Chapter 14: A Thief

The familiar hallways of the Crown Prince's wing felt different now—smaller somehow, tainted by recent memories of how I was tossed aside.

How everything that should've been mine became another's.

At least, I got to see who Cassien really was.

I clung to that small comfort as I pushed open the door to the main living area.

Helga should have been there waiting with the papers I'd requested, probably wringing her hands with worry but ultimately successful in her mission. Instead, I walked into a scene that made my blood freeze in my veins.

Two palace guards flanked Helga, their hands resting meaningfully on their sword hilts. Helga's soft hair had come loose from its usual neat bun, hanging in tangled strands around a face marked with fresh bruises. Her left eye was swollen nearly shut, and there was dried blood at the corner of her mouth.

But it was the figure standing at the far end of the room that made rage explode through my chest like wildfire.

Cassien leaned against the stone mantelpiece with his arms crossed, his expression dark as a thundercloud. He'd changed from his formal court attire into simpler clothing—leather breeches and a white shirt that made his blue eyes seem even colder than usual. Beside him, perched delicately in one of my favorite chairs, sat Hana with her hands folded over her rounded belly and that same innocent expression on her pretty face.

Somehow how I wondered if one could truly be so innocent.

She'd lied about me hitting her...I still didn't want to act on that.

"What is the meaning of this?" I demanded, my voice cutting through the tense silence neither of them had any plans of breaking.

Cassien's lips curved in a smile that held no warmth whatsoever. "Ah, there you are, wife. We need to discuss your servant's criminal behavior," He offered, gesturing at the seat at the far end of the room.

The corners of my lips twitched.

"Criminal behavior?" I moved toward Helga instinctively, but one of the guards shifted to block my path. The woman's eyes met mine, and I saw terror there, raw and desperate.

"Your Highness," Helga whispered, her voice hoarse. "I didn't... I would never..."

"She went to the pack's priest," Cassien continued conversationally, as if we were discussing the weather. "Requesting divorce papers. Without my permission."

Ice settled in my stomach, but I kept my face impassive. "I sent her to request those papers. If you have an issue with that, take it up with me."

"Oh, I intend to." His smile widened. "But that's not her only crime, is it, darling Hana?"

Darling Hana? Oh for fucks sake!

I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I turned to look at the petite woman by his side.

Hana's blue eyes glistened with what might have been tears, though I suspected they weren't because she had no reason to cry.

"She stole from me," she said softly, her voice trembling with perfectly performed distress. "My jewelry box... several pieces are missing," She inhaled shakily, hugging herself as she shivered slightly.

So small, so visibly weak.

She had a certain air to her that no doubt made every man who saw her have the urge to protect her.

It didn't stop me from getting pissed the fuck off though.

"That's impossible," I snapped, my composure finally cracking. "Helga would never steal anything, least of all from you."

"My personal maid saw her," Hana continued, dabbing at her eyes with a lace handkerchief. "Gweneth witnessed the whole thing."

I remembered the haughty woman who'd accompanied Hana to my office, her sharp features and disapproving sneer. Of course she would lie for her new mistress. The politics of palace life demanded such loyalty, such convenient blindness to truth.

"Let Helga go," I said, turning my attention back to Cassien. "She's done nothing wrong."

"Done nothing wrong?" Cassien pushed away from the mantelpiece, his casual demeanor dropping away to reveal the anger simmering beneath. "She went behind my back to request papers that would dissolve my marriage. She stole from my future wife. And you—" His finger jabbed toward me accusingly. "You have no right to request a divorce without my consent."

A scoff escaped my lips before I could stop it. The sound was harsh and bitter in the elegant room. "You'll have to divorce me anyway, won't you? Unless you plan to make Hana your concubine instead of your wife."

For a moment, Cassien looked genuinely taken aback, as if this simple logic hadn't occurred to him. His face went slightly pale, and I saw the exact moment when realization dawned in his blue eyes.

"The rules can be changed," he said finally, but his voice lacked its earlier confidence.

"Perhaps," I agreed coldly. "But I have no intention of remaining married to you regardless. I want those papers processed today because I intend to leave tomorrow morning."

In two swift strides, Cassien crossed the room and grabbed my wrists, his fingers digging into my skin hard enough to bruise. "You're not going anywhere."

I looked down at his hands on me, then back up to meet his gaze. "You can't stop me unless you plan to kill me, Cassien."

The words hung between us like a blade. Cassien's face flushed red with fury, his grip tightening until I had to bite back a gasp of pain.

"You think you can disrespect me?" he snarled, his voice low and dangerous. "You think you can embarrass me in front of the entire court and then just walk away?"

"I think," I said carefully, "that you have no claim on me anymore. I rejected you, remember? You made sure of that when you announced your pregnant mistress to the world."

"You'll pay for this," Cassien said, his voice shaking with rage. "You'll pay for every slight, every insult." He released my wrists so suddenly I stumbled backward, then turned to the guards. "Lock the thief in the dungeons. Theft from nobility is a serious crime."

"No!" The word tore from my throat as the guards moved toward Helga. "She didn't steal anything! You can't—"

"I can do whatever I please," Cassien cut me off. "She serves at my discretion, just as you do."

That's when Hana finally spoke again, her voice soft but carrying clearly in the sudden silence. "The jewelry was a gift from my father," she said, still dabbing at her eyes. "Gweneth saw her take it from my chambers. There were witnesses."

"Your jealousy caused this," Cassien said, turning back to me with accusation blazing in his eyes. "Your petty spite put innocent people in danger."

I could only stand there, horror and rage warring in my chest, as the guards took hold of Helga's arms. She didn't resist—couldn't resist, really, not against armed men twice her size. But she looked at me with such trust, such faith that I would somehow fix this, that I felt something break inside my chest.

"Please," I whispered, hating how the word sounded like begging. "Don't do this. She's innocent."

"She's a thief and a conspirator," Cassien replied coldly. "The dungeons are exactly where she belongs."

I watched, powerless, as they dragged my faithful friend away. Helga didn't cry out, didn't plead for mercy. She kept her dignity even as they hauled her toward a fate she didn't deserve, even as her swollen eye leaked tears she couldn't stop.

The door slammed shut behind them with a finality that echoed through my bones. I stood alone in the suddenly quiet room with Cassien and his pregnant mistress, my whole body vibrating with fury and crushing guilt.

"I will not divorce you, Yasmin...rejected or not, you will remain my wife until I decide otherwise!"

I let out a shaky breath. Unsure of what I was suppressing. Was it the anger? The growing hatred or the pain?

I met his blue eyes. Eyes I had once adored.

Eyes that were once my entire world.

And now?

"If I had known you were this way...I would never have left Ysgradil for you... I never would've...." I inhaled deeply, realizing just how much my voice was trembling.

I won't show weakness, not to him, never again.

"When this is all over, Cassien, just know that you brought it all on yourself,"

His eyes narrowed, countless emotions swirling in those depths. "What?" He snarled.

"Goodbye, Cassien." I said with finality.