Page 32 of The Shadows Between Us
I send my maid away as soon as I’m dressed in a simple nightgown and approach the bed.
“Alessandra.”
I gasp so loudly, I nearly choke on the air. My hand goes flying to my heart.
“What thedevils, Myron?”
He emerges from my wardrobe of all places, dressed in pristine brocade, not a wrinkle in sight despite the cramped quarters he was in.
“Why the hell are you coming out of my wardrobe?” I demand.
“The only way I could sneak in here was to wait until a servant was distracted in cleaning. Then I waited for you.”
“I thought I made it perfectly clear that we would not be speaking anymore. Howdareyou ignore my wishes? That won’t go without consequences.”
Myron grins like he’s just won his father’s inheritance before folding himself into a cushioned chair near my bed. “That’s the problem, Alessandra. You no longer have anything to hold over me.”
My face remains a mask of indifference, but my skin prickles with fear. “What are you talking about?”
“Haven’t you heard the news yet? My father expired this morning. My brother has inherited the viscounty. We’re quite close, Proteus and I. I assure you he won’t care one whit that I lost that thrice-damned pendant in a game of cards. Proteus also has a love of gaming.”
My blood turns cold in my veins. My leverage is gone. “Proteus must be much better at gaming than you, considering he hasn’t gambled away every penny he owns.”
Myron’s jaw clenches, and he stands abruptly. “No, see, you don’t get to talk to me like that anymore, Alessandra. Not unless you want the whole palace to know just how much of a strumpet you really are.”
My vision goes blurry, and sheer anger buzzes through me. My dagger is in my boot. I contemplate using it for all of a second.
But Hektor’s death is being looked into. I can’t have another death on my hands. And I’d never get the body out of the palace unseen. No, this situation has to be dealt with very carefully.
Perhaps I could lure Myron away from the palace before killing him?
“Nothing to say?” Myron asks. “Or does your mind need more time to process this? Perhaps I can assist by making your situation perfectly clear.” He leans forward. “I own you. You will do whatever I say, whenever I say it. And you’re going to start by getting me into that play at the viscount’s estate tomorrow night.”
“The play?” I ask. “Why should you wish to go?”
“Because it’s time I made some more powerful friends. I owe a lot of money to a lot of people. My brother can do only so much for me. But you? The woman courting the king? You’re going to get me into the most prestigious estates in the kingdom. And when the world sees you—the king’schosen—hanging off my arm, they’ll know I’m someone to pay attention to.”
No no no no no no no no.
I let out a breath of air as calmly as I can manage before sitting on the edge of my bed, placing a defeated look upon my face.
“I was wrong to treat you as I did, Myron. I’m so sorry. But we don’t need to be enemies. We can help each other. I’m happy to get you into the play.”
“Save the act,” Myron says, unmoved. “I’ve known you too long to know when you’re faking.”
“I guarantee you never could tell when I was faking.”
Myron’s cheeks go red, and his neck looks like it might pop a vein. He strides over to me and raises a hand as though he might hit me. Hepauses, then drops it. “I’m not one for violence. I don’t need to strike you. Like I said, I own you. Now get me into that play, or I’ll tell the king all about how you like to spend your nights.”
THIS COULD NOT BE HAPPENING.
I’ve always sat at the king’s side, all the nobility watching my every move, as though they could learn the secrets to life’s greatest mysteries if they only stared at me long enough.
And today?
Today, Myron sits on my left, not the king. Orrin, Lord Eliades, having seen an opportunity, quickly took the seat to my right. Rhoda and Hestia shoot me questioning gazes from across the table. But I can’t manage to do much more than glare at my soup.
“We missed you dearly at the charity ball,” Orrin says. “I donated two thousand necos to the homeless shelter in Naxos. Such a small amount compared to the vastness of my yearly income, but I intend to give much more throughout the year.”
