Chapter 57 I need your help
SOMA
I should have let her go straight to her dorm. I should have known the princes would—
The vibration in my breast pocket startles me, echoing in the quiet room. I fumble for my phone and whimper when I see the message from Helga. She’s asking for updates.
Ignoring her message, I scroll through my contacts until I find one name. Lilith. It’s time to take her up on her offer to help. She picks up instantly, her voice smooth as always.
“My lady. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Prince Kade took Jade,” I blurt out.
A brief pause ensues, followed by a faint, almost amused “Oh.”
“Oh?” My grip tightens on the phone. “Is that it?”
Sienna acted the same way, and now I’m wondering if I judged her too harshly.
“Don’t fear. I’ll send you another maid tomorrow,” she replies.
A tear drops onto my cheek, and I wipe it off. Jade is a person, not a broken vase that can be easily replaced.
“No. I don’t want another maid,” I counter, my voice shaking. “I want Jade. Tell him to return her to me.”
Lilith sighs. “I’ll do my best.”
But her words only leave me more hopeless than before I called. I press the heel of my palm to my eye, trying to steady my breathing. With each passing second, it grows painfully obvious. My title is nothing where the Rybaks are concerned. If I want them to listen to me, I might need to get into the crown prince’s good graces or do something disastrous. But what that is, I can’t figure out now.
“Soma,” Lilith whispers. “It’s normal for the princes to develop an interest in the maids. You can ask Sienna how many she’s gone through in the last few years. They are quite… wild. But I can assure you Kade will treat her well.”
Does Jade want any part of this? Is she interested in being his temporal amusement until he’s bored again?
“You know what?” I exhale slowly. “It’s fine. I’ll handle it.”
“Really?” she says. Even with the distance between us, her shock is obvious. “Good. I’d love to know how you resolve it.”
The line clicks off before I can respond. I lower the phone, staring at the screen. The weight of helplessness presses down on me, and my throat stings from holding back my sobs. I can’t let Jade down. So, I push myself up.
My legs are unsteady, but I keep moving. I step out of my suite quietly, shutting the door behind me.
The corridor feels colder now, every sound sharper. I avoid Brynne’s door and Sienna’s too.
Maybe Tristan will listen to me. Compared with the rest, he seems more reasonable. I knock on the last door on this floor, but I get no response. Since Kade is downstairs, probably waiting to strangle me, I avoid going there.
Sienna won’t help, Lilith thinks this is nothing, and Tristan, the only one who might help, is missing. I press my back against the door and let out a bitter laugh. I was so stupid to have rejected Mason’s offer.
What Moon Goddess?
What Luna? I’m nothing.
A door opens. I stand taller, wiping at my cheeks. They might have broken me, but they don’t need to see the evidence.
Brynne’s voice cuts through the air. “You’re bothering the rest of us. If you want to cry, go cry in your room.”
Is he really the only option I have? I glance at Sienna’s door, my phone, then at him. He stands beside his door, lips pulled in a scowl, hair tousled, and eyes dark with annoyance.
The air thickens with unspoken words. I gulp, my pride burning in my throat as I take a small step toward him.
“Your highness,” I say. “I need your help.”
Silence settles over us. It’s so thick I reconsider my decision.
Brynne smirks. “Really?”
“Yes,” I say. It’s hard not to shrink when he looks this intimidating. “Prince Kade took Jade. I want her back.”
Stepping away from his door, he leans his shoulder into the wall, staring down at me like a predator that has its prey where it wants. His hand stretches toward me, and I squeeze my eyes shut. I hope he finishes faster today.
“Open,” he commands, and my eyes fly open. When his finger caresses the tear trails on my cheeks, I hate how I shiver in part anticipation and part fear. He sucks that finger into his mouth and sighs. “You’re something.”
He curls an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I let out a yelp as our chests collide, trying to push my hands between us to reduce the body contact. Danger gleams in his eyes as his hand lowers and tugs at my skirt.
“Your highness,” I start. He arches a brow, and I stop the words from coming. If he can help, I’ll have to endure it. But his hand slides higher, dragging across the hem of my panties, and a gasp shoots out of me. “Someone can see.”
He shrugs. “I don’t care.” My mouth opens, but I say nothing, and he adds, “I preferred you when you hated underwear.”
“I didn’t prefer you then. I don’t prefer you now.” He arches a brow, and I whisper, “Sorry. I’m sorry.”
Drawing closer to my center, he pushes past the fabric in his way and teases my folds. My knees grow weak. I want to push him away, but my fingers curl in his shirt instead. He chuckles and withdraws his hand to yank on the waistband of my underwear.
“Take this off,” he commands.
“Will you help if I do?”
“Yes.”
Looking back once to be sure Sienna or someone else isn’t watching my humiliation, I step away and remove it. He stretches his hand, and I place it on his palm. My face contorts in disgust when he raises it to his nose. But when his eyes shut as he sniffs it and his chest rumbles, a small, proud smile takes over my lips.
The moment his eyes open, my smile vanishes.
“Well?” I mutter. “Can we go? Prince Kade is downstairs.”
“Not so fast,” he tells me.
“Your Highness, you promised to help,” I remind him.
“Not for free.”
“But I gave you…” I trail off, nodding at the underwear he slides into his pocket. “I’ve given you something.”
He shakes his head. “Not enough. I want something else in exchange for helping you. What’s in it for me, Soma?”