Page 101 of The Mad King and the False Queen

“That’s what this is about?”

Claude set the goblet down on the side table before approaching her on the other side of the room. His strides were wide and filled with anger. “I haven’t left the castle in years.”

“You came to Nouchenne.”

“Only to save you,” he growled. “I haven’t visited a populated village since my parents died.”

Dagmara was silent. She could feel the air in the chamber shift. “I didn’t know that. Then tell Lionel it won’t happen.”

“I can’t do that.”

“You’re king, you can do whatever you want.”

“I can’t!” his voice rang throughout the room, and Dagmara jumped. Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt frozen in her shoes.

The king seemed to notice her fear. He let out a deep sigh. “I will not go back on our word to Lionel. That is not a good look for either of us. It will only show we disagree with one another at the beginning of this alliance. But…I don’t know how I can leave the castle.”

“Why?”

Claude scoffed, turning away from her once more and pacing to the wall.

“I can’t help you unless I understand why,” Dagmara stated, finding her courage once more.

“You can’t help me at all.”

“I might, but I know nothing about you,” she replied.

“And I know nothing about you!” Claude gestured at her with wide arms.

She took a step toward him. “A truth for a truth, is that what you want?”

He stared at her, heaving. His eyes twinkled with some masked emotion she couldn’t quite discern. She wished she could. The muscles in his chest rippled as he clasped a hand behind his neck, breaking his eye contact with her.

“I don’t know what I want anymore,” Claude admitted. “I thought I had everything planned out before I met you, but you’re very different than I remember. I know we grew up over the years, but I didn’t expect to feel…,” he hesitated. “I didn’t expect your arrival to affect me this much.”

Taken aback, Dagmara hardly knew how to respond. She had so many follow up questions cross her mind, and confusion settled in. A silence filled the space between them, and she struggled to form a sentence.

“This…situation…is not what I expected either.” She fumbled, hoping she had conveyed some of her emotion. She no longer knew what she was doing. She was alone with him in his chamber, directly beside his desk which could contain the information she needed to incriminate him in the murders of Bogdan and Aleksy. Now, everything was turned upside down.

“I can’t decide if I trust you,” Claude stated. “What is a king who can’t make a decision?”

“A thoughtful one.”

His eyes met hers. His stare was intense, but not angry. No…it was something else entirely.

Dagmara’s breath caught in her throat, and her stomach catapulted inside her body. She was startled by how much she was drawn to his eyes. They were hypnotic, magnetic, and consuming all at the same time. His gaze flooded her body with warmth, and her mind spun as though nothing else in the world existed but him.

And she didn’t want the feeling to end.

“I guess we can’t fully trust each other unless we know each other. A truth for a truth, if the offer is still on the table?” Claude asked, then quickly added, “For the betterment of our kingdoms.”

“And the safety of our people,” she appended, remembering what they had said to one another before entering the engagement ball.

His lips almost creased into a smile. Then he gestured toward the seating arrangement by the window, lit by the subtle moonlight. No, she was in his room now and was going to see what she could find, no matter the cost. She crossed the room to the bed and sat on the edge of it, folding one knee underneath her and letting her nightgown slide up her leg.

His jaw ticked, his eyes roaming for a brief moment. Then he gave her a curt nod as though she would have it her way before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He leaned against the canopy post, facing her.

“You may go first,” she said.

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