“Oh, did I fail to mention it? You’re to be my king. Make yourself at home in your new suite. Roam as you like. We’ll be taking a trip in a month’s time to inform your brother of our upcoming nuptials, along with my other plans for him and his kingdom.”
Caroline crossed the sitting room and snatched up her robe, slipping it on, covering her ruined gown. She approached where the prince knelt in shock and ran her thumb across his glistening mouth. “I’ll be just down the hall if you need anything. We’ll talk more soon.” She patted his cheek for effect. “Oh, and thank you for that. I can see why you are so confident. You areveryskilled.” Then she left him in silence.
Chapter 3
“Oh,don’tbepetulant,Breicher. You failed your mission. I’m still alive and worse than ever.AndI’m making you have breakfast with me. Awful indeed.” The queen bit an apple to emphasize the point and wiggled her eyebrows at Breicher.
He glared at her. She shouldn’t have lived. Breicher understood nothing of what was happening to him now and the woman across the table carried on like the same Cruel Queen she was before whatever had happened to her. And her taste, last night. Fuck, he was getting hard just thinking about it.
“You’re taking your failure a little worse than I would have expected.”
“You’re going to force me to marry you,” Breicher grumbled out, regretting how much control he’d already let her have. “I’d rather be dead.”
“I think you rather like me. And besides, it’s not like I’m making you sleep beside me, although I imagine you’ll be begging me for that before too long. I’d like to share a few meals, get to know the prince who will be my king a little better. You should eat.” Caroline jabbed her fork in the direction of his plate, then took a sip of piping hot tea.
“I’ve lost my appetite,” he said and pushed the plate away, crossing his arms across his chest.
Caroline shrugged and took a piece of bacon from the discarded breakfast and popped it into her mouth. “You know, I’ve been so much hungrier since I’ve been back. It’s like all this power needs fuel.”
When she’d picked off the best selections from his plate, Caroline pushed off from the table. “Come, I have things to discuss with you.”
He followed her from the sitting room into her bedroom, where an attendant had set out a fresh gown. She walked over to it, running her fingers across the smooth grey silk, and flipped it over, ensuring the clasps in the back were loosened.
Breicher stared at her as she dropped the robe. The queen was bare underneath, and his breath drew in on its own accord. She turned regarding him, and his eyes remained fixed on her.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Getting dressed. Afraid of seeing me naked?”
He huffed.
“I’m going to be your wife, so you might as well get used to it.” She paced over to him, carrying the gown. “Here, hold this.”
Breicher complied, and Caroline stepped into it. She held it up to her waist as she faced him, the nipples crowning her perky breasts hardening beneath his stare. Then his eyes tracked lower to the spot he’d driven the dagger under her ribs.
Breicher’s hand reached out as if it had a mind of its own, and he ran callused fingers along the soft flesh that had healed over what should have been a life ending injury. She didn’t pull away. Just watched him thumb over the spot.
“My only regret is that it made you into whatever you’ve become. If I hadn’t done it, you’d have still been the enemy we understood. Now you’re something else entirely, aren’t you?”
His hand moved from her ribs to the white hair cascading over her shoulders. It was soft, like the satin of her bedding, and he wanted to run his fingers through it. He wanted to get a fist full of it and tilt her head back and…No. That’s what she wanted, for him to be helpless under her spell. She’d had the upper hand until now. He needed to figure out how to take it from her. If he was her weakness, that might be the only way.
Her mouth parted as she stared up at him and it would be so easy to lean down. He wanted to tell her he hated her, and he’d stab her all over again.
But that kiss and how ready she’d been for him… The queen had transformed beneath his touch and the memories already held too much space in his mind. Kissing her was the last thing he needed to be thinking about, especially with the half-dressed woman standing in front of him and his body responding the way it always did with her. And it’s all he could think about. He forced an image of his father into his mind and let the ice bath the memory brought with it wash over him.
His fate was sealed. Breicher didn’t see any way out, so he’d focus his efforts on tempering her. Making sure she didn’t abuse the power he suspected she’d somehow stolen from the Gods. Rule beside her in Everstal for the rest of his days if that’s what it took.
“I’m the same woman I was before, Breicher. Just a lot more powerful.” She stepped away from him and slipped her arms into the sleeves of the gown. Caroline turned, giving her back to him, gesturing to the clasps, and he took to fastening them one by one. “I should have been dead,” she said, turning to look at him after he’d finished. “But you all underestimated my will to live.”
Her bare feet padded across the cool stones, and that familiar attraction welled inside him. Caroline had been bare before him moments before, but it was her steely will that drew him this time.
She was fastening on an onyx earring, and he came up behind her, gripping her hips. He studied her in the mirror. “I’m glad you lived. But I wish you would have died.” The truth of it startled him, and he glanced up to see the odd look in his own eyes.
Caroline’s stare narrowed in the reflection at his contradictory statement. “Liar.”
“That’s the trick, isn’t it? Who am I lying to? You or me?”
The briefest look of sorrow flashed across her features before it was gone. “I wish you would have come to me instead of trying to kill me. But what you did has set off a chain of events that I cannot halt. As Life poured their healing energy into my body, the Gods told me things. Vile, selfish things that they’d done which separated our kingdoms, pitted them against each other, causing all the bloodshed between our people. They toyed with us, Breicher.” Her silver eyes held such pleading as they met his in the mirror.
