The Sinful King: By New York Times Bestselling Author

by Contreras, Claire

  The air was charged. It hadn’t yet started, but anticipation rolled through me nonetheless. The deceased king didn’t allow anyone inside his coronation. I wasn’t sure he even had one. The Queen Mother held hers behind closed doors. Elias was having his televised, had opened the door to the outside world when he invited people like me, a commoner, in here. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop, and I leaned in closer when the doors opened and they started playing a hymn. The archbishop walked in followed by a row of bishops behind him—one held a sword, another a large gold crown with stones, another a chalice, another a red coat, another a pillow with a ring on it. We all remained standing, as we had been since we walked in, worried we’d miss something. I hadn’t seen the Queen Mother or Princess Pilar, or Prince Aramis, or Emily, the Princess of Austria, for that matter, but the moment I caught a glimpse of Elias walking behind the bishops, looking larger than life and handsome as ever in regal red and gold attire, I felt like the air was sucked out of the room.

  A hand covered and squeezed mine on either side. I turned my attention to my right side, where Etienne was, and my left, where Joslyn was, and squeezed back, grateful for the comfort they provided. Then, my eyes were back on Elias. He didn’t look at anyone, just forward, his march steady, his head held high. He didn’t even look nervous, but I couldn’t imagine he wouldn’t be. Behind the long train of his red coat, his brother Aramis, and behind him, his sister and mother. Emily was still nowhere to be found. I was momentarily grateful for that. At least this wouldn’t turn into a surprise royal wedding. For now.

  Once they were out of view, we all sat down. The basilica was too big and we were too far to see them from where we were. We could barely make out what they were saying, but we followed along with the pamphlets provided to us.

  When the archbishop asked, Sir, is Your Majesty willing to take the Oath?

  We heard Elias respond, I am willing.

  The archbishop spoke again, Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of France and the other Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining, according to their respective laws and customs?

  Elias said, I solemnly promise so to do.

  The archbishop followed up with, Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?

  Elias replied, I will.

  Everything else was lost on me. The songs, the prayers, the hymns. He’d taken his oath. He’d chosen the Crown. I knew he would, but I hadn’t expected to feel this void inside. When it was over, we were all escorted out of the basilica. As I walked outside, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Elias standing from the chair he’d been sitting in and following the bishops to the back of the basilica. I kept my eyes on them until they disappeared, and when his mother, sister, and brother stood, I noticed Emily was there after all and she too disappeared to the back. It wasn’t a surprise wedding, but it might as well have been, with the way my heart felt like it was shattering inside of my chest.

  * * *

  The ride to Versailles was quiet. I was grateful for that. Etienne and Joss seemed to understand that I needed silence to process it all. It was an hour car ride though, and I knew the silence wouldn’t last long. Joslyn’s phone vibrated first. She met my gaze for a second before answering it and I knew instantly she was speaking to Pilar, who was obviously wondering where her personal secretary was. Once Joss assured her that she was on her way to Versailles, Pilar stopped asking questions and she hung up the phone with a heavy sigh.

  “They’re not far behind.”

  “Addie?” Etienne asked. I glanced up at him. He was sitting in the driver’s seat and I was the lone person in the back. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Fine.” I forced a placating smile. He frowned and shook his head, eyes back on the road.

  “I think you should tell the queen you can’t plan the wedding.”

  “I can’t.” I shut my eyes and pushed my head back into the seat. “My mother would kill me.”

  “Speaking of parents, did you see your father?” Joss asked.

  “No.” My eyes widened. “Did you?”

  “I saw him when we walked in.”

  “Where was he sitting?” My heart pounded faster.

  “A few rows behind us.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be at the event,” Etienne said. “The cabinet is always invited to everything.”

  “One more thing I don’t need in my life right now,” I mumbled.

  “You have to speak to him sometime.” That was Joss, in her encouraging voice with her hopeful, bright eyes.

