by Maisey Yates
“Why would you want to do that?” She heard his footsteps drawing nearer to her again. She blinked hard, cursing her inability to see through the thick darkness.
“Want is a strong word. But, I’m not currently in need of medical treatment. If I stay here in your palace for however long the sentence might be... I’ll be fine.” There was the matter of her scholarship, of the fact that she was supposed to be getting her master’s in literature. But, for her father’s life, she would easily sacrifice a piece of paper.
“And what good will that do?”
“Just tell everybody that I’m the one who took the pictures. That I am the one who caused all this trouble. Use me as your example.” He said nothing. It was so still and silent in the room that she thought he might have left. “Please.”
“If we do this, I am not simply letting you off with such a bland public story. No.”
“I thought you wanted to make an example of him.”
“I did,” he said, his tone hard. “However... I think there are more creative uses for you.”
A shiver ran through her. Fear. “I don’t think you want me for...for that.”
“You mistake me. If I wanted a whore, I could have one summoned easily enough. You...you’re beautiful. Uncommonly so. And I find myself in an interesting position.”
“What?”
“Your father didn’t decide to get my photograph on a whim. In the last three years, an interim ruler has been governing in my stead. But that...that period has ended. His term has ended. And I have a choice to make. Whether or not I abdicate for good, or take control of what is mine.”
The air rushed from her lungs, a strange metallic taste on her tongue. “And...and you’ve decided?”
“I will not hide away forever,” he said. “I will reclaim my throne. And in that I will make my example. I and my country will not remain broken. And I will not be kept under siege by the press.”
“Well I... I don’t know anything about ruling a country. I can’t help you with that.”
“Silly girl. I don’t need your brain. I need what I myself no longer possess. I need your beauty.”
She could scarcely understand the words he was saying.
“So, you have a deal,” he said.
He’d given her no time to react to his previous statement. The swift proclamation stunned her. She nearly stumbled, nearly fell down to her knees.
“I... I do?” She still wasn’t sure what she’d agreed to. Helping him somehow with this reclamation of his kingdom. But she had no clue what that actually meant.
“Of course. I will have Fos go and tell your father that he’s free to go.”
“I...” She didn’t know what to say. She certainly didn’t feel anything like triumph. Instead, she was terrified, a bitter cold spreading through her midsection. She was a prisoner now. She had agreed to take her father’s place in this madman’s castle. “Can I...can I see him before he goes?”
“No,” he said, “that would only cause unnecessary tears. And I find myself low on patience this evening.”
“I don’t...what do you want me to do?”
“You have heard it said, I imagine, that behind every successful man is a woman? You will be that woman. Something to help soften my...image.”
He turned away again, his footsteps indicating that he was walking away, and panic gripped her. “Wait!”
He stopped. “A servant will come and show you to your room.”
She imagined by “room” he meant “dungeon.” Another shiver wound through her, fear spiking her blood, making her feel like she had been drugged. “At least let me see you.” She refused to think of him as a monster looming around in the darkness. That would only give him more power. He was just a man. As she had been ranting earlier, he was probably a man with a weak chin.
A man who was afraid to show himself because he was cowardly. Because he was the kind of tyrant who wouldn’t allow anyone to say anything about him that wasn’t expressly approved by him. She had nothing to fear from this man. And when she saw his face, she would know that for sure.
“If you insist.” Footsteps moved toward her, and his shape became clearer as he drew closer. Then one foot moved into the pool of light at the center of the room. Followed by the rest of him.
She had been right in her assessment of him as large. He was almost monstrous in stature, broad and impossibly tall. But if his height weren’t enough to make her shiver in fear, his face would have accomplished it.
She had been wrong. He did not have a weak chin. Neither did he have a rounded jaw. No, there was something utterly perfect about his bone structure, which made the damage done to his features seem like a blasphemy shouted in a church.
His skin was golden brown, and it was ruined. Deep grooves taken from his face, a deep slash cutting through one eye. Deep enough that she wondered if he had vision on the side. He might have smiled, but it was difficult to say. The scar tissue at his mouth, so heavy on the one side, kept his lips from tipping up fully.
In that moment, she was certain that she had not been taken captive by a man. No, she had been taken captive by a beast.
CHAPTER TWO
PRINCE ADAM KATSAROS was no longer a handsome man. The accident that had stolen his wife from him had also stolen his face. But, he found it of little concern. He was not a good man anymore, either. And that made it seem slightly more poetic, his outsides matching what remained within.
Though, taking a woman captive was a bit much, even for him. Still, he was not inclined to change his mind now. When she had put the offer on the table, he had accepted it gladly. Mostly because he knew that he could use her. That he would be able to use her much more sufficiently than her father.
If what she said was true, if the old man was in fact dying, he had no interest in keeping him here to do just that. Yes, he wanted to make him an example. Yes, he wanted to reinforce his power, his hard line that he drew against all forms of entertainment media and the low, crawling worms who harassed and tormented their subjects simply for being famous, for being royal.
