Page 144 of Royal Bargain

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“Miranda… Miranda Voss…”

He says it again.

And again.

Like he’s trying to summon something from the depths of his memory. Something buried. Something bad.

I watch him, unsettled.

I’ve never seen him like this.

Not furious. Not barking orders. Not calculating.

Just… pale.

Haunted.

“Do you know her?” I ask carefully.

He doesn’t answer, just keeps repeating her name under his breath, like the syllables taste wrong in his mouth.

I feel Kellan shift beside me. Even he looks unnerved.

Before anyone can push further, Dariy lets out a harsh laugh.

“Oh, come on!” he snaps. “Are we really doing this?”

We all turn.

He points a finger at Ana, still slumped on the floor with blood streaking her leg. “You’re all letting her spin the narrative now? The same girl who’s been living with the enemy? Sleeping in his bed? Raising his child?”

He sneers in my direction. “She’s been playing house with an Irishman for months, and you think she hasn’t been turned? You think she’s not already poisoned against us?”

I rise slowly to my feet.

Very slowly.

Lethally slow.

“I’m going to give you one chance to walk that back,” I say. My voice is calm. Ice-cold. “Because if you say one more thing about her like that, I will put you on the ground.”

Dariy steps forward, defiant. “You think I’m lying?”

“No,” I say, tilting my head. “I think you’re desperate.”

That lands. Hard.

The silence that follows is deafening.

Even Anatoly finally looks up from his trance of muttered names. His gaze flicks from me to Dariy—and I don’t miss the shift in his expression.

He’s done listening to Dariy.

The silence stretches.

Dariy’s still fuming. I’m still daring him to make a move. Ana’s breathing in short, pained gasps on the floor.

But I’m not looking at them anymore.

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