Chapter 11 The Breaking Point
Janelle
The great hall sparkled like a jewel box under the light of a thousand candles. Tonight's feast was grander than usual, a celebration of some treaty that I didn't care to understand. The nobles wore their finest silks and velvets, their laughter echoing off the stone walls as musicians played in the corner.
I stood against the wall with the other serving maids, trying to make myself invisible. After what had happened in Adrian's chambers three days ago, I had begged Mrs. Crawford to assign me to kitchen duty. But she had refused.
"The royal family requested extra staff for tonight," she had said firmly. "I need experienced girls in the hall."
So here I was, watching the nobility feast and dance while my heart slowly shattered in my chest.
Because Adrian wasn't alone tonight.
Princess Sophia Ravenscroft sat beside him at the high table, her auburn hair gleaming like fire in the candlelight. She was everything I wasn't, noble-born, wealthy, beautiful in the way that came from generations of careful breeding. Her green silk gown probably cost more than most servants earned in a lifetime.
She was also everything Adrian needed in a future Luna.
"Stop staring," Clara whispered beside me. "You're being obvious."
I jerked my gaze away from the royal table. "I wasn't staring."
"You were." Clara bumped my shoulder gently. "And if you keep it up, someone's going to notice."
I forced myself to look anywhere but at Adrian. The hall was full of laughing couples, spinning across the marble floor in perfect harmony. Lords and ladies who had known each other since childhood, whose families had arranged their unions before they could even walk.
That was how it worked in their world. Love was a luxury. Duty came first.
"Lady Janelle!"
I turned to see Lord Marcus approaching with a wine-stained smile. He had clearly been drinking heavily, his pale eyes glassy with alcohol.
"My lord," I curtsied quickly, hoping he would move on.
"Fetch me more wine," he slurred, holding out his empty goblet. "The good stuff from the King's private reserve."
I took his goblet and hurried toward the wine table, grateful for the excuse to move. But as I poured the wine, I couldn't help but glance back at the high table.
Adrian was speaking quietly to Princess Sophia, his head bent close to hers. She laughed at something he said, her hand touching his arm in a gesture so casual and intimate that it made my stomach clench with jealousy.
They looked perfect together. Like they belonged.
The wine overflowed from the goblet, spilling across my hands and onto the white tablecloth. I cursed under my breath, grabbing a cloth to clean up the mess.
"Careful there," said a familiar voice.
I looked up to see Captain Thorne watching me with sharp eyes. The King's advisor rarely spoke to servants, so his attention made my skin prickle with unease.
"My apologies, Captain," I said quickly. "I'll clean this up."
"No harm done." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "Though you seem distracted tonight. Perhaps you should focus on your duties instead of... other things."
The way he said it made my blood run cold. Did he know something? Had someone seen me leaving Adrian's chambers?
"Yes, Captain," I managed.
He nodded once and walked away, but I could feel his gaze on me like a weight between my shoulder blades.
I delivered the wine to Lord Marcus, then returned to my position against the wall. Clara shot me a questioning look, but I shook my head.
The musicians struck up a new melody, a slow, romantic waltz that had couples moving onto the dance floor. I watched them spin and turn, their movements graceful and practiced.
Then Adrian stood.
My breath caught in my throat as he offered his hand to Princess Sophia. She smiled brilliantly and accepted, her green gown flowing like water as he led her to the center of the floor.
"Don't watch," Clara whispered urgently. "Janelle, don't do this to yourself."
But I couldn't look away. It was like watching my own execution.
Adrian placed his hand on Sophia's waist, and she settled her hand on his shoulder with the easy confidence of someone who belonged there. They moved together perfectly, as if they had been dancing their entire lives.
The mate bond in my chest twisted like a knife. Every step they took together was agony. Every time he spun her, every time she laughed up at him, it felt like another piece of my soul being ripped away.
Princess Sophia was radiant in his arms. Her auburn hair caught the candlelight as she moved, and her green eyes sparkled with genuine joy. She was in love with him. It was written all over her face, the soft smile, the way she looked at him like he was her entire world.
And Adrian was being the perfect prince. Attentive, charming, everything a future Luna could want in a mate. But then something changed.
