CHAPTER FOURTEEN ISI #3
“He’ll choose for me.” The words came out flat, but less hopeless than before. “Probably Crestin. He’s the most politically advantageous match.”
“We need to make sure it never comes to that,” Kerralyn said.
I nodded, the dread in my belly now mixed with a spark of defiance.
“I should go,” Lexie said, standing.
“Me too.” Kerralyn got up as well. “I was supposed to deliver your snack and return to my sink full of dishes. Probably two sinks now. They dirty a lot of dishes here.”
They headed to the door.
I followed, hugging them both.
“We can do this,” Lexie whispered.
Kerralyn nodded.
They left, and it was just Trew and me.
He checked the wards, strengthening them with fresh magic.
When he finished, he crossed to where I stood by the door and pulled me into his arms. “Now that Lexie has left, I can’t stay long.”
We couldn’t do anything that might draw my father’s attention.
“I can’t believe my father hurt Addie,” I said. “She was suffering while I—”
“Stop.” He tugged me close. “You didn’t know. You couldn’t have known.”
“I should’ve suspected.”
“How could you? I would’ve done the same thing.”
Tipping my head back, I looked up at him. “Would you?”
“Nothing would’ve held me back.” His lips curled up on one side before smoothing. “I would’ve done something that got me killed by now.”
“I’m so glad you didn’t.”
His lips quirked up before smoothing. “Honestly, me too.”
We stood there, holding each other. Outside, the castle settled into its regular routine. Servants moved through corridors. Guards changed shifts. Life continued as if the world wasn’t fracturing beneath our feet.
Finally, I stepped back. “Go. My ladies will return to help me dress for dinner soon. Not that I could eat much, but my father will expect me there, as will my suitors.”
His jaw tightened. “I’ll be there. Watching.”
“That might make it worse.”
“Probably.” His mouth quirked. “But I’ll be there anyway.”
I rose on my toes and kissed him.
He kissed me back with the same desperate heat, his hands tightening on my waist.
Pherin chirped a warning from the window, and I heard footsteps in the hall.
We broke apart, both breathing hard.
“We have to get this right,” I whispered, the words more for me than for him. “So many lives depend on it.”
His eyes, the only part of this person that were truly his, held a promise. “We’ll save them all, Isi, and then we’ll find your sister.”
He didn’t need to say he would make sure my father was no longer a threat. It was an unspoken vow between us.
A knock rang out on the suite’s outer door. Mae called out my name.
Trew’s jaw tightened. He gave me one last look before stepping away. Losing his touch left me cold. “I’ll be close by tonight.”
In a short time, I’d have to sit at the dinner table and smile at my father, the man who’d tortured my sister.
Trew strode to the door and was gone, the wards dissolving in his wake.
Mae poked her head in through the opening, her brow furrowed in a way that was so familiar it made my throat tighten. “Your Highness, are you ready to prepare for dinner?”
I forced a smile, the princess mask sliding back into place. “Yes, thank you. I think I rested enough.”
Her gaze swept over my tired eyes and tense shoulders, but she didn’t press. She’d given me her trust, and that meant not asking questions I couldn’t answer.
My ladies filed inside, their chatter filling the suite as they laid out a gown of deep emerald silk, its sleeves embroidered with silver thread that glittered like stars. It was a beautiful dress, one of my favorites, but tonight it felt like a costume for a role I despised.
As they laced me into the bodice, pulling it tight until it was difficult to take a full breath, my thoughts swirled.
I saw the west tower in my mind, a dark spike against the sky.
The few times I’d been there, it was empty, but the last time had to be at least twenty years ago.
I also saw Addie crying in pain, and my father’s serene, benevolent smile as he hurt her.
“I heard Lords Crestin and Finley arguing over the princess this afternoon,” one lady whispered as she pinned my hair. “Something about pushing our beloved princess to choose tonight. Finley said he’d insist you decide.”
Meeting Mae’s concerned gaze, I ground my teeth and pretended I was looking forward to the evening.
The jewels they placed around my neck lay like ice against my skin. The emerald and diamond earrings were weights, pulling me down. Each element of this performance was a lie.
Pherin swooped back through the open window, landing silently on the vanity table in front of me. She met my gaze, her tiny form radiating with fury that mirrored my own.
Rip apart, she said in my mind.
I cannot wait.
Once my ladies had finished, they stepped back, murmuring admiration. A princess stared back at me in the mirror, her hair artfully arranged, her gown perfect, her expression a careful blank slate. But her eyes weren’t those of a dutiful princess.
These were the eyes of a warrior who had a battle to fight.
A king to kill.
“I’m ready,” I said, my voice steady and cold.