Chapter 139 I Want You - Adele's POV

Chapter 139 I Want You - Adele's POV
I hated the castle.

I hated the black stone walls. I hated the blue flames burning in every torch. I hated the way the entire place seemed to watch me, as though even the walls knew I didn't belong here.

Most of all, I hated the fact that I had no idea how long I would be trapped inside it.

I stood beside the window in Corwin's room, staring down at the cliffs below. The sea stretched endlessly beyond them, but I couldn't see the Isle from here.

I didn't know if Craven had escaped or if he was still trapped. I didn’t even know if he was alive.

The thought made my stomach twist. I pressed my palm against the cold glass.

"You're going to wear a hole in the window if you keep staring at it."

I didn't turn around. Corwin had been doing this all morning.

He had stayed in his room, just as he promised he would, but I had quickly learned that being alone with him was somehow worse than being surrounded by guards.

At least guards didn't constantly try to get inside my head or ask me if I had given any thought to their proposal.

"Perhaps that's what I'm hoping for. Then I can fall through to the sea and perish.”

His laugh came from behind me. "Still angry."

I turned my head slightly. "I'm your prisoner."

"Technically."

I stared at him. He was sitting in a chair near the fireplace, looking entirely too comfortable for someone who had kidnapped a queen and dragged her into his home.

"Technically?" I asked.

He shrugged. "You're not locked in a cell."

"Because I'm locked in your bedroom instead."

"With a bed that you won’t use, mind you,” he replied dryly.

"I don't see how that improves anything."

His lips twitched. I turned back toward the window.

I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me react to him. Corwin seemed to thrive on getting under my skin. Every time I became angry, he looked amused.

It was infuriating.

"You could have a much worse fate," he murmured.

I laughed. I couldn't help it.

The sound was bitter enough that even he seemed to realize it. "Could I? And just what would that be?”

"You could be dead."

I slowly turned around. Corwin's expression had changed. For once, he wasn't smiling.

“Have I not said I would rather be dead?” My brow furrowed.

His jaw tightened, and for the first time since I had been brought here, I saw something that looked almost like anger cross his face. It was gone quickly, replaced by the same irritating calm he seemed to wear whenever he wanted to pretend he had control over everything.

“You don't mean that.”

I stared at him. “Don't tell me what I mean.”

“I know what you want.”

A bitter laugh escaped me. “You kidnapped me days ago, Corwin. You don't know anything about me.”

“I know you want to leave.”

I fell silent.

His gaze remained fixed on me as if he could see the exact moment his words struck something inside me. Of course I wanted to leave. I wanted to be back at the Isle. I wanted to wake up in the house with Craven nearby, even if we were arguing. I wanted to hear Darren complaining about something ridiculous or one of the others making some sarcastic comment.

I wanted my life back. But more than anything, I wanted to know that Craven was alive.

“You want to go back to the Isle,” Corwin continued.

My chest tightened.

“You want Craven.”

“Stop,” I said, blinking back tears.

“You want the life you had before I took you.”

I turned away from him, my fingers curling against the fabric of my dress. “Yes,” I whispered. “I do.”

The words felt like a confession, even though there was nothing wrong with wanting the life that had been stolen from me.

Corwin was quiet for several moments.

When I finally looked back at him, his expression had changed. There was no amusement in his face now. He looked almost thoughtful, which somehow made me more uncomfortable than his flirting ever had.

“Then you understand why I can't let you go.”

My stomach twisted. “No, I don't.”

“You're safer here.”

“I'm a prisoner,” I snarled.

“You're alive.”

I stared at him. “That's your argument?”

“It's an important one.”

“Not to me.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. I knew I was pushing him, but I couldn't stop myself. I was tired of being told that I should be grateful for the cage I had been placed inside.

“Do you know what I find interesting?” I asked.

“What?”

“You keep telling me that you're protecting me, yet you never once asked me if I wanted your protection.”

Corwin's expression hardened.

“You don't get to decide what's best for me.”

“Someone has to.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I am perfectly capable of deciding that for myself.”

He growled. “One of the other kingdoms would have killed you once they realized you were there. It’s better this way.”

I stared at him, trying to understand how he could say those words as though they settled everything. "Better for who?"

His eyes narrowed.

"For you?" I continued. "Because you get to keep me here and pretend you're saving me? Or for your kingdom because you get to put a queen on your throne without anyone having to ask whether she actually wants to sit there?"

Corwin's jaw tightened. I could see the anger building beneath his carefully controlled expression, but I refused to back down. I had spent too much of my life allowing other people to make decisions for me because they thought they knew what was best.

I wouldn't do it anymore. Not for him or anyone.

"You don't understand what you're saying," he finally replied.

"No, I understand perfectly." I stepped away from the window, turning fully toward him. "You keep telling me that I am safer here, but you haven't given me a single reason to believe that. You tell me the mainland wants me dead, yet you expect me to trust the man who kidnapped me and dragged me into a palace full of people who apparently want me dead."

"Those people are the reason you're here."

"Then why am I here with you?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard.

I watched his expression carefully as he looked away for a brief moment. It was such a small movement that I might have missed it if I hadn't been watching him so closely.

"Because I can protect you."

“No,” I laughed. "You want me to be your queen. You want me to stay here. You want me to forget Craven and accept you instead. Everything you've done since you took me has been about what you want."  I gestured toward the room around us. "This is your palace. Your kingdom. Your room. Your bed. You brought me here because you decided this was where I belonged, and now you're telling me it's all for my protection."

Corwin stared at me. For a moment, neither of us spoke, then he slowly rose from the chair.

I instinctively stepped backward, and his gaze immediately dropped to the movement. Something flashed across his face, but he didn't come any closer.

"I want you," he admitted.