Brietta nodded, tears shining in her eyes that looked only at the floor. “That is why neither of us can remember what happened. I have never drank anything Anders offered me since, but at the dinner…Derrick did.”
A chill ran down my body. Derrick did not sound like himself that night when he came to Annalisa’s room. His voice was strained with a ravenous edge and the only thing that would satisfy him was…
Me. In his lust-poisoned state, he first wantedme.
If Annalisa had not slammed the door in his face that night… No, I did not even want toimaginewhat the man who was not my Derrick would have done.
My throat trembled. “Derrick would never—”
“I know,” Brietta said, hard and fast. “And I will not let him apologize each time he tries. We drank the same poison. If he admits fault, then so must I. And Irefuseto believe—”
Brietta sucked up her tears and threw her shoulders back. “That is why we need to strategize. If Anders is turning his son into a monster because he is desperate for an heir, we have to get him under control.”
A thought pulled on the back of my mind, where Freya had said a monster consumed her husband…
“Under control?” Annalisa snapped. “Are you going to put my twin brother on a chain?”
Brietta tightened her hold on her arms. “What do you suggest, then?”
Annalisa laughed—not what I expected. “You two want to play the games of the House of Hyton? You need someone who was raised as a Hyton.”
She crossed to her dressing table, dipped her fingers into her water bowl, and started smoothing her curls into perfect ringlets. “First of all, everything in our family starts and ends with my father. If you can manipulate my father, you have control of the House of Hyton.”
She was only confirming what I already knew. I just needed more information on his mother to back him into a corner and force him to release Fraleigh from whatever deal that held her in captivity.
Brietta loosened her grip. “So we need to get into your father’s head? Maybe with Sera’s magic—”
“Wrong.” Annalisa twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “My father lets no one in, but he has shown his hand for once. The only thing he cares about right now is Derrick and how the nobility perceives him.”
Brietta and I glanced at each other. Everything she stated was obvious, how did it help us?
Annalisa took note of our silence and scoffed. “Make Derrick look good. If Derrick looks good, my father is complacent. If he is complacent, he is not making moves against anyone. If he is not making moves,wecan make moves againsthim.”
Annalisa was never a strategist nor was she a planner. She had always struck first and asked questions later—sinking herteeth into the jugular with no cares in the world other than herself.
Erik perched on the edge of the dressing table. Even though Annalisa was the one preening herself like a bird, I could not find the school bully I grew up with. Instead, I saw a commander giving orders to her soldiers.
Annalisa rested her hands on the dressing table and looked down at Erik. “I have spent twenty-two years dealing with my father’s bullshit. I am tired of trying to win his affection, now I want to earn his hatred.”
She looked over her shoulder at us. “If you want any hope for the control you seek, Derrick had better have the best damn birthday of his life tonight.”
Were beads distracting?
I stood in front of my wardrobe and ran my hands over the periwinkle beads sewn onto my bodice. The white lace over my forearms contrasted nicely with the billowing dark blue sleeves and skirt. The dress was not exactly Hyton Blue, thank goodness, but had enough of Derrick’s favorite colors to catch his eye.
From what I had heard, the ball was not going to be a large affair. Everyone was too excited for the Darkest Night in three days to bother with the heir’s birthday.
Still, my job was to capture as much of Derrick’s attention as possible to keep him away from Brietta. I needed to be more…extravagant than anyone else.
I adjusted my breasts so they formed little mounds on top of the bodice. Yes, extravagant. That was the word I would use.
The door to my bedroom clicked open and Brietta poked her head in. She was in her usual uniform of Hyton Blue and as much gold that she could fit on her body. The gems on her tiarasparkled as she gave my outfit a once-over and an approving nod.
I kept up with her confident stride as we walked to the ballroom, but my hands picked at the beads at the bottom of my bodice.
I had decided to leave my Nordingaard crystal in my room—I could not risk wearing it in front of all the Lycaster nobility. What if it fell onto the dance floor? What if it glowed and people could spy it underneath my skirt? What if someone already suspected I was a sorceress and the crystal was just the damning proof they needed?
Though it was necessary, I had needles beneath my skin the moment I removed the crystal from my leg. My mind was spinning so much, I had sent Erik to check up on Brandt at the guard house to make sure he was all right.
