“He wanted a few minutes alone. So I thought I’d go see what Maris was getting into.”
Hauk rolled the pyramids onto the floor. “Ah… take your time. Don’t worry about Darling, we’ll keep our ears open.”
Coming from Andarions, who had incredible auditory abilities, that made her feel better. Until another thought occurred to her… She outwardly cringed as she realized that they’d probably heard everything that had happened between her and Darling.
Fain looked up and froze. “I can tell by your expression what you’re thinking and no, we weren’t eavesdropping while you were in the room with him. We think more of the two of you than to do that, and we figured if you needed us, you’d holler.”
That made her feel a lot better. “Thank you.” She blew him a kiss before she continued on her way.
When she started down the ornate wing where Maris lived, it suddenly struck her that this was now her home, too. If she married Darling, this was where she’d live out her life, birth her children, and most likely die…
In a palace.
The mere thought froze her in place.
And it wasn’t just any palace. It was the palace of an enemy she’d spent her entire adulthood trying to ruin and overthrow.
A foreign sensation washed over her at that realization. What am I doing?
For a moment, she couldn’t breathe as it all slammed into her with a clarity she’d lacked before.
She really was engaged to the Caronese governor…
To the most powerful person in their empire. One of the most powerful people in the entire universe. Darling ruled the second largest empire in history.
And she would be his crowned consort.
Now there was something you didn’t get to do every day.
Her heart pounded as she looked around at all the gilding on the crown molding over her head. At the portraits of Darling’s ancestors and their cold gazes that seemed to judge her as insufficient.
If she married him, her picture would hang here as well. Forever. Generations of Cruels, staff, and visitors would look up at her, just as she’d done at all of them.
Her stomach hit the floor as cold panic bit her viciously.
You don’t have to stay here, you know. You can always go home. Return to her old life.
Granted, she’d have to find a new cause to fight for since she was probably the only Caronese alive who didn’t want to overthrow the new governor. But she didn’t have to stay here.
Darling had kept her apartment for her. He’d given her the keys, money…
I want you with me because you want to be here. You’re free to leave at any time. I won’t stop you. Those words still choked her whenever she thought about them. She’d asked him why he’d kept her place after he’d been freed, but he’d refused to answer. Deep inside, she suspected it was more a matter that he had a hard time letting go of the things he loved. And while he’d been furious at her, that apartment had been a place where they’d been happy together.
That was where she’d assumed she would live with Kere once they married.
Zarya looked down at the huge ring on her finger. While similar, it was very different from the first one he’d given her. The one that had been stolen by the slaver… Darling had never once asked her about the first ring.
She tried her best not to think about the fact that while he’d lost his finger trying to keep her ring with him, she hadn’t fought the slaver to keep Darling’s ring at all.
Please tell me that ring wasn’t sentimental to him… That fear and guilt were what kept her from asking him about it.
“Mistress?”
She jumped at the deep voice behind her.
Jerking around, she saw the new captain of Darling’s guards there—Darling had killed the former one. “Yes?”
He bowed respectfully to her. “Forgive me, Mistress, if I scared you. I saw you standing here and just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
Smiling, she nodded. “I was just thinking about some things. Sorry. Apparently, I got so lost in thought that I stopped walking.”
He started away, then hesitated. After a few heartbeats, he turned back to face her. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”
His question piqued her curiosity. “Not at all.”
“I, um, I don’t know if you remember me or not, but I was the guard who carried you up to the mistress’s room when you hurt your ankle.”
Her face heated up at the reminder. How could she ever forget something like that? “I remember.”
Regret and shame filled his eyes. “Given what’s being said about everything the governor’s done to you in the news, I wanted to apologize if I’ve hurt you or caused you to be hurt in any way. If there’s ever anything I can do to help you, please let me know.”
Her smile melted into a scowl. “I don’t understand.”
He stepped closer so that he could whisper to her in a low tone. “If you need help escaping, Mistress, I—”
“Oh good grief, not you, too.”