Chapter Fifty-Four

Nothing like the day of a massive wedding for me to consider not only murdering Connolly, but one of Annecy’s guards too.

“I don't understand why you can't do this for me,” I said through clenched teeth.

It was like talking to a brick wall. No, on second thought, a brick wall might be a little more intelligent than the pile of hairy skin standing in front of me.

He rolled his eyes. “I don't have to do anything for you.”

Irritation skittered down my spine. I couldn’t afford to give in to it, though, not if I had any hope of getting my way. “But this is important. I need to see him.”

“Oh, it's important, is it? Well, you should have told me that to begin with.”

Fuming, I flexed my hands against the guard’s nasty laughter. How lucky was he that my wolf was in hiding or locked away or whatever? I would gladly have torn his face right the fuck off and laughed while he screamed.

“I'm being serious,” I spat.

“So am I,” he grunted, dropping his stupid humor. “You don't get to demand a meeting with anybody. Especially not Connolly.”

I practically had to bite my tongue off to keep from shrieking. That wouldn’t get me anywhere.

“I’m not asking for a meeting,” I explained. “I'm only asking that you take him this note, requesting a meeting. Two totally different things.”

“Do you think she would request this if it wasn't important?” Aimes added, turning away from the barred window where he'd been watching vendors come and go for at least an hour.

As soon as we were up and showered, I banged on the locked door for a guard. It still took an hour for anyone to actually open the door, and that was only to deliver our breakfast. The room could’ve been on fire, and nobody would have bothered to notice.

“She doesn't get to decide what's important.” The guard looked me up and down, snarling. “Prisoners never do.”

If karma ever came back to throat punch this guy, I wanted to be there in case it needed some help.

“I know Connolly’s going to be here for the ceremony,” I said as sweetly as I could while imagining ripping off his balls and shoving them in his mouth for good measure.

“Well, congratulations.” The guard sighed deeply.

“And I know he's going to want to talk to me,” I insisted. “I'm absolutely sure of it. And he's going to be pissed if he finds out you wouldn't give him this message.”

“Uh-huh, I'm shaking,” he said with a snicker. “Eat your breakfast. She won't like it if she finds out you didn't eat.”

She. I was so tired of hearing about her, and never by name. But maybe he had done me a favor, after all.

“Fine. Then I want to speak to Annecy. Tell her it's about the request she made of me. What she wants me to do today. She'll know what that means.”

“And she won't like it very much if she finds out the message wasn't passed on,” Aimes added, coming up behind me with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised in a very clear threat. “Trust me.”

“I don’t have to trust anything you say,” the guard fired back, but I wasn’t fooled.

He was listening now, actually listening. Because of Aimes? Or because of Aimes’s warning about Annecy?

I shrugged on my way to the tray left for us on the little round table. “Fine. Suit yourself. Your name is Roger, isn't it?”

He stiffened, standing up a little straighter. “What's it to you?”

“It's just that I want to make sure I have the right name when I tell Annecy I had something important to discuss, but I didn't get the chance to. You can go now. We'll eat our breakfast.” I picked up an apple, took a big bite, and put on my best chilling smile as I chewed.

Checkmate. He was practically sweating while asking himself if I was bluffing or not.

“Fine,” he eventually grunted. “If you waste her time, I'll make sure she knows who's responsible.”

“Whatever you want.” Once he was gone, I rolled my eyes at Aimes. “They're afraid of her.”

“Who can blame them?” He snorted as he sat at the table, eyeing the thick steaks.

“Steak and eggs,” I marveled as I sat across from him. It was the nicest meal we'd gotten since we arrived. “I didn't think they'd have time to give us much of anything today, with all the preparation going on.”

“I'm not about to complain.” He dug into his steak and took a huge bite. “You'd better eat. You're going to need your strength today.”

Yeah, the reminder sort of took away my appetite, but I forced myself through a few bites of egg and a piece of toast.

When Aimes finished his, he drooled over my steak, and I couldn't help laughing as I nudged it his way.

“Go ahead.”

“But you need—”

“I'm fine. I'm not going to force myself to eat any more, and my stomach’s in knots anyway.”

“We're going to find a way through this.” He managed to stop shoveling bites of steak into his mouth long enough to look me in the eye, and his blue gaze was firm, unblinking. “I mean that. We're going to find a way through it. You and me.”

“I know.” I just didn’t know how.

“And if we have to get the hell out of here, we will. We'll escape. Again.”

“You think we could manage that? Again?”

“I know we could,” he insisted. “I'm more familiar with this place than Annecy’s guards are. I know my way around.”

Was it the excitement in his voice? Or maybe it was the meaning behind his words. Either way, my spirits lifted slightly.

“I never thought about it that way,” I said, nodding slowly. “That we have that kind of an advantage over them.”

He lifted a shoulder, chewing a huge bite. “That's what I'm here for.”

I snorted. “You know you're here for more than that.”

He raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching, and I blew him a kiss. Then we both laughed.

God, we were so crazy for each other, it was almost disgusting. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We both startled at the sudden opening of the door.

“What, do we not get a knock anymore?” I demanded when Roger stepped into the room again.

“She can't come see you,” he said simply.

Frustration shook through me as I rose to my feet. Could just one thing go right? Wasn’t it bad enough I already lacked even a scrap of control over what was expected of me?

“You didn't even tell her I needed to see her, did you? Don't lie,” I snapped as soon as he opened his mouth again.

“She wants you to come see her instead,” he retorted with an eye roll. “She has a lot to do today and doesn't have the time to pay a visit. Those were her exact words.”

