Page 13

ALIX

“ A wedding?” I whisper loudly as I speed-walk down a long hallway beside Odessa, who is carrying Sushi in his basket. “A goddamn wedding? No, no , abso-fuckin-luely not.”

“Would you shut up,” she hisses. “We can’t talk about this here.”

I glare at her. I’m confused, frustrated, and worst and most embarrassing of all, I feel a strange sense of betrayal. Like Daemon owed it to me to tell me about this. “I just want to know what the fuck is going on!”

“Shhh,” Dessa says, almost desperately. “Belle doesn’t swear.”

I raise an eyebrow, momentarily distracted from what I’m upset about. “Um, yes, she does. Whose fault do you think it was when I called my kindergarten teacher a cun?—”

“Shh!” she interrupts again, glancing over her shoulder. “We’re almost there, just wait a minute!”

I didn’t faint in the throne room, but it was a near thing. I was quickly ushered outside into the entrance hall, where suddenly I could breathe normally again. Daemon didn’t say a word to me or even look at me once we were outside. He merely demanded that Odessa take me to my room.

I didn’t point out that the king had told him to escort me himself, but now I wish I had. I need answers now , and Dessa isn’t giving them to me fast enough for my panicked brain to understand.

She finally stops outside an unremarkable looking door and throws it open, practically shoving me into a bedroom.

It’s similar to the one at the Summer Palace, except instead of white and gold décor, this room is decorated in moody shades of red and purple. There are arched stained-glass windows on every wall which I’d imagine would be beautiful in the sunlight, but are now dark and hard to make out.

Odessa shuts the door and quickly darts around the room, opening the wardrobe and checking the bathroom and under the bed, like she’s expecting to find someone hiding. When she’s satisfied we’re alone, she lets out a long breath. “Alright. Say whatever the fuck you want.”

I almost smile, but then I remember that she’s undoubtedly part of this and the humor leaves me in a whoosh. “Did you know I’m expected to get married?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“I thought you knew.”

“No! I would never have agreed to this if I did.”

She grimaces. “Many women would be thrilled for a chance to marry a king.”

“Yeah, and many women haven’t been married before,” I snap. “I don’t want to go through that again so soon. Maybe ever! And anyway, if my grandmother didn’t want your king, then I have to assume she had a good reason. It’s not like my grandfather was such a prize.”

“Ca—”

“Do not tell me to calm down!”

I flush, feeling slightly bad for snapping at her the moment the words leave my mouth.

To cover my discomfort, I pick up Sushi’s basket from beside the door and stride over to the red velvet covered bed where I let him out. The cat looks at me reproachfully and I give him an apologetic scratch on the head. Then, I sit on the end of the bed and face Dessa, taking a deep calming breath. “Explain.”

She wrings her hands in her skirt. “I just don’t understand the miscommunication. How did you think the curse was broken? The king has to find true love.”

“Yeah…but I didn’t realize that meant marrying him.”

Odessa grimaces, looking apologetic and nervous at once. “I’m sorry. I really thought you knew.”

“I can’t do this, I—” I start to say I’m already married, but that doesn’t even feel like the point here. I don’t think the Fae would care about my human marriage certificate from another world. “I don’t even know him.”

“Neither did the others.”

My eyes widen. “Excuse me? What others?”

Odessa purses her lips and crosses the room and sits beside me on the bed. “You know…I mean, did you think the king let the curse go on for a hundred years without trying to do anything about it?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“He’s tried six other times to find the right woman to break the curse. Belle was the only one who left before they could be married. I assumed that’s why he wanted her back—perhaps she was the one who would have broken the curse, after all.”

“So what happened to the other wives?”

“He let them go back to their homes once it was clear the curse hadn’t broken.”

I blink at her. “If he was just fine letting them leave, wouldn’t that mean he didn’t love any of them in the first place?”

Odessa frowns. “That’s what I always thought too. Which is why it seemed to make sense that Belle is the right one, you know? She was the one who got away and obviously the king wanted her to come back. He gave her the necklace to stay young and everything.”

