THIRD PERSON POV That wretch did it— Isabelle seethed as she furiously threw open her bedroom door and slammed it shut behind her. It was one thing for Maeve to talk back to her. It was another thing to humiliate her in front of the very people she had worked so hard to impress her entire life.
His resolution to stay neutral stung Isabelle. Before Maeve showed up, he doted on her like a perfect husband and was willing to do practically anything to please her. But now… it was almost like he was caught under the same spell as the rest of his family. A terrible, sick feeling suddenly made
XADEN POV “Well…” Henry slumped back in his chair with a huff. “I’m certainly glad that’s over with. Holding a meeting after a long night is always rough.” It just so happened that, the morning immediately following the banquet, the two of us were scheduled to hold a brief, private conference re
No matter how much I tried to delay the inevitable, however, I needed to get this done. If she was going to scold me, I would rather get it over with than simmer in the mess that was my mind. Taking a long, deep breath, I entered the palace and followed the usual route to get to the queen’s parlor.
MAEVE POV “Eric?” I questioned, surprised, thankful for the interruption, tearing my gaze away from Isabelle. What is he doing here? Eric’s lanky figure shuffled uncomfortably, yet he moved with determination. “I-I was on my way back to my room. I was just in a meeting with my father,” he shak
THIRD PERSON POV Three days later… The night was still throughout the kingdom. The citizens slept peacefully in their warm, comfortable beds without a care in the world, only dreading the rising of the morning sun, when work and responsibilities beckoned for their begrudging attention. Families
And I couldn’t let that happen. So, taking advantage of Xaden’s prolonged visit to the palace, I had slipped out earlier that morning to a nearby drugstore and purchased some more dark hair dye. It was nearly noon by the time I finished dyeing the entirety of my long hair. Xaden might have—unint
XADEN POV Maeve’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?” she asked, leaning closer and squeezing my hand. I could feel tremors shake her body. “You’ll be going off to war…?” Truthfully, that was a question I was not able to answer at that time. I wanted more than anything to reassure her, to dis