Dominique decided then and there that she would help Aisling find her match when she was ready. The princess deserved to have a spouse who could love her for all the intricacies of her character rather than just for her title and the power that came with it.
Before the conversation could continue, Aisling glanced over Dominique’s shoulder and gave her head a minuscule shake. A few moments later, footsteps approached from the opposite end of the path.
“There you are, darling!” her mother cried.
Dominique met Aisling’s gaze and saw the hard look in the princess’s eyes. “I’ll be okay,” she murmured.
“Yes, you will because I’m not leaving.”
Graciella approached them, pausing to curtsy toward Aisling, something Dominique neglected to do when the princess came to her room earlier. Clearly, she needed to brush up on her etiquette when it came to dealing with the royal family.
“Your Highness,” Graciella said to Aisling as a greeting. before turning her attention to Dominique.
“Lady Proxa,” Aisling returned.
“You both look so lovely and bright today,” Graciella stated, her eyes moving to each of them in turn.
“Thank you,” Aisling answered.
Graciella made a show of taking Dominique’s hand. “I’m so happy for you, Dominique,” she said, squeezing her fingers a shade too hard.
Dominique felt the pinprick on her fingertip too late to try and pull away. A familiar sensation washed over her, one that she’d grown accustomed to during her teens and early twenties. Anger washed right behind it. No, not anger. Rage. Pure and unadulterated.
Her mother’s audacity knew no bounds, just as Dominique suspected.
The pull of magic forced her mouth and tongue to move even though she didn’t want them to. “Thank you, Mother. I’m incredibly happy, too.”
Keeping hold of Dominique’s hand, Graciella turned toward Aisling. “It will be your turn soon,” she said, her voice warm.
Aisling waved a regal hand. “Not too soon, I hope. I want a little time to experience life before I take a husband.”
The magic snare her mother cast pulled at her tongue again. “Your Highness, do you require my attendance much longer? I haven’t seen my mother in close to a decade and I would like to catch up.”
Dominique wanted to smile at the words that came out of her mouth. She and Aisling hadn’t been nearly so formal all morning. Surely, the princess would recognize that something was wrong and help her.
Her heart sank as the princess nodded, her statement of staying close by seemingly forgotten. “Of course, Dominique. I’m looking forward to spending more time with you.”
Despair filled her as Aisling turned and walked away, her four guards following her at a distance. Dominique wanted tocall out, to cry for help, but the magic surrounding her was too strong. At least for the moment.
What her mother didn’t know was that Dominique had begun taking small doses of the potion Graciella had coated the needle with. Her body eventually grew accustomed to the concoction, but she hadn’t achieved full immunity yet.
As soon as the princess was out of sight, Graciella turned to her, the mask of an affectionate mother falling away to reveal the monster beneath. Without hesitation, she struck Dominique, slapping her face so hard that her head jerked to the side. Her cheek burned as Dominique straightened and faced her mother again.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” her mother hissed, moving in until their faces were inches apart. She didn’t release her hold on Dominique to allow her to answer, obviously intending the question to be rhetorical. “I have worked for decades to get one of your sisters married into this family, andyouwaltz in and accept the prince’s proposal.”
Her mother took a step back, taking a deep breath and visibly relaxing. She began to pace just in front of Dominique’s statue-still form, her hands behind her back.
“It’s a small hiccup,” her mother muttered, mostly to herself. Then, she glanced up at Dominique. “You’ll do what we tell you to do when we tell you, do you understand?”
This time, her mother released the hold of the magic, allowing her daughter to speak. “I won’t,” she replied.
Her mother fisted her hands behind her back and the magic yanked on Dominique’s tongue again.
“I will, Mother,” she stated next.
Her mother smiled, smug and malicious. “I can feel you trying to resist me, Daughter. You know it’s futile.”
Her tongue free once again, Dominique asked, “What exactly do you intend to do? He isn’t interested in my sisters. If he hasn’tspent time with them in the last twenty years, what makes you think he will now?”