I pull the necklace out of my collar and inspect it. Even though I heard and accepted what Daemon said about it the other day, it still hasn’t fully sunk in that Nana could have stayed completely immortal if she’d wanted to.

“Oh God,” I blurt out, eyes wide. “If I wear this, will I stop aging? Wait, don’t answer that…I already know. I just hadn’t thought about it.”

We fall silent, Odessa watching me as I think.

In the book, Thorne and Rose get married, but I didn’t realize it was a requirement to break the curse. In a weird way, I feel bad for the king. It was hard to tell from only a few short minutes in front of a large audience, but the king didn’t seem like that bad of a guy. Maybe a little cold? But from the way Daemon and Odessa were talking about him, I was expecting a vicious beast, but King Thorne seemed no different than the character I grew up crushing on.

“Well, I’m not getting married,” I insist. “I promised Daemon I would stay for one month and at the end, he’d pay me and take me home. Nowhere in that conversation was marriage mentioned.”

Odessa bites her lip. “Maybe Daemon has a plan?”

“Oh yeah,” I blurt out. “That’s another thing. What the hell was Daemon doing in the throne room? He literally attacked that other soldier.”

“Yeah…we could hear it outside. I don’t know what he was thinking, but he’s always hated Foulo. Maybe that was all it was about.”

“Why would King Thorne want Daemon to be the one to keep Isabelle safe? He just got out of fucking prison .”

“Maybe because he owes Thorne for letting him out of Dyaspora and if the curse doesn’t break he’ll never get to enjoy his freedom. And I wouldn’t judge him for being sent to Dyaspora. You don’t understand.”

“Yeah, because no one has told me what happened. Why was he exiled?”

“You should really ask him about it. It’s not my story.”

I sigh, thinking back to my conversation with Daemon when I agreed to pretend to be Nana, and a sense of unease settles over me. He never said anything about saving the kingdom, just about his friends…

“Even if I was willing to get married, would it even matter? I know you guys think there’s a chance I can break the curse even if I’m not really my Nana, but I’m not sure that will work.”

“Neither are we, but there’s not a lot of good choices left. There’s only a month before all of Vernallis is lost forever. It won’t affect me, but everyone I know will just be gone.” Her voice turns sad, and her expression grows stricken as she talks.

“Explain to me again why it doesn’t affect you?” I ask, gnawing on my own lip.

“Because I was born in Hydratta,” she answers quickly. “That’s the kingdom to the south of Vernallis. Even though I spent nearly my entire life here, I’m technically not a Vernal citizen.”

“And that’s the same with Jett, Fox and Kastian?”

She nods. “I think so. I don’t know them any better than you do, but Kastian is definitely from Hydratta.”

“Do you know him or something?”

She shakes her head, her expression darkening. “Not really. We’ve met before, but clearly it wasn’t memorable since he didn’t even remember me. I mostly just know of his family. He’s—” She breaks off at the sound of a sudden loud knock on the door.

The door opens and another maid walks in, dressed in the same red and black uniform as Odessa and carrying an enormous purple box. She curtsies stiffly. “Afternoon, my lady. I was asked to bring you this.”

She holds up the box like she’s presenting a prize on a gameshow before setting it down on the dresser near the door.

“What is it?” I ask.

The maid just shakes her head. “I didn’t ask, ma’am.”

The maid retreats without another word and Odessa jumps off the bed, striding across the room. She opens the box and gasps.

“What is it?” I ask again, more urgently.

My mind is jumping to the worst possible options. Maggots…fruitcake…someone’s head.

“This is gorgeous,” Odessa exclaims, pulling out a glittering silver gown and holding it up to herself. “And there’s a note. It says, Supper is at 3 .”

I raise an eyebrow. “At three? Isn’t that a bit early.”

“3 in the morning,” Odessa clarifies. “You’ll get used to living in the dark. It’s not really that bad after a while…”

I grimace and bury my face in my hands. I highly fucking doubt that.

