Page 102 of The Assassin's Dancer
“He’s forcing me to lie with him!” I raise my voice, not caring for the shocked whispers that fill the hall. “He told me that the only way to make the torture stop would be if I gave myself to him. You would let him do that to me? You would let him rape one of your daughters?” Tears prick at my eyes. “Please, Father, you have to listen to me…”
He scowls, the lines on his face deepening as he notices the finely dressed lords and ladies glancing wide-eyed between us.
“Oh, Ami,” Camellia sobs from the crowd.
I’m causing a scene, but I don’t care. If Father won’t listen then maybe his court might. He’d rather die than lose his reputation. Or at least, I hope that’s the case.
“Clearly there has been some misunderstanding,” he sighs. “I will have to speak with your fiancé over dinner tonight.”
Hope squeezes at my chest. “You will?”
“Of course, my dear.” A tight smile touches his cheeks. The whispers around us dissolve back into conversations as the nobles quickly lose interest. “In fact, why wait until tonight? Come, Amaryllis, let’s speak somewhere more private.” He pushes up from his throne, gesturing to a side door.
“Oh thank you, Fa?—”
“Orion will join us, of course.”
I freeze mid-step. “I really must insist we speak alone first?—”
“Thank you, Sol.” A cold hand clamps down on my shoulder, turning everything else I wanted to say into a pathetic whimper.
“Darling bride,” Orion whispers against my ear. “How I’ve missed you.”
“Don’t touch me.” I try to shove him away, but his grip hardens on my shoulder. His other arm curls around my waist, tight enough to bruise.
“Behave, Amaryllis,” he warns in a low voice.
I glance up at Father, but he’s already pushing open the door that Orion is marching us towards.
Breath quickening, I turn back to my sisters. I should scream, call out for help. My frantic gaze catches Blossom’s and Camellia’s, and then Dahlia’s, whose scowl could burn down the entire palace.
But they don’t help me. No one says anything as I’m pushed towards the wooden door, the dagger tucked into my bodice feeling heavier and heavier with every step I’m forced to take.
“We’ll use the princesses’ reception room,” Father says, reaching for the gilded handle of my sisters’ private room. “I doubt it’ll be in use, especially since all twelve of them are so determined to spend their afternoon convincing me of your ineligibility for my daughter’s hand.” He chuckles while I grip the skirts of my gown.
“Perhaps they have good reason to,” I seethe. But once again I’m ignored by both men as Orion huffs out a laugh.
“You’ll have to forgive me, Sol. I did not intend for my stay here to cause such a fuss amongst your daughters.”
“Jealousy, I suppose.”
My blood boils.
“Indeed,” Orion laughs, guiding me in and pulling the door shut behind us.
The reception room doesn’t feel so welcoming without my sisters inside. Afternoon light filters through the tall windows, casting a golden glow over the ornate furniture. Normally, we’d sit by the fireplace, playing cards or trading gossip we’d heard from the servants. Sometimes maids would come by with freshly baked trays of biscuits and cakes from the kitchen, and we’d let them eat with us.
But there are no cakes on the tables today. And when Orion shoves me towards that same fireplace, forcing me to take a seat beside him on the chaise longue, the only thing I can taste is bitter rage on my tongue.
“Now, Ami.” Father sits down opposite us in a large armchair, but I can barely look at him as he speaks. “I appreciate that you are a young woman, and in many ways I have sheltered you too much from the world. Perhaps I have been too kind.”
“A kind father wouldn’t force his daughter into marriage.” The words shoot out before I can stop them.
“Orion is a perfectly good match for you,” he scoffs.
“He’s forcing me to fuck him.”
Father shoots out of his chair. “Have you lost your mind?” he spits, his face flushing as red as the burning embers. “You will not use such foul language in my palace. Did I raise a princess or a pig?”