I had started to edge toward the servants' exit, unable to watch anymore, when Adrian's head turned slightly. His green eyes found mine across the crowded hall, and for one heart-stopping moment, the world narrowed down to just that connection.
His steps faltered. Just for an instant, his perfect rhythm stumbled, and Princess Sophia had to adjust to keep them in time with the music.
"My lord?" she asked, concern coloring her voice. "Are you alright?"
Adrian blinked, seeming to remember where he was. "Of course. Forgive me."
He recovered quickly, spinning her with practiced ease and flashing that charming smile that fooled everyone. But his eyes kept drifting back to me.
I couldn't take it anymore.
I slipped out of the hall as quietly as possible, my heart hammering against my ribs. The cool air of the corridor was a relief after the stifling heat of the crowded room.
I made it halfway to the servants' quarters before Clara caught up with me.
"Janelle, wait!"
I stopped but didn't turn around. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not." Clara's voice was gentle but firm. "You're anything but fine."
I finally turned to face her. Clara's curly hair was escaping from her cap, and her brown eyes were full of sympathy.
"It hurts," I admitted quietly. "Watching them together. It hurts more than I thought possible."
Clara stepped closer, her expression serious. "Can I tell you something?"
I nodded.
"He looks at you like a starving man watching bread being given to someone else."
I stared at her. "What?"
"When you were walking toward the exit, I watched him. His eyes followed you the entire way. He was dancing with the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, and all he could see was you."
"That's not.."
"Princess Sophia noticed too," Clara continued. "She kept trying to get his attention back, but he was completely focused on you. If I could see it, others could too."
A chill ran down my spine. "Others like who?"
"Like Captain Thorne. Like the King." Clara's voice dropped to a whisper. "Like people who might use that information against you."
I thought about the way Captain Thorne had looked at me earlier, the warning in his voice when he told me to focus on my duties. Had he seen Adrian watching me?
"I need to stay away from him," I said, more to myself than to Clara.
"Maybe. But Janelle, I don't think he's going to make that easy for you."
I spent the rest of the evening in my room, trying to block out the sounds of music and laughter that drifted up from the great hall. But even when the feast finally ended and the castle grew quiet, I couldn't sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Adrian spinning Princess Sophia around the dance floor. I saw her hand on his shoulder, her radiant smile as she looked up at him. I saw the perfect picture they made together.
But I also saw the moment his eyes had found mine. The way his steps had faltered. The hunger in his gaze that had nothing to do with the woman in his arms.
When I finally did sleep, my dreams were dark and twisted. I dreamed of Adrian, but not as the man who had cupped my face so gently in his chambers. In my dreams, he was my enemy, cold and cruel and utterly beyond my reach.
He stood on a throne of ice, wearing a crown of thorns, while I knelt at his feet in chains. Princess Sophia stood beside him, her hand possessive on his arm, her green eyes mocking.
"Did you really think you could have him?" she asked, her voice like poisoned honey. "A servant girl? How pathetic."
Adrian said nothing, but his green eyes burned with desire and disgust that made my soul ache.
"I could love you," I whispered in the dream.
"Love?" Adrian laughed, the sound sharp as breaking glass. "Love is for people who have choices. You have nothing to offer me."
I woke with tears on my cheeks and Adrian's cruel laughter echoing in my ears. The pre-dawn darkness pressed around me like a weight, and for a moment, I couldn't tell where the dream ended and reality began.
But the pain in my chest was real. The mate bond, stretched thin and twisted with rejection, throbbed with every heartbeat.
I sat up in my narrow bed, pulling my knees to my chest. Outside, I could hear the first stirrings of the castle coming to life.
Another day of pretending Adrian meant nothing to me. Another day of watching him with Princess Sophia, of seeing the future that would never be mine.
"I will never forgive you," I whispered to the darkness, my voice hoarse from unshed tears. "But gods help me, I can't escape you."
The words hung in the air like a curse. Because that was the truth,
wasn't it? No matter how much he hurt me, no matter how many times he chose duty over desire, I couldn't stop wanting him.
The mate bond wouldn't let me..