Okay, then, might as well get it over with. There was hardly any time as it was—the minutes and hours were melting away, like time had a habit of doing whenever there was something horrible looming over me.

“Take me to her now,” I demanded.

“What do you think I’m here for?” the guard muttered, stepping out into the hall and waiting for me.

I looked over my shoulder and tried to smile at Aimes. “It'll be fine. I’ll be back soon.”

He only nodded, but it didn't seem like he had quite the same enthusiasm over his meal, especially since he’d set down his knife and fork. Wait, no, just his fork. I hadn’t noticed it before, but I now had extra weight in my back pocket.

His steak knife. Just in case.

I nodded back, and he winked.

Downstairs, walking through the halls was practically a full-contact sport. What was only bustling before had turned into sheer chaos—people shouting questions, instructions, asking for help. The closer we got to Annecy’s rooms, the louder the shouting, the more frantic the energy.

I barely dodged someone running at full speed with a platter of chicken skewers, like there was some chicken emergency somewhere.

“I told the kitchen! I don't want anything heavy today!”

I could hear her long before we reached the door, and instinct told me to be ready for anything. I figured she would be in a great mood, on the precipice of getting everything she ever wanted.

From the sound of it, she was walking a razor-thin tightrope over a pit of insanity. One false step from Bridezilla, and she’d end up dropping into it.

“What is it?” she barked at me once I stepped through the door into her crowded rooms.

She wore a white silk dressing gown while sitting at a lit mirror. Other women fretted with her hair and makeup. A long, ivory-colored wedding dress hung over the door leading to the bathroom. The lace and beadwork immediately drew my attention, but I knew better than to venture too close. She was irritated enough.

“You know I'm busy today,” she snapped. “I have so much on my mind.”

“Could we talk about this in private?” I ventured, sweeping my gaze over the chaotic room.

“Fine.”

I didn't expect her to agree so readily.

She looked around, waving her hand. “Everybody out of here. Give me five minutes.”

Was it my imagination, or did the servants practically run at full speed? One of them even gave me a grateful look like they were glad for the excuse to get away from her.

“Idiots. I'm surrounded by idiots.” She rose and paced back and forth, arms folded. “Honestly, you would think none of them ever—well, then again, there's never been an event quite like this,” she concluded with smug satisfaction.

“Is he here yet?” I asked.

“Of course. And he wasn't very impressed to find he wouldn't get his old rooms back.” She looked around, grinning at the lavish furnishings. “Still thinking he has a say in anything. It's almost cute.”

“Mmm, yeah. Cute. So, I've been thinking a lot about what you want me to do. And I was wondering, could you arrange for a meeting or something? Just me and him?”

She came to a sudden stop, whirling on me, and the feral look in her eyes made me fall back a step. “You can't be serious. You haven't figured out a way to get to him yet? You have one job, Harlow!”

Oh my god, this woman right now. I’d stab her with my steak knife if I didn’t need so many answers.

“Hold on a second.” I stepped up to her, hands on my hips. “I'm doing my best. Do you seriously think he's going to let me walk up to him and kill him? Don't play games with me.”

“Excuse me?” Her head snapped back, her eyes narrowing.

“You heard me. Pretend all you want that this is no big deal, but you know damn well it is. Or else you would do it yourself,” I added, and I relished the flash of understanding that washed over her face before she hardened her expression again.

“I think you're forgetting who’s—”

“I'm forgetting nothing,” I assured her. “I know who I’m dealing with, and I know what's at stake. You think I would forget? And I'm telling you, I need a way to get close to him. An excuse. I know that if you sent word that I want to see him privately, he would show.”

“You clearly don't know him very well.”

“And if I tell him I know he’s my dad? Do you think he’d want to see me then?”

“He’d know it’s a trap.” She rolled her eyes. “Try again, Harlow.”

I threw my hands into the air. Better that than slamming them against her face, which I most definitely wanted to do. “You can’t be serious! At least give me the chance.”

“Anyway,” she continued like I’d never said a word, “he’s not free to accept guests right now. What, you think I would let him have free rein of the place?”

“I don’t have free rein either,” I said, crossing my arms and shrugging one shoulder, “but you let me come here to see you.”

“You're a different story. We are allies. Don't you remember?” She said it with such a sickly sweet smile that I wanted to throw up. “Use your wolf. Aren't you supposed to be tough and strong? Why don't you try showing a little bit of that?”

There I was, stuck yet again. I couldn't tell her the truth. I had a feeling the threat of my wolf was the only thing keeping me alive.

Her smile turned nasty. “Don't tell me you've already lost control of her. Is that what it is? You can't handle her?”

I lifted my chin. “No.”

She nodded slowly, eyeing me up and down. “You're a very bad liar, Harlow. I don't know why I wasted time with you, honestly. All you've done is complicate things time and time again. I'll never understand why some people are given every opportunity when they don't know what to do with it.”

She turned toward the window, none of them barred in here, pulling back the curtain to look out. “Maybe it was all just a fluke anyway. These things do happen sometimes. You were never going to be who I needed.”

I heaved a sigh. “Are you finished yet?”

She turned to me, arching an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Your shtick. You need to freshen it up a little. Give it some new pizazz. I've already heard all this before.”

“That's right. Keep it up with the smart mouth. See how far it gets you.” Then she called out, “Get her out of here! I should’ve known this would be a waste of time.”

Before anybody could come in and grab me, I blurted out, “Where’s Stride? What are you doing with him now?”

Her smile made me shudder before a large, calloused hand closed around my arm.

“What, are you missing him?” she asked, snorting. “Don't worry. You'll see him soon enough. He can't wait for the wedding.”

Her laughter—high-pitched, cold—followed me down the hall as I was dragged away.