Page 34 of The Queen's Crown
While he seemed genuinely offended, he’d failed to deny his involvement. However, she didn’t say anything else. She simply stood there, waiting for him to get to the point of why he’d brought her here.
She glanced at Markis who’d remained in the stairwell, giving them the illusion of privacy. If she was aware of his presence, then Axel had to be as well. Markis nodded at her, as if giving her permission, so she moved closer to Axel, knowing Markis wouldn’t take his eyes off her and he’d protect her at all cost.
If Axel simply wanted to get to know her better, he could have done so over supper, not an evening stroll on the rooftop. “Axel,” she whispered, using his name, and foregoing his title, “what do you want?”
At first, she thought he hadn’t heard her. She was about to repeat herself when he turned to face her.
“What do I want?” he mused, a small smile playing on his lips. “That is a good question. And one I’m used to only hearing in the bedroom.” He smirked.
Sabine wanted to roll her eyes. He reminded her so much of Viktor. Instead of acknowledging his comment as she was certain he wanted her to do, she sighed, trying to look bored.
He rubbed his forehead and focused his attention back to the town in the distance again. “What do you know of Lynk’s politics?”
Practically nothing. Instead of saying that, she answered, “Lynk is like any other kingdom. There is someone sitting on the throne, someone vying for the throne, someone who craves power, someone who doesn’t want it…it’s all the same. Different kingdoms, different players, same game.”
“True.” Axel chuckled. “You’re more pessimistic than I expected.”
“Why do you ask?” she said, trying to nudge him to get to the point.
A single shoulder rose and fell. “You’re very different from Heather,” Axel mumbled under his breath. “I wonder what he’ll do about that.”
She refused to take the bait and instead, filed the information away for later. She’d have to discover who Heather was and the man who Axel was referring to, though she suspected it was the king. She wished she knew more about the man she was supposed to marry. The man whom Alina had been writing to for weeks before they met in person.
“You’re harder to read than your sister,” Axel said. “I wonder how long you’ll last.”
A cold chill slid down Sabine’s spine. Her initial reaction was to grab her dagger and ram it into Axel’s back. However, she couldn’t act so foolishly simply because he kept trying to bait her. “I think it’s time I return to my room. My guard will escort me. Goodnight.” She turned and left, not giving him a chance to respond.
At the stairwell, Markis took her arm and ushered her quickly down the steps. “I want you to stay away from that man,” he whispered near her ear so Axel wouldn’t overhear.
At the bottom of the staircase, he released her but kept a quick pace.
“Don’t worry,” she assured him. “I was just trying to discover if he knew anything about Alina’s death. I have no intention of forming any sort of friendship with that man.”
“Sabine,” Axel called after her, not even bothering to use her title. Footsteps pounded down the stairs not far behind them.
“Keep moving,” Markis said. “I don’t trust him.”
The feeling was mutual.
“Sabine,” Axel called out again. “Don’t run away from me. Most women runtome, notfromme. Running is only going to make me want you more.”
“I’m going to kill him,” she murmured.
“That makes two of us,” Markis said. “Although I think he’s just trying to get a rise out of you.”
“Oh, I know he is, which is why I’m not stopping to engage with him.” Anger, irritation, and fury rose within Sabine as she headed along the corridor back toward her bedchamber.
Markis steered her around the corner, and she slammed into something hard. Stumbling back, Markis grabbed her, keeping her upright.
“Watch where you’re going,” a man sneered.
“You watch whereyou’regoing,” Sabine snapped, looking up and up until she found the face attached to the snide comment. A rather tall, devastatingly handsome gentleman stood before her, dressed similarly as Axel.
“Brother,” Axel said as he came up behind her. “So lovely of you to join us. Princess Sabine and I are just returning from a romantic rooftop stroll. There are lots of stars out tonight. Beautiful, don’t you think?”
Horror filled Sabine as she realized this man before her must be her future husband, Rainer, the king of Lynk. She didn’t know if she should curtsy or apologize for barreling into him.
Rainer’s eyes narrowed, focused solely on his brother, his body blocking the entire hallway so Sabine couldn’t move around him.
