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I tipped my chin up. “What are you doing here?”
“You have a visitor,” he said mockingly with a wave of his hand.
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to control my anger. I walked over to him and leaned on the wall beside the door. “I don’t want to see anyone. Where is Atticus?” I hissed.
“Atticus is away on business and I’m in charge. You’re my guest, Lady Abernathy,” he said as he stepped into the room and closed the door.
“I don’t want to speak to you,” I said.
“My son has always had a soft spot for you. I’ve never understood it.” Theodore’s voice was a venomous rasp, snakes hissing in a warning.
He licked his lips, and his eyes roamed my body. I didn’t appreciate the way he looked at me. He reminded me too much of Lord Geralt, and it made me sick to my stomach.
He reached out to brush his finger along my shoulder. Theodore’s hands were small, but callous; knobby knuckles lined his fingers in a grid of scars.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” I said.
He snapped his hand back. “I don’t understand why my son is determined to comply with your whims. The handsome royal guard waiting downstairs looks like a man in love. I hear whispers that you juggle the attention of many. Tell me, where does my son rank in your heart? Is he just someone powerful to use? Are you like Isabelle in that regard? She raised you, after all.” His eyes glinted as they met mine.
I took a step back, stunned. I’d been certain he was just a mean man, not a mean and angry one. He was the vicious kind, the kind that said things just to see your reaction.
“Don’t talk about her that way,” I shouted. Leo was here? I needed to get away from Theodore DuPont and talk to him.
“Isabelle used her body to get what she wanted. From King Frederick. From me. I can see that you have certainly inherited that skill. You’ve had your hands in many men’s pockets. Perhaps that’s why my son is loyal to you. Why King Augustus wants to marry you. You’re a whore.”
My face flushed red with anger; I was going to kill the man. “You know nothing.”
He surged forward. He was breathing heavily. I could see his chest move, and the pulse in his neck beat like a drum. “I know everything. My son gets the job done and that’s why I put up with his exploits. You are nothing more than a stepping stone to power. I know firsthand how beneficial it is to fuck a queen, so I let my son do what he wishes.” His body odor wafted off of him in greasy waves like rancid meat. “But if you start to become a distraction, I know how to kill you. I trained with Hudson, Christine. I know your weak points.” I looked into his dark eyes and saw a cold, deadly resolve. He was dead serious.
As I pinned my lips shut, he continued. “Take your cues from Isabelle. When all of this is done, use your body to seal the deal with a king. We have big plans for you and the future king. Deals to be made. And if my son, the king, or even that sorry, love-sick guard can’t keep you satisfied, let me know. I’ll be waiting in the wings.” The words spilled out of his mouth like an oil leak.
“You’re insane,” I said.
He smiled. His pitiless eyes were as hard and cold as steel. “I’m an opportunist. Just like you. Just like my son.”
I turned my back to him. “What do you want?” I asked.
“I want you to know that you are my guest at the moment, but if you start acting sour or if you decide to run, I will use you up like the whore you are.” He leaned into my ear. “You’re nothing in my kingdom.”
He slithered away and I waited until the door closed to let the tears well up in my eyes. One of the guards had definitely told him what Hudson had instructed me to do, and he wanted to make sure I stayed put.
Was Atticus with me so he could use me?
I didn’t want to believe it, but if this kingdom had taught me anything, it was that you couldn’t trust anyone.
Theodore’s threat burned itself into my brain.
Everything I knew felt like a lie, and even if Theodore was just trying to fuck with me, it didn’t stop the doubts from spilling through the cracks of my resolve. Was I using these men? Were they using me? Was I a whore for loving all of them? Needing them?
My head was beginning to spin and my heart felt heavy, like a thousand pounds of cement poured in my chest. Thoughts and questions swirled around me in an ever-tightening spiral until I felt completely enveloped by the unknown.
I had to get out of there. I had to think. I grabbed my bag and started to make my way toward the door, but then I stopped. Fear consumed me. It was such a strange emotion—one I’d refused to feel long ago. It was as if Theodore knew how to rip a timeless scab from my heart and relished in the sight of my heart bleeding at his feet.
I heard a noise outside the door and wiped my eyes. I was a prisoner, but I wouldn’t let anyone see me break. Leo was here. He’d know what to do. I glanced in the mirror and smoothed my hair.
The door opened and Leo entered. He looked tired. His blond hair was disheveled, and his face was covered in stubble. When our eyes met, I felt my soul shiver with anticipation. We stood silent, locked in anticipation as he dragged his green eyes up and down my body, lingering on the bandages on my arm, the bruises forming on my skin from my sparring with Hudson, and the scrapes on my knuckles.
“He said you weren’t hurt,” Leo finally choked out.
