Page 26 of Fit for a Prince (Fit For A Crown #1)

Chapter twenty-five

I didn’t get to see Atlas for quite a while. In fact, I didn’t see anyone for the next three days. Meals came and went like normal, so it didn’t appear that I was being punished for anything, and Mara and Beckham still looked as well as they could.

Despite not seeing any signs of being disciplined, I felt like I was being tortured. Each day of waiting was another day wasted. I needed to be spending this time getting closer to Atlas so I could secure a proposal, not just scribbling more notes about him.

When the knock finally came, I nearly threw myself out of my seat in anticipation. Mara answered the door, and I gripped the back of my chair hard enough to leave indents from my nails. She nodded to whoever was on the other side, exchanged a few quiet words, then closed it.

“Well?” I asked, practically gnawing on the edge of my lip as she met my eyes.

“Cedric,” she said .

“Thank you for meeting with me again, Lady Diaspro,” Cedric said as he poured me a cup of tea.

We were back in his study, though he looked a bit more disheveled today than he had the last time I’d visited.

His hair was unkempt, and his sleeves were pushed up to his elbows with his collar loosened.

Dark rings clung under his eyes, but you wouldn’t know he was tired by the way he carried himself.

“It’s a pleasure,” I said as I graciously accepted the cup. I took a small sip of tea; it was still bad. I missed Ivalon brews more by the day. “I always enjoy a chance to spend my day with someone other than my servants.”

“Ah yes, I’ve heard that you’ve grown quite fond of your attendants.” Cedric’s ominous tone threw me off almost as much as his unique appearance. I waited him to elaborate, but he simply reached for a biscuit and dunked it in his tea. “Do you care for biscuits? I find them quite dry on their own.”

He brought me here to talk about biscuits?

“They’re fine, I suppose,” I said. “I don’t complain much about what’s fed to me.” As long as I’m fed.

Cedric seemed to pick up on my unspoken words.

His expression dimmed a touch, but it didn’t soften.

He was fully aware of what I’d been made to endure and what my people were still suffering.

Still, he said nothing. He sipped at his tea, soaking in the silence like a dry biscuit absorbing a bitter brew.

I glanced out the window at the cloudy grey sky.

It was perfectly warm inside the study, but I could still sense the chill from the air beyond the glass.

The difference between comfort and pain was so small, so fragile—nothing more than a thin sliver of glass that could be broken at any moment.

Though despite it being transparent, those on the side of comfort rarely chose to see the other side.

I was ready to shatter that glass, but I couldn’t handle the shards yet.

I needed Atlas by my side to change things, but until then, I needed to survive my time with the other princes and not distract them from their work.

My attention drifted to Cedric’s desk, quickly scanning the surface for any unfinished work he may have left behind.

The last thing I needed was for Cedric to neglect his duties and get Mara killed simply because he wanted to talk about dry biscuits.

“I already finished today’s paperwork,” Cedric said, catching me as I finished assessing his desk.

My cheeks flared red and my heart jumped up into my throat when I saw his knowing grin.

He’s already done? Is that why he looks so tired?

“Tomorrow’s is done, too. I am completely ready to give you my full and undivided attention.

Though if you want to double check my work again. .. ”

“H-huh?” He knew. I forced my heart back down into my chest, where the pounding grew fiercer. “I don’t know...I mean, I—”

“Relax.” Cedric raised a hand, softening his voice. “You don’t need to fear me. In fact, I should be thanking you for helping me catch up on my bookkeeping that day.”

I settled back into my seat like it was made of prickly spines. It didn’t surprise me that he’d discovered his work had been done for him, though I had hoped he would assume one of his attendants did it for him, or one of his brothers.

“I’m sorry, I was merely bored when you stepped out in the hall for so long,” I lied, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles on my skirt so my hands had something to do.

“You must get bored rather easily in order to finish an entire day’s worth of work in ten minutes.

” He folded his arms, and I could feel the redness still lingering in my cheeks.

“Or you had a strong motivation to make sure I stayed on task... Tell me, how are those servants of yours doing? Mara and Beckham, right?”