  I glared. “I’m not the reason we’re not speaking.”

  “Well, technically,” Etienne said. I leaned in and pinched his shoulder. “Ouch! What the hell, Adeline?”

  “Keep your comments to yourself unless you’re going to be supportive of me.”

  “I am supportive of you. You’re the reason I’m driving an hour and a half away from my comfortable flat.”

  Joss scoffed. “Right, because you wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

  “Maybe I wouldn’t.”

  Joss and I started laughing. “You live for this stuff.”

  “Which reminds me, where’s Mira?” Joss raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t even mentioned her.”

  “We’re on a break.”

  “On a break?” My mouth dropped. “We love Mira. What happened?”

  “Life. Work is taking her to Spain for a month and then Rome and I’m tired of the distance.” He shrugged a shoulder. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”

  “Still. That’s kind of a bummer.” My lips pursed.

  I thought for sure Etienne would be proposing to Mira this year, not breaking up with her. If they couldn’t make it work, I wasn’t sure who could. I knew we were almost at the castle when I saw the row of cars in front of us slowing down as they made their way through security. To our left, there was a row of protestors. I wondered how Elias felt about them.

  “He probably doesn’t care,” Etienne said.

  “He has to care,” Joss argued. “I’m going to ask Pilar about it.”

  “What do you think, Addie?” Etienne eyed me in the rearview. Joss looked at me over her shoulder.

  “How am I supposed to know?” I frowned. “It’s not like I talk to him.”

  “You don’t?” Etienne raised an eyebrow.

  “I don’t. I told him to stop calling and he did.”

  “Hm.”

  “When?” Joss turned as much as her dress allowed. “Why? You didn’t tell me this!”

  “The other night. We discussed the coronation briefly and I asked him not to call anymore because I didn’t think I could handle being his friend.”

  “I told you.” Etienne shook his head. “Let me guess, he asked you to be his mistress?”

  “No.” I crossed my arms and glanced out the window. He hadn’t. Not outright anyway. But technically, he had, hadn’t he?

  “He’s a fucking asshole.” Etienne slapped the steering wheel, making my body jerk.

  “It doesn’t matter. I would never agree to that and yes, he’s an asshole, but he’s also kind, so if I had to guess, this display of hate outside our windows on the way into the palace is breaking his heart.”

  “Well, I for one, hope he pays attention and makes some major changes,” Etienne said.

  “Yeah, because your family is starving.” Joss rolled her eyes.

  “Obviously not, but I know people who have families who are struggling. And for no good reason.”

  “Maybe you should bring that up to him since you’re friends,” I said.

  “Maybe I will.”

  Thankfully for all parties involved, our discussion was cut short by our arrival at the gate. The guards checked our car, our identification, verified that we were invited, and finally, let us drive in. Flashbacks of the ball I’d planned here came rushing back to me as we drove in. Flashbacks of Elias and my first time together after six years. Flashbacks of his confession and
my mother’s warnings. I held the skirt of my dress tightly as the door was opened for me and I climbed out of Etienne’s Land Rover. Tonight, I would lay low, stay on the other side of the room at all times, and not make eye contact with him. If Etienne and Joss were right about my father being in attendance, the last thing I wanted to do was give him more cause to run to my mother with poor gossip about me.

  Chapter 30

  Elias

  It didn’t take me long to come up with a plan. I discussed it with Pierre and Aramis first and decided I’d bring my mother and Pilar in on it before the celebration ball began. I was in my chambers getting dressed in the tuxedo Pierre had picked out for me when I heard the knock. My mother didn’t wait for me to respond before barging in, her heels stabbing at the marble floor with each step she took toward me. Behind her, Emily, her footsteps a little lighter. I wish I could have been the kind of man who felt bad in this situation, but Emily was just collateral. She’d move on to the next prince, maybe my brother, or the Grecian Prince Aros, who was also in need of a quick marriage. I’d known Emily most of my life and always wished her well, but whatever she decided to do didn’t matter to me.

