AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Forty-Three
Aika
It’s another long, sleepless night.
I can’t tell how long I’ve been staring out the window. Long enough for the stars to shift in the sky and for the moon to ebb away. Long enough that I can see a glimmer of light over the horizon and know that dawn isn’t far off.
And still, sleep is out of reach.
How? How is any of this possible?
I close my eyes against the sound of the waves crashing in the distance. If I believed in fate, I would be convinced someone was playing with mine. Perhaps, they are punishing me the way I have deserved for far too long.
The slight quiver in my hand returns, and I try to massage it away. Pulling the fur blanket tighter around my shoulders, I rest my head against the window frame and try to imagine a scenario where any of this will end without death.
I come up empty.
I can’t marry him.
But neither do I have a way out of this.
Tradition dictates that the prince announces his choice of bride on the third night of the masquerade. The announcement is binding and followed immediately by the wedding ceremony. If I can keep him from realizing who I am for that long, he will have no choice but to marry me.
Then, we can spend the rest of our lives hating each other.
As furious as I am with Remy, I don’t love the idea of tricking anyone into marriage, but I suspect it will be better than the alternative. Walking away from this and letting Mother get her information from him in a more creative way.
After she’s finished with me, that is.
My chest tightens, and I reach over to pour myself a dram of whiskey.
I suspect that she doesn’t plan for the prince to live a very long life, once she gets whatever it is she wants from this arrangement. If I see this through, though, maybe I can convince her that he is useful.
Or hide him, if it comes to that.
As soon as I think it, I hear how ridiculous it sounds. No one hides fromMadame.
I drain my glass in one fluid motion, willing the familiar burn to soothe my rapidly fraying nerves. It doesn’t work.
There is no way out of this. For either of us.
* * *
Breakfast and lunchare delivered to my room, a message from Mother that this is where I should remain until tonight. The stretches and exercises that clear my head each morning, do nothing to help me now. My mind is still running in furious circles with all of the information from last night.
Maybe I won’t need to worry about marrying Remy. Maybe she will kill me after all.
But the hours pass, and I’m still alive.
When the maids arrive with everything to prepare me for tonight’s ball, they are as plucky as usual, and I’m left to wonder if I have been misreading the situation.
I’ve been sitting here, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but maybe it won’t. At least, not until I finish the job.
In under an hour, my hair has been pinned up and interspersed with braids and rosettes with baby’s breath tucked in here and there.
My makeup is softer than it was last night, with a dusting of blue and white paint on my eyes. My eyes are morphed again, this time with sapphire drops, long lashes that extend further at the corners and a pale blue shimmering gloss on my lips.
The fair lapis fabric of tonight’s dress is far preferable to last night's gown, actually allowing me to breathe. As soon as they slip the dress over my head, they attach something to the back and secure the mask to my face.
