Page 42 of The Princess of Nothing
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Igripped onto thesandstone ledge, looking out over the rocky mountains. Orange basked over the sharp edges as the sun descended. I pressed my teeth into my bottom lip, readying myself for a meeting with King Xenos. Kiros was still in the infirmary but had made a swift recovery, thanks to the ointment made from powdered unicorn horn and who knew what else. He would be out soon. In the meantime, I knew what I needed to do. Xenos may have been nice to me or had even believed my niceties, but I was sitting prey in the castle. I had to take action, poke until I found out more information.
The king’s guards had escorted me to the small office where meetings were held with lesser dignitaries. The small, oak desk was empty, aside from a paperweight and a few blank scrolls.
I inhaled deeply and turned on my heel. The doors swung open, and a cool draft followed his tan robes that fluttered behind him. His toenails were polished under his sandal straps. I dragged my gaze up to his poised stare. “My future daughter-in-law.” He extended his arms, embracing me. He smelled like a mix of spices and citrus. “I hope you’re here to discuss what your kingdom can do for mine.” He shot me a playful smile before reaching the globe.
The doors closed, leaving us alone.
“Thank you for taking the meeting with me.” My tone came out harder than I’d expected. I softened my voice. “When will the announcement of my engagement to your son be?”
He spun the globe in the corner with his index finger and trailed the tip over the large continents. “Once the words ‘I do’ leave your lips.”
I expected nothing less. I knew that coming into this. To announce too early, when something could still go wrong, was foolish. He needed to keep Edgar in the dark until he had his puppet princess ready to move into the kingdom, then take the crown with a ring on my finger that would forever shackle me to Berovia. “Yes, I suspected your answer.”
His eyes widened. “You did?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Your son is your greatest asset, the heir to the biggest throne in the world. He’s everything you would want in a prince, no? Therefore, his marriage is of subsequent importance, and so much can happen between now and the wedding. You wouldn’t want to be left looking foolish if it didn’t go through.”
He let out a short laugh. “Luckily for us, Winter, there is nothing that could happen between now and the wedding.”
I couldn’t wait for the day where he and his son would be left red-faced once I’d run with Cedric and took back my kingdom. Until then, I forced my most charming smile. “I mean, something could happen to me. If I died, there would be no engagement. I’ve already come pretty close here already.” I locked eyes with him, holding my breath for him to show his hand.
“Almost.” His lips curled into a sneer. “Fortunately, my son saw another way to benefit us all.”
I turned my back toward him, trailing my fingers along the ledge, and caught a glimpse of the setting sun. “He is smart, isn’t he? It’s incredible how he saw what you couldn’t.”
“Like you said, so much could still happen between now and the wedding.”
I ignored his thinly veiled threat. “Yes, but Edgar would be a king you wouldn’t always be able to control.”
“You underestimate me.”
“I wish I could see the greatness your son speaks of.” I turned my head. “He speaks so highly of you.”
His cheeks burned red. “If you think I don’t have ways to pacify your cousin, then you’re deeply mistaken. He will not rule if I don’t deem his reign fit. The Mortis line has hurt our monarchy for long enough. If we continue to do nothing, then we are just as bad as you.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Yet, your plan has one flaw I’m sure you haven’t thought of.”
He clenched his jaw. “I’ve thought of everything.”
“You can’t remove a monarch without a war.”
“There are ways,” he spat. “Don’t believe we don’t have a backup plan, then another and another. I have thought of every possibility.”
“My point.” I held up a finger. “With your son inheriting a crown of his own, you’d have full control, and yet I know nothing of the future of the kingdom I am giving him.”