In a matter of hours, Odessa has cajoled me into taking a bath and putting on the silver gown. She does my hair and makeup, and by the time she’s finished, I barely recognize myself.

“Reason number 1075 why I would never go through with this wedding.” I glance at myself in the full-length mirror in the corner. “Once in a while is nice, but I could never dress like this every day.”

“But you look amazing,” Odessa squeals.

The gown is strapless with a corset-style bodice and a floor-length A-line skirt. The fabric is slightly metallic and shimmers every time I move. The whole look is giving prom more so than Met gala, but I have to admit I do look good.

Comfortable on the other hand? Not at all.

“Are you going to walk to dinner with me?” I ask. “I don’t know where I’m going, and I’m guessing ‘Belle’ would know.”

My perception of Belle and Nana is getting wider by the minute. I feel less like I’m pretending to be my grandmother and more like I’m cosplaying as Rose from A Kingdom of Thorns . Maybe that’s not so bad. If Nana based Rose on herself, my impression of her will hopefully be believable.

“Daemon will walk you to dinner,” Odessa says, interrupting my thoughts. Her brow wrinkles. “I’m surprised he’s not here already. The king said to guard you, and if he doesn’t, he’ll be in serious trouble.”

“What is he supposed to guard me from? Isn’t the castle safe?”

She shrugs. “The rest of the court, I assume. We all like to pretend the curse isn’t an issue, but it could be really dangerous for you.”

As if we summoned him, the door opens and Daemon walks in. He didn’t bother to knock, and I cross my arms over my chest. What if I’d been changing?

Actually, that probably wouldn’t have mattered at all—keeping up with the tradition of my never wearing clothes in his presence.

Daemon walks in with his head down, lost in thought. His expression is unreadable, his brow furrowed as if he’s turning something over in his mind. Then, after a moment, he looks up.

The second his eyes land on me, he freezes. His mouth parts slightly, and something flickers across his face—shock? Recognition? Hunger?

His gaze drags over me, slow and thorough, like he’s committing every detail to memory. It’s not just a glance; it’s an inspection, an unraveling. My skin prickles, heat blooming under his scrutiny, as though he’s stripping me bare without laying a single hand on me.

When his eyes finally meet mine again, I swallow hard, feeling trapped—pinned beneath the weight of something I don’t fully understand.

“That bad, huh?” I joke, trying to cover my anxiety.

He swallows and shakes his head roughly. “Are you ready?”

“I guess,” I mutter. “I’m assuming I don’t have a choice?”

He shakes his head again. “Better to get it over with now. If you can convince him you’re definitely Isabelle during this dinner, then he’s not likely to bring it up again.”

“Is he already suspicious?” I ask, panicked.

“No…I don’t think so.”

The way he says that doesn’t fill me with confidence, but there’s not really anything to do except follow him out into the hall. Daemon gestures for me to walk ahead of him and I pick up the hem of my dress so I don’t trip, like a princess in a movie.

“If he’s not suspicious, then why did you have to stay behind and talk to him? What did he want?”

“That’s not why I stayed behind,” he says shortly.

“Oh…then why?”

He keeps his eyes fixed firmly in front of him, as if he doesn’t want to look at me. “Maybe I just needed a minute to myself before committing to spending literally every second of the day with you for the next month? It looks like we’re about to get really familiar with each other, Peaches.”

“That sucks,” I blurt out.

He looks sideways at me and raises an eyebrow.

“I just mean that sucks for you. You probably weren’t expecting to ever have to see me again, then you think I’m Isabelle, and now you have to follow me around all the time. Woof.”

He stares at me for a shocked second, then turns away. “I guess you could put it like that.”

“I hope you realize this sucks for me too,” I continue, seeming unable to stop the nonsense spewing out of my mouth. “I don’t know much about one-night stand etiquette, but I’m positive this isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”

“Sorry,” he growls.

“You could make it up to me with some honesty.”

Daemon sets his jaw. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Were you going to tell me about the wedding?”

Daemon looks so uncomfortable you would think he was in pain. “Eventually.”

