Chapter 36 Her Father's Daughter
Lyra had never felt so trapped in her life.
She paced her room like a caged wolf, back and forth, back and forth, her bare feet brushing against the soft carpet as the maids watched her with wide, confused eyes.
Their stares pricked her skin like needles as they whispered among themselves, glancing her way, then pretending to focus on folding linens or something equally inconsequential.
She stopped abruptly, turning on them with a sharp glare.
“If you want to speak, you better speak!” she snapped. “Stop looking at me like hopeless rabbits!”
The maids froze, and one of them finally stepped forward. “Why did you reject Jacobson’s proposal, Princess?”
Lyra let out a harsh laugh. “Proposal? That man is nothing but a leech. He doesn’t love me, and I don’t love him.”
The maids exchanged looks of shock.
One whispered timidly, “But Princess, you loved Jacobson. Everyone knows about your secret affair at night.”
Lyra rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. She’d already pieced this part together after last night and the boldness Jacobson had shown, the way he’d walked into her room as if he owned the place. The real Irene must have been involved with him.
Disgust crawled up her spine.
“Well,” Lyra said, lifting her chin, “I’ve changed my mind.”
She moved to the window, staring out at the vast castle grounds, sunlight glinting off the courtyard stones. Guards patrolled everywhere. Walls upon walls. Locked gates. Watchtowers. Too many eyes.
“I am not the same girl I was when I left,” she continued. “I’ve realized all my wrongs. And Robinson is one of them.”
A maid coughed gently. “His name is Jacobson.”
Lyra hissed in annoyance. “It doesn’t matter! I won’t marry him. Perhaps Father should focus on finding those that captured me. That’s better than a shotgun wedding.”
The maids bowed deeply, sensing the conversation was over.
“Lunch will be served shortly, Princess,” one said before they all filed out quickly.
Lyra let out a long exhale and resumed pacing. Right then, she knew she had two choices: stay here and be exposed, or take a risk and try to escape.
Maybe she would agree to go with Darius.
Her pacing slowed. “That’s it, I will go along with him for the raid.”
It made sense. Traveling with him and his men would buy her time, enough time to plan, time to escape. On the road, there would be gaps and opportunities for her to get lost in all that crowd. Anything was better than staying trapped in this castle.
Here, she could swear there was no chance of escaping. There were too many guards and too many people expecting Princess Irene to behave like Princess Irene.
And Irene that she’d come to know commanded attention everywhere. Her reputation wasn’t something Lyra could maintain forever.
“Pompous thing,” Lyra muttered under her breath.
Finally, she stopped pacing and sat heavily on the bed, burying her face in her hands. Her heart raced as she thought of the decision. But deep inside, she knew there was no other way. If she didn’t go with Darius, he would march straight to IronFangs and destroy them, and she wouldn’t be there to stop him.
She swallowed hard.
She had to warn IronFangs and stop this slaughter.
Goodness, how she wished Ryker and Dax were alive. Rex too. Her chest tightened painfully at the thought of them finding their end in the forest all because of her. All because she got mixed up with some Blood King and Cassian who was becoming his errand boy. If Cassian hadn’t shown up and messed everything, they’d be at the Bronx Pack by now. The memory made her eyes sting.
But she blinked it away. There was no time to break.
She stood abruptly.
She had made her choice.
Lyra rushed out of her room, her heart thudding as she raced through the halls and made her way toward Darius’s wing. His guards gave her curious glances, but none stopped her. She was the princess, after all.
Her knuckles rapped twice on his door, and a grumble came from inside. “What is it?”
The door swung open by itself. Lyra stepped in and immediately wanted to turn and run back out.
Darius was on the bed.
With two women.
Both were tangled under a blanket, giggling, flushed, sprawled on opposite sides of him. Their hair was messy, their shoulders bare.
Lyra’s face went bright red. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—”
She spun around instantly, covering her eyes, but Darius clicked his tongue.
“They’re leaving,” he said.
The two women scrambled up, still laughing softly, adjusting their robes as they hurried past Lyra and out the door. Lyra kept her eyes firmly on the floor. Her entire body felt hot with embarrassment.
“Sit,” Darius said.
Lyra slowly turned around. He had thrown on a loose shirt and now sat on the edge of the bed, a drink in his hand, looking far too relaxed for someone planning a massacre.
Lyra gathered her courage.
“When are we leaving to attack the IronFangs?” she asked.
Darius’s eyebrows shot up, and a slow smile formed on his lips. “Ah, so you would come with us?”
Lyra nodded. “Yes. I want revenge. They deserve to die for what they did to me.”
There. She said it. The lie tasted bitter, but she forced her expression to remain steady.
Darius narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “But this morning, you defended them. You said they found you on the desert road and didn’t hurt you.”
Lyra cursed herself internally. She’d messed up. She’d been careless. But she couldn’t afford for him to doubt her now.
“They didn’t hurt me physically,” she said quickly, lowering her head. “But I kept crying, begging them to bring me back to my precious castle, and they wouldn’t. They kept me like a prisoner. They ignored my tears.”
She forced her voice to tremble a bit. “I want them to pay for that.”
Darius studied her face silently. The intensity of his stare made her feel like he could see right through her.
Then he nodded slowly.
“Good,” he said. “Very good.”
He stood and patted her on the shoulders. “I’m glad my daughter now has the guts to take revenge on our enemies.”
“Yes, you taught me well.”
“Go pack. We leave in the morning.”
Lyra held her breath, then finally let it out when he turned away.
Voilà! This was her ticket back home.