke Croyso and his forces were bound by law to participate, but he had found a way to shift his duty to Riftan Calypse by marrying off his daughter.
Maxi shuddered, recalling her wedding day. The air had been thick with thinly veiled insults, whispered among the guests. As a lowborn knight, Riftan had no choice but to obey the duke and appear at the wedding hall. Just how much resentment had he felt? How humiliated must he have been?
That day, Maxi had been terrified of Riftan’s expression. He had looked as if he was holding something back.
If I were half as beautiful as Rose, could I have won his heart?
Such thoughts deepened Maxi’s torment. Riftan Calypse was a stunning man. Even Rosetta, who often mocked his humble origins, could not help but blush when she saw him dressed in his order’s ceremonial attire.
Riftan could have courted any woman he wanted. How could he possibly be attracted to a plain, stuttering woman like her? Especially now that his accomplishments had elevated him from his lowborn status?
Now that he’s likely to marry a princess, pleading won’t be enough to change his mind.
The night after the wedding was their only night together. Riftan had left for the campaign the following morning, without saying a word, and he never wrote to her once while he was gone. Maxi was not sure if he even saw her as his wife.
She buried her face in her hands, dark thoughts clouding her mind.
“What a sight you are,” said a familiar, sullen voice.
Startled, Maxi looked up. A giant of a man glowered at her from the door. She hadn’t heard him enter.
“A wife trembling in fear while awaiting her husband’s return from mortal peril.” Riftan’s voice dripped with sarcasm, and he approached her with slow, silent footsteps.
Dressed in silver armor and a navy-blue tunic reminiscent of a monk’s robes, Riftan was far more powerfully built—far more intimidating—than Maxi remembered. She held her breath as he drew closer.
“I didn’t expect a warm welcome, but do you have to tremble as if I’m carrying the plague?”
His frigid tone snapped Maxi out of her trance. As she realized that she had managed to displease him within mere minutes of their reunion, the blood drained from her face.
“I . . . I am relieved t-to see you un-unharmed. . . .”
Maxi’s voice trailed off. What else could she say? She was not even sure how to address him. Riftan? Too intimate. Sir Riftan? He would surely mock her. Unsettled by his piercing gaze, she took a step back.
Why was he looking at her like that?
Riftan’s face hardened further as she retreated from him, until he grabbed her arm and yanked her back. His words came in a threatening whisper. “At least pretend you’re happy to see me.”
Maxi froze. Their bodies were close. Too close. The potent undertones of leather, horses, and sweat filled her nostrils, and the overwhelming maleness of his scent unearthed memories that she had kept buried for the past three years.
