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She should have left. After all, she had failed her job so spectacularly that it was comical.

Yet she was still here.

The sound of her footsteps crushing the roses beneath her feet caused an unexpected smile to spread across my lips. They weren’t the light, careful footsteps of someone trained to kill. They were heavy-booted footfalls that cared nothing for the plants she was stepping on.

The plants my father adored so much.

“Destroying the wildlife, are we now?” I asked, turning to the intruder.

She stood tall in her all-black uniform, her hands in her pockets, and a contemplative look on her face. The dimming sun hit her face in a way that caused her various scars to shine in the light and her hair to glow.

She is too beautiful for this world.

It was hard not to get distracted by her. Especially when my brain was begging to forget about what was happening to me.

Her honey eyes passed over my face, actually looking at me.

It had been so long since someone had trulyseenme the way she seemed to. I used to hate what the little mouse hid behind those eyes of hers. Dangerous thoughts, no doubt, but in that moment I would have paid anything to hear even just a snippet of what she was thinking.

Her gaze held mine for only a moment longer before she looked down, rubbing her booted foot on the ground harder.

Light wind wafted through the garden and caused her hair to get blown onto her face. The urge to run my hands through it—maybe even grab a handful and force her to bare her neck to me—was strong.

“The temptation of damaging daddy’s extravagant show of wealth was too great,” she said, dragging her feet as she neared the fountain. Each flower that was destroyed under her booted foot felt like a little bit of a gift, each of them helping put a piece of myself back.

But she didn’t sit. Instead, she lingered by my side. Her leg brushed across mine.

The action sent an odd jolt of electricity through me. It was such a simple move. Could even be called an accident.

But it felt much more meaningful than even the night we spent together, where her touch had been burned into my skin.

“Did I stay out here too long?” I asked, tilting my head, trying to recall just how long I had been sitting out there. I knew it had been hours, but how many?

Had Father or the prince finally decided to put an end to my freedom?

Her eyes met mine again before she looked at the fountain.

“It isn’tthatbad,” she said, her eyes roaming over each crack in the tile. “Well, it’s not great, but it shouldn’t take long for someone to clean and repair it. I’m sure one of your staff could get it done in about a week.”

What?Nothing about Father or the prince? Not even any questions about our meeting with Atlas?

She wants to talk about the fucking fountain?

I let out a scoff and looked away from it as a heaviness settled in my chest. I couldn’t fight the vulnerable feeling. I should have handled it long ago, but for some reason…I never did.

Why didn’t I?

No use now…

“Did you forget?” I asked with a bitter laugh. “I’m gettingmarriedtomorrow.”

I don’t know what I expected her to say, but her silence was like a stab in the chest. Somehow, I managed to still have the tiniest bit of hope that she had changed her mind about murdering my father.

But the silence weighed on.

Fuck, say something, why don’t you?

The rage was returning, but instead of the tidal wave of power it once felt like, it was more like desperation clawing at my throat. It made me want to scream. It made me want to stomp my feet.