Page 4 of Deadwood
“King Tenere,” King Bular greeted, stopping us at the bottom of the stairs. His greying hair matched the shade of his short beard, showing off his age. His finely pressed suit was an array of his kingdom’s colors—muted greens mixed with deep emerald stitching—sitting flawlessly atop his sunburnt skin.
I noted Heidi stopping on the opposite side of my father.
“King Bular,” my father gritted back. “Still no sign of your son?”
“No,” Tonson admitted, not bothering to turn to the crowd, like he knew his son wouldn’t have shown up since last time he had checked. “He has a horrible habit of tardiness.”
“Tardiness or plain disobedience?” my father questioned.
Tonson’s lips flattened for a split second before he changed the subject, but I didn’t hear a word either of them uttered, as all I could focus on was my spinning thoughts of needing to get out of here. I wasn’t staying until this ball was over—not tonight.
My father had done a lot of things to me in my life, but an engagement without consulting me beforehand was outrageous.Married? To a Bular? I’d hardly spoken to the king and queen, let alone their sons. My father never let me around the other monarchs’ children, as he was overly protective. So protective that even he rarely left the castle himself, for fear of leaving me alone. At least, that’s what I assumed. How could my father go from strictly forbidding I speak to any man, to suddenly marrying me off to one? And from the sounds of it, he didn’t like Lander’s behavior to begin with.
“Lady Auria, forgive me,” Tonson said, pulling my focus back to the present. He was angled toward me, hands clasped together. “Congratulations on your engagement to my son.”
Gods, this sounded so wrong. This whole evening was wrong. But I dipped my chin anyway. “Thank you, King Bular, but if you’ll excuse me, I really need to take care of some personal matters.”
Pretending that I had to relieve myself probably wasn’t the brightest excuse, given the glare my father sent me. I didn’t care to see what Heidi’s reaction was to my abrupt dismissal. I didn’t give a fuck about any of this. I needed air.
I didn’t stick around to hear Tonson’s response as I slipped away, not bothering to look for Taylin. There was no question she was just as shocked as I was. We told each other everything, so if she knew, I’d know. It was a surprise to the both of us.
The guests had gone right back to mingling, as if the announcement hadn’t even happened, and I was thankful their penetrating stares were no longer trained on my face.
I set my sights on the nearest exit. The balcony door. There weren’t many places I could go from the terrace, but it’d get me out of this stifling room and give me the opportunity to tear this godsforsaken mask off my face.
If only I could unlace this suffocating corset, too.
My escape plan started to lose its promise of reprieve all too soon as people attempted to speak to me on my way out. I ignored every congratulations, despite hands grazing my arms and fingers bushing my skin in an attempt to stop me. I didn’t want their attention. I didn’t even want to beengaged. There had to be some kind of ploy behind all of this, but there was no use in trying to find a way out of it. What’s done was done, and I’d have to live with that.
With Lander being from Torbernite, I had to guess that this was to bring some sort of twisted peace between our kingdoms. Trade had been rocky the past few years, and I’d often overheard my father’s meetings about how things weren’t looking good.
Yet he can turn around and throw a fucking party.
As soon as I was through the door, the cool night air offered a welcome bite to my heated skin. Letting it shut behind me, I crossed to the edge of the deck while simultaneously ripping the mask off. I looked over the amber glow from the city with it clutched in my hand.
The castle wasn’t far from Silicate, the distance allowing the common eye a beautiful view of the bustling city. The light spilling from hundreds of lanterns, the stone buildings, the cobbled streets, it was supposed to be beautiful, a palace of sorts. But to me, it was just that—a collection of man-made structures set upon a once-beautiful landscape. Taylin had told me stories of the city, of the shops and markets and diverse citizens. I wanted to adore it, to find the same hope many did in a place such as Silicate. But my life would never take me there. It simply wasn’t meant to be, and I’d come to accept the fact long ago.
Though, if I could give in to my dreams for just one moment, they wouldn’t place me here in this castle. I was provided safety and a home, but that was as far as my thankfulness went for this place.
“Not celebrating with the rest?” a deep, husky voice spoke up from behind me.
Catching a gasp in my restricted chest, I whirled around.
I hadn’t even seen the man standing there when I came out here, being far too distracted with my irritation. But as my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized with too much certainty that it was the same man whose wine I’d stolen.
Thank gods it was only him. I didn’t have the energy to deal with anyone else tonight.
His back was to the building as he leaned against it, legs crossed at the ankles with arms folded over his broad chest. His mask was still tied around his head, making it difficult to figure out exactly who he was, even with the dim silver light cast from the rings in the sky. For some reason, despite feeling so exposed moments ago, the thought of wanting my own mask back on my face didn’t seem appealing to me.
“Celebrating can wait,” I snipped, trying to calm my racing heart. I wasn’t particularly happy about the news sprung on me this evening, but I especially didn’t need to be told what Ishouldbe doing. Nor did I need judgment for it. No one was privy to the fact that I was not aware of this engagement, aside from Taylin, and if I had to guess, my father would want me to keep that a secret, too. To keep up the act in front of this stranger, I couldn’t let on to that.
I had a feeling a lot of acting on behalf of this engagement was to come.
“Already done enough of it?” he asked, and I hated how he stood there like there wasn’t a party going on behind him. Like we were just two strangers talking, and my world hadn’t been upended right before my eyes moments ago. Like him standing out here, with his dark, messy hair and bulging muscles under the jacket he wore was simply casual. Despite that, he had a bite to his tone, as if he’d conjured up his own idea of me in a matter of seconds and disliked me for it, whether it be the truth or not. That, and it was so different than how he’d spoken to me inside. What changed?
“Hardly.” I tried to keep the irritation out of my tone, but seemingly failed.
The man quirked a brow. “Are you not happy with your betrothed,Princess?”
