Page 84 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

“No! I—”

“She is better than my loyal subjects who have done as asked? She gets to refuse an order from the king?” the prince continues, his voice still light and friendly, completely at odds with his words. The father has gone pale, realising that this isn’t going to end well. I want to look away, I don’t want to see what will happen next, but I can’t seem to avert my gaze. I focus instead on Wilson’s warm hand in mine, grounding me.

“Your highness, I—” The father tries again, his voice getting high as the woman’s crying gets louder.

“Eat it,” he orders, giving no room for refusal, but the father hurries forward as if he’s going to touch the prince, plead with him, except he never gets close. The guards swarm in on him and pull him back. He’s sobbing openly now, his daughter crying out as two guards grab her arms.

“No! Please—”

A loud smacking noise fills the hall as the prince backhands him. Stumbling back, the father clutches his quickly swelling face and bleeding nose, but he can’t move far thanks to theguards holding him in place. Rhydian stalks forward and leans close to him, his face twisted into a snarl. “I said,eat.”

“No, no, please, I don’t even want to be here!” Realising she’s not going to get out of this, and seeing her father bleeding in front of her, she tries to pull away from the guards. Rhydian pushes forward and takes the box from her hand.

“Oh, thank you, Your Highness,” she blurts in relief, obviously thinking he’s taking the box from her so she doesn’t have to eat the chocolate.

“Hold her,” he orders the guards. Gasps fill the room as the remaining nobility realise what’s about to happen. Following the orders from their prince, the guards tighten their grip, and one comes behind the woman and holds her head in a vice-like hold.

Her cries and unintelligible words fill the hall, and I see many people turn away, not wanting to see this young woman be forced to eat the chocolate that could contain poison. But I don’t. Her eyes meet mine and I know I can’t look away, she needs comfort, to know someone is witnessing what’s happening to her. So I stand still as her jaw is forced open and the chocolate is shoved into her mouth, and then as they slam her jaw shut and hold onto her nose so she has to swallow.

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Rhydian smirks, taking a step backward as he watches the woman closely for any reaction. He wants her to have one of the poisoned chocolates, I can tell from the excitement in his eyes. After a few seconds of nothing happening, he sighs and gestures for the guards to release the woman and her father as he turns and walks back to his throne.

The father hurries to his daughter’s side, fussing around her and checking for any signs of poison. “Thank the Mother!” he murmurs, as she looks up and smiles at him, hope blooming in her eyes. Most people have turned away now, focusing on the prince, but I’m still watching her, so I see the moment her eyes go blank and she drops to the floor. Her father cries out andpeople gasp as they spin to see the young woman on the ground, bleeding from her nose as her blank eyes stare up at them.

“No!” On his knees, her father pulls her still body into his arms, his loud sobs echoing around the hall.

“Well, that’s one way to cut down the competition,” Aileen mutters quietly, her face pale as we stare at the unblinking corpses surrounding us.

After we all leave the hall, we say our farewells to a rather subdued Aileen and her father before Wilson leads me back towards Grayson’s quarters. We walk in silence, his arm tight around mine as he guides me. I know he’s shocked, never thinking the king could go so far as to kill nobility for entertainment, but he doesn’t know the royals like I do. I’ve seen the darker underbelly of this kingdom, and experienced its cruel sense of justice.

Reaching the suite, Wilson finally stops and looks at me, and it’s only then, when I see the pain in his eyes, that I realise his stiff and abrupt behaviour is caused by fear.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, guilt lining his face.

“What are you sorry for?” I ask, confused, not sure how to comfort him. I’ve seen people hugging those who were upset and found some comfort when other people have hugged me, but I’m not sure if it will be appreciated in this situation. “Please, don’t be upset, what’s wrong?”

He takes a step away from me, laughing humourlessly. “I can’t protect you from this. It is way above my head.” He turns,running his hands through his hair, his distress obvious. I frown and a jolt of anger shoots through me. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I spin him around and raise an eyebrow.

“I don’t need a protector. I need a friend,” I insist, needing him to know that I value his friendship far more than the safety he could provide. I’m not some helpless damsel in need of rescue, not anymore. He watches me, realising what he implied, and nods.

“That I can do.”

Smiling at his response, I surprise him by pulling him into a hug. It doesn’t last long, and I don’t squeeze him hard, literally draping my arms around his shoulders, but he sinks into my embrace before pulling away. “Still, you’re my friend, and I will do everything in my power to protect you from this,” he promises, pressing a curt kiss to my cheek before giving me a cheeky wink.

“Good night, Wilson,” I tell him with a roll of my eyes.

“Good night.”

Turning from the mage, I let myself into the rooms. It’s quiet without Grayson here, and Jayne will have finished her duties by now, so I don’t expect to see her again tonight. I make my way through the dim suite to my room, my thoughts twisting as visions of the unblinking eyes of the poisoned ladies flit through my mind. I am so caught up in my thoughts, I don’t notice Jayne, who is sitting on the end of my bed with a dark cloak in her hands.

“Mother above!” I cry when I see her, my heart pounding in my chest as she stands, startling me. Pressing my hand against my beating heart, I try to steady my breathing. My overactive imagination had me believing it was the king coming to force me to eat a poisoned chocolate, and I force a laugh when I realise who it is.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you,” she tells me, laying a hand on my shoulder as she waits for me to calm myself. “I heard rumours about what happened in the great hall tonight, and I had to know if they were true.” Her voice has changed now, she sounds hesitant, like she doesn’t want to ask. Or she’s afraid of the answer.

“What did the rumours say?”

Walking farther into the room, I remove my blue cloak, and rest it on the back of the chair tucked into the dressing table. I face the mirror and begin removing the necklace and jewellery I’m wearing, watching her through the glass.

“That some of the ladies were killed tonight, forced to eat poisoned food.” I nod my head once, not needing to elaborate. I don’t want to give her nightmares like the ones I know will be plaguing me. “Mother above,” she breathes, closing her eyes as she takes a moment to adjust to this news. When she opens her eyes, she hurries to my side and pulls me into a tight hug. This is how a hug should feel—comforting, safe.

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