But, he had no interest in causing anyone’s death. Additionally, he had a feeling that this woman could be infinitely more useful. His seclusion was coming to an end, and while he would happily stay in the darkness forever, it could not be so.
The agreement he had signed with the viceroy had very definitive terms. And if Adam didn’t step in, an election would take place in the fall. So would go his bloodline, which had ruled Olympios for hundreds of years.
And, lost in his grief and pain though he’d been, he was not so lost that he would abandon all that his family line had built over the centuries.
But he needed another headline. One that extended beyond his scars, and a beautiful woman coming into public view by his side would add another dimension, another story, to the mix.
It was exactly what he needed, though he had not known it.
He would simply need the proper venue in which to use her.
He curled his hand into a fist and looked down at his marred skin. Sometimes, he was tempted to ask himself if he was overreacting. But then he was reminded. It was easy to be reminded. The reminders were all over his body.
At that moment, his phone rang, and he cursed. Because it was his friend—if that was the appropriate word—Prince Felipe Carrión de la Viña Cortez.
He punched the answer button on the phone and lifted it to his ear. “What do you want, Felipe?”
“And hello to you too,” came his friend’s lazy response. “I have Rafe on the line, as well, just so you know.”
“A conference call?” Adam asked. “What sort of trouble are you in?”
His hot-blooded friend had a reputation for causing international incidents, and it wouldn’t surprise Adam if he was involved in yet another scandal.
Truly, he, Felipe and Rafe could not be more different. Were it not for their friendships formed at a particularly strict boarding school, he doubted they would have two words to
say to each other now.
But, Felipe and Rafe had kept him from receding completely into darkness over the past few years. And for that, he owed them. Or, at least, for that he didn’t growl at them every time one of them made contact.
“No trouble,” Felipe said. “However, I am planning a party. You see, it is the fiftieth anniversary of my father’s rule. And, likely the last he will see. Of course, I should like to invite you both.”
For the first time since getting on the line, Rafe spoke. “And are you allowing service animals at your event?”
Felipe laughed. “Perhaps, Rafe, it is time you found yourself a lovely partner to help lead you around.”
“As appealing as that is, I have yet to find a woman keen on playing the part of guide dog.”
Five years earlier Rafe had been blinded in an accident, and though Adam didn’t know the details, he suspected that a woman had been involved somehow. But, Rafe wasn’t the type to share the details of his life. Unlike Felipe and himself, Rafe was not royalty. He had not been born with money. Instead, he had become the protégé of an Italian businessman at a very young age.
That man had paid for Rafe’s schooling, and had gotten him a position at his company. Until Rafe’s accident. But, it was that accident that had propelled Rafe to the next level of his success. Now he was unquestionably one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Europe—royal blood or not.
But, whatever had happened, his friend had been completely changed by it. Adam understood.
Growing up, he and Felipe had been hellions. Utterly unconcerned with the state of their education, where Rafe had taken everything seriously. He had been there on borrowed money, and he had been incredibly conscious of that.
Adam and Felipe had spent most of their time pursuing women; Rafe had studied.
Now here they were. All a bit battle worn, except perhaps Felipe. Though, Adam always wondered about his seemingly carefree friend. In his experience, few people were actually carefree, and those that seemed the most dedicated to such facades often had the most structural damage beneath the surface.
“Now,” Felipe said, “I’m sure that isn’t true. Once a woman gets a look at the size of your...bank account, certainly she’s more than willing to fulfill whatever duties you might require.”
“Your confidence in me is astounding,” Rafe said.
“Well,” he continued, “you certainly possess more charm than our friend Adam.”
Adam gritted his teeth. “Regretfully, I doubt I will be able to attend your ball.”
“That,” Felipe said, “is expected. But unacceptable. The fact of the matter is I’m going to be ascending the throne of my country soon. My father might have walled us off, made us insular, but I don’t intend to keep it that way. I want to align myself with you, Adam, with your country, and with you, Rafe, and the industry that you could bring to Santa Milagro.
“I know you have been in exile for the past few years, Adam, but with your viceroy’s tenure coming to an end, and the recent sale of those photographs of yours to the tabloids, I think it’s time you took matters into your own hands. Your visage—such as it is—is going to filter out into the public soon enough. You might as well make an appearance along with it, Adam. Prove that you are not a coward.”
“I’m not,” he said, quickly losing patience with Felipe. “However, exposing myself in the public arena holds no appeal.”
“Certainly understandable. I’m sure if Rafe could hide away, he would do so, as well.”
Rafe laughed, but the sound held no humor. “I’m not disfigured. Only blind.”
“Mostly blind,” Felipe countered. “And anyway, what better way to take back the control. I know you despise the paparazzi for what they did to you. For what they did to your family. Are you going to let them have control of the story? Publish photographs of the Beast of Olympios and whatever headlines they wish to accompany it? No, come now, Adam. The man I knew in school would not allow such a thing.”