“So you intentionally didn’t mention it,” I accuse. “I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you just thought I knew, but please, feel free to share any other information you’ve kept from me.”

He keeps his eyes fixed on the long hall, seeming completely unwilling to so much as glance my way. “Nothing has changed in our agreement.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible.”

He huffs a sigh. “It’s not like a wedding to Thorne will be legally binding for you. You get married and then the curse becomes permanent anyway. Thorne won’t care if you leave once he’s consumed with the curse, believe me. I’ll tell Kastian to take you home.”

It’s not lost on me that he’s stopped pretending he’ll be the one to take me home. Now, he’s planning for Kastian to do it. Because he knows the curse will take over or is it something else?

“What if the curse breaks?”

He shakes his head. “Honestly, I doubt it will, but if it does, then I’ll think of something. We’ll fake your death, or you could just disappear.”

My head spins. He truly doesn’t seem to understand why this would matter to me. Or maybe he’s just not thinking it through? The actual wedding hardly matters. I’m mostly thinking about after. Is he expecting me to sleep with the king to keep up appearances?

Actually, forget after the wedding—are they expecting me to sleep with him over the next month? Yeah, no…that’s not what I signed up for.

Before I can voice that very disturbing thought, I nearly trip on my gown and Daemon finally looks sideways at me. I hold my gown above my ankles and practically jog to keep up with him. As if he just noticed he’s walking far too fast, he stops short in the middle of the hall.

I don’t expect him to stop, and my momentum carries me forward another step. I trip and nearly fall flat on my face, before a large hand snaps out and wraps around my upper arm, steadying me.

I look up at him, startled, then down at his fingers on my arm. It’s the most basic touch ever, and yet my heart speeds up in a way it definitely didn’t when King Thorne kissed me. My mouth goes dry, and my stomach flutters. Oh god, that can’t be good.

Daemon doesn’t drop his hand, instead stepping forward slightly into my personal space. “Look,” he says quietly. His tongue darts out, tracing over his bottom lip nervously. “I’m making this shit up as I go along just the same as you are. Nothing has changed.”

“What exactly happens at the end of the month if I don’t marry the king or the curse doesn’t break?” I say, very aware that while we’re alone in this hallway, someone could come upon us at any second. “You turn into animals, right?”

He drags a hand through his hair, looking slightly conflicted. “No, not exactly. Your book changed some things, and that was one of them.”

“Tell me the truth, then.”

“Let’s put it this way: the curse causes us to act like animals even if we keep our own faces.”

Act like animals? “Is that what’s supposedly so dangerous that I need a full-time bodyguard?”

As if just realizing he’s holding on to me, he drops his hand and steps back. He clears his throat. “Yes. And before you ask for details, just know that I’m hoping you never have to see what the curse really does to us.”

“Because you think I can really break the curse?”

“No, Peaches. Because you won’t be anywhere near us when it takes hold. Even if it’s the last thing I ever do—and it probably will be—I’ll make sure no one hurts you.”

My heart starts pounding again. “Why do you keep saying things like that?”

He blinks, obviously confused. “Assuring you that you’ll be safe?”

“No…”

I don’t know how to explain that the way he’s making these promises don’t exactly feel platonic. If a normal human guy said something like that to me, I’d assume a proposal was forthcoming or that he was a lunatic stalker, but that’s kind of a separate issue altogether. I guess, it’s just that his tone isn’t giving reluctant babysitter and bodyguard. It sounds like he cares.

I swallow thickly, already embarrassed before I even speak. “You keep saying things that sound like you…I don’t know…care about me?”

“I do,” he says flatly.

My heart picks up a beat, pounding against my chest.

“Without you, there’s no way to save my friends from Dyaspora. There’s not even a shred of a chance of breaking the curse. Of course I fucking care what happens to you.” He swallows thickly and takes another large step back. “You’re going to be late for dinner.”

My heart seems to stop, and when it starts again, it’s no longer thrumming with tension.

