I couldn’t tear myself away from the mixture of anguish and hopefulness in his eyes. I believed for a moment that I was the only one—but then had to remember there were so many other girls waiting back at the palace, vying for this man’s affection. But still, I wanted to believe there was something we had—something we shared that the others couldn’t match.
“You opened up to me yesterday with something I know was incredibly difficult. And it wasn’t the fact you opened up, but how hard it was for you to do so, yet you did it anyway; you let me in. Well, I’m in. All in. I know these are not normal circumstances and these are irregular times, but I ask you to put your faith in me.”
“Are you saying I’m the one?” I finally managed to ask.
“I’ve never knelt for anyone other than my own parents. I am your servant. I’m saying I can’t go on without you and I’ll do whatever possible to find a way to save the others. I know you want to help them as well. We will not let the Queen have the final say.”
Kale reached out to me. “Vi—Amelia, you can’t be seriously considering this.”
“I can’t stay here,” I said, gazing up into his pleading eyes. Murmurs from the other passengers continued echoing throughout the car. “My cover is blown.”
“That’s not a reason to go back,” Kale said. “We can make other arrangements and slip back to anonymity.”
I sadly shook my head. Both men wanted me to do things for them, but in the end, I had to follow my heart and make the decision that was best for me—which didn’t necessarily mean the right decision. “I’m sorry, but I think I have to do this,” I said.
“Are you doing this for him or them?”
“Why can’t it be both? Why can’t it simply be for me?”
Prince Byron returned to his feet. “I will not let any harm befall her.”
“You’d better not,” Kale warned. “I’m not just going to disappear.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” the Prince said. “In fact, I’d be disappointed if you did.”
“Please keep Mina safe until this is over,” I said. “Then I’ll come for her.”
Kale nodded. “I wish there was something else I could say or do.”
“Please don’t make this any harder than it already is,” I said and dashed out into the aisle. I hugged Kale and it took him a moment to return the embrace. “Thank you, for everything.”
“Keep your eyes open,” he whispered into my ear.
“I’ll be careful,” I said and let him go. My eyes were stinging and my composure threatening to crack. I had to turn away, but then facing the Prince didn’t help with holding myself together.
His hand was outstretched, beckoning me forth. I fretfully went to him, becoming more unsure of my decision with each step. I wanted him, but not everything that choosing him would come with.
“I won’t let anyone else hurt you,” the Prince said and drew me into him.
He tried to kiss me, but I didn’t feel comfortable with being physically affectionate in front of all those people—especially Kale. I felt I was hurting him enough by leaving.
“I’m sorry,” Prince Byron said to Kale. “But please be assured, she’s in good hands.”
“I lost Victoria the moment she boarded the train to the 1st Ward,” Kale said.
I couldn’t bear to glance back as Prince Byron ushered me off the train.
CHAPTER 40
T he Queen greeted us upon our return to the palace. She was in the front sitting room, off the foyer, waiting like a concerned parent.
“I heard there was a commotion this morning,” she said as we entered the room. “Would you care to elaborate?”
“I don’t know about any commotion,” the Prince said. “We went out to watch the sunrise over the mountains, then stopped for an early morning breakfast.”
“Dressed like that?” The Queen was certainly directing the comment at me.
“Not everything has to be so formal. I asked her to dress comfortably and that’s what she chose,” Prince Byron said. “She’s beautiful in whatever she’s wearing.”
“It was chilly this morning,” I added.
“I’m sure your assistant could have found you something more appropriate, more befitting of a princess.”
“But I’m not a princess yet, am I?” I countered.
“You should be dressing for the part you’re striving to get.”
“She’s fine and there’s no problem,” the Prince said in his formal, diplomatic tone, coming between the Queen and me.
The Queen excused us and we went up to my room. I unzipped my coat, shrugged it off and threw in on the back of the desk chair.
“I must admit, I’m pleasantly surprised I convinced you to come back,” Prince Byron said, pacing the room.
“I wasn’t expecting to be back,” I said. “But I want to be with you, as well as save the other girls from the Queen’s slaughter.”
“I want you too. And I want to announce it to the world, but we can’t yet. I need to continue playing the Queen’s game until I can secure the safety of the other girls.”
I collapsed onto my bed with a sigh of exhaustion, anticipation, and overwhelm. “Just as long as you don’t go falling in love with one of them.”
“Not possible,” Prince Byron said, redirecting his pacing over to the bed.
I had curled up on my side. He crawled behind me and lay with his warm body pressed against mine.
“Anything’s possible,” I said.
The Prince draped an arm over me and found one of my hands. I craved his touch and couldn’t wait for the day he’d be exclusively mine. I wanted it to happen straight away but knew we needed a plan before making an announcement to the Queen. Otherwise, the rest of the girls would die and it would be all my fault.
Then I saw a card propped on the desk. I didn’t remember seeing it before, so I wiggled out of his arms to go take a closer look.
“What is it?” the Prince asked.
