Page 2

CHAPTER 2

L etting the guard lead the way, I followed him over to where my father stood beside the stage at the front of the room. As soon as I was delivered, the guard bowed and took his leave.

“You requested me?” I questioned, stopping directly in front of my father. His salt and pepper hair didn’t have a single strand out of place, his face freshly shaven. The crinkles around his hazel eyes seemed deeper tonight, like he was stressed about something. Then again, my father was always tense.

“I did,” he answered bluntly, his words clipped as he faced the stage and fixed his deep red suit jacket with stiff, pale fingers. “Remember, Auria,” he started, his words low but still firm. “Behave, or your privileges are taken away.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself in line. Of course he wasn’t going to tell me why he’d requested me. But before I could ponder further, he began stepping up onto the stage, and I had no choice but to follow.

I stopped beside him in the center. One of his hands was clasped around the goblet he held, the other holding the mask he’d now taken off. I, on the other hand, had nothing to hold on to, and found my fingers itching with nerves. I clasped them in front of me, keeping myself still as I noticed my stepmother, Heidi, stepping up on the opposite side of the stage. Her brown eyes were dark, laced with malice as she kept them trained on me while she sidled up next to my father. Her blonde hair was piled atop her head, showing off her long neck and deep garnet dress. I forced my gaze forward, not wanting to feel her judgment up here. I could deal with her chastisement over sneaking a glass of wine later.

“Thank you all for coming tonight.” My father’s voice boomed over the chattering crowd in an attempt to quiet them. Instantly, they ceased their conversations and dancing, the music cutting off to give the king their full attention. “If I can steal a moment of your time. I promise to let you all get back to drinking and dancing in just a moment.” He paused. “My family and I greatly appreciate you all joining us tonight,” he continued, not sparing a glance my way.

I pressed my lips together, pasting on an obedient act. I didn’t want to be up here. I’d prefer to find another forgotten glass of wine and down it like the last. My eyes moved on their own accord, searching the room for Taylin. But instead of finding her, my gaze landed on the man whose goblet I’d borrowed. I noticed he now held a new cup in his grasp, but rather than the playful posture he held before, he was stiff as a board, his mouth a tight line.

“While it wasn’t on the invitation, we do have something to celebrate, if that makes you all feel better about getting through such a long evening.” Chuckles floated through the crowd. Meanwhile, I stood by, impatient and slightly irritated that yet again, I was left in the dark.

My father held his goblet in the air, his other hand ghosting over my back. “Please, if everyone would raise your glass to congratulate my beautiful daughter, Auria Tenere, on her engagement to Lander Bular.”

I nearly stumbled, my heart stalling in my chest right along with the air in my lungs.

Engagement?

Glasses rose in the air as cheers and claps sounded, but I barely heard a thing as everything became muffled. I stood frozen, the glint off my father’s garnet mask in his hand blurring in my vision. My ears began ringing like they wanted to repeat the last few seconds and hear what he said again to be sure it was right.

Every eye in the room was on me, causing my cheeks to heat with…not embarrassment of the attention, but humiliation. He’d set me up. Gave my hand to a stranger and announced it in a room full of royals.

I was beginning to like this mask, aside from its rough material that beat down on my skin and made my cheeks feel like an inferno, for it hid some of me from the immense number of people in this room all finding out about my supposed engagement at the same fucking time I did.

For gods’ sake.

I didn’t even bother to smile, despite knowing I’d hear about that later, but did he expect me to be happy? Though, I shouldn’t even question that. Of course he did.

My father made the decisions, and we were all meant to bow down and go along with them. Especially me.

I didn’t even know what Lander looked like. Shouldn’t he be up here with me if we were to supposedly be married? This was as much his announcement as it apparently was mine.

A hand at my back pulled me from my thoughts as my father led me off stage. The chatter in the room picked back up, people smiling as the music began again. Rather than an elegant tune, it was a fast-paced one. As if this was something to celebrate.

“King Tenere,” King Bular greeted, stopping us at the bottom of the stairs. His greying hair matched the shade of his short beard, showing off his age. His finely pressed suit was an array of his kingdom’s colors—muted greens mixed with deep emerald stitching—sitting flawlessly atop his sunburnt skin.

I noted Heidi stopping on the opposite side of my father.

“King Bular,” my father gritted back. “Still no sign of your son?”

“No,” Tonson admitted, not bothering to turn to the crowd, like he knew his son wouldn’t have shown up since last time he had checked. “He has a horrible habit of tardiness.”

“Tardiness or plain disobedience?” my father questioned.

Tonson’s lips flattened for a split second before he changed the subject, but I didn’t hear a word either of them uttered, as all I could focus on was my spinning thoughts of needing to get out of here. I wasn’t staying until this ball was over—not tonight.

