CHAPTER TWO
UNFORTUNATELY,GIVENTHE looks on the advisors’ faces, that seemed unlikely.
Andreas and Carissa approached Helia with grave expressions.
‘Come with us,’ Andreas instructed. ‘Quietly. We need to discuss this in private.’
Helia still couldn’t believe the words that had left the new King’s mouth. She couldn’t think that anyone would.
‘Is this really necessary?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’
Something like hope fluttered in her belly, because that would mean Vasili really had taken notice of her. So she followed Andreas and Carissa through the palace to the private secretary’s office. Not once did her heart steady its rhythm. Helia couldn’t wrap her head around how her ordinary day had turned into this circus, all because the King had looked her way in a moment of madness.
‘Take a seat,’ Andreas instructed. ‘Wait here, we’ll be back shortly.’ He left the room, with Carissa at his side, and closed the door.
Helia was left alone in the unwelcoming office. She could hear agitated voices beyond the door, but couldn’t make out what was being said. She tried to block them out, attempting, instead, to make sense of what had happened. To unravel her feelings. But that thread seemed to be well and truly tangled.
So she waited. A glance at the polished antique clock on the desk revealed that she had been waiting ten minutes. Which turned into an hour. Which turned into two. Every so often she would hear hurried steps and hushed, frantic voices. Whatever was going on out there it was certainly chaotic.
Helia’s patience was growing thin. She knew she couldn’t defy an order from Andreas, but waiting alone had her shoulders growing stiffer by the moment. Surely if they were going to tell her that it had all been mistake they would not have been gone this long—which made excitement once again flare in her belly. She tamped down hard on it.
Just when she had decided that it wouldn’t matter if she waited here or in the library, where she could be alone, and where she would have a distraction, the door opened and in walked an irate Andreas. Carissa followed closely with a scowl, closing the door. He rounded the table to his throne-like seat, while she elegantly perched on the chair beside Helia’s.
Andreas was a starchy character, but it had never concerned Helia before. Yet now she was filled with a sense of foreboding that warred with her earlier excitement and state of shock.
‘I’m sure you have gathered as much, but I should officially tell you that King Leander is dead.’
That was obvious, but Helia would not interrupt until she could fully understand the situation she found herself in.
‘Which means that Prince Vasili is now His Majesty, the King of Thalonia. As such, he is required by law to marry and bear heirs.’
Heirs!
Silence pierced the air.
The hope, confusion, excitement all died. Helia could no longer feel that frantic heartbeat. Her jaw dropped as she pieced together what he meant. ‘You’re not serious!’
‘I’m afraid I am.’
‘Andreas, you cannot expect me to marry someone I don’t even know.’
Marry and have children with them? That was completely unreasonable! She hadn’t even thought about having family yet.
‘This makes no sense. His Majesty cannot possibly want to marry someone he has never seen before,’ she said, attempting to reason with them.
Yes, Helia had admired Prince Vasili for years. She had allowed herself fantasies of what it might be like if he one day took notice of her and it had felt good. Incredible. But never had those fantasies been like this.
‘You can’t take my choice away from me!’
‘Look,’ Andreas said in a severe tone, his fingers steepled under his chin, ‘we are even less happy about this than you are, but whether we like it or not, Prince Vasili is now King and he has spoken. We have no choice but to obey.’
Irritation flashed through Helia. But Carissa nodded along with Andreas, as if agreeing to this absurdity.
‘Whether you like it or not?’ Helia asked. ‘Is that because you disapprove of me, a commoner?’ She directed this at Andreas—the person she had to report to in her responsibility over the palace archives, who didn’t even have the good grace to look embarrassed. ‘Or is it that you have a problem with King Vasili himself?’
‘How long before we can get her and the country ready for the wedding?’ Andreas asked Carissa, completely ignoring Helia’s questions.
She felt a sharp pang of sympathy for Vasili. It was no secret what nobles thought of people like her, but to hold Vasili in such disregard was disrespectful, and she could only imagine hurtful to him. She remembered his reaction in the library, thinking that she would have been far less pleasant if the roles had been reversed. But his words had been reckless, and had very real consequences for her now.