I didn’t answer him and proceeded to open the card and read what had been written inside. “Oh, it’s just a note from Kimera,” I said and turned back to him. “She wanted to let me know she’d dropped by this morning.”
“That was nice of her. Are you going to come back and lie down?”
I was up now and still reeling from the deluge of emotions that made up the past few hours. I needed time to myself. “I think I’m going to take a bath and fix myself up,” I said. “The Queen was right. I’m a mess.”
“You’re gorgeous,” he said.
“I’m sure you say that to all the girls.”
“Only the ones who look like you.” He flashed a mischievous grin.
“That’s a whole lot.”
“I’m kidding, Victoria—if I may still call you that.”
“I’d prefer it, actually. I don’t think I’ll ever make a good Amelia.”
“You’ll always be Victoria to me.” The Prince shuffled to the edge of the bed and pulled me to him. He turned my head to nibble on my ear, then trailed kisses down the side of my neck until he reached my collarbone. “Would you like any help getting cleaned up?” he whispered.
Every place his lips touched burned for more… and it scared me. “It wouldn’t be proper.” My voice was breathless.
“Indeed, it wouldn’t,” he said. “But the offer still stands.”
I stepped back to reduce the temptation of everything he was implying. “I’ve already taken more than a big step today—for you.”
“Yes, you have,” he said, getting to his feet. “I do not mean to overstep or offend. I will give you your privacy.” He cupped my face in his strong, yet smooth hands and delivered a kiss that took away any lingering thought of dying.
When he was gone, all I could do was drop to the floor and cry; all my emotions had reached their brim and could do nothing but overflow.
What was I doing? Was I making a huge mistake? Was he still just playing a game? Was I still a meager one of several? I didn’t
know the answer to any of it. I wanted to believe everything he’d told me that morning—on the train, in my bed. But how could I be sure? How could I be certain his actions weren’t a performance to spare his own ego? I couldn’t know it until he announced his decision—us—to the Queen.
Ultimately, I knew I had to own my decision to come back and not mourn the path I’d denied myself. If the Prince went back on his word at the final moment, then I’d have to accept it was the risk I’d been willing to take.
For the first time in my life, I had to find some way to take control of my destiny and not be the pawn in everyone else’s games; I needed to find insurance of my own.
I’d let the tears run their course, then stand up and find a way to secure my life myself.
CHAPTER 41
P iper introduced me to the indoor pool down the hallway from the Garden Room. It was nicknamed the Roman Bathhouse, which referred to a civilization in the old world. The Romans took up about a page in the history books I’d been allowed to read and were famous for their grandiose entertainment and notorious excesses, which eventually led to their demise. I guessed the nude statues around the sublime indoor room resembled those of the lost civilization.
The water was hot, steaming up the room, creating an almost foggy atmosphere. Skylights brought in natural light, and at night, lights from beneath the water illuminated the room with a flickering, aquamarine hue.
It turned out most of the girls loved coming here and I’d been the last to be introduced to the palace’s hidden gem.
Piper loved to swim and did endless laps for exercise. The humid atmosphere wasn’t ideal for reading, so I tried relaxing in one of the lounge chairs lining two sides of the pool. Jane and Eleanor were lounging on the other side, already with a plethora of empty drink glasses.
Piper climbed out of the pool and grabbed her towel from the chair next to me, beginning to dry herself off.
“One of these days, I’ll get you to take off your wrap and come in.”
“It looks nice and all, but I’m not much of a swimmer,” I said.
“You can’t relax without a book, can you?”
“A good book keeps my mind focused,” I said. “Daydreams don’t agree with me. My idle mind likes to return to things I don’t want to think about.”
“I know what you mean. Exercise keeps me focused.” She laid her towel down on the lounge chair and lay back.
A platinum blond male waiter who looked younger than us stopped between our chairs. “Can I get you ladies any cocktails? Appetizers? Lotion?”
“A water for me,” Piper said.
“Same,” I agreed.
He typed our order into a small computer tablet like it was too much for him to remember, before moving on to the girls on the far side of the room.
“That reminds me,” Piper said. “Thanks again for the offer yesterday. I was kinda surprised to see you today. I thought you might have left.”
“Nope,” I said. “You guys made me think and I want to see where this could go.”
“I’m glad you’re still here, and at the same time, I’m not. You know? But regardless, since you’re here, I wanted to repay the favor. I have something for you that I think you’ll enjoy in the meantime. Remind me to show you later.”
“Later—you’re seriously going to keep me in suspense?” I frowned. “I would never do that to you.”
Piper laughed. “Okay, okay. Since I owe you and all.” She stood and wrapped the damp towel she’d been lying on around herself.
“I was kidding. Whenever you want to show me is fine.”
“Get your ass up, Vici. We’re going now.” Piper led me out of the Roman Bathhouse and through a multitude of rooms and hallways.
We reached a wing of the first floor that I’d never ventured into before.
