Page 153 of A Dance of Lies

I spit on him. “You are a coward. Little better than a dog begging at hisfeet.” My chest heaves with my rage. “And you lied to me. Your offer—you were never going to set me free.”

Slowly, he wipes away the spray on his jaw. “I would have madeyou another offer when the Gathering was finished—one you couldn’t refuse. All of this . . . I would have made it worth your while,” he says—so like the question he posed to me that night.

Is it better to suffer for a reward guaranteed, or gamble with the risk of losing it altogether?

The reward, I realize, was the life he would have offered me after the sufferingheput me through—at my father’s behest or not.

He curls his hand around the back of my neck, thumb resting on my pulse. “But you’ve tested and tried me one too many times, Vastianna. First, back at my palace; then, at my brother’s banquet. And every task since, you have pushed against me, but I remain patient. Have I not protected you all these years? From the eyes of the court, from poverty, even from your father? I took precautions to guard you during every task. You have been watched, shielded, from all sides. And should someone have caught you, I would have stepped in.”

Just how many had he bribed? Paid off? All those times I felt like I was being watched . . .

The maid. The guards. The one from the docks. Who else? How many?

I open my mouth, but he prattles on. “Have I not given you everything you ever wanted? Riches, jewels, favor, did you not amass them under my wing?” He pauses, jaw working. “Oh, the things I could have done to you, Vastianna; the things Ishouldhave done to you. Then, after everything, I discover you’ve been with my brother, giving away my secrets and Fates know what else.”

“Then kill me,” I choke out. “The Gathering might not know me as your former Jewel, but in East Miridran, someone will eventually recognize me. This charade won’t last forever.”

“So what? I am the doting fiancé who let you pursue your passions at the Gathering, who then kept you guarded and safe.”

“Safe? You let them charge me, beat me, throw me away—”

“Again, your father’s terms,” he says. “As I said, he wanted youpunished. But I also had to keep your tenancy in that cell a secret. I couldn’t have my future queen be tainted with the charge of murder, could I?”

No, he needed a way to bridle me, keep me compliant while all his plans came to fruition.

He had manipulated me, lied to me, broken me so thoroughly I had begged the Fate of Morta for death. I will not absolve him of it. I will not let him justify his choice.

My father’s words come back to taunt me once again.You’ll never be more than a man’s plaything.

How right he was. Emilia never escaped my father. What made me think I could?

The last of my strength crumbles, and I slide down the length of the wall until I hit the floor.

Two large hands come under my arms and haul me up. I sag against them.

“Cooperate, Vastianna. The night isn’t over yet,” Illian says. “And you still have much to lose.”

Anton finds my gaze when we return to Illian’s antechamber. He frowns, checking me over, and when he finds no damage, he seems to breathe a sigh of relief.

But no relief swells within me. Illian was right. I have more to lose, and he didn’t just mean Anton or my friends. I hug my arms around myself, eyeing the door set ajar, cracked to reveal the four-poster bed beyond.

Beside me, Illian waltzes in, his smile thin. “Glad to see you alert, little brother. I am eager to share my news.”

“Don’t tell me you have something interesting to say for once.”

Illian doesn’t take the bait; instead, he brandishes my wrist, displaying the blood-red diamond glittering from my finger. “Divine, isn’t it? Just like my bride-to-be.” He runs a cold knuckle along my cheek. And as subtle as it might be, he doesn’t miss thetwitch of Anton’s lips. “So youdohave more than a passing interest in her.”

“I have an interest in not imprisoning women and being a complete maggot every second of every day,” Anton shoots back.

I give him an exasperated look, as if to say,Do you have a death wish?

“Oh, I think it’s more than that.” Illian circles behind me, grazing his lips along the crescent of my neck, and when Anton’s jaw tightens, I feel Illian smile against the curve of my shoulder. I jerk away, but I don’t get far. He uses a ribbon on my gown to pull me back.

“You said you’d set him free if I played my part. And I did,” I hiss. “If you wish me to have even a shred of respect for you when this is all over, youwilllet him go.”

If my words affect him, he doesn’t show it, letting his fingers skim my ribs. Anton follows them with his gaze, jaw working, until Illian pauses at the jeweled button on my skirt. “See, that’s just it, my Jewel. Your role is not yet over.”

He yanks it off.