Page 4

CHAPTER 4

I put on a simple red dress that fell to my ankles as I got ready to see Taylin. I’d woken up only minutes ago, but with the questions and theories that had popped up in my head overnight, I’d barely rested, too confused about last night. It nearly felt like some crazy dream.

I opened the dark oak door but stopped short as I came face to face with a guard. He wore Amosite’s typical garnet and silver armor, save for his helmet. He had dark blond hair and a scar through his bottom lip. With his uniform, he should’ve looked at least a bit intimidating, but I’d grown so accustomed to only having guards and servants in my presence that I wasn’t bothered.

He glanced at the straps of my dress before quickly averting his gaze. “Your presence is requested in the throne room.”

“I’m meant to meet with Taylin.” I knew it was pointless to argue. He’d drag me to the king himself if he had to. Even with that thought, I still didn’t fear him like I should. There were other monsters that worried me more.

The guard gave an almost sympathetic look. I never knew their names, as we were never to exchange such pleasantries.

The look was gone as fast as it had appeared.

“Sorry, Lady Auria. Orders are orders.”

My chest rose with a heavy breath as he stepped aside to let me pass.

I’d much rather stay in my room at this point, but that was also a battle I would not win.

Passing the threshold, I closed the door behind me with a soft snick.

We began our walk down the hall, the guard beside me with his hands dangling loosely by his side. He knew I wouldn’t try anything that would require him to wield his sword—I was the daughter of a king, after all. Even if I did, he wouldn’t hurt me. My father had given strict orders that no one put their hands on me, regardless of the circumstances. I wondered how well he thought that might go if I had a husband.

Even Taylin wasn’t supposed to touch me, but with a guard looking the other way, we’d always hug our farewells. It was too isolating to go so long without another human’s touch.

“Were you at the dance last night?” I asked, my eyes trained ahead.

He was silent a moment, and I almost thought he might not reply, but then he said, “Yes.”

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

His fingers twitched, signaling he was slightly uncomfortable.

Good. He knew what my next question would be.

“Yes.”

“Did my father tell you what would be announced?”

It wouldn’t shock me if he had told everyone but me, but I wanted to know.

The guard cleared his throat as we rounded a corner. Our footsteps echoed on the stone floor, the red and brown rugs doing little to muffle the sounds of our shoes. My father made almost everything in this kingdom red, but I never shared the same adoration for the color. It only reminded me of blood.

“Yes,” he finally replied.

I nodded once, slowly, as we descended the stairs down to the main floor. How could my father inform some random guard and not me, when I was the one being directly affected by this? But it wasn’t a question for the man beside me, given I had already made him disconcerted. It was one only my father could answer, though I was sure he’d make up some excuse to try to justify all of it, and I’d have no choice but to accept his explanation and never bring it up again.

A moment later, we approached my father’s throne room.

The guard opened the giant door for me, gesturing a hand forward for me to pass.

“Thank you,” I said before stepping past him.

He closed the door behind me, most likely standing guard outside in the hall.

With one look around the room as I came to a stop in the center before the deep red and dark oak thrones, I was certain my father was not in here.

Instead, I found my stepmother sitting on her throne before me, one arm draped over the side casually, though the rest of her posture was rigid. Her dress was only the slightest bit more casual today, dark red lace draped over cherry fabric.

I didn’t bow just to spite her.

“Did you know?” I asked, skipping right to the point.

To hell with pleasantries.

Regardless of the way I behaved in front of her, she’d still bring a flame to my skin. She’d punish me, day after day, and anyone who knew about it would turn a blind eye.

My father loved her, and he needed me.

There were no solutions in his eyes.

“Lovely night last night, don’t you agree?” Heidi said, her voice grating on every nerve in my body.

“Did you know?” I repeated, my voice harder this time, each word enunciated carefully.

She snapped her finger, and in an instant, a guard was behind me, pulling my arms behind my back and hitting the soft spot at the back of my knees so I’d fall to the ground. My knees stung as they made impact with the hard floor.

I didn’t bother straining against him, despite the discomfort that bloomed in my wrists at his grasp.

