Page 35 of Vicious Kingdom (Dynasty of Queens #3)

T he bed was cold. Sitting up, I gulped lungfuls of air, searching the room, looking for evidence—searching for him. This was his apartment. It hadn’t changed in five years. Not the dark bedspread, not the soft dovecote walls. It was as if time stood still.

Retrieving my athletic shorts and tee, I tiptoed to the bathroom before making my way downstairs.

Baldwin sat at his island, paging through his tablet.

He didn’t hear my approach, so I paused to watch the somber man going about his morning routine.

My imagination painted the picture. Creativity rose to my aid.

I saw a king, solitary and alone, sitting in his castle that overlooked an empire.

There was sorrow etched in his aura, longing pulsing at the edges.

If I was to write him as a character, this was where he had to make a choice. Continue in his bachelor, lonely ways.

Or change his whole landscape.

Maybe I made a noise while scripting the possible plot points. Maybe it was a sixth sense that proved he wasn’t quite human. Either way, he stiffened and turned sharply toward me.

“Good morning.” I smiled.

His charcoal gaze swept over me. “You slept well. Was it as restful as it seemed?”

My cheeks warmed. “It was.”

“Good.” Leo gestured toward the fridge. “I ordered you one of those strange beverages and some breakfast.”

Going to the fridge, I discovered a large, cold matcha latte with foam bleeding down from the top.

He remembered.

“Thank you.” My smile felt like it would crack my face in two.

“You’re moving in. Today.” He reached into his pocket.

“I’m—” My voice faltered.

“I want you here, where I know you’re safe.”

There was warmth in that tone. There was.

But there was something else…. Possession. As if he needed to make sure I stayed where he could see me.

“Okay, I’ll move in,” I breathed. This was what I wanted. I just hoped there wasn’t going to be anything to cause backlash.

Leo nodded. “I’m going to head to the office now that you’re awake. Here’s the spare key and a guest pass to the building. Sometime this week, there will be a card with your name on it.”

A jolt of surprise ran through my chest. He was serious. I could stay here. Last night he’d said as much, but I thought it was just a reaction to seeing me broken and a mess at his front door.

I picked up the slim piece of metal. “This is really happening.”

He hummed in agreement. “There’s one more thing.”

I braced myself, ready for his question.

He wanted to know what happened. The lies were already on the tip of my tongue.

I wasn’t going to share my history or tell him the Tormentor’s name.

Shame welled inside me. After coming home from the bakery, the Tormentor surprised me.

No one was at the house, and he’d raged.

He’d struck me. And then he’d gone crazy, saying that I pushed him to do that.

As if it were my own fault I was beaten.

I hated myself for involving Leo in that mess, for letting him see me like that—for telling him that I couldn’t fight the demon on my own.

So I would keep the story vague, not revealing this was an ongoing occurrence.

Which was partially true. Last night was the first time an encounter escalated to violence.

If I was careful, I wouldn’t be caught again.

There was no reason to tell Leo what really was going on.

While I wanted the pest gone, I didn’t want it to backfire on Leonard Baldwin, the businessman.

If he was caught, if there was any evidence tying him to the demon’s demise, I would never forgive myself.

“This is for you. I’ve already cleared it with my financial officer.” Leo held out a shiny black credit card. “The wedding needs to happen this weekend. Call whichever planner you want, but make it happen.”

I balked. “The best planners are booked. Mom’s been in a fit trying to find one with availability—”

“They’ll drop everything for me,” he said with finality. “Pay them double, triple their rate. Our wedding is their number one priority.”

Leo unfolded from the barstool and gathered his things but stopped in front of me. “Make it spectacular, Annaliese. You’re only getting one wedding, and you deserve it to be a big, opulent affair. One that the city talks about for years to come.”

There was a shake in my voice. “Okay.”

It was hard to believe. Part of me thought he would fight the marriage, try to escape the blackmail. I certainly wasn’t expecting this rush to the altar.

Gently cupping my cheek, Leo brushed the pad of his thumb under the tender, bruised flesh of my blackeye. “I want the world to know you are under my protection. Marrying you will send that message. And you deserve nothing but the grandest of weddings.”

He didn’t ask.

He wasn’t pushing.

That made me more emotional than if he’d raged and demanded an explanation.

He’s giving me time and space to trust him .

Because the alternative, that he didn’t actually care was far from the truth. It was there in his eyes. He wanted to tear the city apart to give me vengeance. But it was on my terms, not his.

“Any details you want?” I breathed. “It’s your big day too.”

He smiled. It was small and didn’t reach his eyes. But it was real. “No one looks at the groom.”

“That’s not true,” I protested. “I’ll be looking at you, Leo.”

He dipped down and pressed a soft kiss against my mouth. “Hold a single rose when you walk down the aisle. The reddest you can find.”

With that, he dropped his hold and left. I could have sworn the room grew a bit darker, but that flicker of warmth bolstered me to get through the day.

***

“I hate that you don’t get to be my maid of honor,” I dropped the garment bag on the island.

“Matron—I’m an old married woman now,” Serena joked.

Lord, Florida looked good on her. Curled in an armchair, my friend watched me through the phone.

It’d been weeks, but now I better understood the radio silence.

She’d been accidentally kidnapped by the Greek mafia, forced to marry one of their leaders, and now was living her best life in a cozy cottage by the sea.

“Penny won’t be standing with me either,” I lamented. “I could really use some backup.”

Serena snorted. “You don’t need it. Leo is grumpy and gruff, but he won’t bite.”

Grumpy, gruff, and basically nonexistent. I’d barely seen him all week. He worked long hours, came and went without warning. We might be dwelling in the same abode, but this was not what I pictured when he asked me to live with him.

Luckily, the rush of wedding planning occupied every waking hour.

I only went back to my parents’ house this morning when I knew mom was home.

While she railed about the absurdity of the rushed wedding, it was actually because of the fact that my father and I ganged up on her, cutting her out of the action.

My wedding was her moment to shine. To show off how well she could flaunt the event.

What bothered me more than that was that she hadn’t realized I’d moved out. She paid so little attention, consumed with her own slight.

“Are you happy, Anna?” Serena’s question broke the daydream.

“Of course! I finally have my prince,” I beamed.

But the words felt hollow.

The moments we shared were like a flickering candle. Lit suddenly in the dark, but not strong enough to hold up to the gale that raged outside. One strong rush of wind, and it would be extinguished, and I’d be left to fumble about in the dark until I managed to spark another flame.

“Come visit soon!” she insisted, but a rustle in the background stole her attention. “My pirate is back. I have to go.”

“Give the salty dog a hug from me,” I teased.

She rolled her eyes at my eccentric turn of phrase and ended the call.

The silence pulsed around the room.

Setting my laptop bag on the counter, I pulled out the device. My fingers moved of their own accord, going into an old Word file. It had the date of five years ago. With a deep breath, I clicked.

Screenshots of Pinterest images blinked on the screen. Files with notes, worldbuilding details, and even some poorly designed maps interspersed the images.

I clicked on the document labeled Rough Draft 1 and braced myself. The first chapter was utter trash. But the story shown through the immature writing the further I scrolled. By the third chapter, I copied the context, pasted it in a fresh document, and began to litter the edges with notes.

Instead of finalizing the manuscript in the genre I published regularly, I lost myself to a world of magic, a fae prince with a curse, and a human girl, his captive, who would bring him to his knees.