Page 51 of Seduce

“No,” is all I say. “The queen controls the flow of information, including when she makes her step-sister disappear into thin air. If it makes you feel better, I haven’t been sitting pretty drinking tea and eating crumpets. Cinder has her petty jealousies and obsessions, and I unfortunately embody all of them.”

“She wouldn’t hurt you,” he scoffs, making me glance at him. “You’re the perfect person to infiltrate the royal circles as her right hand. The perfect puppet queen…”

Pulling my arm from his, I make a disappointed noise. “I believe you have the wrong idea, dear boy. When I take over, it shall not be as a puppet. Have you any idea how much corruption exists in the kingdom? How many people are starving while others thrive on their misery?” I ask, shaking out my skirts. “I shall add your name to the people to topple on the scale of corruption… Falcon. Goodnight.”

Turning left to get away from this sad, misguided man, I walk away. A puppet indeed. I will never in a million years have someone else pull my damned strings…

A hand grabs my throat, pulling me tightly to his chest. Immediately, I stomp on his foot and then throw my head back. Barely missing his face because he forced himself to move, Falcon curses.

“Godsdamnit, why do you know how to fight?!” he growls.

“So… I… won’t… die,” I grit out, dropping my weight and shoving my elbow into his stomach. Grunting, he pivots and shoves me back into the shrubbery.

Nose to nose, his lips curl back as he gazes at me. “You’re not who I thought you were,” he rumbles, his midnight blue eyes glittering with anger and confusion.

“Neither are you. Pity when assumptions don’t pan out,” I rasp as his hand tightens around my throat.

“Anyone else would love to be a pretty little queen on her throne while we do what needs to be done in the kingdom,” he complains. “Why can’t you be pretty and useless?”

“Because pretty and useless people die when they’ve been tortured for a year,” I growl at him. “You are a weak, stupid man who doesn’t understand or care about the people of Forbach. I have no use for masked men playing at being a leader.”

Lifting his hand, he tears off his black mask, throwing it away. Falcon is gorgeous, in an asshole, villainous kind of way. Slightly wavy black hair, midnight blue eyes whose pupils are blown in anger, nostrils flared. I don’t know how this man makes nostrils look sexy, but he manages it just fine.

“I’m not weak or stupid. I want to be sure I’m not putting another tyrant on the throne,” he snarls. “How can one little girl care so much about others? You looked as if you were going to cry earlier over children you don’t even know. Why?”

Stomping on his foot again, I grind my pretty heel into it. Practically hissing at him, I hit his chest with my hands. Falcon is loosely holding me in place, and since he’s not hurting me, I won’t force him to move. I will command his full attention, though.

“I care because it’s the right thing to do. My step-sister is Queen, and even though we aren’t related by blood, I feel a sense of responsibility for her. I have watched her kill every single asset that you’ve sent back, because she wanted information,” I tell him. “It would have been kinder to snap their necks before dropping them bound and gagged at the castle door. They didn’t have easy deaths.”

“I thought I was showing kindness,” he stutters. “Who would kill people that she put so much effort into training?”

“Those men and women failed in the eyes of their queen, so they immediately were dead on arrival.” I sigh. “You have no idea how depraved she actually is. I came to see if you could be helpful in righting the mess this kingdom is sitting in. You’re just another example of how well Cinder hides her crazy.”

“What if we worked together?” he asks desperately, already watching me withdrawing from the conversation.

“I’m not at all impressed with what I’m seeing. Do better,” I mutter, breaking his loose grip on my throat. Moving away, I hear him whisper something. “Speak up when you’re talking to me, or don’t speak at all,” I command, still walking away.

“You’re quite regal for an evil step-sister, Silla,” he says louder. “My name… is Kenzo. We’ll be in touch.”

Silence meets my back as I stand there. Lifting the edge of my dress so as not to step on it, I whirl around to find him gone.

“Falcon?” I ask the empty space, not about to use his real name. I’ll keep that secret for as long as I need to, especially since no one else knows it.

Fuck, a part of me hates that he gave this part of himself to me, because now it means something. Whenever he turns up again, I’ll have to give him a few minutes of my time, even if I don’t want to.

It’s an awful thing sometimes to insist on being fair. Breathing in a shuddering breath, I shiver in the night air. The heaters apparently don’t extend to the mazes. Turning away, I find the exit to the mazes, on the search for another glass of champagne and the private auction tents. I’m in the mood to spend some of the Queen’s money for a good cause.

GRAYSON

I watched Silla walk into the mazes on the arm of another man, and I felt indescribable jealousy. It’s a feeling I’m not very familiar with, and I hate it.

Muttering to myself, I cut throughout the maze, watching her through the shrubbery. Red hot heat tore through me when he attacked Silla. My Dangerous Girl isn’t a blushing flower or weak, and fought back. My hands fist even as I watched, because I wanted to help her.

Now, standing outside of the maze, I watch Silla walk out of it alone. She’s unharmed, not a hair out of place, and beautifully peaceful. Silla Tremaine is in full control of her emotions right now, and you’d never know she was just yelling at someone.

I really enjoyed how she put Kenzo in his place several times during their interaction. No one else was in the mazes when he gave up his biggest secret, and I don’t intend to tell anyone either. I do have questions though.

Was he just testing Silla, forcing her to become angry enough to slip in her true intentions? If a year in the Queen’s clutches haven’t changed the fiber of her being, I don’t believe anything can. What’s his deal?

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