Again, I’m such an idiot. He’s made it clear what his agenda is, and I can’t seem to get it through my head that the guy from the bar and the Faerie soldier in front of me are two very different people. Everything changed when he realized who I was, and this isn’t building into some fairytale romance. I’m here to play fake fiancée to the king, and I need to stay focused on that, or the consequences could be deadly.

“I’ve just gotten word of the unfortunate accident on the train,” King Thorne says. “I’m sorry that your return to Ellender has already been so difficult.”

“Oh…that’s fine,” I say, even though it’s anything but fine.

The king and I are sitting on either end of a very long dining table in the center of an ornately decorated dining room. It looks as if the table is usually set for twelve people, if not more, but tonight, there are only two chairs on either end. The only other person in the room is Daemon, who leans against the wall, looking equal parts bored and annoyed to be stuck here watching us eat.

It’s the stupidest seating arrangement I’ve ever seen, but I don’t comment on it not wanting to blow my cover.

“How did you survive the crash?” the king asks.

“Oh…well…”

“Our car slowed down enough to jump off,” Daemon interrupts.

The King looks over at him, obviously annoyed. “I didn’t ask you. Be quiet.”

Daemon just shrugs, looking unapologetic.

“So tell me.” Thorne turns to me. “What have you been doing all this time we’ve been apart?”

I’ve actually prepared my answer.

There’s a part toward the end of A Kingdom of Thorns where Rose leaves Ellender because her father is dying. Granted, in the book, she returns and marries King Thorne. I’m hoping that this part is at least mostly true.

Maybe Nana left, but wanted to return, just like Rose.

Maybe the mining fire is the reason she could never go back, so she wrote the book about what might have happened?

If so, that’s incredibly sad and my heart pangs with guilt and sympathy thinking of Nana staying in Ironhill all these years, wishing she could return to Ellender.

“Well—” I begin.

“Does it matter what she was doing if she’s back now?” Daemon interrupts again.

Thorne looks furious and drops his fork with a loud clang. “The next time you interrupt, I’ll put your head through the fucking table.”

Daemon’s expression clearly says I’d like to see you try , but he just says, “I’m only answering your questions.”

“Don’t,” King Thorne snaps. “You are making it impossible to forget that you’re here.”

“If you don’t want me here, then why order me to be?” Daemon snaps back. “I’d happily be anywhere else. You’re the one insisting I watch her every fucking minute.”

My eyes go wide. How the hell is he getting away with talking like that to a king? Everyone else has implied that it’s important to be careful around the king. What is Daemon thinking?

To my shocked relief, King Thorne ignores Daemon and turns back to me. “Please continue.”

My mouth falls open, and I struggle for a moment to remember what I was saying.

“I couldn’t return,” I say when I’ve found my breath again. “The gate was blocked by a mine fire. I would have come back; I wanted to, of course, but I couldn’t. I stayed in the same town for sixty years, even after the fire drove everyone else away, hoping one day I could return.”

King Thorne’s eyes widen for a moment, then his expression turns blank. “And you wore the necklace the entire time?”

“Uh—” I think back to Nana wearing this locket throughout my childhood. At some point, she stopped wearing it, but I can’t recall when. “Yes, of course.”

He smiles broadly. “It must have been painful for you to be alone all these years with no family.”

I smile weakly. Even though Nana wasn’t alone all these years, and I’m living proof of that—the way he’s smiling thinking about it feels a little gross.

The smile he had for me in the throne room is gone. He’s looking at me like he’s admiring a very expensive car, and it’s uncomfortable. Not at all the look of a man in love. Then again, what the hell do I know about what a man looks like in love? I’ve certainly never been able to identify that look before.

I’m overthinking this.

But then again, he was married six fucking times since Nana left. I almost want to bring that up, if only to hear what he has to say, but I don’t want to get Odessa in trouble for telling me.

I’m trying to think of a way to point out his hypocrisy without blowing my cover when King Thorne changes the subject. “There’s not long before the wedding, but I think we should remind the court who you are before then. We’ll have a ball to celebrate your return and our renewed engagement.”

