Page 67 of Dueling the Suitors

Despite having called him lots of insults in her faux letter to Emmett, knowing what he was capable of, and being on the receiving end of his anger, this was the first time she had heard him sound so deadly.

The first time he matched up totheEmperor Cyrus from her imagination.

“I—I—I—” the older man stuttered.

“Now.”

Lord Garrett practically bent over in his effort to bow his head. “I beg your pardon, Princess As—”

“Empress Astoria,” Cyrus cut him off, his words as sharp as a sword.

“Empress Astoria,” the man sputtered, still trembling. “I beg your pardon, Empress Astoria.”

Astoria felt slightly bad for the man; she couldn’t help her next words. “You are forgiven, Lord Garrett.”

“Th—thank you, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“Arise,” Cyrus commanded. When Lord Garrett obliged, he raised his voice so everyone in the throne room, who had stopped their work and were watching, could hear him. “No one, I repeat, no one is to treat my wife that way, with any less respect than you give me.”

His hands slid down to her elbow and paused there. In her peripheral view, Astoria saw the side of his face as he tilted his head to look at her. If she craned her neck just slightly, their eyes would meet.

“Now, beloved, what was the matter?” he asked, the previous ire in his voice completely forgotten.

In some other life, he would have been a great actor.

Astoria summoned the actress in her, one not as good as his, and met his gaze. They were intense and gentle at the same time. How was that possible?

She passed on a sweet smile. “I was just redecorating our banners. You know,darling, testing out a change of colour.” She kept the smugness from her eyes as she inclined her head towards the walls.

Cyrus’ eyes followed her direction and blinked. He went still for a moment, and then he smiled, his eyes crinkling adorably at the corners. Wait, adorably?

“You want a change in our banner’s colours?” he asked, meeting her gaze, and continued without her answer, “As you wish, my darling.”

14

The New Era

Astoria walked back to her room after an awkward lunch with Cyrus—at his request—where he mistook her moodiness for offense at Lord Garrett’s insult and tried to reassure her. Astoria had snapped at him, telling him she was alright and that she especially didn’t need his cajoling.

Cyrus merely smiled before continuing with what he was about to say, mentioning that Lord Garrett had been practically throwing his daughter in Cyrus’ path at every opportunity, hoping Cyrus would fall in love with the girl and marry her. The man must be very disappointed that Cyrus went behind everyone’s back and chose a bride for himself. He also mentioned that he had banned the man from setting foot in the palace for a year.

Astoria didn’t know how to react to this, so she focused on her food and showed no sign of listening to him. Cyrus didn’t seem to mind, nor did he reprimand her for her indifference.

Astoria still didn’t know the man she had married, what game he was playing, or what her role in it was. All she knew was that her husband had won. Again.

And she hated it.

When she reached the safety of her room, she shut the door behind her and sagged against it. Skylar was nowhere in sight. She assumed he was tailing Spyrah despite his complaints about her. Suddenly feeling weak, she slid down and hugged her knees to her chest.

What had her life turned into?

The thought made a lone tear slip from her eye.

If she was here because of the prophecy, how exactly was she to play her part? What was she supposed to do? Who was there to guide her towards its fulfillment? Was she on her own?

Astoria had never felt so lonely and helpless before. Cyrus was a mastermind. Every game she played with him, she lost. Shehadlost to him from the start, and much to her dismay, she realized that she didn’t have it in her for another game where he was going to beat her again.

However, no more games didn’t mean she was giving up. It wasn’t an option. To keep herself going, she had to keep fighting. Just not the same way. She would have to figure out something else.

---