Bonus Chapter
Cyrus
My desk was an absolute mess. I tried to focus on organizing it, but it was a useless task. I needed a gods-damned assistant or secretary to take care of all this shit.
Ladon hadn’t done much paperwork while I’d been out, but I preferred it that way. There was no way he would’ve done it to my liking, and I would’ve had to redo it anyway. That didn’t stop me from being frustrated with him, though.
I picked up a folded piece of paper and opened it, reading the first paragraph before sorting it into the trash pile. I carried on with that method for three more pieces of paper before my brain turned fuzzy again.
Sighing, I threw the parchment down and leaned back in my chair. My office was quiet and removed from the commotion in the castle. I couldn’t even hear a single person walking out in the hallway or gossiping outside my door, and I liked it that way.
Especially since the past month had been full of party planning.
Ladon and Emilie’s engagement party.
I had successfully dodged most of the pandemonium by claiming I needed to work, but I couldn’t hide forever. Not since the party was happening this evening.
My eyes flicked to the clock on the wall.
The party was happening in less than ten minutes.
Would they even realize I was missing? Maybe they would, and they’d decide it was for the best. No one wanted a grump around while everyone else was trying to celebrate. Most couples wouldn’t bother to invite the bride’s ex-fiancé… who also happened to be the groom’s brother.
Gods, even thinking it sounded like a fucking mess.
Perhaps I could show up for a few minutes and then escape without anyone realizing. I could pretend I’d fallen ill. My mother might be angry, but she’d get over it. She had another son to dote on all evening, so she didn’t need to waste her time on me.
Two minutes to go…
I groaned and leaned forward, elbows on my desk while I buried my head. My mind raced with so many plans to abandon the party that I didn’t hear someone approach my door.
There was a knock, and before my head had lifted from my hands, Jade burst through the door, wearing a tight burgundy dress that showed off her muscular arms and more skin than I’d seen since sharing a bunk with her on the Aria.
She stopped abruptly when she caught sight of me, scrunching her face in annoyance. Her dark brows pinched together, and her berry-red lips turned into a frown. “What are you doing?”
“I should be asking you the same thing.”
This was not the first time she’d barged into my office without my permission. It was becoming a habit. I blamed it on her lack of friends and basic manners.
She unfroze long enough to sit in the chair on the other side of my desk, propping her feet up on the dark wood—and my mess of papers—like she owned the damn place.
I scoffed, and she feigned an innocent expression, pretending she had no clue why I would be irritated. She had a way of finding all my buttons and pressing them repeatedly.
“Get your fucking feet off my desk, Jade.”
She laughed but obliged. “Wow, you are not very nice today, are you? Do you know you’re supposed to be at an engagement party right now?”
I looked at the clock and, sure enough, the party had started exactly one minute ago.
My gaze returned to her. “Did you come here just to tell me that?”
“No,” she said lightly. Then she reached under the skirt of her dress, exposing a strap around her thigh, and pulled out a small green flask that matched the emerald in her eyes.
She opened it, bringing it to her lips for a quick sip, then replaced the cap and handed it to me.
“I came here because I knew you would be miserable, and you know how happy that makes me.”
“Get out.”
“Cheer up, King Crank.”
“Jade,” I growled.
She pointed at the flask. “Bottoms up. It’ll either numb the pain or bring out the worst in you. Either way, it should be interesting for me.”
“Do you ever listen?”
“No,” she said plainly.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Thank you.”
She was testing my patience, and I had none left to give.
I missed the days when she hadn’t been so chatty. As it turned out, she just needed someone else’s misery in order to find her voice. And I was the sad bloke who got to be her muse.
Twisting the flask’s cap, I removed it and took a long swig. It tasted like mint and something flowery. Not my favorite, but I took another drink anyway to take off the edge.
“There’s more where that came from,” she said. “We could ditch this party and I could watch you get wasted. Maybe you’ll even cry.”
She said it a little too enthusiastically, and to spite her, I finished the liquor in the flask, licking my lips and letting it burn my throat on the way down.
I slammed it down on my desk, surprised that it didn’t shatter with the force I’d shown. Then I stood and brushed off my shirt.
Jade appraised me with a look of disgust. “Is that what you’re wearing?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
She shrugged and shot to her feet. “Nothing. Let’s go, King Crank.”
My eyes rolled so hard I thought I might lose my vision. “Remind me why you’re still here.”
“Because we have a treaty, and I need to make sure you hold up your end of the deal.”
Right. Another unfortunate mistake of my brother’s. I mean, yes, he saved my life, but at what cost?
I crossed the room and opened the door, waving a hand for Jade to walk before me.
She smiled as she passed, saying, “Wow, such a gentleman.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I growled.
“I would never.”