Rosalind’s POV
The woman who stopped me was taller than me and effortlessly beautiful like she had just stepped out of a capital magazine. She also seemed familiar like I had seen her somewhere.
She had brown hair done up in intricate braids that pulled her hair away from her face showing off her aristocratic features and glass-smooth skin.
Unlike the other brides-to-be that were here, she covered up her body. She wore a luxurious gown that looked expensive enough to buy at least three orphans in the districts. Her grey eyes were as cool as steel. And her nails dug into my arm.
And I don’t understand what she is saying.
“Pardon me?”
She hit me across the face and I clutched my cheek stunned silent by the suddenness of the slap. I hadn’t done anything to warrant her to treat me like that.
As I looked up at her and saw the disgusted sneer she regarded me with, I realised where I had seen her.
Earlier yesterday, I had bumped into her when leaving the dining room after seeing Prince Killian there on one of his dates. And I had been stunned by her uncanny resemblance to council member Arthur, the person who has been the one to suggest this entire bride business.
With her sneer, I was now certain that this had to be his daughter or close relatives.
She seemed more than annoyed at my innocent inquiry.
“I see they don’t train servants well here for them to question their betters.”
Her gray eyes glinted as she gripped my chin pulling me close. I didn’t dare move. Staying with the princes had robbed me of the depth of my fear of the silverbags. That girl of the district days had never seemed farther.
But with this woman in front of me, I was reminded of my true station. An omega way in over her head in games, she knew nothing about.
“Look at me, girl. I don’t want to see you within two feet of both Prince Cillian and Killian. It is bad enough that I have to degrade myself to compete for a position that is my birthright, I will not have a mere servant undermine me as well.”
I found my voice with difficulty as fear pressed into me. If she was Arthur’s daughter then after the princes, she and her father had the most power in this kingdom.
“I wasn’t”
“Silence.” She commanded, her grip around my chin tightening to the point of all-consuming pain.
“I will become your Crown Princess soon enough. If I were you, I would choose my words wisely.”
I bit my tongue as I met her gaze. She didn’t want me to speak. This was a conversation where only one of us was allowed to speak and it wasn’t me.
Noting my silence, she smiled and there was nothing nice about it.
“Good. I see the way you interact with them. The way you talk to them. One would almost think you were all friends.”
She scoffed as though even the thought of it was ridiculous. I itched to tell her to shove it and that she would never become the Crown Princess. Cillian would never accept her and Prince Killian wasn’t into combative women. But I had my tongue. If I spoke out of turn she could decide to kill me this time.
Her gaze sharpened on me.
“That ends today. You have two options. Take my warning now or dare me and see how far it gets you.”
****
Suffice to say that I didn’t go into the hall anymore. I found myself going up to the rooftop perhaps silently wishing I would meet a certain prince there.
My mind went back to that woman. She was vicious but what else could one expect from a member of Arthur’s line?
I reached the rooftop and saw a familiar silhouette with a wine bottle. I fought a smile that wanted to take over my face. Since when was I so excited to see that arrogant prince?
“Hiding from your ardent admirers?”
Prince Killian looked away from the edge of the rooftop and raked his eyes down my body. I was almost used to the way he looked at me but I didn’t think I would ever be fully used to it as it still sent chills down my spine.
He gave me a sexy grin that had my thighs pressing together.
“I am a prince. I do not hide.”
I stifled a grin at his blatant lie
“Sure.”
Prince Killian looked over at me again as though looking for something.
“You seem better today.”
Today. Compared to the last time he had met me up here. Maybe he had only expected me to come here when I had another breakdown. I don’t know why I came here anyway.
Maybe because of the lady but mostly it was because I wanted to see him. Not that I would ever admit that out loud.
“I feel better.”
I didn’t know how my feelings for Cillian fit with this thing between Killian and me but it was something I had as much control over as the weather.
“Good.” He nodded then he tilted his head to the side looking at me. His eyes darkened and his nostrils flared imperceptibly. “Did anyone hit you?”
I recalled the way he killed the men that had touched me. If he did anything similar to that girl I knew there would be hell to pay.
So I laughed lightly as though amused. “No. Why do you ask?”
“Your cheek is red.” He deadpanned, still looking extremely suspicious.
My hand went to my cheek feeling very self-conscious as I thought of something. Anything to use as an excuse. “Oh no. It’s nothing. Hazards of cleaning.”
Prince Killian’s eyebrow went up. “You get marks like that from cleaning?”
Right. I had gambled correctly. He was a prince. He didn’t know anything about cleaning. They had probably picked up after him since he was a child.
“Yes…not that I would expect a prince to understand.”
He glared at me but I could see the suspicion leave his eyes.
“Right.”
I smiled and it was as though that moment morphed into something else. Prince Killian seemed… frozen for lack of a better term. His eyes lingered on my lips and then he took a step towards me and now I was the frozen one.
I feared that if I took even a step or breathed too hard, this dream would scatter. And I so desperately wanted it to go on forever.
He was in front of me and his hand swept across my apparently red cheek and my body forgot how to function.
I couldn’t recall a time when he had not been touching me. I wanted, no I ached for him to touch me everywhere.
His hand traced the edges of my lips and my eyes fluttered shut as the image of him fucking that girl that day suddenly propped up in my mind.
This time I didn’t dismiss it. This time I reimagined myself as that girl. The one he fucked like she didn’t matter to him. The one he whipped. I imagined him yanking back my hair while I was on all fours. Imagined him telling me to come.
A moan escaped my lips bringing the spell to an end as his hand left my skin.
When I opened my eyes, Prince Killian was several steps away and he wasn’t looking at me.
His voice came out cold as per usual.
“I have princely businesses to get to. Nothing that whores like you would understand.”
I smiled at him taking his unspoken invitation to act like the past few seconds never happened.
“Say hello to Bridget’s boobs for me.”
Prince Killian facepalmed and cursed under his breath saying something that sounded suspiciously like ‘so that was her name’ before shooting me a deathly glare.
“Shut up wench.”
I grinned unrepentantly.
“Of course, Prince Killian.”
*****
After he left, I felt antsy staying alone so I went looking for Cillian. I doubted that woman would still be around so I went back to the hall where he usually was at this time.
As I reached the front of the petition hall, I heard the falling of objects as though someone had pushed them off a table.
The door was open partly and I pushed it open cautiously, silently wondering if something had annoyed Prince Killian.
Only to see Cillian kissing that girl from earlier on. She was on top of his table, she must have made the sounds from earlier making space for herself. Her hands were buried in his hair as she pulled him closer.
I backed away shocked, tears falling uncontrollably from my eyes.
This couldn’t be happening.
I turned away from the hall, my hand over my mouth holding back a scream.
Prince Killian was suddenly in front of me, he wiped at my tears with an air of confusion.
“Rosalind, what’s wrong?”
“I can’t… he…” I buried my head in his chest as I sobbed. His arm came around me tentatively.
My heart was falling apart from the pain of betrayal.
“Please take me away from here. Please.” I begged him.
And he took me away.