Chapter 16 Chapter 16
LENORE
The first thing my mind registered was warmth. The softness of the bed under me and the blanket on me was perfect while the scent of cinnamon and citrus tickled my nose. I wanted to burrow deeper into all of it.
Sighing, I rolled over before finally opening my eyes, and it took me a moment to realize I was in an unfamiliar place. The room was bigger, the walls were different, and I didn’t recognize any of the objects I could see from the angle.
I frowned, slowly sitting upright, but no matter how much I glanced around, nothing changed the fact that I didn’t know where I was. My stomach twisted in confusion and I fisted the sheets under me, trying to figure out how I’d gotten here.
…Then the memories started to return.
The first prince. The kiss. The push.
My breath seized. I had fallen… I was falling… I should be—
Am I dead?
Panic bubbled up in my chest and my eyes darted around the room again before I processed the fact that my heart was racing. It wouldn’t be doing that if I was dead, would it?
Besides, I could feel the weight of the blanket and that sweet scent was still in the air. Everything felt so real.
What happened? I vividly remembered the first prince shoved me off the roof. I vividly remembered the falling. But that was it. How was I here? And alive?
The door suddenly swung open and I jolted before the first prince walked in. My stomach dropped.
Oh God, no.
He froze when he saw me and for a moment I wondered if he was also confused as to why I was here. But then he spoke. “You’re awake.”
“Huh?” The memories flooded my mind again and I gasped.
He’d pushed me. He’d kissed me. He’d tried to kill me.
A shiver ran down my spine. I could still feel the press of his lips on mine, his tongue on mine, the way the wind rushed past me as I fell. It felt like it had happened just moments ago, but the fact that it was completely dark outside told me that a while had passed. And the fact that I was breathing told me that he’d saved me after trying to kill me.
Why? I was glad that I was still alive, but why had he saved me? Why had he even tried to kill me in the first place?
He’d said something about dreaming of me and his mind being toyed with, but I couldn’t even process that right now. He’d tried to kill me! For the second time! Right after kissing me! And that was my first kiss!
I felt like I was losing my mind.
“It’s not her fault you like her—” a man who appeared behind the prince started before his gaze shifted to me. His brows raised. “Oh!”
For several moments, neither of us spoke, just stayed still and stared at each other. When half a minute had to have passed, the stranger let out an exasperated sigh and slipped past the prince to walk over to the bed.
“Evening. My name’s Fabien, and I’m the prince’s advisor.” He stretched his hand out to me and my gaze dropped to it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
It suddenly dawned on me that I was in a room with two men: one was the psycho prince that had tried to kill me twice now and the other was affiliated with him. So I certainly couldn’t say it was a pleasure to meet the latter.
“Are you okay?” came the prince’s voice from my right and I almost jumped. My head jerked to the right to see him standing next to the bed and I didn’t hesitate to quickly scoot to the other end of the bed where Fabien was standing.
“You’re scaring her,” Fabien said and the prince set his mouth in a hard line, fixing his friend with a look. “...We’ll continue our conversation later.” Then he headed for the door.
I didn’t know Fabien—there was also the fact that he was affiliated with the prince—but I didn’t want to be left alone with the prince. I didn’t say anything though, and just watched him leave the room with my heart in my throat.
Once again, silence settled upon the room. A couple of seconds later, I braved a glance at the prince and immediately looked away when I found him staring at me. Oh God. My heart was going to give out at this rate.
He suddenly turned away from the bed and I shifted my attention to him again. He walked over to a serving cart which was next to a center table, and when he began to pull the cart over, I quickly looked away.
When he reached the bed—the side I’d scooted over to—he pushed the cart’s adjustable tray in front of me, and I glanced at the silver lid covering what was underneath.
“I…” He cleared his throat before sitting in the armchair which I hadn’t noticed until now, right next to the bed. “I had them make you dinner.”
“...Can I go back to my room, Your Highness?” I didn’t know what he wanted with me, but after everything he’d done to me, I didn’t think it was anything good.
“...My father said I could have you.”
Oh my God. Was that the reason why he kissed me? Some sick way of claiming ownership?
I sucked in a shaky breath. “I’m a pack representative here for a diplomatic gathering, Your Highness. I don’t know what the King said to you, but I’m not property. I have to return to the gathering.”
“You don’t want to do that,” he said and I frowned before finally meeting his gaze. The way he’d said my name before kissing me came to mind and I quickly shoved it to the back of mind.
Why would I possibly stay here so he could do whatever he wanted to me?
As if he’d read my thoughts, he spoke again. “My father lied to the packs. This isn’t a diplomatic gathering. None of the pack representatives will be leaving Eyrosa alive.”