Caleb follows me back to my room. I’m annoyed, frankly, because Bethany put a lot of effort into this dress only for me to be unable to truly show it off. But Caleb’s insistence has me moving my feet, booking it back to my room and then to my closet.Bethany is still in the rooms, cleaning up from t
It’s a strange moment, watching a man so powerful, so deadly even, hold something so fragile. He’s careful not to crush the flowers as he brings it over to me.He holds it out. “It smells like you.”My eyes go wide, and my heart races out of control.Sexual overtures, I expect from him. Gruff, angry
“You will tell me what I want to know,” Caleb growls, voice far colder than he’s ever used with me, even at his most angry. “You will die either way, but the speed of your death is what remains on the table. If you wish to spare yourself any more pain, you will speak quickly.”The bound man raises h
Plus, losing the support of a pack, even a lesser one, would weaken his kingdom. The other packs might consider rebellion, if they ever discovered he left many of their own to die.And then, there’s Harper… She shouldn’t be a consideration. She wasn’t really. An afterthought, at most… But it would d
“This isn’t a good idea,” Bethany insists, more urgently before. “Whatever you saw him do, you’ll be the next one tortured if you try to escape. How would you even do it? There’s no way out of here.”I know, deep down, I’m not thinking clearly, but my fear is so rampant that I can’t just sit here, w
Entering Madeline’s chambers, I immediately spot a familiar face. The handmaiden attending Madeline I recognize as Nina’s old handmaiden Molly. I suppose Nina acted alone in her treachery of me, but it still seems strange to see her handmaiden again, standing there smiling vaguely as if nothing happ
Madeline, Molly, and I all watch the growing hole on the floor until it finally stops hissing. As I place the now-empty teacup back on the table, I’m positively fuming. Molly looks pissed too, but I’m sure for different reasons. She likely wanted me dead. Madeline seems utterly indifferent to the wh
“Follow,” Caleb snaps at Harper’s handmaiden as he hops down from the stage. She nods, and immediately falls into step behind him. Granted, she has to take two steps for his every one.“King Caleb?” Tristan asks, likely wondering if he should follow as well. Caleb doesn’t need backup to punish his
Holding the note, I moved toward the bed and sat down on the edge. Caleb, finished with his shower, comes out of the shower looking relaxed as can be. The moment he sees me perched on the bed, he tenses again.“What happened? What’s going on?” he asks, his voice all business.I hold up the small not
The stare-off continues for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Around us, I see Gladys’s servants take notice, and my own worry sets in. If this continues, will they attack Caleb? Is Caleb willing to go to war to keep me safe and by his side?I fear I already know the answer to that.Yet, before
Even so, with the drama, I worry about the food getting cold. It does look good and a cook took the time to make it. I quickly cut a bite of the fish and eat it.Though my stomach is in knots, the fish is delicious so I force it down.“Careful, stepmother,” Caleb says, giving weight to the word I’ve
Of all the awkward, uncomfortable diners I have sat through over the years, this one has to be the worst. And that includes the ones right after my public disgrace, when I went from being the pride of my parents to their servant instead, with my sister taking my place.Gladys, Caleb, and I are in th
Caleb releases his hold from around my waist. Instead he takes my hands in his, then brings them both to his lips to kiss the backs of them, one after the other.Still holding my hands, he leads me toward the bed. There, releases my hand to grab one of the lamps from the nightstand. Carefully, he li
“Come with me,” Gladys says, her eyes flitting between Caleb and me. “I’d be happy to give you a tour of my home.”“That would be very kind, thank you,” Caleb says, his voice dripping with false diplomacy. It matches Gladys’s own.“Thank you,” I say, softer.Gladys turns and slowly leads the way out
Looking out the window, I watch as the car follows the winding tunnel road up and out of the underground.Caleb and I sit in the back seat while a driver sits up front, hidden from us, and us from him behind a partition.The view sends me back to the last time Caleb and I left the capital behind, wh
Staying by Caleb’s side is not the only rule he has in place for me. In fact, for three hours after the messenger with Caleb’s agreement, I sat sitting in the Hall, hearing many rules now placed upon me for this trip.“You cannot let anyone get you alone,” the advisor said. “Gladys herself will try
The messenger is dressed in a simple tunic with a sash bearing the colors of Gladys’s pack lands. He waltzes confidently through the Hall, seemingly uncaring that everyone in the room is looking at him. Or perhaps he thrives on that.Regardless, he walks the walk to the base of the throne, then bows