Page 33 of Fit for a Prince (Fit For A Crown #1)

Chapter thirty

“ Y ou’re not who I was expecting.” I moved deeper into the room, drawing closer to the light and the prince burning in its glow.

“Are you disappointed?” he asked.

“I’m alive. It’s hard to be disappointed by anything when you’re expecting the opposite.”

“Fair point.” He tilted his head, the shadows framing his face like blobs of spilled ink that drew the eye to his flickering grey gaze.

I almost hadn’t realized that it wasn’t Lochlan when I first stepped inside, especially in the low light.

My heart fluttered when I saw it was Atlas, his presence pulling me closer to his burning light.

“I must admit, I’m equally impressed that you’re still alive. ”

“Does that mean you didn’t request to keep courting me after Lord Fenrick’s test?” I stepped into the light, watching the room’s mood change as my shadow closed up the space around us.

“Will you hate me if I say I didn’t?” Atlas asked .

“Yes.”

“Glad to see we’re finally being honest with each other.” He smirked, and my heart twitched impermissibly at the expression. “And since we’re being honest, I’ll let you know that Cedric was actually the one to speak on your behalf.”

I felt my breath snag. I couldn’t quite dissect the way I was feeling at that moment. Surprised? Delighted? Disappointed?

Why would he spare me when he wouldn’t marry me?

“You seem shocked.” Atlas leaned back in his seat, causing its legs to creak. “Didn’t think any of us would pick you?”

“I thought Cedric was smart enough to know better,” I said frankly.

“Oh?” He clacked the legs of his chair back on the ground. “Looks like we’re being more honest than I anticipated.”

“There’s no point in keeping my thoughts to myself when my shoulders could be relieved of my head at any moment,” I said.

This was all wrong. Cedric wasn’t supposed to pick me; he couldn’t.

"I offer him no power, and he’s already at the bottom of the barrel.

I’m not a good choice for Cedric. He should know that. ”

“I’m sure he does,” Atlas said. “Yet he still chose to spare you. As clever as he can be, he’s finally become the fool.” He stood, pressing his palms into the table as the light illuminated him from above. “He cares for you.”

My heart stopped. I was glad that the light was low. I didn’t want him to see how terrified the idea of being cared for made me.

I had hoped Cedric would be smart enough never to care.

“Then what’s your part in this?” I swallowed back the lump in my throat. “Why are you telling me any of this and calling me here under Lochlan’s name?”

It suddenly struck me why the room was so dark and why only one guard had been summoned to collect me.

Atlas didn’t want anyone to see who had really called me.

This was meant to be a meeting between me and Lochlan, which meant that anything that happened in this room would be blamed on Lochlan, not Atlas.

“Are you going to kill me?” I asked. A wave of nausea rose up in my throat at the thought. If Atlas wanted to kill me, there was little I could do to fight against him. “To save your brother from acting the fool?”

“I always knew you were clever.” He straightened, his height looming over me.

He showed no sign of aggression, but I already knew I was outmatched in my current state.

Even so, if I was going to die by any prince’s hands, Atlas would have been my first choice.

Until he laughed. “But you’re not all-knowing. ”

“Pardon?” I raised a brow, trying to hide the fact that my heart was racing out of control.

“I didn’t bring you here to kill you,” he said in a raspy tone that was almost comforting to my fragile sense of security. “You’re here so I can save you.”

“Save me?” I bit the side of my tongue, checking to make sure this wasn’t some sort of hunger-induced hallucination. “Whatever happened to us being honest with each other?”

“I’m nothing if not honest, Diaspro.” I would never admit it, but I liked the way my name sounded coming from his mouth. He didn’t say it like a curse or a nuisance; he said it like a question, always asking for more. “If Cedric cares for you enough to risk his reputation, I can’t let you die.”

He slid the parchment toward me, tapping his finger at the bottom. It was an unsigned letter addressed to Lochlan.

I skimmed through the letter, my nose wrinkling the further I read.

...My actions were deplorable at best …

...I admire Prince Lochlan and wish to offer him my utmost respect going forward...

It was an apology letter, filled with flowery compliments so potent I could smell roses wafting off the page.

“What is this?” I asked.

“Your apology to Lochlan,” Atlas explained with a cheeky grin.

“I didn’t write this.”

“But you will sign it.” He slid the inkwell and quill toward me. “Any servant could have penned it for you, such as that sweet maid, Mara. She did such a good job that she’ll certainly have to be spared from any punishment involving the situation as well.”

I read through the letter again, feeling my dignity rot with every single word. It was beautifully written, potentially even enough to make up for slapping a crown prince. Was it really enough to save Mara?

“Was it you who removed Mara from my chambers?” I looked up from the parchment to search his soul for clues, his face a faded map under a starless sky.

“She’s safe,” he said simply, and the relief I felt nearly made me stumble into the desk.

“But my father makes good on his threats. If you don’t make amends with Lochlan, it won’t matter what Cedric says on your behalf.

” He plucked the quill from the well, offering the feathered end to me with an imploring look. “Will you make amends?”

If that’s what it takes to protect Mara.

I placed my hand on the quill, my fingers brushing Atlas’s while the feathered end tickled my palm. For a moment, I didn’t pull it from him, our hands sharing the quill as a thick drop of ink threatened to dribble from the tip.

“Why save any of us?” I asked him. “Why not let Cedric’s affection die with me, or let Mara take the fall?”

His fingers twitched, sending a soft ripple through the feather. “Because I’m as much of a fool as he is,” he said in a gravelly tone that ran goosebumps up my arms. “I care about him, and if you make him happy, I don’t want him to lose that. Plus...I’m not ready to lose you either.”

“What?” The word spurted out of me before I could catch it. He released the quill, never breaking eye contact as he pulled his hand to his side.

“Like I said, I’m a fool.” He moved around the desk, slow and steady like the pounding in my chest. “I haven’t figured you out yet, and I’m too stubborn to let a mystery die off before I’ve uncovered it.

I crafted the letter to protect Cedric’s heart, but since we’re being honest, it’s also because I’m not done with you. ”

He stopped at the corner of the desk. There was a strange tension between us, an elastic band that had been stretched as far as it could and now wanted to snap together.

“And what is it you plan to do with me?” I asked, feeling a bit breathless under his inquisitive eyes. “Certainly not marry me.”

“Certainly not.” He breathed the words, and for the first time since I’d stepped in the room, I wasn’t convinced he was being honest anymore. “But for now, let’s start with keeping you alive. For Cedric’s sake.” He reached for my wrist, gently guiding the quill to the paper.

His warm hand moved mine with ease, and even as I hovered over the empty space, he lingered for a moment before I pressed the ink to the page.

“For Cedric,” I whispered, feeling equally dishonest.

I signed.

"Good,” he said with a husky resonance in his voice.

I turned to face him, the hairs prickling on my neck as those eyes ran across my skin.

He took a long look at me, his breaths growing short as he seemed to finally notice how much a few days without food and water had taxed me.

His fingers twitched. “Is this what they do to you?”

He reached for my shoulder, picking up a lock of my blonde hair like it was a skein of gold. He let the strands fall through his fingers, slipping away and fluttering back to my shoulder.