She couldn’t help the ember of anger burning in her from that. However, it was the two people with her in this room now who truly irked her. Their blatant disrespect for her and the King was entirely unacceptable. The way they looked at her, as if she was some kind of irritation they had to deal with, had her grinding her teeth. She wasn’t the one who had put them in this situation. Vasili was. He was the one who had said the words, but even he wasn’t entirely to blame.
‘Don’t ignore me,’ she said.
Andreas cut a glare her way which she chose to disregard.
‘No one has agreed to a wedding. What would this mean for me? My career?’
It was all too much. She needed them to spell out exactly what would happen to her—because right now she was completely overwhelmed.
‘You would be Queen, of course,’ Carissa said impatiently.
‘And you would not return to your job,’ Andreas added.
Helia’s fingers curled in her skirt. Their tight grip was the only thing stopping her from hyperventilating. Her career was everything to her. She was a librarian, not a queen! What did she know about ruling?
Her stomach roiled at the thought.
She had spent two years among the palace’s books and archives. Had scraped and clawed her way from nothing to end up here in the palace library.
Following her father’s sudden passing when she was just a teenager, she had moved in with her uncle, her father’s brother and business partner. He was meant to be her guardian, to take care of her, but he had only done so when it served him. Helia’s father had left her a substantial inheritance—a nest egg meant to provide security for her when he could not—but she had never seen a penny of it as her uncle had cunningly taken it from her. And once he’d been in possession of it he had promptly dropped her off at the local orphanage. At a time when she had needed her family the most, she had been abandoned. Left to fend for herself. To deal with her grief and her anger alone.
She had found solace in books. Not that the orphanage had had very many. But they had filled her with a quiet happiness.
It had been no surprise to anyone, least of all herself, that she had become quiet and withdrawn. She hadn’t been able to find it in herself to be the happy, effervescent person she had been with her father. She had been lost to her misery.
Only a single solitary spark had brightened those long, dark days.
While at school she had spent every free moment in the library. Until the librarian had taken pity on her and had allowed her to assist during breaks and after school. Bit by bit, in those dusty stacks, she had slowly come back to life. It was then that she had decided what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to spend it among the books that had become her family and her escape. And she didn’t want to be just a librarian at an underfunded, somewhat forgotten school. Oh, no, she wanted much more than that.
So she had earned herself a scholarship, and studied at one of the best universities in Thalonia, and immediately after that had gone to work at the city library in Seidon. Every day she would glimpse the palace on her commute to work and think to herself that one day she would work there. When the job she had dreamed of had finally become available, Helia had pounced on the opportunity. Now, at only twenty-eight, she was head librarian at the grandest library in the Kingdom, home to Thalonia’s archives. It was a job she was immensely proud of.
They had another think coming if they thought she would take any of this lying down.
‘What if I don’t agree to this marriage?’ she asked, interrupting their conversation.
Andreas dropped his hands to the carved armrests of his chair, staring Helia down. ‘I don’t want you to, Ms Demetriou. You are not the right queen for this kingdom. It goes against our traditions, not to mention brings us the nightmare challenge of getting you anywhere near ready to be a royal. But unfortunately for all of us King Vasili has decided, and none of us has the power to overturn his decision.’
His words were like a red rag to Helia, but she knew he was right. She wasn’t ready to be Queen, and that would be a challenge, and Vasili had in fact picked her. His gaze had been intense. Filled with intent, but also grief and anger.
‘I still haven’t agreed.’
‘Why wouldn’t you agree?’ Carissa very nearly sneered. ‘Women don’t often get the chance to become Queen.’
She’s right, Helia thought to herself.
Most women never became Queen or gained any kind of power or influence, but the position had been presented to her now. It might not have occurred in a way she would have chosen, but surely there was an opportunity for her to make a difference.
Helia thought of those years at the orphanage, when funds had been low but there had been mouths to feed and growing bodies to clothe. When the temperature had dropped but they’d only been able to make do with what they had. When the children would talk about their dreams knowing they probably would never achieve them—because who would pay for their tuition?