  “What is this Pierre is talking about?” My mother stopped walking when she was just a few steps away from me. Emily stood beside her quietly. “You’re going to break off your engagement with Emily to court a commoner?”

  “It’ll be good for our image.” I continued buttoning my cuffs and looked over at Emily. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. It was my intention to tell you as soon as I finished up here, but it appears my secretary decided to go ahead and do it for me.”

  As if on cue, Pierre walked into the room. “Your Majesty. Your mother overheard Aramis and I discussing.”

  “Just as well.” My eyes stayed on Emily’s. “You’ll find a better fit for you.”

  “I wanted you.” She frowned. “We’d be perfect together.”

  “For a while. For appearances,” I agreed, “but not for long.”

  “Appearances are the only thing that matter,” my mother said. “Appearance is everything.”

  “Not everything.” I raised an eyebrow and went back to my tie.

  “What is your plan then? Why this sudden . . . change?” Mother asked.

  “I have to visit those people’s houses tomorrow. Poor people. Starving people. How will it look if I show up there with another rich monarch?”

  “What they say does not matter,” Emily said. “They’ll take this as a sign of weakness.”

  “They’ll take it however we sell it to them.”

  “And where will you find this commoner?” my mother asked.

  I stayed silent. The question wasn’t where I would find her. The question was whether or not she’d still accept me. She didn’t have to know about the ulterior motives. Hell, I didn’t even care about the ulterior motives. As far as I was concerned, they were the icing on top. I was just glad I’d get to keep her.

  “We already found her,” Pierre said, speaking up on my behalf. “She’s perfect. You have nothing to worry about, Your Majesty.” He bowed to my mother, as if to dismiss her, and she knew it. Her eyes flared at him before turning to me.

  “You better know what you’re doing, Elias. The future of this monarchy is sitting on your shoulders.” She reached for Emily’s hand and dragged her out of the room as if she were a child.

  When the doors slammed shut behind them, I let out a breath and looked at Pierre.

  “That was a good save.”

  “Somebody had to say something.” Pierre handed over my jacket. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll have to ask her tonight.” I shrugged on the jacket. “And hope that she accepts.”

  “She’d have to uproot her entire life for you. That’s what you’d be asking of her,” Pierre said. “Her life is in London and unlike Emily, Adeline has a company to run. She’d be giving up a lot if she agrees to this.”

  “I know.” I took a breath and exhaled it. It was a lot to ask of anyone. I wasn’t blind to that.

  “I’ll start a list of names in case she says no.” Pierre headed to the door.

  “No.” My voice rung out in the room.

  “Just in case.” He turned to look at me. “You need a backup plan.”

  “I don’t want a list. If Addie won’t do it, we’ll figure out another way.”

  “Eli, you need to have a plan.”

  “Give me a couple of days. I’ll have one.”

  He gave a nod and walked away, leaving me in the chambers by myself. I’d never liked staying in Versailles and had never envisioned myself sleeping in the king’s bedchambers. My father loved it. He said he felt closer to his roots, to the Sun God, and it served as a reminder of why he was here and what he was to accomplish. I felt haunted by those things, not inspired. I finished dressing and walked out of the lavish room. Pierre was waiting just outside the door with my crown and royal cape. I put them both on, looked in the mirror beside me, and saw all of the things haunting me inside my eyes. Having Adeline would ease a lot of it. I felt that deep in my core, and it was with the determination of getting her that I walked all the way to the Hall of Mirrors, where the celebration was taking place.

  Chapter 31

  Adeline

  I watched Prince Aramis walking in my direction, his gaze on mine. He looked so much like his older brother that it took a moment for my heart to settle.

  “Adeline.” He bowed his head slightly as he reached me.

  “Prince Aramis.” I bowed mine as well, unsure of whether or not I was to curtsy to him as well. His mouth lifted slightly, as if he was reading my mind.