My father had done a lot of things to me in my life, but an engagement without consulting me beforehand was outrageous. Married ? To a Bular? I’d hardly spoken to the king and queen, let alone their sons. My father never let me around the other monarchs’ children, as he was overly protective. So protective that even he rarely left the castle himself, for fear of leaving me alone. At least, that’s what I assumed. How could my father go from strictly forbidding I speak to any man, to suddenly marrying me off to one? And from the sounds of it, he didn’t like Lander’s behavior to begin with.

“Lady Auria, forgive me,” Tonson said, pulling my focus back to the present. He was angled toward me, hands clasped together. “Congratulations on your engagement to my son.”

Gods, this sounded so wrong. This whole evening was wrong. But I dipped my chin anyway. “Thank you, King Bular, but if you’ll excuse me, I really need to take care of some personal matters.”

Pretending that I had to relieve myself probably wasn’t the brightest excuse, given the glare my father sent me. I didn’t care to see what Heidi’s reaction was to my abrupt dismissal. I didn’t give a fuck about any of this. I needed air.

I didn’t stick around to hear Tonson’s response as I slipped away, not bothering to look for Taylin. There was no question she was just as shocked as I was. We told each other everything, so if she knew, I’d know. It was a surprise to the both of us.

The guests had gone right back to mingling, as if the announcement hadn’t even happened, and I was thankful their penetrating stares were no longer trained on my face.

I set my sights on the nearest exit. The balcony door. There weren’t many places I could go from the terrace, but it’d get me out of this stifling room and give me the opportunity to tear this godsforsaken mask off my face.

If only I could unlace this suffocating corset, too.

My escape plan started to lose its promise of reprieve all too soon as people attempted to speak to me on my way out. I ignored every congratulations, despite hands grazing my arms and fingers bushing my skin in an attempt to stop me. I didn’t want their attention. I didn’t even want to be engaged . There had to be some kind of ploy behind all of this, but there was no use in trying to find a way out of it. What’s done was done, and I’d have to live with that.

With Lander being from Torbernite, I had to guess that this was to bring some sort of twisted peace between our kingdoms. Trade had been rocky the past few years, and I’d often overheard my father’s meetings about how things weren’t looking good.

Yet he can turn around and throw a fucking party.

As soon as I was through the door, the cool night air offered a welcome bite to my heated skin. Letting it shut behind me, I crossed to the edge of the deck while simultaneously ripping the mask off. I looked over the amber glow from the city with it clutched in my hand.

The castle wasn’t far from Silicate, the distance allowing the common eye a beautiful view of the bustling city. The light spilling from hundreds of lanterns, the stone buildings, the cobbled streets, it was supposed to be beautiful, a palace of sorts. But to me, it was just that—a collection of man-made structures set upon a once-beautiful landscape. Taylin had told me stories of the city, of the shops and markets and diverse citizens. I wanted to adore it, to find the same hope many did in a place such as Silicate. But my life would never take me there. It simply wasn’t meant to be, and I’d come to accept the fact long ago.

Though, if I could give in to my dreams for just one moment, they wouldn’t place me here in this castle. I was provided safety and a home, but that was as far as my thankfulness went for this place.

“Not celebrating with the rest?” a deep, husky voice spoke up from behind me.

Catching a gasp in my restricted chest, I whirled around.

I hadn’t even seen the man standing there when I came out here, being far too distracted with my irritation. But as my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized with too much certainty that it was the same man whose wine I’d stolen.

Thank gods it was only him. I didn’t have the energy to deal with anyone else tonight.

His back was to the building as he leaned against it, legs crossed at the ankles with arms folded over his broad chest. His mask was still tied around his head, making it difficult to figure out exactly who he was, even with the dim silver light cast from the rings in the sky. For some reason, despite feeling so exposed moments ago, the thought of wanting my own mask back on my face didn’t seem appealing to me.

“Celebrating can wait,” I snipped, trying to calm my racing heart. I wasn’t particularly happy about the news sprung on me this evening, but I especially didn’t need to be told what I should be doing. Nor did I need judgment for it. No one was privy to the fact that I was not aware of this engagement, aside from Taylin, and if I had to guess, my father would want me to keep that a secret, too. To keep up the act in front of this stranger, I couldn’t let on to that.

I had a feeling a lot of acting on behalf of this engagement was to come.

“Already done enough of it?” he asked, and I hated how he stood there like there wasn’t a party going on behind him. Like we were just two strangers talking, and my world hadn’t been upended right before my eyes moments ago. Like him standing out here, with his dark, messy hair and bulging muscles under the jacket he wore was simply casual. Despite that, he had a bite to his tone, as if he’d conjured up his own idea of me in a matter of seconds and disliked me for it, whether it be the truth or not. That, and it was so different than how he’d spoken to me inside. What changed?