She had come from among the forgotten citizens of not just Seidon, but Thalonia at large. Those without a voice who often just fell through the cracks. She remembered wishing she had the power to change things. Hoping that one day she would find a way to help. She had been volunteering at the orphanage whenever she could for years. A lot of those kids felt like her own. They were the closest thing she had to family.
Now there was a chance for one of the forgotten to sit on the throne, so maybe fighting this would be a mistake. It would be foolish of her to squander this opportunity—even if saying yes did mean that she would have to deal with attitudes like those of Andreas and Carissa every day.
Helia was conflicted. She didn’t want to lose her career. It was all she had. All she loved. But she cared about the kind of children she’d grown up around...and beyond that there was Vasili.
She still remembered the day she had arrived at the palace. He had been the first royal she had seen. His beauty had rendered her speechless. With his short dark brown hair in soft, wavy curls and his golden-brown eyes, he had been a sight to behold. Let alone the fact that he had been climbing onto a black motorcycle at the time, clad in leathers.
He was the most unusual royal, and over the years she had noticed him more and more. Each time she did, a small attraction for the Prince grew. While she had almost never had any reason to directly interact with the royals, she’d noted how different he was compared to them. He always had a bit of time to chat to staff who were mostly treated as if they were invisible. He had a smile for everyone except when no one was watching him. But she did.
Helia was not delusional. She was entirely ordinary, and he had never once noticed her. Why would he? She spent all her time in the library that he never visited.
Now she felt foolish for feeling hopeful about being tied to him.
Her heart had skipped a beat when he had walked into the library today, in suit trousers and a button-down shirt that was open at the neck, but her appreciation had been halted by the expression on his face. He’d seemed to be caught somewhere between weariness and anguish...
Still, appreciating the Prince—or rather the King—didn’t mean she could be a queen.
The mere thought had her hands trembling, and instilled a very real fear in her. She was confident around books, but had no idea how to navigate a royal court. She came from nothing. But didn’t that make her perfect in a way? Vasili had been born to this life. He knew precisely what he was supposed to do. Could she show him what he should care about?
They were opposite forces, but together they could be something special. The thought filled her with equal parts trepidation and excitement.
‘I’ll do it.’
The moment the words left her lips, Helia’s heart began to race.
‘Of course you will.’
There was a look of smug satisfaction on Carissa’s face that had annoyance bursting through Helia, eclipsing her nervousness.
‘Think what you will, Carissa, but unless either of you can get His Majesty to change his mind I’m all you have—and I have my reasons for agreeing.’
Like the fact that all of Thalonia’s people would be able to count on her, not just the rich and aristocratic, whether they realised it or not. Her every decision would have serious repercussions.
Her pulse hammered and her palms sweated. She tried to focus on her breathing. Panicking wouldn’t help her.
She was still torn. Her whole life had been changed in a matter of minutes. The career she had fought for would be taken from her and replaced with something far more influential and terrifying. She hadn’t really been given much choice, but her traitorous heart still beat just a little faster at the thought of being with Vasili.
Vasili sat in a plush white chair in Leander’s office. His office. He had hardly ever come in here...the seat of power for Thalonia. He had hated this room with a passion growing up, and had been pleased when Leander had made changes to it. The walls still had frescoes from centuries long past. The blue of the sea was evident on nearly every wall, and the gold accents still glowed as if the metal had been poured straight onto the plaster, but everything else had changed.
Light poured in through the large arched windows, illuminating the white couches and the armchair where he sat. Towards the far end was a meeting table with six chairs, and directly in front of the window, as if all of Thalonia and the sea stood behind the man who sat there, was a behemoth of a desk.
An empty desk.
This office reflected Leander perfectly. How he’d tried to marry his modern views with a traditional past. It wasn’t Vasili.
He leaned his head against a backrest carved in the Rococo style and closed his eyes, uttering a soft curse. He should never have lost his temper. It never helped any situation. But when he thought about Andreas and Carissa trying to foist a bride on him his blood started to boil all over again.
They were loyal to the crown, to Leander. The latter he could forgive, even respect, but the former...? That angered him immensely. Because wasn’t that exactly like his parents? Loyal to the crown to the detriment of him?
