Page 33 of Snow White

Eric’s gaze sweeps the table. Several of the women twitter beneath his focus. He winks when he looks at me, and my hackles go up. We are two predators hunting the same prey.

My smile turns cutting, my voice as frosty as the ice in his sister’s mind. “Ah, the prodigal son, a pleasure.”

A few of the princesses giggle. Princess Amirah calls out, “Is it true that you sailed around the continent in just ninety days?”

Eric smirks. “It is.”

I can barely keep from rolling my eyes. Eric is the Vessel for the Elemental ofWater. Of course, he’s going to sail around the world in record-breaking time when he’s in hiselement. Praise for undeserved feats rankles me.

“Is it true that you can hold your breath longer than any other man?” Princess Liza asks.

Again, the answer should be obvious.

“It is,” Eric says, his smirk never dropping. “But ladies, this isn’t about me. It’s about my old man.” Eric slaps his father’s shoulder, making his father laugh. The king’s eyes sparkle when they rest on his son, a heart-wrenching hope in their depths.

“You are a handful,” the king says.

Belle leans over, whispering into Snow’s ear, but my focus remains on Eric. I lean back in my chair, surveying him as I fold my hands in my lap. Everything about Eric iswrong.The way he holds himself, the way he smiles, the way he laughs, all of it is just off.

The king stands and announces, “Well, I have some things to attend to. I am excited to see what all you ladies have planned for tomorrow. I will see you all then.”

I nod at the king but know better than to take my eyes off an enemy. Eric smiles, waiting for his father to leave before asking the women present, “Who would like to give me a tour of the gardens?”

I slowly stand from the table. “I’m sure many of the women here would be delighted, Prince Eric. But as you said yourself, this is not about you. If any of these women were smart, they’d let you wander around the gardens you grew up with,alone.”

With my head held high, I turn toward the door. Eric calls to my back, “Can I not make friends, my lady?”

I look over my shoulder at him, my laugh frigid. “The distractions won’t help, you know. That pit inside you will remain.”

Eric’s face darkens. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You keep believing that,” I say, holding his gaze. I turn and, without glancing back, slip from the room.

Chapter Twenty-two

Snow

Seeing my brother made me happy in the twenty seconds before chaos followed. I love Eric dearly, but when women are around, he can be a tad full of himself. Yes, he is doing this to weed out the unloyal from this event, but most likely, he will enjoy it. It irks me slightly that he has this power over people. Women crowd around him like bees to honey.

There are two women he did not fool. Azura and Belle. Is it terrible it makes me happy that they didn’t fall for his charms? Belle whispered that she thought I was the better sibling, and Azura had a confrontation with him within minutes. They chose me over him.

Someone has chosen me.I grin at the thought.

A princess with carrot red hair slips into the seat beside Eric, pressing her breasts against his side. Belle refers to Veronica as aclassic bitch. Rumor has it that she sleeps with men, then steals their money as they rest. We haven’t been able to prove it yet, which is why she is still here. Why she would do this when she is a princess from a prosperous kingdom who wants for nothing, I do not know. Belle hypothesized she did it for thethrill.

“Don’t pay attention to Azura,” Veronica says. “She acts as if she is better than all of us.”

“I like the way you think,” Eric says, faking a smile and looking down at her. He surprisingly avoids looking at her plump breasts and lush curves. Has my brother grown as a person since he left home?

She giggles and trails her fingertips up his arm. “She acts as if she is already queen and has been since the moment she arrived.”

“No, she hasn’t.” I frown, surprised by the sound of my own voice. Belle places a hand on my arm. My blood turns icy hot in my veins, and I have the urge to get up and smack Veronica across the face.

“Yes, she has. She acts like we should all obey her,” Veronica hisses. “She’s not even a princess.”

“Well, she has been nicer to me than all of you. That makes her a better match.” I stand, an emotion I haven’t felt since I was a child flaring to life inside me. Anger. The world turns red as pure anger burns an icy path through my soul.

My brother tenses and looks down at the woman clinging to his body. “Is that true?”

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