Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Darius
After Ari dragged Alice out of the throne room, I slipped my hat back on. The brim shadowed my face—good. No one needed to see what was underneath. Noblemen and courtiers swarmed around me.
Congratulating me.
Congratulating me for destroying the woman I loved?
What the fuck was wrong with these people?
I forced a smile, accepted their hollow praise, and died a little more inside with every handshake.
Alanna laughed and giggled beside me like a schoolgirl, soaking in every moment of her triumph. Her laughter was like a harpy’s nails dragging down my spine.
I forced myself to kiss Alanna’s cheek. “Would you excuse me, love?”
The word tasted like poison on my tongue.
“Of course.” She ran her palm down my cheek, possessive and triumphant. “Hurry back, my betrothed.”
Betrothed. My stomach turned.
I wove between the congratulators—smiling faces, empty words, hands reaching out to shake mine. I nodded. Smiled. Played my part.
All while Alice's voice echoed in my skull. Darius, no! You love me, not her! She'd screamed it for the whole court to hear—laid her heart bare—and I'd crushed it anyway. My hands shook. I gripped my goblet tighter to hide it.
I made my way to the bar and gripped the edge of the counter. The bartender looked at me expectantly.
“Do you have something besides Queen’s Blush?” I needed something stronger. Something that might actually numb the self-loathing clawing at my chest.
The bartender pulled out a dark ornate bottle covered with chains. “How about some Black Smoke?”
“Pour me a glass.”
The bartender hesitated. “Sir, this is usually just a shot. It’s too powerful for—“
“I said pour me a glass.”
He stared at me for a moment, then shrugged. “Your funeral.”
He poured the dark amber liquid into a tumbler. I grabbed it before he even finished and downed half of it in one swallow.
It burned like liquid fire, scorching a path down my throat and settling in my gut like molten lead.
Good. Maybe it would burn away the image of Alice’s shattered face.
“Give me another.”
“Sir, I’m not sure that’s—”
I grabbed his shirt and yanked him halfway over the counter, our faces inches apart. “I said another.”
His eyes went wide. He nodded quickly, hands trembling as I released him. The bottle clinked against the glass as he poured.
“Darius, love? What are you doing?”
My shoulders tensed. I downed the rest of the glass before turning, a smile plastered on my face. I held up my empty glass. “Celebrating our new beginning.”
Her gaze focused on the bottle of Black Smoke. She sauntered over to me, her hips swaying, her eyes glittering with something possessive.
“Drinking the hard stuff?” She plucked the glass from my hand. “That will put you in a stupor. And I want you to remember everything tonight.”
The implication in her voice made my skin crawl.
There was no way I could sleep with this woman.
The only woman I wanted was in the dungeon—broken because of me.
The thought was a knife to the chest. I'd done this to her.
Shattered her in front of the entire court.
And now she was alone in the dark, believing every lie I'd told.
She stretched out her hand. “Let’s dance.”
I stared at her fingers—elegant, deadly—and forced myself to take them.
I led her to the middle of the floor. The musicians struck up a waltz immediately, as if they’d been waiting for her command. Because of course they had.
I twirled Alanna around, her black-and-crimson gown fanning out like blood on water. Other couples soon joined us, spinning and laughing, oblivious.
But all I could see was Alice’s face. The tears streaming down her cheeks. The way her shoulders had crumpled. The light dying in her eyes as my words destroyed her.
I was dancing with a monster while the woman I loved rotted in chains below us.
And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
Every time the musicians stopped, I edged away from Alanna and snuck another glass of Black Smoke. Then another. And another.
My vision grew blurry. The room tilted. I stepped on Alanna’s toes mid-waltz.
“Darius, you’re drunk.”
“Drunk with happiness,” I slurred, forcing a sloppy grin.
She studied me for a moment, her eyes narrowing. Then her expression softened—not with love, but with calculation.
“I think you need to go to bed.” She snapped her fingers at the guards.
My bed. Not hers.
Thank god for small mercies.
The guards escorted me out of the throne room. The double doors swung shut behind me, muffling the music and laughter.
The last thing I remembered was stumbling down the hallway, Alice’s shattered face swimming in my mind.
Then nothing but darkness.
I woke to a splitting headache and a mouth as dry as sand. I was still in my clothes from the night before. My hat lay on the pillow next to me.
“That wasn’t very nice, getting drunk at our engagement party.”
Alanna stood in the doorway wearing a white nightgown, her dark hair tumbling over her shoulders. She looked almost innocent. Almost.
Her engagement party. Not mine. I was just the prize she’d finally captured.
“You need to get dressed.”
I groaned and pressed my palm against my throbbing skull. “Why?”
“Because we need to have breakfast together.” She crossed her arms. “You’re my betrothed, Darius. You need to be at all my functions.”
Functions. Like I was some accessory to be paraded around.
Which, I supposed, I was now. But to be honest, I’d rather be in the dungeon with Alice.
“Get up now, Darius.”
I threw my arm over my eyes, blocking out the light stabbing through the windows. “I’m fucking hungover, Alanna. Give me a fucking break.”
Silence. The kind that made the hairs on my neck stand up.
I lowered my arm. She stood rigid, her eyes narrowed to slits, her jaw tight.
“You will do as I say. Or I’ll pay a visit to your little witch.”
My blood froze. I shot upright, ignoring the way the room spun.
“You bitch,” I snarled.
Wrong move.
She stomped over to the bed and snagged me by the hair, yanking my head back. Pain shot through my scalp. Her face hovered inches from mine, her breath hot against my skin.
“Don’t.” Her grip tightened. “Ever.” She twisted harder. “Talk to me like that again.”
Her eyes were wild. Unhinged. This wasn’t the calculating queen I’d seen in court. This was something else. Something unstable.
I forced myself to stay still. To swallow my rage.
Because Alice was in the dungeon. And Alanna held all the cards.
“You’ve got ten minutes, Darius.” Alanna clenched her fists and stormed to the door. She slammed it shut behind her.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I rolled out of bed and forced myself to sit up. Pain slammed into my skull. My head felt like it would explode.
Good. I deserved worse.
I dragged myself to the bathroom. I was a fucking mess. Eyes bloodshot. Hair tangled and wild.
I splashed water on my face then brushed my teeth, trying to scrub the awful taste out of my mouth.
Somehow I managed to meet Alanna’s timeline. I escorted her to breakfast where all her minions fawned over her. Over us.
The spread was elaborate—every kind of egg dish, potatoes, croissants, fresh fruits glistening with dew. Magnificent. Fit for a queen.
But all I wanted was another bottle of Black Smoke.
My thoughts kept drifting to Alice. What was she eating? Stale bread? Dirty water? Was she given any breakfast at all?
While I sat here surrounded by luxury, she was rotting in the dungeon. Because of me.
I'd thought about rescuing her. A thousand times. But Alanna had guards everywhere. Eyes in every shadow. If I tried to free Alice and failed, she'd pay the price. Not me. Her.
Alanna tapped a spoon against her porcelain coffee cup. The chatter died instantly.
“I have some more news.” Her eyes sparkled with triumph. “Darius and I simply can’t wait, so we’ve decided to move things along.”
She clasped my hand—her grip like a vice—and smiled at the crowd.
“The wedding will be tonight.”
Tonight.
My heart clenched but not with fear. With something almost like relief.
Tonight I would belong to Alanna forever. But tonight Alice would be free. Grump would get her out of this dimension. She’d go back to Earth, away from this nightmare. Away from Alanna.
Away from me.
She’d hate me. She’d spend the rest of her life believing I’d betrayed her. But she’d be alive. Safe. Free from nightmares.
That was worth everything. Even this.