The hairs on my neck rose when he spoke their names. “Fine,” I clipped, my throat too tight for any further explanation.

Cedric nodded, letting my staccato reply saturate the air. “I’m glad to hear it. Truly I am,” he said. “I heard about the threats made to your attendants and what happened to your previous one...”

Oren.

A numbness fell over me at the reminder of the kind old man. He would be the last one to ever fall. Never again would I let one of my people perish at the hand of an Aemastian brute.

“All that to say, I understand why you felt the need to complete my work.” He was surprisingly sympathetic, but I knew better than to accept condolences from an enemy.

“Your servants don’t need to be at risk simply so you can leave your room.

I can assure you that my work will be complete any time we get together.

The king will have nothing to complain about.

” He pressed a hand over his heart, making a promise that I didn’t dare believe, but still appreciated.

There he goes being kind again. If only he could give me what I needed. I might not hate being married to Cedric.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” I said with a slight bow of my head. “I appreciate you understanding the severity of my situation. I promise what I did will not happen again.”

“I’m not sure I want you to make that promise,” he said with a cheeky light in those dark eyes. “Now that I know you’re so skilled with numbers, I might have to request your assistance on future assignments. It was quite impressive what you were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time.”

“As you said, I had much to lose if I failed,” I explained, curling my toes in my slippers as I prayed that my answer would be sufficient.

“Even so,” he continued, dragging on the conversation like he was yanking me back on a chain. “Those were some extraordinary skills for someone who has never seen our accounting books before. Where did you learn how to do it?”

The chair felt hot, sweat dripping down the back of my neck as the armrests suddenly made me feel restricted and claustrophobic.

“You may not leave this room until you finish every book,” he said as he left me in the room full of account journals with only a stack of quills and a loaf of bread. “If you’re sharp enough, you should be able to skip sleeping and be finished in two days’ time.”

“Damon,” I answered softly, my eyes drifting to the ring. “Prince Damon taught me.”

“I see,” Cedric said, leaning forward with full focus. “He was quite the clever one, from what I knew about him. Tell me, what else did Prince Damon teach you? ”

“He didn’t tell me anything about the vault, if that’s what you’re asking,” I said a little more sharply than I probably should have.

He looked a bit taken aback, and I wondered if I’d gone too far. Fortunately, he leaned back into the conversation.

“What makes you think I was going to ask about that?” he asked.

“Everyone else already has.”

“Well, that’s not terribly surprising,” he said. “Hardly anyone had ever heard of it until recently, and you’re the closest person we have left to a royal. There’s barely any information left on it, but just enough loose threads that we can pull.”

“I’ve been pulled at plenty,” I assured him.

“I don’t doubt it.” He chuckled. “I’m sorry for that, but I’m afraid it can’t be helped.

I personally hardly find it surprising that the elusive Prince Damon and King Leopold would keep their secrets from slipping out.

Though Damon clearly taught you a lot; perhaps you know how to keep secrets too. ”

“If I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” I said, my heart stuttering again. “But I’m not lying about the vault. I knew a lot about Damon, but I never knew about the vault.”

“I believe you,” he said in a gentle voice that I almost trusted. “I just can’t help but wonder what secrets he did tell you. For someone who impacted you so much, you rarely speak of him.”

There’s no one left to speak of.

“It’s difficult to talk about those who are gone,” I said, tracing my thumb over the stone on my ring. Cedric’s eyes followed my movements, his gaze barely reflecting on the stone’s surface.

“I understand that,” he said, once again speaking softly to me like he actually cared about my loss.

Did he care? I looked back at his disheveled appearance, then again at the cleared desk.

He had cared enough to make sure my servants were protected.

.. “Though it’s often that the ones who leave us too soon are the ones who linger the longest within us. ”

I looked up from my ring, feeling my heart expose itself for the briefest moment as his words drew me closer.

“I agree,” I whispered. “He’s always with me.”

“Because you loved him?” he asked, his words tunneling inside me and making the ring itch around my finger. Love was such a horrid word, used to tie people’s hearts together and rip them apart. That definition suited Damon well.

“I loved parts of him,” I said, looking down at my hands that had once held Damon’s. “Everything else was ripped away.”