I return my attention to Em, realizing my hand is now empty on her lap and she’s brought both of hers to the base of her throat. A small smile dances over her lips, and a tear trickles down her cheek. I’m struck by a sudden urge to lift my finger and brush the tear away. Startled by my nonsensical reaction, I remove my hand from her lap. As I bring it to rest over my thigh, I’m surprised at how cold it feels in the absence of her small, gloved hand.
The doors open behind me, and I turn around with a quirked brow. “That was fast.” But the figure who darkens my theater box isn’t my lovelorn ambassador but one of the last people I could ever want to see.
Brother Marus.
26
FRANCO
“Your Highness.” Brother Marus bows, then turns to my companion. “And you must be Princess Maisie.”
Em stiffens, alarm writhing through her energy as she whirls around in her chair. Her face pales. She says nothing, only looks at our intrusive guest with wide eyes.
“I’m Brother Marus,” he says with a bow.
“A pleasure,” she bites out before turning to face forward. I frown. Her spike in energy seems like an extreme reaction. Then again, aside from Augie and Seri, who are hardly intimidating specimens, Marus is the first person she’s had to pretend to be the princess around.
“Why are you here?” I ask, my voice a slow drawl as I slouch in my seat.
Marus takes the chair that had previously been occupied by Augie. Leaning forward, he speaks in a hushed tone. “Do you recall when I spoke to you last night, Your Highness?”
I grind my teeth. I’m assuming he means when he spoke to Augie thinking he was me. “You asked me to appoint two human girls as lady’s maids for the princess, correct?”
“Yes, and I mentioned they were sisters to Miss Montgomery, my fiancée. I also asked you to officiate our marriage, which was supposed to take place today.”
Marriage? Augie promised I’d officiate amarriage? He didn’t mention that this morning. Since when does the brotherhood expect their prince to perform such menial tasks? “Sorry,” I say flatly, “I’ve been busy today. We’ll have to reschedule—”
“She isn’t here anyway,” he says. “Miss Montgomery…left the palace.”
I huff a laugh. “Left? The very day after she agreed to marry you? What a surprising turn of events.”
His energy darkens, and I can tell there’s much he isn’t telling me. I’m guessing it has to do with why his unlucky bride departed. “She will return on the seventeenth of this month. That is her birthday. She’s set to claim her inheritance that day, which is being kept by the crown due to the death of her late father’s executor.”
“Let me guess. You want to secure my services in officiating your marriage the minute this Miss Montgomery of yours returns.”
“Yes.”
“Well—”
Em rises to her feet and flashes me a tight smile. “Forgive me, Your Highness, but I must find the washroom at once.” She doesn’t wait for me to respond before she exits the box.
I stare after her, brow furrowed with concern. I’d been so focused on Marus’ energy, I hadn’t been paying attention to Em’s. But I can feel it lingering, even in her absence. Fear. Disgust. Anger.
I rise from my chair and take a step toward the doors, but Marus has the nerve to block me, standing in the narrow aisle between the two rear seats. “I ask a promise of you.”
“You have no right to ask anything of me,” I say through my teeth, pinning the man with a glare.
“Queen Nyxia assured me I’d have my choice of bride, and I’ve made my choice. The promise I ask of you is only an extension of hers.”
“Fine,” I say with a growl. “What promise do you demand of your prince?”
“Only that when Miss Montgomery returns to Selene Palace to claim her inheritance, you will have her turned over to me.”
“Turned over to you?” I scoff. “Your kind truly do treat females like chattel.”
“She is my fiancée,” Marus says, his energy clouded with rage. The kind of rage my sister assured me we must never stir. “I only ask that you turn her over to me so I can speak to her one more time. I vow to you that I will not hurt her, but I will see that she keeps her promises to her family. She has vows of her own to maintain, whether they end in our marriage or not.”
I glance lazily at my nails. “I haven’t the slightest clue why you find it imperative to involve me in whatever family melodrama you’ve become embroiled in.”
