Page 25 of The Crownless Prince

At a wave from Father, several servants escorted Lucien and his knights and servants to their respective quarters. Adriana stared across the hall, ignoring how some of Lucien’s servants glanced her way, and worked to keep her calm façade in place until the Faine servants had also filed out of the hall.

She turned to Father and curtsied, preparing to depart.

“You did well,” Father said, “if a touch cold. Try to be warmer with him tomorrow.” Without waiting for a reply, he swept away, off to deal with whatever matters of putting his newly conquered kingdom together needed his attention now.

Jairus gave her a quick embrace. “Try to give Lucien a chance.”

She didn’t exactly have a choice, but she nodded.

Up in her room, she cocooned herself in warm blankets and settled onto the cushioned bench in the recess under the open window. Leena brought her supper, which Adriana ate still in front of the window. Sometime later, a gentle shaking awoke her.

“Your Highness.” Leena sighed.

Adriana blinked at the darkness. She’d fallen asleep with her head on her arms on the windowsill. She sat up, and Leena brushed her hand over Adriana’s curls, flicking away snow.

“It’s time for bed,” Leena murmured.

Part of Adriana stubbornly didn’t want to go to bed, as if somehow, if she didn’t go to sleep, tomorrow wouldn’t come, and she wouldn’t have to face Lucien Thorne and her impending marriage. But she let Leena help her change into a linen night shift. As she crawled into bed, Leena closed the sturdy wood shutters.

“Don’t bolt them,” Adriana mumbled.

Leena turned away from the window with a sad smile. “I never do, Your Highness.”

Chapter 11

The castle entrance led straight into a set of narrow, spiraling stairs, but quickly reached a landing. Marcus and Edwin followed the others into a long corridor that cut across the middle of the castle, then through a massive oak door into the great hall. They shuffled off to the side, in the direction of the blessedly warm fire, along with the rest of Thorne’s entourage. Lord Thorne strode across the hall to the dais. Peering between the heads of Thorne’s servants from where he lurked in the back, Marcus spied Adriana, standing near her father and brother. His breath lodged in his chest. She was even more beautiful than he remembered.

Her thick blonde curls fluffed around her shoulders, and every memory of touching those curls slammed into him at once. A silver circlet glinted on her forehead, but no precious metal could hold a candle to her beautiful face. Her cheeks held a slightly ruddy glow, and her pink lips brought heat to Marcus’s skin. A white cloak hung down her back, revealing a bright-green dress that hugged her figure and had elegant long sleeves that cascaded down from her wrists. She looked every inch the princess…but she didn’t look happy.

Even as Adriana greeted her betrothed, her smile didn’t touch her eyes, and her voice lacked its usual liveliness. Perhaps he was seeingwhat he wished to see, imagining his own feelings in her, but he didn’t think so.

Then she said she was pleased to finally meet Lord Thorne. Marcus’s hands tightened on the hem of his cloak. How could they be betrothed to be married in only a few days’ time if they’d never even met? That man at the tavern had to have been right, and King Mortimer had arranged the marriage because he needed money.HadAdriana’s father actually forced her to accept this betrothal?

He’d thought it might help if he saw Adriana happy with her betrothed before he disappeared for good.

But if she wasn’t happy? If she hadn’t accepted this marriage at all, hadn’t even been given a choice? The possibility made Marcus’s blood boil.

As one of the Faine Castle servants led them from the great hall, Marcus risked glancing at Adriana. She was still smiling, but stared at nothing, the corner of her mouth twitching as if she was struggling to keep the smile in place. He ached for her pain. He’d been in the position of being told he would marry someone he’d never met while his heart belonged to someone else, but he’d known the woman he loved was alive. His refusal had ended in disaster, but he still couldn’t believe Mortimer Faine would ignore his daughter’s wishes. He lowered his gaze to the floor before he did something stupid like send an outraged glare at the king.

As they were shown to their chambers, were given a tour of the castle, and ate dinner in the cramped servants’ dining hall, Marcus turned over this development in his mind. If Adriana wasn’t going intothis marriage willingly, how could he abandon her? Although he still didn’t see another option. Asking her to run away with him to a life as a peasant with no money, shelter from the winter, or even a plan, and with the consequences of breaking his contract with her former betrothed a constant threat, would be foolhardy. But he couldn’t do nothing.

He’d done nothing before, and the result had been wasted years, war, death, and now that hollow look in Adriana’s false smile.

Marcus only hoped Edwin would understand when he said they couldn’t escape yet.

“You’re a madman,” Edwin bit out under his breath.

“Do you have a better idea?” Marcus snapped back.

They sat huddled on a bed in the far corner of the large sleeping quarters they shared with Lord Thorne’s male servants. The other servants were talking about the castle, but Marcus was plotting. Edwin had already guessed that Marcus couldn’t abandon Adriana when she didn’t look overjoyed to be getting married, and he hadn’t objected to staying a while longer. Where hehadobjected was when Marcus proposed breaking into Adriana’s room.

“It’ll be better if our first meeting is on my terms,” Marcus whispered. “It’s unlikely we’ll be able to avoid both Leena and Adriana, and I don’t want Adriana learning the truth from her handmaiden or because she spotted me across the room. Besides, I need to talk to her. I need to confirm she wants to marry Thorne.”

“And if the guards catch you?” Edwin asked tightly, eyes flickingto the side to ensure they were still being ignored. “I don’t mean to be callous, but she isn’t the first person to find themselves in an arranged marriage they don’t want. Her father is the king. Thorne would be insane to mistreat her. We, on the other hand, have a very good chance of dying if you’re caught.”

Marcus stifled his frustration. “One person can sneak into her chamber easier than the two of us can disappear entirely. Besides, we need food at minimum if we’re going to get out of here, so we can’t leave tonight.”

“That’s true.” Edwin tilted his head. “Do you think she’d pay our debts for breaking the contracts?”

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