Page 16 of Not Another Happily Ever After

I stop, but don’t dare turn. The firm muscles of his abdomen flex against my back, his warm breath tickling the nape of my neck as he inhales.

“Did you miss me?” he asks, voice low. Too low. I have to strain to hear him over the pounding in my chest, made worse by the large fingers raking their way up my neck into my loosened updo. Gently twisting and pulling until a single curl breaks free. “I missed you.”

I recoil from his touch, nearly gagging at the overwhelming smell of mint. “Aren’t there any girls for you to torment back home?” The words slip out before I can think better of them.

We both freeze, stunned by my outburst.Did I really just ask him that? Out loud?Of all the vile things to leave my mouth tonight, this I regret the most.

He tugs hard on the curl still wrapped around his finger.

“I’m sorry,” I yelp.

Tightening his grip, he forces my head back, exposing my neck to the cold air, relishing in the way I squirm beneath his hold.

A single breath, and my flesh would meet where his lips hover dangerously over the scar peeking from beneath my ribbon.

“You’re not sorry. But you will be.”

The sound of glass hitting the floor has both our heads snapping in its direction.

“Ah, Sunday! Look at you!”

My mother all but falls from her seat reaching for the half-empty bottle of wine. Her fingers knock it and it clatters to the ground, but she only laughs, her words slurring and tangled.

The prince drops his hand, and I jump at the opportunity to put distance between us. But as I’m rushing to Mother’s side, I’m reminded she is not alone at the table. Seated opposite my parents are the rulers of the Kingdom of Riches: Lucius and Aurelia Charming.

Their gazes are fixed on me with equal measures of curiosity and disgust dancing across their prim features. Compared totheir family’s perfectly bronzed skin, draped in a rich mosaic of color and adorned with the realm’s finest jewels, I must be a terrifying sight indeed. With little to hide my pale blue skin or the scars that mark my family’s burden to break the curse, I am little more than a ghost that haunts these halls. How I’m ever to find a place in their kingdom—in their home, when I barely fit in here—is beyond my comprehension. Yet nothing rattles me more than the disappointment waiting for me in Father’s eyes.

“We were beginning to worry something might have happened.”

There’s a practiced show of emotion splashed across his face, his hardened features not accustomed to the warmth his words portray.

“How fortunate for you the prince was willing to forfeit a hot meal to ensure you made it safely.” He sucks in a breath through his teeth, surveying my freshly soiled dress. “It would seem his generosity truly knows no bounds.”

I stare confused for only a moment. Then every muscle in my body tenses.

“It was no trouble at all.” Thoren sweeps his dark locks out of his eyes, brushing off Father’s praise. But I don’t miss the mischievous glint in those deep honeyed pools. “We all have our nerves about what’s to come. But I’d bet most of it’s out of her system now.” He smiles wide and my heartbeat stutters at the revelation.

He saw. He was watching.

A million questions race through my mind as I follow my Father’s quiet instruction to take my seat beside the smug looking prince. Does heknowthat I know? Did he overhear Rhidland offer to help me escape?

Something heavy forms in my chest at the thought of what Father might do to my guardian should he ever find out where Rhidland’s true loyalties lie.

I stare at the bloodied meat before me, imagining the worst, when a large hand grabs my thigh beneath the table.

I suck in a sharp breath, panic thick in my throat. The Prince’s fingers dig into the flesh just beneath my satin gown.

I chance a look in his direction to find him already staring, his lips twisted into a menacing grin. That’s when it clicks. Why Father had called him generous. Why he looked so confused at the sight of me in this dress.

This gift was not from Father.

Slowly, so as not to draw attention from the kings and queens engrossed with the feast, the prince leans in, dropping his voice so that only I can hear it.

“I do so love to see you in red.”

I stiffen, hating the way I can feel his laughter between my legs as the worst night of my life replays behind my sealed eyes. “Brings back such fond memories.”

Chapter