Page 12 of Till Death

“I have every guard in our kingdom standing at your borders, ready to attack. Do you threaten me, Princess?”

I moved until I stood three steps above him. “I am not threatening you. I am speaking for the people of your kingdom because you will not. If you’re so concerned for the well-being of this gods-abandoned world, maybe you should find something more worthy to occupy your time.”

The man adjusted his collar and shifted around me to look up at my father. “Have you considered our proposal?”

“We have, and we agree to the terms.”

“And does the princess agree?”

“She does.”

His quick answer sent chills down my spine. They couldn’t lock me away. I’d threatened to let him try, but the outcome would be disastrous. Death’s magic would consume me.

I straightened, letting the world spin around me as my mouth fell open. What had he done?

“You have five days.”

My world faded to dark, curdling screams from my past drowning everything around me. Panic set it. I couldn’t drag a single breath into my lungs. I couldn’t grip Chaos tight enough to ground me to the steps. I could not hear beyond my own thundering heartbeat.

The room was empty when I finally regained enough composure to turn, facing the man who’d just damned me.

“I cannot be imprisoned,” I whispered. “You know what will happen.”

He’d been lost in thought, hand resting on his chin as he stared out the stained-glass window, casting the room in a marbled, vibrant glow.

“You will not be imprisoned, Deyanira. You will be married.”

Chapter 6

“What do you mean, married? To whom?”

“To the next king of Silbath, whomever he may be.”

I stumbled backward, nearly falling off the final three steps. “You don’t even know who you’ve sworn me off to. That’s…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. Not without breaking there and then in front of my father. “Why?”

“Are you so blind that you can’t see the favor I’ve given? They would have bound you up, had I not suggested this marriage.”

“You… you suggested it?”

“This is the role of princesses, and I will not explain myself to you. I demand that you be of use to me. You will be my eyes inside that castle. You will find your new husband’s weakness, no matter how long it takes you, and you will deliver that information to me by whatever means necessary. You will become the temporary queen of a temporary kingdom, and that is all. In the end, your new kingdom will be mine.”

“I’m your only heir. Who’ll rule here if something happens to you?”

“That’s why we seek the Life Maiden so desperately.”

Ah. The nail in my coffin. He didn’t wish to groom me as queen. He wished for another. Someone else. Anyone other than Death’s Maiden.

“Am I dismissed?” I asked, measuring breaths to steady my hands.

“For now.”

“Please, Ro,” I whispered, standing before the mirror, limbs trembling with fear and anger.

The mirror rippled like liquid silver, soothing my heart. My shoulders sank as I stepped through the enchanted portal into her second realm. The air crackled with an electric pulse as I emerged on the other side, finding myself enveloped by a forest draped in twilight hues.

“Where are we?” I asked as I left the free-standing mirror behind, staring at the shafts of muted light piercing through the thick canopy.

“In a sanctuary,” she answered, tugging on her emerald scarf until her luscious hair fell loose onto golden brown skin.