"Eveera." I snarl, heat flaming my face, as I try to push down my… "damn woman." I hiss.
She snickers, "it was either you or me. They're your men — I thought you'd be much more angry if they saw me naked."
From the corner of my eye, I see Ben’s face light with intrigue at the words “saw me naked”. Irritated, I slide off the bed, keeping both hands pressed tightly down.
"Out." I bark, glaring at Ben, whose eyes are still lingering on the entrance to the bathroom. "Bennett!" His head snaps back to me, and he makes abarelyapologetic look.
I shoo them out, and when the door clicks shut again, her head peeks out around the door frame. There’s a feral look in her eyes as they dart down to my hands and then back up to my face, "well? Are you coming or not?"
My head drops back until I get an eyeful of the ceiling, slapping my forehead with my open palm.
This woman is going to fucking kill me.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Ti–
“A-hem.”
"But it was soooo peacefully quiet…" Eveera mutters.
Felix tilts his head at her, “we need to talk about this.”
“What is there to talk about? I have decided already; I was merelyinformingthe rest of you.” She snarks, sinking back into her chair.
“It’s not that simple–” Armond interrupts, and Eveera’s stare hardens.
She drums the fingers of her left hand along the arm of her chair and takes a large bite out of the apple she holds in her right. “Itisthat simple, actually, Monty, dear. See – Felix here, told me to be a Queen. In fact,everyonehere has been asking me to behave like a queen, and now that I do?”
“Eveera–”
“Which is it, Felix? One moment, you’re claiming that you can only advise me, that if I deem a matter unfit for discussion, then it’s none of your business." He flattens his lips against each other, listening, “then when I make a decision or an action plan that you disagree with, you say ‘we need to talk about this’.” Her voice is tight, anger brimming underneath it, “so which is it? Is it your business, or is itmine?”
Felix sighs, his head falling into his hands, shaking back and forth before he looks back up at Eveera. “I think that everyone is just surprised… at your choice.”
“I don’t know why they would be.”
“Because it’s a terrible idea!” Will interjects.
Bennett and Millie groan from over in their seats at his interruption, and I do my best not to join them. “I want a meeting with Baelor and Eiser. I don’t see what is so terrible about that? Pruella here,” she jabs a thumb at the willowy princess, “will act as both our bait and our leverage.”
“THAT’SWHAT’S SO TERRIBLE!” He shouts, pushing up from his seat, “she is a person. Not a toy.”
“You’re right,” Eveera admits, and the redness in Will’s face starts to wane, “she’s not a toy. She’s a prisoner whom I’ve allowed to wear better clothes. Very different.”
I look over at the princess, her face a mixture of horror and disbelief as Eveera repeats the plan over again. It’s a game of bait and switch, lure them in with the promise of giving Pruella back, and then swap them out. It allows Pruella to live her life however she pleases, while Baelor and Eiser end up in our hold.
“You’re just going along with this?” He sneers, looking over at me.
“As much as I dislike the idea of summoning my father, we need to get close to them.”
He drops back down in his chair, mumbling “unbelievable” over and over.
“I won’t do it.” Our heads all turn towards the squeaky, weak voice.
Pruella’s staring hollowly ahead of her, while Eveera’s irises light with the challenge, “oh, ha. That's so sweet… You think you have a choice." She purrs, her mouth parting to mimic Pruella’s pout, "did you think that your sob story last night would save you? That it meant you would be able to live your life out," her finger drops harshly onto the table, "here?In refuge?"
Her voice rises with each stab of her fingertip onto the stone slab, "your father cost mehalfof my personal guards. Max's brother and mine," the pitch dipping at the mention of Orem and Axel. "He cost mehundredsof loyal soldiers—"
The princess stands abruptly from her seat, arms flailing out to her sides as she screams, “so did your husband's! What is the difference here?! Or is it just that he fucks you so well that you forge—"