“Hardly.” I tried to keep the irritation out of my tone, but seemingly failed.

The man quirked a brow. “Are you not happy with your betrothed, Princess ?”

My eyes narrowed at his use of the nickname and the way he said the word like it was venom on his tongue. Was that what changed his attitude toward me? Seeing me beside the king? “I’m no princess.”

He smirked at my neglect to answer his question. I was already annoyed, and his childish little nickname got under my skin all too easily. “Are you not the daughter of a king?”

“That means nothing.”

Malice lit his eyes, along with a hint of humor, as if he thought my response was funny. “Oh, it means everything .”

Ignoring his jab, I turned back to the scenery, setting my hands on the cold railing as I worked to take in one full fucking breath. If I could, I’d fire my maid for tying this damn corset so tight. Not only was my life dictated by this entire fucking kingdom, but now my breathing was, too.

“Trouble, Princess?” he asked, but the way he said it made it seem like he wished I was having some sort of problem, only so he could let me suffer from it.

My eyes squeezed shut as my chest was somehow strangled even tighter. How was it possible this godsforsaken garment could be any more restricting? “No.”

Seconds later, he was beside me, but I ignored him as he faced me. I wouldn’t let him continue to play with my head. Gods, how could he have been so flirtatious inside, then completely flip around and be so blatantly rude? Was everyone out to ruin my night?

“Your cheeks are red,” he stated.

“And the stars are bright,” I bit back.

“You look like you need some help. Can’t do much on your own, I assume,” he said blandly.

“As if I’d let a stranger touch my bodice.”

He crooked a brow. “I meant grabbing you some water, but if it’s your corset that’s bothering you, I can be of use as well. Although, touching a Tenere is the last thing I want to get my hands dirty with tonight.”

I paid his comment no mind, reaching up to tie the mask back around my head. I loosed a breath when my finger caught in my braid, but finally resecured the mask. Hiding sounded much more appealing now. Adjusting it over my eyes, I faced him, forcing in another deep inhale.

“My betrothed can do that for me.” Even the word tasted bad on my tongue.

He gave a slow nod as a small smirk pulled at his mouth. “You sure about that?”

“What makes you think I wouldn’t be?”

He jerked his head in the direction of the door. “Didn’t seem like you were very pleased with the announcement, is all, Princess.”

I tried my best to seem confident as I asked, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Behind the mask, his blue eyes were hooded by narrowed eyelids. “I don’t like liars.”

“It’s a good thing I’m not marrying you, then, isn’t it?” I spit back as forcefully as I could with still no breath in my lungs. If only he knew just how manipulative my father was with his half-truths, then this man wouldn’t think so poorly of me.

He chuckled. Fucking chuckled . “The prince has his hands full with this one.”

My jaw nearly dropped, but I held it in place. “I didn’t ask you to like me.” I tried to regain my composure with the statement, needing to back off from this, but realized it was just confirming that I’d lied about being happy with the engagement. “You’re the one who’s on my terrace anyhow.”

Gods, I needed to shut up.

He took a step forward until we were practically chest to chest. Suddenly, I was thankful for the tightness of the corset, because if it weren’t for the dress, my breasts would’ve brushed his body with every inhale I struggled to take.

He leaned into my space, but I refused to back away. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“Don’t waste your breath, Princess. Everyone else may fall for the act, but not me.” His tone dripped with malevolence.

Despite my body telling me to cower, I refused. I tipped my chin higher, inching closer. “You were much nicer in the ballroom. Perhaps you need a bit more alcohol in your system to lighten up that scowl of yours.”

He cocked his head. “If a certain thief hadn’t stolen mine, I could have made your wishes come true.”

My jaw dropped, unable to help itself this time. “A thief?”

His eyes darted down to my parted lips, then back up to my eyes, pinning me with twin sapphires. “A princess who steals. Would you look at that?” He hummed. “Not very well-behaved, are you?”

I hesitated, and I fucking hated that I did, because hesitation showed weakness, and I was not weak. He sounded exactly like my fucking father, and I wouldn’t let yet another man make me feel this way. Turning on my heel, I strode for the doors, trying my best not to show that he had riled me.

“Enjoy your engagement party,” the man called after me, causing my blood to boil. He shouldn’t have this godsdamned effect on me, getting under my skin so easily. I was falling into whatever trap he had laid by letting him frustrate me further, just like he presumably wanted.

I hesitated with the door cracked, my hand gripped on the brass handle. “You, too,” I replied with the sweetest tone I could muster, and with a glance back, I caught his lips pursing together, giving the slightest indication that he, indeed, would not be enjoying it.

Maybe parties weren’t his thing either.

I left the man standing there, heading back inside to the last place I wanted to be tonight.