Vasili understood that they were unhappy he would have to take over. But he didn’t have to do anything. Not only had he never been meant to be King, but he also never wanted it—and he could only imagine who his ‘trusted’ advisors would pick for him to marry. Another thing he was simply expected to accept without consideration for how he felt. And for what? To save the crown? Why would he care? He hated it.
That was certainly no secret. All his life he’d wanted out, yet he knew he was stuck in his gilded cage—which was why he’d rebelled just now. As he always did. Except this rebellion made him feel guilty, because he had left no room for argument. He could only imagine how pushy that would have made Andreas and Carissa. The chaos his staff would now be consumed by as they navigated his decision.
A groan sounded through the silent office as he replayed the moment he had chosen the librarian to be his wife. He didn’t even know her name, for pity’s sake! But even in that moment of madness he hadn’t been able to help but notice how stunningly beautiful she was. Entirely arresting. Her eyes had brought to mind the untameable seas around the Kingdom.
He’d made a reckless decision, thinking Andreas would see it for what it was. See that he needed to grieve. He had just lost his brother. That still didn’t feel entirely real. He needed time to come to terms with that...with these massive changes. But they hadn’t seen that, or had simply ignored it, and Vasili knew time was something he was never going to get.
He had awoken that morning with two women in his bed and the thought that today would be like any other day. He had decided to ride down the coast, where a lavish party was planned for the evening.
A part of him still wanted to do that. To turn his back on the palace and forget all of it for a few hours.
He heaved a sigh and walked to the large window, staring out at Seidon. Earlier he had had the thought that he would like to let the crown fall into ruin. He really liked that idea. More than ever the temptation to abdicate seduced him. He wanted to reach out and grab on to that notion with both hands. Leave it all and walk away. He liked his life as it was.
Vasili had just decided a ride on his motorcycle was precisely what he needed when he heard the door open. He knew who it was before he even spoke.
‘Here you are, Your Majesty,’ said Andreas, as he entered and quietly shut the door behind him.
Vasili was struck with a vivid fantasy of throwing the man out. He had seen far too much of him for one day. He wanted to ask if Andreas was done with terrorising the librarian, but he said nothing. While he might not have received quite the same training as Leander, Vasili knew how to use silence as a show of power, and something told him he would always have to wield that power with Andreas.
Turning around with his hands clasped behind his back, he pinned Andreas with a stare that had the older man stopping before he could cross the room all the way.
Andreas cleared his throat. ‘We have spoken to Helia Demetriou, sir, but we need to discuss this decision. She isn’t what this kingdom needs.’
‘I suppose you know exactly what that is?’ Vasili challenged.
‘In this instance, yes. We need a queen who can take the throne immediately. She cannot do that. We have no time. King Leander’s wedding has been planned. Every vendor is confirmed. Every part of his wedding was meant to showcase Thalonia to the world, and people are still relying on us to move forward with the event. As much as it might hurt us, we need you and a queen on the throne. We need the coronation to happen as soon as possible, or we risk damaging our people financially. That takes priority. God forbid, but should something happen to you, Thalonia will be in serious trouble. We need to have faith that the Queen could rule in that situation.’
A spare ruler. Not just that, now he was to be a filler-in at someone else’s wedding. His life truly meant nothing. Vasili was a spare in every way.
All he could do was shake his head.
‘Allow me to speak freely,’ Andreas went on.
‘Nothing has stopped you before.’
‘The wedding has to go ahead. But Carissa and I feel that while Miss Demetriou has agreed, we believe we could come up with a better solution. I’m sure she has her appeal...she just isn’t the best choice given our time constraints. We will have the entire staff running around trying to arrange a wedding, a coronation and training—which ordinarily would be far simpler than what we have to do now. Which is to teach someone how to be royal. I have got people trying to figure out how to impart an entire lifetime’s worth of training and knowledge in a few short weeks. But this isn’t going to work. It’s an impossible task.’
Vasili still said nothing. He simply cocked a brow, indicating for him to continue.
‘Please, Your Majesty, just listen.’
Vasili didn’t want to. He knew he was being ridiculous—but so was this entire situation.
‘So what would you propose? Hmm? A marriage to someone I would have nothing to do with?’
