She studied me for a moment, her eyes narrowing. Then her expression softened—not with love, but with calculation.
“I think you need to go to bed.” She snapped her fingers at the guards.
My bed. Not hers.
Thank god for small mercies.
The guards escorted me out of the throne room. The double doors swung shut behind me, muffling the music and laughter.
The last thing I remembered was stumbling down the hallway, Alice’s shattered face swimming in my mind.
Then nothing but darkness.
I woke to a splitting headache and a mouth as dry as sand. I was still in my clothes from the night before. My hat lay on the pillow next to me.
“That wasn’t very nice, getting drunk at our engagement party.”
Alanna stood in the doorway wearing a white nightgown, her dark hair tumbling over her shoulders. She looked almost innocent. Almost.
Her engagement party. Not mine. I was just the prize she’d finally captured.
“You need to get dressed.”
I groaned and pressed my palm against my throbbing skull. “Why?”
“Because we need to have breakfast together.” She crossed her arms. “You’re my betrothed, Darius. You need to be at all my functions.”
Functions. Like I was some accessory to be paraded around.
Which, I supposed, I was now. But to be honest, I’d rather be in the dungeon with Alice.
“Get up now, Darius.”
I threw my arm over my eyes, blocking out the light stabbing through the windows. “I’m fucking hungover, Alanna. Give me a fucking break.”
Silence. The kind that made the hairs on my neck stand up.
I lowered my arm. She stood rigid, her eyes narrowed to slits, her jaw tight.
“You will do as I say. Or I’ll pay a visit to your little witch.”
My blood froze. I shot upright, ignoring the way the room spun.
“You bitch,” I snarled.
Wrong move.
She stomped over to the bed and snagged me by the hair, yanking my head back. Pain shot through my scalp. Her face hovered inches from mine, her breath hot against my skin.
“Don’t.” Her grip tightened. “Ever.” She twisted harder. “Talk to me like that again.”
Her eyes were wild. Unhinged. This wasn’t the calculating queen I’d seen in court. This was something else. Something unstable.
I forced myself to stay still. To swallow my rage.
Because Alice was in the dungeon. And Alanna held all the cards.
“You’ve got ten minutes, Darius.” Alanna clenched her fists and stormed to the door. She slammed it shut behind her.
