6
The farther Gwin got from the Throne Room and her mother, the freer she felt. All her life she’d done what her mother had asked of her, tried to live up to the image her mother saw of her. If she were honest, it left her nothing but misery.
She pulled on a fake smile every day of her life. She pulled it on to be accepted by those in the town. She pulled it on to be welcoming to those visiting. She plastered it on to marry a man she did not love.
Every day her face strained from holding up the smile of complacency. And now she was tired.
She’d thought her life would be in service as Lady of the Castle. But, now that her husband was dying, and her sister was marrying the remaining Pendragon heir, and her services were no longer needed, Gwin’s veneer began to crack.
It didn’t matter wh