  “I’m not the king.”

  “Good to know.” I smiled shakily. “I’m never sure what to do in these situations.”

  “That’ll make all of this that much more interesting.” He winked and walked away, stopping at the bar a few feet from where I was. I turned, a frown on my face, as I watched him. What did that even mean? Was he talking about my reaction to Elias and Emily? My stomach turned at the thought. Just when I was thinking about bailing on this entire thing, the soft jazz music the band was playing stopped and a trumpet rang out as the doors at the end of the hall opened.

  “Elias Francis, crowned King of France,” the man announced. “Long live the King!”

  Everyone, including me, repeated the phrase, “Long live the King” as we watched Elias walk into the room. My heart skipped. I knew I missed him. I thought about him every waking second of the day since we’d been apart, but seeing him now, the longing was magnified. I tried hard to push it down, to cover it with the anger I was sure to feel in a few minutes when Emily, the Princess of Austria, joined him, but it didn’t help. Longing mixed with anger only deepened how much I wanted him. All of the guests created a circle for him to go around and greet. I watched as one by one, each man bowed as he shook their hand and every woman curtsied as he kissed the back of theirs. I hated every single hand he touched because it was not mine. When he was just six or seven people from me, I retreated a foot with the intention of leaving, but hit someone standing behind me. I turned, confused, and saw Pierre smiling at me.

  “You can’t leave the room until he greets you,” he whispered.

  “Oh.” My eyes widened. What would happen if I defied the rule?

  The thought stuck with me as I turned around again, gathering all of my courage to stay put. When Elias greeted the third person from me, he glanced up and our eyes met. Even as he continued shaking hands and kissing the back of the women’s, he stared at me. By the time he reached me, I was sure my heart wasn’t my own and that it had taken place inside his chest somehow. He lifted my hand and I tore my gaze from his, looking at the ground as I curtsied. Instead of letting go of my hand, as he’d done for everyone else, he held on tightly to mine. I managed to bring my gaze back to his. My pulse quickened as he leaned in and brought his lips to my ear.

  “We need to talk.”

  “I don
’t think you’re supposed to speak to me while you’re greeting everyone in court.”

  “I think the king is allowed to do whatever he wants.”

  “Eli,” I whispered.

  “I miss you.”

  “Please. Not here.” My heart leaped into my ears.

  He couldn’t speak to me like that in public and expect me to keep a poised and stoic appearance. There were photographers everywhere, snapping photos of every single moment. There were journalists ready to rip him apart for any misstep. I pulled away and took a step back with a smile, for their sake, and let go of his hand. He looked at me for one more second before moving on to Pierre, now standing beside me. I let out a breath when he was far enough, but maintained my composure because I’d learned the way the media worked. I’d learned that their lens would stay on me long after I thought they looked away. When Elias was finished greeting and thanking everyone, the room applauded and erupted into cheers once more, and I finally managed to breathe out.

  “They probably photographed him doing that,” I said to Pierre in a voice as low as I could muster.

  “They definitely photographed it.” He glanced away from me and looked around momentarily, suddenly smiling wide. “They’re photographing us right now. Smile. Or laugh.”

  “I’ll be on page one tomorrow.” I laughed. It sounded fake, but thankfully sound didn’t translate in photographs. “What was he thinking?”

  “Funny you should ask. I need you to come with me when this is over.”

  My smile faltered. “Where?”

  “To the King’s State Apartments.”

  “For what?” My pulse quickened.

  I didn’t know what state apartments were, but I assumed it was some kind of bedroom? Surely Elias didn’t mean to seduce me on his coronation day, when Emily was present. I looked over at the dance floor, which was mostly empty, save for an elderly couple in the corner. Everyone else seemed to be mingling with their drinks. Emily caught my attention. She was standing in the corner speaking to Elias. Or arguing. It seemed like they were arguing. He didn’t look very happy. I tore my gaze from them and looked at Pierre again.