Chapter Twenty-Three #2
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I shouldn’t even be in a room with this man.
He would be easy enough to evade if I wanted to escape, but I wasn’t willing to risk losing the chance to kill his father.
Even if I was, the three of us would be hunted down, never to walk freely in public again without a disguise.
Nor could I forget the consequences should I fail to complete my end of the bargain with the Enchantress.
If I wanted this to work in my favor, I was going to have to tell him the truth, but admitting to him I had come to the Paravellian Balls to murder his father wouldn’t help my case.
Make sure any lie is always mixed with truth.
The headmistress’s voice echoed in my head.
I inhaled slowly in an attempt to ease my nerves and regain control.
“Who are you working for?” Valeris demanded.
“I’m not working for anyone,” I said.
His eyes narrowed. “Everyone works for someone. Don’t spew more lies. They won’t get you anywhere.”
“Someone has to be in charge, do they not?”
He frowned.
I lifted my chin, staring him straight in the eyes.
“You’re right. I did lie to you, and I am guilty of everything you have accused me of.
I lied to you about why I came to Paravellia.
It wasn’t to represent Allowyn.” I paused, making sure I held his full attention, all too aware of how this conversation could end.
“I came to the Paravellian Balls to kill someone.”
I had planned this for years, but stating it so bluntly sent a sinister chill through my limbs.
Valeris’s face betrayed no emotion. “Who?”
“I don’t know who, exactly, but I know which kingdom they’re from.”
His eyebrows rose. “You came here to kill someone, but you don’t know who it is.” A muscle feathered in his jaw. “Why?”
I drew in a slow breath, deliberating over what to say. “Because he murdered my family.”
My skin crawled at the quiet of the room as he said nothing. His bodyguard shifted on his feet. Valeris crossed his arms. “I’m going to need you to elaborate on that for me.”
I pulled from my past, drawing together names, weaving together both Nadiyah’s past and my own, trying to make my lies as convincing as possible.
My life depended on it.
“After the last Paravellian Balls, one of the ambassadors our kingdom made an alliance with went back on his word. He tracked us down and killed my family, tried to kill me, but my brother and I escaped. I watched my house burn to the ground with my slaughtered family inside it. All their lives erased in minutes by the flames, disappearing like the smoke. That night, I vowed to avenge their deaths, and I’ve been waiting five years to attend the Paravellian Balls again. To find him. And to kill him.”
Valeris’s mouth twitched. “You attended the last Paravellian Balls?”
“Briefly, not as much as I would have liked, but my parents thought I was too young. That’s why I don’t know who he is—because I never met him. All I know is my parents knew who it was that came to destroy us that night.”
“You think my uncle is this man?”
I shook my head. “No. I swear, we weren’t going to hurt him, we just wanted to question him. We were told he might have information on who killed my family.”
Valeris cocked his head. “That’s quite a tale you’ve told.”
He leaned forward, hands braced back on the windowsill, voice lowered as if we were sharing a secret, his intense green eyes fixed on mine. “But why am I supposed to believe any of it is true?”
Either he didn’t believe me, or he sensed the truth but was calling my bluff. I remained calm, keeping my body language and voice steady.
I shrugged. “You don’t have to believe it, but why would I continue to lie to you?”
“Is your brother head of the court in Allowyn, or was that a lie as well?”
“That part is true,” I lied.
“But that was him running away with your friend, which means you also lied about coming here alone. It’s hard to believe someone who struggles to speak the truth. What’s your friend’s purpose in all of this? The one who tried to poison my uncle?”
I pursed my lips. “Her reasons are her own. If you want to know you can ask her yourself. My brother is in love with her, which is why he wasn’t willing to let her rot in a prison cell.”
“Ahh, young love.” Valeris grabbed a chair, spinning it so the back was facing me as he sat down. He interlaced his hands on top of the chair, examining me. I struggled to not squirm beneath his scrutiny.
“Assuming everything you told me is true, what am I supposed to do about it? Am I supposed to let you go?”
His question haunted the air like an unresolved seventh note, leaving uncertainty behind. Even if he believed me, why would he release me? He had no reason to. It offered him no benefit. I had banked on him believing my story, but I was at his mercy now.
He smiled as if reaching a decision. “I’m going to offer you a deal.”
I didn’t like deals. And I especially didn’t like the look on his face.
“I won’t mention this indiscretion to anyone,” he said. “Your poisoning friend is free to reenter the balls as long as she swears to never tamper with another’s drink again and is aware she will be under constant observation from the guards.”
I blinked, a shallow breath slipping out.
He had to be bluffing.
“Your uncle will never go along with that,” I said.
He shot me a questioning look. “I’m sorry, do you think you know my uncle better than I do?”
I kept my mouth shut.
“As I was saying.” He studied me. “I would rather seek a higher authority to throw you out, but I will allow you to remain a guest for the final three balls. I want something in return first.”
I didn’t move, fearing the prince’s sinister mind and what might come out of his mouth next.
Moonlight cascaded across his dark auburn hair, his striking features possessing the ability to draw the attention of any woman, but beauty had a way of masking the true ugliness underneath. My lips pursed into a thin line.
“You’re resourceful,” he continued. “You have great skills of persuasion. In exchange for your freedom, you are going to work for me, spying on who I ask and uncovering what information I desire.”
That was not what I had expected.
“Mistrust must run in the family,” I said. “The other night your brother offered to pay me double whatever you were paying.”
“Then he would be paying you nothing. Exactly as I’m paying you nothing.
My payment is your freedom. Step out of line, try to double-cross me, fail to deliver on your end of the bargain, and I’ll send you and your friends straight to a prison cell.
Even if you manage to escape, it wouldn’t bring you any comfort—because I’d make you the most wanted fugitives in the twelve kingdoms.”
Warning hung in his eyes and voice.
I didn’t doubt him.
Accepting this went against everything in me—but he’d left me without a choice. Not if I wanted to assassinate his father. And not if I wanted to keep from being enslaved to the Enchantress.
“When will my contract end?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Let’s say through the end of the seventh ball, the finale. Once it’s over, I want you out of Paravellia—and you are to never set foot in it again.”
Once I did what I came here to do, setting foot in his kingdom would be the last thing I would ever attempt to do. Analleia the King Killer they would call me.
“Fine,” I said, smirking. “I’ll make the bargain, but not before you give me your word.”
He stared me down, no doubt trying to figure out what was going through my head, before extending his right hand out to me. Not once did his expression waver or his eyes leave mine.
“On my word.” He took my hand in his, giving it a firm shake. “And on yours.”
Sealing a vow with a handshake was considered sacred to some. To break it was to bring eternal damnation upon yourself.
“On my word,” I repeated, releasing the warmth of his calloused hand.
He stood, stretching out his legs before walking to where his bodyguard waited for him at the door.
I watched him, confused. “What is it you want me to do?”
He turned, halfway over the threshold. “I’ll be in touch. You’re free to go—for now.”
The door slammed, the sound echoing throughout the room before fading into silence.