Annalisa and I looked behind us. My stomach dropped and Annalisa’s sharp hand clappedover mine.
Riyan towered over us, having walked out into the garden without us hearing. Grigory glared at him from the palace steps like he regretted not bringing his bow and quiver to the ball, but Riyan did not evennotice him.
Riyan’s shining blue eyes looked onlyat me.
Just as I had worked up the nerve to tell Riyan to get lost, Annalisa stood up from our bench and marched over to him. Her teeth were bared in a snarl and her face was stained with black streaks. Riyan swayed as he stood but widened his glassy eyes and raised his eyebrows as sheapproached him.
“I do not care whose hero you are!” Annalisa cried as she pointed up at his chest. “If you hurt Serafina again, I will kill you! I will shove a knife in your chest and carve out your beast’s heart with mybare hands!”
I gripped the edge of the stone bench as Annalisa valiantly defended me. The wine had turned her into a lioness, but my heart thudded as she challenged the Beast. Riyan could have swatted her away like a fly, but instead he merely looked down at her withknitted eyebrows.
Annalisa’s voice dropped to a quiet growl, but her threat did not dampen. “How could you do this to her?Youmonster.”
A muscle feathered in Riyan’s cheek, but he didnot move.
Grigory bounded down the steps as fast as he could and put a protective arm around Annalisa. Her Hyton Blue eyes shot threats like invisible arrows at Riyan, even as her husband led her back intothe ballroom.
I should have shoved myself off the bench and followed them, but Riyan stood between me and the ballroom door. I crossed my arms and turned away from him. Maybe if I gave him the cold shoulder, he would get the hint and leave me thehell alone.
His footsteps were uneven on the cobblestones as he lumbered over to me. “Serafina,”he slurred.
I clenched my teeth as he said my name, further solidifying that Iwas his.
I kept my eyes on the roses and squeezed my arms. “Get awayfrom me.”
Riyan ignored me and plopped down on the ground in front of the bench. I wrinkled my nose as the burning stench of winefollowed him.
The blood in my arms boiled. I snapped my head toward the colossal drunk slumped in front of me. “For a soldier, you are shit at following orders.Go away!”
Riyan scrubbed his face with his meaty hand. “Look, I know youare upset—”
“Upset?” I screamed, launching up from the bench. Finally my head was higher than his. “Of course I am upset! You ruinedmy life!”
Riyan blinked and his shoulders dipped forward. “I…I know.”
Fire danced on my tongue. He knew. He knew he had doomed me and he hadno remorse.
I gritted my teeth and flung my arm back toward the light of the ballroom. “Derrick loves me. I was supposed to be his Duchess and you took itall away!”
Riyan said nothing. He just sat there, watching my life fall apart. Was my misery justhis entertainment?
I stomped closer to him so he could see just how much he had hurt me. He deserved to feel every slice of pain I had endured and more. “Ihateyou.”
That was not enough. I screamed so loud the words echoed off the stars. “I hate you! If I could do it without dooming myself, I wouldkill you.I would kill you before you could hurt meany more!”
My throat was sore. My body trembled and my chest rattled with dry sobs. Riyan just looked at me, blinking his watery eyes for a few infuriating seconds beforehe swallowed.
His voice was a tiny rumble in the evening air. “You would reallykill me?”
I crossed my arms and suppressed a hiccup. I pictured stabbing him in the eyes and holdinghishead up in front of an adoring crowd. The fire of my rage cooled to steel, and the word that left my tongue cut through the air like ablade. “Yes.”
Riyan ran his hand through his hair, letting a few strands fall in his face as he looked down at the cobblestones. His voice was heavy. “I don’t blame you.” He finally looked me in the eye. “I’m sorry.”
Despite how tightly I held my arms against my chest, my body kept shaking. My cold, steely anger disappeared, leaving behind something…wet and mushy that I could not contain. I opened my lips and what came out was more of a plea than a question. “Thenwhy?Why me?”
Riyan sighed. “I…I had to. I could not marry Brietta Elvar after Isaw you.”
“What are you talking about?” I cried. I threw down my arms in frustration. “You never saw me before the marriage ceremony! Why are you lyingto me?”