“That’s no way to greet your queen,” she said, as if she wasn’t also my stepmother.

I’d really prefer she was neither.

I bowed my head slightly, enraged at the position I was in. How fucking helpless I was in every meaning of the word.

“Your father does everything for a reason. For the best interest of all of us. Are you insinuating you do not trust him?”

I raised my head to look her in the eye. “He’s playing with my life.”

“Because he loves you.”

I swallowed, my posture stiffening slightly as the stone ground bit into my knees.

She was right. He loved me, and I had to remember that he did all of this so we could have a good life. So that everyone in this kingdom could.

The doors opened behind me, and I didn’t have to look to know my father walked through them, the sound of his boots telling me all I needed to know. I’d gotten good at listening to the rhythm of people’s steps through my bedroom door.

“Let her go,” my father instructed, barely paying me any mind as he walked past.

The guard dropped my hands, and my shoulders slumped forward as the strain in them eased. Getting to my feet, I rubbed at my wrists as my father took his seat next to his wife.

“Did your maid tell you about the dinner?” my father asked, looking bored as ever as he slumped back in the throne. His salt and pepper hair was neatly styled, much like his garnet suit.

“No,” I gritted out. I didn’t mention he could’ve told me himself.

He folded his hands together, his elbows perched on the sides of the chair. “Tomorrow night, you’ll be attending dinner with the Bulars. Katie will bring your dress to your room beforehand. And I expect no stunts like you pulled last night.” He recited the words like it was a message he was reading off a parchment.

My brows pulled together. If anyone pulled any stunts last night, it was him.

“Stunts?”

His eyes turned to slits. “You disrespected me at my own party. You must show your appreciation and gratitude in front of my guests. One wrong move, and I look weak. Is that what you want?”

I averted my gaze, hating his perlustration of me right now. He meant how I hadn’t smiled on stage, and then excused myself immediately after the announcement. “No.”

He seemed satisfied with my response as his cutting glare lost some of its edge. “You must understand, I am leading an entire kingdom. So much rides on my shoulders, and if all I ask is that you cooperate, then you will do so. Is that clear?”

“Crystal.” Yet it wasn’t the only thing he was asking of me. I was to duplicate magic, obey his orders, be a good daughter, hide myself and my magic, and now marry a man I’d never met before. Was I even allowed to be truthful with Lander? Could he know about my ability?

“Now, you know what chores are on your list. I’ve added a few more, as there are some requests from friends that I’d like to fulfill.”

He meant me. That I’d need to fulfill.

I kept silent as he continued. “As always, the paper is posted in the cellar. You’re excused.”

I didn’t hesitate as I turned on my heel and headed for the giant doors. It was a part of my daily routine to go down there and duplicate what I was ordered to. He always had a list of specific vials for me to work on, but even with the daily load, I was already left drained. With more on my list, I hoped I could get it done in time to turn in early and sleep the effects of it off before this supposed dinner tomorrow.

The guard that brought me here fell into step beside me as I made my way through the castle to the cellar. Every so often, the guard assigned to me would switch due to my father’s paranoia of one of them catching on to what I could do. If one of them figured out why I was going to the cellars every day, they could spread false accusations, or even worse, true ones.

Aside from me and my father, no one was privy to what was locked in the confines of the cellar, which irked my stepmother. She wasn’t allowed in, and that only added to the list of reasons she despised me. Being kept out of specific rooms in the castle left me frustrated, too. But with the way she treated me, I felt no mercy on her behalf. She might be a queen, but my father held the authority around here.

He’d chosen my stepmother for none other than the fact that her beauty would carry down into their children, but then he came to find she could not get pregnant at all. Still, with that knowledge, he had no plans for me to ever take the throne.

Keeping my power a secret was easier some days than others, but on a day like today, the urge to spill it all was strong. It was my spite talking, the aggravation from being blindsided at the party making me want to forget all the reasons I couldn’t reveal the truth.

Unfortunately, though, if anyone did find out, my father would simply kill them.

Nothing had stopped him from doing it before.

Not even to someone I thought I could share a future with.