“And the man you used to know had a soul. Not to mention a face.”
“If not for yourself, do it for Ianthe.”
Had his friend been standing in front of him, Adam would have hit him for bringing his wife’s name into this. But, at the same time, he couldn’t deny he had a point. A point he had come to for himself already, but Felipe didn’t know that.
“Take your control back,” Felipe said. “Make this unveiling of your own making. Make Olympios yours again.”
This was it, he realized. His moment. The power play.
The precise way and place to use his beautiful captive.
“When is this party?”
“In just over a month,” Felipe said. “We can only hope my father holds on until then.”
Adam could tell that Felipe didn’t particularly hope any such thing. He knew that the two men had a complicated relationship, though he didn’t know the details. The three of them talked details as little as possible.
“I’ll be there,” Rafe said. “I have no reason not to go.”
“And you’ll bring a date?”
“Absolutely not.”
“I will,” Adam said, his voice soft.
“You?” Felipe asked, not bothering to disguise the surprise in his voice at all.
“Yes. I have a recent acquisition that I look very much forward to showing off.”
“Adam,” Felipe said, “what have you done?”
“Just the kind of thing that suits a beast.”
* * *
Belle was surprised when she was shown not to a dungeon but to an elegantly appointed bedroom with a four-poster bed covered by brocade curtains and festooned with pillows.
“I thought I was a prisoner?” She turned to ask the servant.
She’d been made to surrender her phone, but otherwise, everyone was being...nice to her. Well, everyone except the Prince himself. She doubted nice was a thing he did.
“There are enough rooms in the palace to keep even a prisoner comfortable,” the man said drily.
“You don’t approve of him,” she said. “Do you?”
He lifted a shoulder. “He does not require my approval. Neither does he take any heed of my disapproval.”
“Is he...is he crazy?” The disfigured man who had sought such destructive revenge on her father, and who had accepted her in trade could hardly be sane. Still, she felt like she needed to figure out exactly what she was dealing with.
He seemed to have a plan. A way he wanted to...use her to come back into the spotlight. She could only hope that plan meant there was a finite end to her sentence.
“He is not unaffected by the accident that caused those scars,” the man said carefully. “That is about all I can tell you.”
“Okay,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself, shivering, because suddenly she felt cold. She turned to face the window, the small, narrow notch giving her a slight view of city lights reflecting on the sea. “Has my father gone already?” She turned again, to find her companion gone.
For some reason, the withdrawal of the servant made her feel isolated. Utterly alone. A chill swept over her, bone deep and intense. She had agreed to stay here, with a potential madman, for an unknown amount of time. There was no one here to protect her. Her father was likely long gone, and really, there was nothing he could do for her. He had to go and seek out his treatment; he couldn’t stay behind.
She wondered if the Prince had even told him that she had traded places with him.
That thought made her stomach tighten. The thought that it was entirely possible no one would know she was here. She hadn’t told Tony where she was going, because she’d known he would try to stop her.
No, no one would have any idea she was locked up in a medieval castle. What if nobody ever looked for her?
No. She wouldn’t think of it like that. The way he had talked...he’d made it sound like he very much intended to be seen in public with her. Which meant her being here wouldn’t be a secret. But...
What would Tony do if he knew she was being held at some strange man’s castle? She tried to imagine Tony taking on Adam. Her boyfriend’s more...refined frame would be no match for Adam’s monstrous form.
Adam was...
She thought back to that moment when he’d stepped into the light. That hard, scarred face. His incredibly muscular body. She shivered.
Thinking of him made her heart pound, made her skin tingle. It was a strange sort of fear. One that coursed through her veins like fire.
One that felt almost not like fear at all.
She heard heavy footfalls, and realized she had left the door open, had left herself exposed. She moved quickly toward the entrance, intent on closing it tightly, on giving herself some security. But, she didn’t move quick enough.
There he was.
He was...she wasn’t sure she had ever seen a man so large. Six foot six, at least, broad and muscular. His face was even more shocking in the bright light of her bedchamber.
His dark eyes were watchful, and yet again, a window into how beautiful he might have been before he had been altered like this.
“Do I frighten you?” he asked.
“Isn’t that your intention?”
“Not specifically.”
He didn’t elaborate, though. Didn’t give her any idea of what he might be doing specifically. “So, do I go before a judge and jury? Or are you basically it?”
“This is my land. And I am the law of it.”
“In other words, you can do whatever you want.”
He nodded slowly. “Yes. In other words.”
She drew herself up to her full height, ignoring the shiver that wound through her. “What exactly do you intend to do with me?” It took a lot of courage to ask that question, especially considering she didn’t know if she wanted the answer.
“I intend to make you pay,” he said, the promise on those dark words licking down her spine. “But first, I should like you to join me for dinner.”
“No,” she said, the denial moving quickly from her lips, before she had a chance to think better of it. “I don’t want to have dinner with you.”