Page 101 of Dueling the Suitors

Astoria jumped to her feet and faced the intruder as he set a meager meal and a cup of water on the table.

“Are youmad?” she yelled at the wizard, running a hand over her face to check for any sign of drool and—ew!She wiped furiously at her mouth. “It’s rude to barge into a lady’s room!”

“You are my prisoner, and you will get treated like one,” he snapped back with a glare. “Now, shut up and eat your meal. Your husband isn’t awake yet. Seems like it will take a little longer than we expected, given the amount of poison in his system. And we don’t want you to starve until then, do we?”

He smiled nastily.

To think that her father had wanted her to marry this man! He was disgusting.

When he left, slamming the door behind him, Astoria sank back into the chair. She hoped her letter had appeared somewhere safe for Cyrus to find when he woke up. Whenever he did.

The palace was undoubtedly searching for her now, including Rowan with his fake frenzy. She hoped Joaquin and the General would be safe from him, that at least one of them would stay in the suite with Cyrus while the other joined in the search for her.

The last thing she wanted was Rowan slipping into Cyrus’ room and—

Astoria stopped that train of thought firmly. No. Joaquin wouldn’t be foolish enough to trust anyone other than himself and the General with Cyrus’ safety, especially now that Astoria was missing, too. If only the wizard hadn’t taken the box away! If only she had the sense to send a letter to Joaquin as well!

She even called out to the wizard, asking him to give her back the box so she wouldn’t get bored. He refused. Her boredom was undoubtedly his entertainment.

This was the worst day of her life. Astoria missed a lot of things; Skylar, Spyrah, Emily, her powers. But most importantly, she missed Cyrus. She missed her husband.

Wizard Orion kept bringing her meals, looking like he would rather do anything else each time. She refused to eat them, and he told her if she didn’t eat by the next time he came, there would be no more food for her as long as she was held prisoner.

Astoria couldn’t care less. Not because the food was meager, but because she felt like there was a rock in her stomach. She couldn’t eat even if she wanted to.

That night, she lay on the bed, staring out the window, stomach rumbling and mind reeling. All she could think about was Cyrus and how much she loved him. She loved him, yet she didn’t want him to give up his throne for her. She loved him and didn’t want him to lose what he held dear to his heart.

If he fought, she was sure he could win. And Astoria wanted him to win.

Wizard Orion had come in and taken her untouched food away and hadn’t brought the night meal as per his word. Sometime later, she heard Rowan’s voice outside the door. She almost thought Cyrus had woken up but heard him say he hadn’t. Then, the door opened.

“Get out!” Astoria grabbed her pillow and hurled it at Rowan the moment he entered. He acted fast, throwing a hand up to stop it mid-air before sending it back to her. She caught it and glared at his smirking face. Then he stepped back and closed the door.

She thought he would put up a fight, but it seemed like neither of them was up for one.

When morning came, Astoria opened her eyes to the sunlight streaming through the window and realized she had slept through the night, unlike yesterday. She turned to her left and froze.

There was a folded paper on her pillow. She sat up and reached for it, gritting her teeth. Where did Rowan have the gall to—

She stopped mid-thought as her eyes landed on the familiar, slanted handwriting.

I couldn’t access the connection of our bond to locate you, Little Dragon. But I will find you even if I have to turn the human realm upside down. I will not rest until you are safe in my arms. Rowan will pay.

He was awake.

Astoria’s heart accelerated. He said he wouldn’t rest until she was safe. Rowan was going to take advantage of that.No, no, no!Didn’t he understand the direness of this situation? It was bigger than her safety. All of the empire would suffer if he gave up the throne just to save her.

Astoria was out of bed and pacing in the next moment. How could she tell him exactly what Rowan was planning?

The door flung open.

She froze in her tracks and turned to face Wizard Orion, crushing Cyrus’ letter in her hand. But it was too late. He saw it already.

“What is that?” His eyes narrowed at the crumpled ball of paper in her hand. “I thought I cleared every last of the drawings—” He stopped short as his eyes flicked back to her face. “It’s not one of the drawings, is it?”

He stepped into the room, slow like a panther.

“Why do you care? It’s just trash.” But panic betrayed her voice.

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