‘It doesn’t have to be that way. Princess Allegra is still an option—’
‘You have to be out of your mind! I am not marrying Leander’s fiancée.’
The idea was abhorrent.
‘She understands how to rule. She is ready to be Queen and you have tolerated her in the past.’
‘Tolerated? Is that how low the bar is for a royal consort?’
The bite in Vasili’s words had Andreas flinching.
‘She is one option, and there are other options that you need to look at for the good of the Kingdom. We would have to alter our traditions, our processes, to accommodate Helia. How long would that take? You know Princess Allegra—you know nothing about the librarian.’
That was true. He knew nothing about her. But he would take her over any of the royals he knew. Any of the nobility. And if it took time to ready her to be queen then that was all the better for him. At least he would get the time he needed then.
‘Your parents knew each other as children. They were both of noble blood and were probably the most loved royals we have ever had on the throne.’
Except they hadn’t loved each other. They hadn’t loved him.
‘I have said it before and I will say it again, Andreas. I am neither my parents nor Leander. You’d best stop expecting to see them in me. I don’t care what you have to do—that isn’t my problem. No matter how many times you come to me with this, my decision will not change.’
‘Vasili!’ Andreas snapped. His frustration was pouring off him in waves.
‘Excuse me?’ Vasili all but growled.
Andreas took a very deep breath. ‘Apologies, Your Majesty, but you don’t seem to be listening. We cannot make this happen. Not in the time we have.’
‘Andreas,’ Vasili said, with a calm he did not feel, especially when the fuse of his temper had once again been lit. ‘I’ve had just about as much disrespect as I am going to take from you, and this will be the last time. I understand your panic, but my word is final. Now, bring Miss Demetriou to me. I wish to speak to her in private.’
There was no emotion in Vasili’s voice. Every swirling thought and feeling was locked away securely deep within him.
‘Of course.’
He watched Andreas leave and turned back to the window. He needed to find out why Helia had agreed and then give her an opportunity to back out. After all, this wasn’t a decision he had made for her—it was a decision he had made against being the King they wanted.
It wasn’t long before Vasili heard footsteps on the other side of the door. Silently it swung open and in she walked. She took the breath from him. He couldn’t speak. All he could do was stare. How had he never noticed her before? She had to be the most exquisite creature ever to have graced the palace.
It took a gargantuan effort to wrestle his thoughts back into something that made sense. He had called her here for a reason.
Clearing his throat, Vasili instructed her to close the door and take a seat.
Of all the things she could have done, she curtseyed.
‘Your Majesty,’ she said politely, and did as she was told.
The action was so at odds with how his day had gone, Vasili did well to hide his laughter.
He followed her with his eyes as she sat down. ‘Given our current situation, I think we are past formalities, wouldn’t you say? Call me Vasili.’
‘My name is Helia,’ she replied in a soft voice.
For the first time since he’d been told his brother had died, Vasili wanted to genuinely smile. She was a little gauche, and he couldn’t help but find it endearing. She was a lamb in a den of wolves. A woman like her should never be shackled to a debaucher. Especially not one who held the throne in such contempt.
‘I would ask you how you are, but I imagine you have no good answer right now, and for that I must apologise.’
‘I appreciate that, Your—Vasili.’
Her skin was tinged red and Vasili had the mad impulse to run his fingers over it. Would she feel hot to the touch?
He took a steadying breath. Seeing Helia in front of him had brought home just what he had set in motion. ‘I realise I have placed us in a difficult situation, but I want you to know that you can be honest with me. In fact, I insist on it. And I will do the same. Understood?’
Helia nodded.
‘I need you to say the words, Helia.’
He saw the flash of her pupils dilating and he imagined a different circumstance when he might say those same words. Her name felt like a caress on his tongue.
‘I understand.’
‘Why are you agreeing to this madness? Surely you were given the choice to refuse me?’
Helia looked away. Wavy caramel curls fell over curved shoulders, and she avoided his gaze before she straightened, and looked him in the eye. At first Vasili had thought her meek. Timid. Now he could see there was fire in her. It shouldn’t tempt him as much as it did.
