Page 51 of A War of Crowns

Seraphina frowned at his back. “What?”

When next Tiberius turned to face her, his eyes flashed like cold emeralds in the darkness. “How can you be so naïve, Sera?” he spat. “The world thinks me your favorite, and I am favored by others because of it. But the moment yousnubme in front of them all, my business will flounder. Beaumont Trading will suffer. My pending deals with the city-states are already balanced on the edge of a knife, and should you do this to me now, they might never come to fruition.”

For several long moments, Seraphina could only stare up at him. Tiberius Beaumont. The man she had once admired. The man she had once pined for.

The man who now dared cry toherabout potentially spoiled business arrangements while her people in Mysai lived beneath the threat of an executioner’s blade.

Disgust washed over her—a veritable tsunami that threatened to drown her in an instant. She twitched away from the baron and placed yet more distance between her person and his. Not that there was much need for it.

The chasm he had just ripped open between them was far too great for any touch or ridiculously expensive gift to breach.

“How dare you,” Seraphina whispered at last, once she had finally recovered her voice. “How…dareyou, you…silly peacock of a man.”

Tiberius’s jaw clenched at her words, his pride clearly wounded.

But she didn’t care.

She blazed right through his ego and hissed up at him, “The world thinks you my lover and I am named a harlot for it. What do you think would happen were I to bring you along to this peace summit I am hosting for my formerfiancé? I might as well slap King Edmund in the face and be done with it.”

“And yet you take Sir Dacre with you,” Tiberius volleyed back without pause.

The fact he dared speak again merely stoked her anger all the more. “You will be silent from this point forward, Lord Beaumont. I am your queen. I need not explain myself to you.”

From the shadows off to her left, Seraphina suddenly heard a strange, wet slurping. When she jerked her head to the side to face the noise, she saw Olivia lounging against the trellis, snacking on a plum. She hadn’t even seen her oldest friend arrive.

There was no telling how long Olivia had been standing there. Listening.

Tiberius turned and sneered at the other woman. “What are you doing here?” he asked in flippant disobedience of Seraphina’s order for silence.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” Olivia drawled around her mouthful of plum. “I’m just playing chaperone.”

Seraphina tried to quiet her racing heart. But still, her anger ran hot. She wished for nothing more in that moment than for Alyx to suddenly appear and bite the Baron of Crestley again.

She had no such luck, though. The skies remained empty.

Seraphina turned back to Tiberius and declared, “You are dismissed, Lord Beaumont. I do not desire to see you again this night. Nor tomorrow morning for my send-off.”

Tiberius stared down at her, his eyes suddenly wide. “Sera…” he whispered, chancing a step closer, “…you can’t be serious.”

But she jerked away from him. “Do not mistake my previous kindness toward you for weakness, my lord.” Lifting her chin, Seraphina softly reminded, “What was done by my father’s hand can always be undone by my own.”

That veiled threat certainly earned the baron’s attention. He had only been raised to the ranks of the nobility in the first place because her father willed it.

And though the baron’s jaw perceptibly tightened, he didn’t dare utter another word to her. For once, he listened, and he obeyed.

But not before tossing the necklace—box and all—at her feet during his retreat.

Olivia let loose a low whistle as they watched him go.

With Tiberius gone, all the anger swiftly oozed from her body. And in its absence, Seraphina trembled. “How much did you hear?” she asked, glancing at Olivia sidelong.

“Enough to be fiercely proud of you.”

When their eyes met, her best friend smiled. But Seraphina had no smile to offer in return.

Her eyes traced toward where Tiberius’s opulent necklace lay within its discarded box. The diamonds twinkled like fallen stars against the lawn bordering the garden path.

Olivia followed her gaze. “Do you want that?”

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