I just got owned, and the king knows it. I can tell by the way he bites his lip. He releases me and stands up.
I push myself up on my forearms and watch him. He reaches out a hand to help me up.
When I don’t take it, he says, “Do you want to see my surprise, or would you rather I get back on top of you?” he asks.
I run my tongue along my teeth and take his hand, giving it a hard yank as I get up. He doesn’t flinch.
I follow the king out of the palace. The cool night air raises goose bumps along my skin, but it’s the sound of crashing waves that captures my attention. This is the first time I’ve been outside the palace since I arrived, and it’s ecstasy.
I take a deep breath, relishing the smell of the salty sea breeze and let myself forget my past. The sea and the sky can do that—make me feel like an ageless thing.
This is the surprise, I realize. I’d like to be snarky about it, since it’s so simple, but instead I feel a little unnerved. This is the best thing he could’ve surprised me with: escape.
I lift the skirt of the dress I’m wearing and run towards the waves, kicking my shoes off in the process. Behind me I can hear the king jogging, and I wonder if he’s worried that I’m going to throw myself into the water like some tragic Greek maiden. ’Cause he should be. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.
I yip as my feet hit the water and then I dive in, ruining my outfit and my hair and my makeup. Good riddance.
When I come up for air, I’m laughing. A moment later I feel hands wrap around me and haul me to my feet. It takes the king a moment to realize I’m fine.
He swipes the wet strands of my hair away from my face. “Jesus,” he says, “you scared the shit out of me!”
I can’t see him in the dark, but if I could, I bet I’d see that vein in his temple throbbing. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were concerned.”
“Why would you think otherwise?”
Water laps around us, swirling with the tide. My dress tangles itself around the king as he holds me to him. I taste saltwater on my lips and try to ignore the way Montes’s dress shirt clings to his chest.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I say, “maybe because you killed my parents, destroyed my homeland, and are now forcing me into marrying you.” My voice comes out flinty.
Rather than responding, the king releases me. He walks out of the water and back onto the beach, leaving me staring after him.
“Oh, now you walk away!” I yell at his back, mostly just to rile him up.
It works.
He comes stalking back into the water. “What do I have to do to prove myself? I’ve already moved mountains—an entire half of the world will prosper because you wanted it to be so. What more do you want me to do?”
“I want you to leave me the hell alone.”
He grasps my jaw and holds it firmly, and in the dim moonlight I can just barely make out the shine of his eyes. “That is the one thing I cannot do.”
He lets me go and leaves, this time for good.
Chapter 16
Serenity
The day of the wedding I sleep in. Normally I’m loathe to waste away the first hours of the morning, but not today. Today I want to forget that I have to get married. To the king. I make a face in my pillow.
People have been knocking on my door for the last two hours, and up until now I’ve done a pretty good job of ignoring them. But the pounding on my door right now is louder and more insistent than the others.
When I don’t answer, the pounding stops. I smile into my pillow until I hear the click of my lock being thrown back. The door opens and footsteps cross the room.
My bed dips as someone sits down on it, and then I feel the feathery touch of fingertips on the bare skin of my shoulder. “You need to get up now.”
My eyes snap open at that voice. “I thought you were ignoring me?” I say to King Montes. He’s leaning over me, and his nearness is doing strange things to my body. I haven’t seen him since that night in the ocean.
“When it comes to you, that’s impossible.”
I bury my face in my pillow. “I want to sleep in.”
“We’re getting married in two hours.”
“Don’t care,” I say, my voice muffled.
“Fine. We’ll skip the wedding part and go straight to the honeymoon.” He pulls back the covers and begins to slide in next to me. I yelp and jump out of bed.
The king steps away and sticks his hands into his pockets. He’s wearing a uniform with a sash, and it takes me a minute to realize that’s what he’ll be wearing today when we get married.
I rub the sleep from my eyes and give him my best glare.
“Just so you know, you’re not frightening at all in the morning,” he says, smirking. “You look like a pissed-off kitten.”
“Say that again, and I’ll castrate you with a butter knife.”
His lips quirk. “Ah, lucky me to have such a blushing bride.”
“Isn’t it bad luck to see me before the wedding?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest.
“What, you think our luck can get any worse?” the king says, raising an eyebrow. He has a point.
Before I can formulate a response, he walks to the door and ushers in a group of women who carry bags of makeup and hair supplies. I grimace at the sight.
“I’ll see you in a couple of hours, Serenity,” the king says, and then he’s gone.
By the time I’m sitting in a small room waiting to be ushered down the aisle, a cold emptiness has settled in me. I’m wearing a dress I didn’t pick out, holding flowers I don’t care for, wearing makeup and hair someone else has styled, and I’m waiting to be married to a man I don’t love because of orders someone else gave.
There’s a rap on the door, and it opens after a moment. A young guard sticks his head in. “We’re ready for you.”
I shake out my arms and crack my neck. I’m supposed to be gathering my courage, not falling apart. I nod and follow him out, bringing the bouquet up to my chest.