“You know he didn’t love me like that. It was always you. You were the golden child. Or whatever the fuck you want to call it.”
“His heir.”
Trystan turned his head to stare at me with a cold glint in his eye. “Yes. His precious heir. I’ve never forgotten, by the way. How could I?”
Sighing, I shook my head. “Trystan, what do you want? What are you doing here?”
“All in good time, big brother. All in good time. Can’t be spoiling all my secrets now, can I?” He whistled lowly as Eva spun around with one of the many suitors vying for her attention. “But Eva sure is something, isn’t she? Beautiful beyond compare, stronger than most seasoned sentries. She’d sure be a treasure to covet…”
I stepped in front of him, placing my hand on his chest. “Don’t fucking touch her.”
He smiled, and I knew my mistake. “Well, well, well… What’s this?”
“Nothing. She’s just too good for your fucked up nonsense, Trystan. I mean it, don’t look at her. Don’t touch her. Nothing. You leave her alone; do you understand me?”
“That might be a bit of a problem, big brother. See, now I want to talk to her. Need to, now that I’ve seen your reaction. What a beautiful bride she’d make, don’t you think? The perfect pawn of power to aide an equally powerful man…” Suddenly, I couldn’t hear what he was saying. All I could think of was keeping her from my brother.
What had happened to him, to turn him into the monster he’d become? A clone of my father, both in looks and personality. But I knew. I knew what had happened and that it was my fault.
I had deserted my father, thinking that he would have given up his claim to power but instead it caused him to push harder. Instead, he’d transferred that responsibility to Trystan.
Trystan who had fought and clawed to win our father’s love, or at the very least, be noticed by him. The small boy I remembered from my childhood that had held my hand and brought me a sweet treat after father beat me senseless. The one person in this world I had always tried to protect, and I’d obviously failed spectacularly as I looked at the man standing before me.
It broke my fucking heart.
Trystan clapped me on the shoulder. “Well brother, I think I’ll make my move. Perhaps take her for a turn on the dance floor myself.”
With that, I watched him walk away and go up to Eva. My blood turned as cold as ice, and I shrouded myself in darkness and went back into the shadows that had become some of my only companions.
If I couldn’t even take care of my own brother, my own flesh and blood, how could I take care of someone as fierce as Eva? And why was I even thinking about that? She was unobtainable, especially when she learned who I was.
11
EVA
“Lost in thought, my Princess?”
I looked up into the eyes of a handsome young man. He almost reminded me of Matthew, but his eyes were different. There was a coldness behind his eyes that Matthew didn’t have. I shook my head. I was being silly by comparing the two. My mind was whirling with the conversation with my father.
“I apologize,” I said, waving my hand in the air. “It’s been a long evening, and it appears it isn’t even close to being over.” Which was part of the reason that I hated these events. My bed was calling out for me. I could even hear it over the music. But I had to stay here, smile pretty, and pretend like everything in the world was fine when I felt like everything was going up in flames. I grabbed a glass of wine from a passing server and sipped at the sweet liquid. Alcohol. Alcohol would always help.
The man smiled. “You’re a princess–you don’t apologize to anyone, my dear. I just couldn’t help but notice how beautiful you looked from across the room.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Tonight was full of bullshit compliments like this one. All they wanted was a dance and a chance to court, but that wasn’t happening, especially not with this one. He was good-looking, but there was something about him that gave me the creeps. I don’t think he’d blinked once since we started our conversation, and his smile never reached his eyes. It was almost conspiratorial.
“Ah, thank you. Do you mind if I ask your name?”
The man bowed. “Trystan, your highness.” He grabbed my hand, even though I hadn’t offered it, and pressed a kiss against the back of it. Ugh. Gross. I wanted to wipe it away as soon as I could pull it free, but his touch lingered longer than necessary. “It is truly a pleasure to meet you.”
Yeah, can’t say the same buddy.
I looked around the room for someone, anyone that might be familiar, but everyone was otherwise engaged, having the time of their lives at this stupid ball. “What brings you to Helia, Trystan?”
His gaze lingered over my body. I had been uncomfortable throughout the entire conversation, but this was reaching additional levels. “Well… I heard there was a princess in need of a prince, so I thought I would see for myself.” He smiled, a shiver of fear running through me. “It would seem that the rumors were true, and I’ve never been more thankful for court gossip before.”
“So, you’re a prince? Where are you from? As I haven’t ever had the… pleasure of meeting you before tonight.”
He waved his hand in the air again. “I’m a prince in the word's sense, but I assure you I’m worthy of being king,” he whispered, leaning in as he spoke. I tried not to gag, not to pull away. He was a fucking creep.
