Janus plans to meet Beatrix Marks at the kelpie race.
I choke on my spit before reading his text again. Janus has a confirmed meeting with Beatrix. It’s bold to meet the anti-monarchist in such a public space, or that’s its brilliance. With so many people around, no one will be paying close enough attention. Alcohol will be free-flowing, and everyone will be watching the race.
It’s the perfect setting to commit treason. I kick myself for not finding out sooner.
I’ve been trying to slip back into Janus’s dreams. Though I have zero regrets about entering Wilder’s subconscious, only that he woke up entirely too soon and left me frustratingly aroused, I still would have liked to peek inside Janus’s subconscious. What is she planning with Beatrix, and how does it tie to Stellan and Alden? I will use this time to find out.
The creak of the doors echoes through the room like a harbinger of the coming confrontation. Janus sinks into a clumsy curtsy before me. I cock a brow. Is she nervous? My attention snaps to the heels of her boots. They look new. I open my mouth to welcome her, but a giant yawn escapes.
Janus lifts a brow. “Didn’t get much sleep last night?” she asks. Her smile is colder than the icy breeze rattling the branches outside.
The chill of another winter day in Borealis seeps into my bones, and I find myself longing for the warmth of Wilder’s dream, the searing heat of his embrace, and the sun-drenched surroundings of Nereus. All of that is a world away from the frigid reality that surrounds me now.
I reach for my black tea. “I’ve slept better,” I say, my tone clipped.
I set my cup down. The delicate clink of porcelain against the saucer echoes in the room, a fragile sound amidst the tension thickening the air. Like last time, Janus remains standing, her presence looming over me. The act sets my teeth on edge. It is as though I’m under interrogation, and she’s the inquisitor, ready to bombard me with questions and pry the truth from my unwilling lips.
“Take a seat, Janus. It strains my neck having to look up for so long,” I demand.
Begrudgingly, Janus settles into the seat across from me.
“How have things been?” I ask, keeping my voice carefully neutral. “Any new developments? Visitors I need to worry about?”
“No, and the only visitor you need to worry about is Alden,” she says with a clap of her hands.
I force myself to maintain my smile, breathing through my nose. “That’s good. I wondered if the blackout would allow dangerous outsiders to slip our notice. But it sounds like you have everything under control,” I press, reaching for my tea again to occupy my restless hands. They itch to wrap around her throat and shake her until she has no choice but to yield answers.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, but I want to ask you something,” Janus says. “It has been weighing on my conscience for days.”
I quickly swallow my tea. “Go on.”
“As you know, Alden and I had breakfast together after you failed to attend our luncheon. As Simon Lupas’s enforcer, he is the one to champion the king’s armies, and he promised that if Lua has access to Corona’s resources, then Lua and Corona can be friends.”
“He told you that?” I blurt out, heat skirting up my neck. I’ve been in Alden’s company for days, and he has never outright asked me for resources. But Janus spends a morning with him, and he spills his guts?
Janus meets my gaze head-on, her eyes glinting with pity. “He told me a lot of things, but mainly, we talked about you.”
“Me?” I sit straighter. “What about me?”
Janus flinches from the bite in my tone. “As queen, you have the final say, but to ensure Lua’s needs are met, Alden and I discussed the best way to ensure peace is if you two get married. That way, as prince consort, Alden and Lua will never need to invade Corona because you two will be husband and wife. I hoped to speak to Queen Jorina about this before bringing it toyour attention, to get her advice on the best way to approach you, but I haven’t been able to reach her.”
The world tilts on its axis. My vision blurs.Married.The word sinks into my skin like poison, seeping into my veins, and spreading through my body like wildfire.
“Wow, it seems you two had quite the meal.” My voice sounds foreign even to my ears, too high-pitched and brittle.
A hint of satisfaction plays at the corners of her lips, a smug certainty that curdles my blood. “We did, Your Majesty.”
“I will not marry Alden.” The words are cutting and sharp like glass when they leave my mouth. “In case you forgot, I am seeing someone.”
“Leigh, Wilder is a Blade Commander,” she says with a sigh, as if that negates the depth of my feelings.
“So?”
“There’s marrying beneath your station, and then there’s marrying him.”
Red-hot anger surges through me, and I grip the arms of my chair so tightly I fear I may tear the upholstery. “I beg your pardon?” I say through gritted teeth. “Did you not marry a Nebula woman?”
Janus’s expression hardens. “I am not a queen. My marriage holds no sway over peace.”
