Page 9 of Deadwood
I raised my head to look her in the eye. “He’s playing with my life.”
“Because he loves you.”
I swallowed, my posture stiffening slightly as the stone ground bit into my knees.
She was right. He loved me, and I had to remember that he did all of this so we could have a good life. So that everyone in this kingdom could.
The doors opened behind me, and I didn’t have to look to know my father walked through them, the sound of his boots telling me all I needed to know. I’d gotten good at listening to the rhythm of people’s steps through my bedroom door.
“Let her go,” my father instructed, barely paying me any mind as he walked past.
The guard dropped my hands, and my shoulders slumped forward as the strain in them eased. Getting to my feet, I rubbed at my wrists as my father took his seat next to his wife.
“Did your maid tell you about the dinner?” my father asked, looking bored as ever as he slumped back in the throne. His salt and pepper hair was neatly styled, much like his garnet suit.
“No,” I gritted out. I didn’t mention he could’ve told me himself.
He folded his hands together, his elbows perched on the sides of the chair. “Tomorrow night, you’ll be attending dinner with the Bulars. Katie will bring your dress to your room beforehand. And I expect no stunts like you pulled last night.” He recited the words like it was a message he was reading off a parchment.
My brows pulled together. If anyone pulled any stunts last night, it was him.
“Stunts?”
His eyes turned to slits. “You disrespected me at my own party. You must show your appreciation and gratitude in front of my guests. One wrong move, and I look weak. Is that what you want?”
I averted my gaze, hating his perlustration of me right now. He meant how I hadn’t smiled on stage, and then excused myself immediately after the announcement. “No.”
He seemed satisfied with my response as his cutting glare lost some of its edge. “You must understand, I am leading an entire kingdom. So much rides on my shoulders, and if all I ask is that you cooperate, then you will do so. Is that clear?”
“Crystal.” Yet it wasn’t the only thing he was asking of me. I was to duplicate magic, obey his orders, be a good daughter, hide myself and my magic, and now marry a man I’d never met before. Was I even allowed to be truthful with Lander? Could he know about my ability?
“Now, you know what chores are on your list. I’ve added a few more, as there are some requests from friends that I’d like to fulfill.”
He meant me. ThatI’dneed to fulfill.
I kept silent as he continued. “As always, the paper is posted in the cellar. You’re excused.”
I didn’t hesitate as I turned on my heel and headed for the giant doors. It was a part of my daily routine to go down there and duplicate what I was ordered to. He always had a list of specific vials for me to work on, but even with the daily load, I was already left drained. With more on my list, I hoped I could get it done in time to turn in early and sleep the effects of it off before this supposed dinner tomorrow.
The guard that brought me here fell into step beside me as I made my way through the castle to the cellar. Every so often, the guard assigned to me would switch due to my father’s paranoia of one of them catching on to what I could do. If one of them figured out why I was going to the cellars every day, they could spread false accusations, or even worse, true ones.
Aside from me and my father, no one was privy to what was locked in the confines of the cellar, which irked my stepmother. She wasn’t allowed in, and that only added to the list of reasons she despised me. Being kept out of specific rooms in the castle left me frustrated, too. But with the way she treated me, I felt no mercy on her behalf. She might be a queen, but my father held the authority around here.
He’d chosen my stepmother for none other than the fact that her beauty would carry down into their children, but then he came to find she could not get pregnant at all. Still, with that knowledge, he had no plans for me to ever take the throne.
Keeping my power a secret was easier some days than others, but on a day like today, the urge to spill it all was strong. It was my spite talking, the aggravation from being blindsided at the party making me want to forget all the reasons I couldn’t reveal the truth.
Unfortunately, though, if anyone did find out, my father would simply kill them.
Nothing had stopped him from doing it before.
Not even to someone I thought I could share a future with.
CHAPTER 5
The next day, the deep red fabric of the dress stared back at me where it was laid out on my bed. I’d been standing there for minutes, dread sitting in my stomach like an anchor at sea at the thought of having to put it on and attend this dinner.
I had no interest in meeting Lander or sitting through this torturous evening, but if I didn’t go willingly, a guard would come fetch me, and knowing from past experience, it wouldn’t be pleasant.