He says this like it’s already decided so once again I just nod. “Of course.”

“Perhaps two weeks from tonight,” he muses.

Again, I just nod. Maybe a ball will be fun? Like the thirtieth birthday party I would have had if money weren’t a problem and I had more than two friends who would go.

Hang on. What date is it? Is it possible that the ball will fall on my actual birthday?

I open my mouth to ask, but I’m startled by the sound of Thorne’s chair scraping across the stone. He drops his fork with a clang and stands abruptly.

“Oh—Are you finished?” I ask, startled.

“The sun is rising,” he says sharply, pointing toward the window.

I turn, and sure enough, it finally stopped raining. There’s the slightest hint of pink on the dark horizon.

Thorne turns to Daemon. “Take Isabelle back to her room.”

For once, he doesn’t argue. His face is tense as he quickly grabs my hand and ushers me out of the dining room, practically dragging me up the stairs.

“Did that go well?” I ask as we hurry along. “He’s a hard guy to read. I felt like I was in a never-ending job interview.”

“It went fine,” Daemon says sharply. His grip is tight on my hand and he keeps glancing behind us toward the windows.

“Are you sure?” I fret. “Because he didn’t seem all that…” Interested? Engaged? Excited to see the woman he apparently wants to marry after sixty years apart. “...happy.”

“Thorne is never happy. The only time he pretends to be is when he has an audience. But I don’t think he noticed anything. You did fine.”

“But…” I try again. “I mean, if it really went well wouldn’t he be like…I don’t know.”

Daemon stops in the middle of the hall and turns to me. “Spit it out, Peaches, we don’t have much time before the sun rises.”

I sigh with exasperation. “Okay, I’m just wondering why he’s making you be with me all the time instead of doing it himself?”

“Because he’s a king and he doesn’t do anything himself.”

“Yeah, but why are we in separate rooms?”

The corner of Daemon’s mouth turns down and his eyes narrow at me. “Are you trying to ask why he didn’t kick me out so he could fuck you?”

I feel my cheeks redden, but I don’t back down. “Yeah, pretty much.”

His fingers flex, like he wants to reach out and grab me. “Did you want that?”

“No! But you guys are telling me that I’m supposed to be marrying this guy and that we already know each other well. Isn’t it weird that he didn’t want to spend more time with his fiancée?”

Daemon curls his flexing fingers into a fist and stuffs it in his pocket as he turns away from me and continues walking down the corridor. His strides are forceful and somehow angrier than before. “The court is old-fashioned. He’s probably just trying to be respectful. I’ve never known Thorne to turn down a woman, though, so if you want to get fucked, you could probably just ask him.”

“Um, no. That’s not what I meant. I don’t want it, I just?—”

“You seemed fine with him kissing you,” he grumbles.

“Okay, fine. I can see you’re determined to be dense about this.”

Daemon’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t answer. Maybe he agrees with me and just refuses to admit that there might be a problem. Or maybe he’s just being an idiot. Either way, I’m sure this issue will come back up, and I’ll need to be ready to handle it when it does.

We reach my door, and Daemon stops, gesturing for me to go inside.

“What am I supposed to do now, just wait in my room?”

Again, his answer is clipped. “Yes.”

“But I’m not tired. I’d like to see the city in daylight, I?—”

“No!” he hisses, turning sharply to me as we arrive in front of my door. “You cannot leave your room for any reason until the sun sets again. Promise me.”

I reel back, alarmed by the urgency in his tone. “I promise?”

“Good. Lock your door and don’t open it for anyone. Not even me.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Are you planning on trying to come in?”

He shakes his head and steps back. “No, but I never truly know what the curse will make me do.”

A shiver travels up my spine. “Daemon, what does?—”

“There’s no time for talking. Go inside,” he snaps, nodding pointedly toward my door.

A tiny prickle of fear travels over me. Is that why the king thinks I need a constant bodyguard? But how is Daemon supposed to keep me safe if the curse affects him too?

Who’s supposed to protect me from him?