Page 14 of Fated to the Wicked King

He stood tall and still with his back half-turned toward me. Shadows pooled around his boots.

He turned when he heard the chains.

My breath caught.

This truly was not the man I had previously known.

With the restoration of his royal title, his presence was even more formidable, authoritative. Especially with his well-built frame, those broad shoulders fitted into his regal, stately, handsomely tailored suit perfectly.

But this morning, he was not wearing his black crown.

And somehow his hair, which was once a fine silver-white, had turned a wavy dark chestnut brown, ends curling just past his strong jaw.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

Why had he changed his hair?

For a moment, I considered whether I was indeed looking at a completely different person. Perhaps we were all mistaken. Perhaps the king who currently ruled over the land had changed again without our awareness, and this was entirely someone else.

Except when those familiar blue eyes met my gaze, my stomach went into somersaults.

Of course, his change in appearance didn’t matter.

I would be a moth irretrievably drawn to him, much like any other courtier.

But I felt worse than nothing under his gaze. Those eyes, which used to be a warm blue, were steel-cold and empty. When our hearts were linked, I could feel what he felt. He could feel what I felt.

I gave myself a mental shake. I had already decided not to dwell on things that were all in the past.

Oddly enough, there was the slightest twitch on his face as his gaze landed on me.

Perhaps he didn’t recognize me either, since, as Chez had also attested, my hair had transformed since the king had seen me last.

But he didn’t say anything to that effect. He turned to sit on the throne, hands resting on the armrests, thumb twirling the jade signet ring around his forefinger.

His expression smoothed into a determined nonchalance, the tension in the air settling to a cool formality.

Ah, to business.

Regardless, I couldn’t help the stir in my stomach at the smooth, velvet-rich timbre in his deep voice when he finally spoke, “What were you doing at the ball? You were not invited.”

“I was…” I lifted my chin. I wasn’t going to be intimidated by him. “I was curious.”

There was a ghost of a smirk on his face, as if he tamped down rolling his eyes in knowing.

My heart beat faster.

Because yes, he did know me.

He knew me.

Past tense.

The cold took over his face again.

“And was everything you found to your pleasure?” he drawled, averting his gaze. “I can imagine there would have been plenty of eligible male courtiers to satisfy your curiosity?”

“I imagine there were plenty of eligible female courtiers for you to pursue as well,” I quipped. “Though I suppose one might say there has been quite a lot less whimsy of late, a…decline in the castle’s hospitality.”