Page 77 of If The Crown Fits
I didn’t have time to process Cordelia’s words.
“Help me with my dress.”
She untied the laces of my bodice and I dropped the dress onto the floor, leaving me in the shirt and breeches I was wearing underneath. I removed my mask and pulled the pin out of my hair, allowing it to drape over my shoulders. “Go ahead. I’ll catch up.”
She nodded and hurried around the corner.
I let out a sigh of relief. At least Cordelia was safe. Brushing a hand through my hair, I looked around me. Now, I needed to find Cai and then we could get out of this place.
I hurried down the carpeted hallways, the music of the party soft and distant. Cai would be close to the prison by now, which meant I needed to find a way to the lower floors below ground. If I went right at the next corner, I believed it would lead me in the direction of the kitchens.
I passed a parlour room and was about to reach the end of the hallway when a door suddenly opened, and I was yanked inside.
I didn’t have time to scream before Lance closed the library door behind us.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t recognise you?”
Drat, so he had seen me back there, despite my efforts. Hopefully, Cai had managed to get his men out safely. I clenched my hands into fists, trying not to imagine all the ways Lance was going to get back at me. I would be lucky if I saw daylight tomorrow morning. Lance walked to one of the tables and poured himself a cup of wine.
“Come to finish what you started?” he said, and my eyes went to his torso, even though I couldn’t see the stab wound under his shirt.
“Maybe I just like a good party.”
My response made Lance snort, and fear hung over me like a heavy cloak as I anticipated what he would do next.
“Nice costume you had back there.” He lifted his cup towards me before taking a sip. “You certainly aren’t to be underestimated — I’ll give you that, dear sister.”
“I’m not pretending to be your sister anymore. There’s no need to keep up the act, Lance.”
“Oh, am I Lance now? Not Your Majesty?”
“You don’t deserve to be king.”
He took another sip before setting down his cup. “Oh, I know that. But please inform me as to why this is your opinion as well.”
Not the answer I was expecting. He must have been lying again. Must have been trying to distract me from what I actually came for.
“Because look atyou.” I pointed to his crown and outfit. “You don’t care about your people. You only care about the luxury and parties the position has to offer.”
“True as that may be, out of the two of us, I’m still the one wearing the crown.”
“How could I forget?” He hadn’t mentioned the necklace and I wondered if he would bring it up. Either he had figured out he’d been left with a fake this entire time or he thought he was wrong about everything and too embarrassed to admit he’d been delusional.
“I thought you’d be smarter than risking your life like this. I mean, did you honestly expect you wouldn’t get caught?”
Lance took a seat, leaning back comfortably in one of the expensive chairs.
“Maybe I’d come back to apologise. To beg you to pardon my idiocy.”
That made him bark out a laugh. “If only that were the case. You and I might have made a good team.”
“I would never be on your side,” I spat out.
He stared at me intently like he knew something I didn’t. An awkward silence fell over the room.
“So, are you going to kill me?” I had a dagger on me that I could use to defend myself and Lance definitely wasn’t sober. But who was to say there weren’t guards outside the door, waiting for me? I looked at the window over his shoulder. There would be guards outside on this side of the palace as well.
“I’ve told you from the start, my intention was never to kill you.”