‘If I can make a difference to people as Queen, in any way, I would be a fool to say no. I may be a commoner, but I think that gives me a voice few ever get to use. I know better than most what it’s like to be forgotten.’
Vasili walked to the front of the large desk and perched on the edge, getting as close to Helia as he dared without touching her. ‘What do you mean?’
But she didn’t respond. He couldn’t blame her. He had asked for honesty, but not for her to bare her secrets. Even if she seemed attracted to him, she didn’t know him, and she had no reason to answer. So he respected her silent request for him not to push.
‘Helia, you are not being forced to accept this situation. If you feel there are needs not being met in our kingdom...if you feel that you need to be the voice of those without one...that’s fine. You can talk to me and I will listen. You don’t have to sacrifice your life for it. Regardless of what anyone says, you have a choice. You always have a choice.’
He hadn’t anticipated that things would reach this point, but he now realised that he had doubled down on his decision only because Andreas had caused him to snap. He’d reacted in the way he always did. By resisting.
Helia was trying desperately to banish the flight of butterflies in her stomach. Her heart was racing, as it had been since she’d walked into the office. Having worked at the palace for two years, she knew exactly how to behave in the presence of royalty, and she was certain she had always come across as polite and self-contained. Yet from the moment she’d walked into this room she had been overwhelmed by the new King’s presence.
It took a mammoth effort for her to focus on the words he had been saying. It seemed surreal that he was saying them, and speaking had become difficult.
‘I respect that,’ Helia said, trying to keep the wobble of nerves from her voice.
He had told her to be honest, but she didn’t know if her thoughts were too bold to say out loud.
‘Whatever is on your mind, you can say it, Helia.’
She wasn’t so sure about that...
‘You have agreed to be Queen,’ Vasili said with a small smirk. ‘How are you going to do that if you can’t talk to me?’
She had agreed, and now she wondered if that had been a terrible mistake. What was she thinking? She couldn’t be the King’s equal. But she couldn’t waste a chance to help the orphanage.
‘I will offer you a thought if you offer me one. Does that sound fair?’ he asked.
She nodded, still unsure and feeling completely out of her depth.
‘I’m wondering how you could agree to this. If you’re actually okay with the thought of being Queen...of being married to me. I see how tense you are and I think that you aren’t okay, and that this world I live in might be more cut-throat than you are prepared to handle.’
Helia hadn’t realised how perceptive he was. Of course she hadn’t. She had never been in his company long enough to notice anything. She hated it that he was probably right. She didn’t know how to deal with royal business, and that in particular scared her. As honourable as her intentions were, the worry that she might fail spectacularly as Queen still sat at the back of her mind.
Helia swallowed thickly. Vasili had spoken his thoughts—his doubts—and in doing so had shown her it was safe for her to express hers, even if it made her uncomfortable.
‘It seems to me that you do not wish to marry.’ Whether it was to marry her or marry in general, she didn’t know. She couldn’t blame him for not wanting her, she was entirely ordinary compared to him—the antithesis to the women he was normally seen with. ‘Surely you could choose not to. You are King and you are entitled to grieve.’
Vasili shook his head, a sombre look passing over his features. ‘If only that were true. It’s best you find out now that being a royal doesn’t leave you with much room for choice. This...’ he waved his hand between them ‘...will be the last big decision you get to make on your own. Everything you do from now on, everything you say, will be watched and dissected. Andreas and Carissa are only the start of it. I made a reckless pronouncement that affects you...how much time did you get before you were forced to make a decision? How much choice were you given?’
He was right. She hadn’t been given much choice or any time to digest what had happened. And once she’d agreed she had been almost immediately brought to the King. She was in a tailspin, fighting to gain control. But she had had no choices most of her life. She’d had to survive. And even though she was finally comfortable and thriving, she knew she could survive again.
‘Even as a commoner you don’t get many choices. You have to make do with what you’re dealt.’ She hoped she’d hidden the deep sorrow that lanced through her.
‘Don’t call yourself that. Andreas may have certain ideas about tradition and propriety, but I do not share them. There is nothing common about you.’