“Every time you think you’ve seen it all, there always seems to be one more room,” Piper said as she stopped in the middle of a long, lounge-like room that rounded a corner. There were windows at least ten feet tall with tied-back curtains on one side and ornate chairs, statues, and oil paintings on the opposite side. It seemed to extend much further than it was supposed to.
Then she stopped and turned to the wall. When she started to push, I noticed a seam. A door in the wall swiveled, allowing us enough of an opening to enter a hidden chamber.
“How did you find this?” I asked as we crossed into the new layer of the Château.
“I seem to have plenty of time on my hands. I like to explore,” Piper said.
The room we’d entered was all in darkness, but Piper flipped a light switch on the wall. We were in a library twice the size of the one I’d been using, with bookcases so tall they spanned two levels. A spiral staircase on either side of the room led to a perimeter platform above. Brown leather chairs and accompanying end tables were arranged throughout.
“You love to read and seem to like your space,” Piper said. “I thought this place would be a nice sanctuary for you.”
“It’s wonderful,” I said, in awe of the Queen’s collection of books.
“I don’t think any of the other girls know about it. I found it a few days ago and have kept it to myself. And each time I’ve spent time in here, no one’s come in. So, I don’t know how many people in the palace know about it either.”
“Our own private getaway,” I said.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it.”
“I thought you might.” Piper walked up to me and gave me a hug. “Enjoy your fictional worlds. I’m gonna get back to the pool.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’m going to look around and see what this library has to offer. I’m in need of a new book anyway. I’ll join you in a little bit.”
I watched Piper go—mainly to make sure I knew how to get back to the main part of the palace.
There were no windows or other doorways. Large golden chandeliers hung from overhead, providing plenty of reading light.
I wondered why this room was even there and why the Queen needed two libraries. She didn’t seem to read much. But—as with all the artwork—there seemed to be status in the collections.
I approached the nearest bookcase and slowly circled the room, reading spines at random to determine whether the books were arranged in any type of order. If they were, I wasn’t seeing it.
I reached a corner of the room with a large globe attached to its own wooden stand. I spun it and realized it wasn’t like one I had ever seen. It depicted countries and territories of the old world, many of which were long gone. I found where Westeria should have been, and found the country of California in the time before The Cleansing. I’d been told there were still a lot of artifacts from that decadent time in The Outlands, but Westeria had been cleared of much of it. Most of what seemed to be left were their different creative media—like the titles filling this room.
I turned the corner and kept perusing the bookshelves. I chose a great hardback cover of a book called Breaking Dawn and took it back to one of the chairs. I flipped through the pages and read the first few chapters. It was told from the perspective of a girl my age, beginning with preparations for her wedding and then the telling of a cautionary tale of baby vampires. The way Bella talked about Edward made it certain he was her true love. I yearned for that kind of certainty with Prince Byron, and for that kind of storybook ending—yet this was just the beginning.
I flipped to the start of the book, to the copyright page, so I could see when it was written. 2008; such a long time ago. How much the world had changed in the last few hundred years. While looking at those introductory pages, I discovered this was the fourth book in a series—that it all began with a volume called Twilight.
I closed the book and slid it back into its rightful place in the bookcase, scanning the nearby titles for Twilight. Still not finding it, I climbed one of the iron spiral staircases to the second level and continued my search.
Halfway down the wall, I found it and pulled it out from the shelf. I
figured this would make for a good read and fill my downtime for the next few days.
I was just about to return to the lower level when another title caught my eye.
Pride & Prejudice.
I was instantly reminded of the previous copy I’d had at the Ramseys’ estate—and of how Master Ramsey had given it to me as a gift then taken it away—torn it into little pieces.
I was a long way from there now and didn’t want that association to become permanently allied to my favorite story.
I went to pull the book out as well, but it was caught on something—maybe the lining hardcovers were stuck together after years of compressed storage? I pulled harder and the top of the book pivoted downward, but the bottom seemed hinged in place, somehow. The immediate section of the bookcase moved, something clicked, and the section of the bookcase directly before me slowly swung inward.
I pushed it open wider to get a better look at what lay beyond, but the light from the library only extended so far. I was standing before a narrow hallway stretching into darkness, but as my eyes adjusted, I began to see a dim sliver of light; this palace was like an onion.
“Hello?” I called into the newly-discovered hallway.
I thought I could hear soft music coming from deep within and looked back at the doorway in the library wall. It was still closed. I was still alone.
After a moment’s deliberation, I decided to venture into the secret passage and see where it led.
I closed the bookcase again and it clicked into place. For a moment, I panicked that I wouldn’t be able to get back into the library and might be stuck in there forever. My corner of the passageway was shrouded in blackness; I felt around the back of the bookcase and the adjacent walls, looking for a trigger to reopen the door.
I breathed a sigh of relief when my exploring hands found a small lever, which worked to reveal the exit again. My nerves slightly calmed, I proceeded down the small hallway, the dim light growing brighter as my eyes adjusted more to the darkness. There seemed to be no lights at all. If it wasn’t for the diminutive light ahead of me, I’d have no guide.
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