The vehemence in his words had Helia’s heart skipping a beat. He made her feel off balance, and she desperately wanted to believe that he thought her something special. It was beginning to dawn on her just how out of her depth she truly was. Wishing to share a moment with Vasili should have been the last thing on her mind—she should be singularly focussed on what it meant to be Queen. Who she was doing this for.
All that thought did was make her panic.
‘If you agree to this, Helia, it will not be an easy life.’
‘Life isn’t easy anyway.’
She bit her lip to stop herself saying more and his gaze flashed to her mouth, darkening. The atmosphere between them seemed to change. Become charged with something intoxicating. Her eyes darted to his lips, but quickly flicked up, meeting his. Heat flared within her.
‘No, it isn’t.’ Vasili’s voice came low and raspy. ‘I didn’t intend for you to get caught up in this battle. The decision I made was meant to do nothing more than—’
‘Shock?’ she offered, forgetting herself, lost in his golden-brown gaze.
Vasili’s lips twitched with a suppressed smile. ‘Yes. And just meant to earn me a reprieve.’
‘The next few weeks are going to be difficult,’ he warned, curling his fingers around the edge of the table to stop himself from reaching out to Helia.
‘I expect so. But I’m not backing out of this.’
It was barely above a whisper.
‘Why?’
She looked away, her fingers fidgeting, and for a moment he thought she wouldn’t answer.
‘A lot of people helped me. As Queen, I can be there for them and so many more. No one else cares about them, but I do.’
‘You will lose any semblance of a life. Your career. Is that what you want?’
She continued to stare down at her hands. He wanted to force her to look at him.
When she answered, her voice was strong. ‘No, it’s not. But we can only work with the cards we are dealt. May I ask you a question?’
‘Of course.’
‘You don’t want to get married...’
‘No, I don’t. I probably never will want that.’
‘Then what do you want?’
It was the question Vasili had wanted to hear all his life. It was sad that the only person to ask was someone with no power to change anything. Still, he’d promised her honesty, so he would answer.
‘To leave. The throne...this kingdom. All of it.’
‘Then why don’t you?’
‘Because, as much as I would love to abdicate, the well-being of the people rests on my shoulders. I would love nothing more than to cast it all away, but unfortunately I was born to a duty that I can’t escape.’
Vasili hated the defeat in his voice. Earlier he had wanted to climb on his bike and leave, but no matter where he went he knew the truth of the matter wouldn’t change. He had to be King.
‘So where does that leave us?’ Helia asked softly.
It left him with little choice. It left him with a kingdom to run and a marriage he didn’t want. His sole choice was either to marry the beautiful woman before him, or a royal that his staff approved of.
He realised he had taken too long to answer when Helia stood and with a glance back at him walked to the door.
Except he couldn’t let her walk out yet.
His steps ate up the distance between them, and just as she placed her hand on the door he flattened his palm against the wood, preventing her from opening it. Standing behind her, he could finally truly see what a delicate thing she was. Her head would comfortably tuck under his chin. But he left the smallest of spaces between their bodies.
He bent down slightly, his lips close to her ear. ‘Be sure you want to go through with this, Helia. The crown...this world... It is not made up of good people. It’s full of people like me.’
She turned around then, leaning back against the door. Her tempting body was almost underneath him. That fire was back in her eyes. Raging in full force and calling to him.
‘You are King now. The crown can be whatever you want it to be.’
Who was this bewitching creature?
Vasili ached to know more about her. He was filled with a curiosity he had never experienced before. He wanted to touch her. To run the backs of his fingers down her cheek. To brush his lips against hers. They were nothing to each other, but she had woven some sort of spell around him, because for the first time that day he could breathe. Helia had pushed away the forces suffocating him.
And so he had his answer. He would marry Helia over anyone Andreas chose. At least she would be his choice. But, given that he didn’t wish to marry at all, he still didn’t feel like it—which made him want to lash out. Except he couldn’t. So he simply withdrew into himself and stepped away from Helia, feeling the fight in him go out.
‘To answer your question, it leaves neither of us much of a choice.’
‘So we’ll marry,’ Helia said.
It wasn’t a question. Merely an agreement.
‘Yes. Your life as you knew it is over. I’m sorry.’