Chapter 257
~ NYSSA
We spent the entire day in the nursery but my attention was elsewhere.
My cycle was like fucking clockwork, and I knew without a doubt that being ten days late was not a coincidence. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was.
Are you okay?” Irina asked, her brows knitted in confusion as we stood in the middle of my bedroom/prison cell. “You’ve been uneasy p>
I shrugged. “I guess I just want to go home p>
She shook her head. “There’s more to it than that, I can tell. What’s going on p>
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out. At the end of the day, she worked for the king, and I couldn’t risk the information getting back to him. He already had the advantage with me here, finding out that I was pregnant would spin things out of proportion.
“Look, I know this is unusual, but you can trust me,” she said softly. “You got me a visit with my daughter and I am forever in your debt for that. If there is anything you need p>
She didn’t get the chance to finish because the door opened. I sighed, heading towards the door only for the guard to stop me with a pointed stare. “I’m not here for you p>
“What?” I asked, brows knitted in confusion but he ignored me, turning all his attention to Irina.
“The King requires your presence p>
She turned to me, her eyes flashing with worry, but she nodded, swallowing thickly as she headed for the door.
“Why does he want her presence?” I asked only to have the door slammed in my face.
I reached for the door knob and hissed when it burned my palms. I eyed it warily, frowning when I realized that it wasn’t made of silver.
I leaned over and sniffed, and that was when it hit me… wolf’s bane.
The fucking bastards.
I had no other choice but to sit in the room and wait. Hours went by and when the door finally opened again, I stood to my feet, excited at the prospect of seeing Irina again but it was another maid who walked in.
She didn’t meet my eye as she brought in a tray of food with no cutlery.
“Where is Irina?” I asked only for the girl to ignore me. She placed the tray on the ground and turned to leave but I grabbed her arm. “Didn’t you hear me p>
“I don’t know anything about anyone named Irina,” she said, voice cold and detached like she’d practiced that sentence. “Please let me go, or I will be forced to call the guards p>
Reluctantly, I released her and she walked away. As the door shut behind her, I knew that something had gone terribly wrong.
The next day, it was the same thing.
A different maid brought the food each time, and when I asked about Irina, she gave me the same rehearsed answer. I grew more frustrated as the day went by and by the second day, I decided that there was no way in hell I was going to let anyone pull me around by the hair.
When a maid walked in to deliver lunch, I stood to my feet. “I want to see the king, now p>
She blinked twice. “That’s good, because he wants to see you too p>
It was only then I realized that she didn’t even have a tray with her.
I swallowed the knot in my throat and smoothed down my dress before following quietly behind her. We walked through the halls and I couldn’t help but note that there were more people out than I’d ever seen before.
The halls were buzzing with energy as men dragged in large boxes.
“What’s going on?” I asked but I was politely ignored until we got to the front doors of the palace.
There were no guards standing there, and for a split second, I thought I’d be able to make a run for it.
“You may go,” a cold voice drawled and my spine went rigid.
The maid next to me bowed and walked away, leaving me standing alone with the King. I did not turn to him, but I felt the piercing weight of his stare against my back.
“You can try running,” he said slowly. “You won’t make it very far p>
I turned to him finally, taking in his black cloak. “What do you want p>
“I have come to collect p>
My brows knitted in confusion. “Collect on what p>
“You didn’t think I would let you go into that nursery for nothing, did you? I know you were trying to be kind by doing something for your maid but you will learn soon enough that nothing comes free p>
“Where is she? Irina p>
“Busy p>
With him, busy could mean a lot of things. “Is she dead p>
“Not yet, but I can rectify that quickly,” he grinned cruelly.
The intent in his words were clear, and just like that, all of the fight bled out of me. I sighed, letting my shoulders droop as I took him in.
“What do you want from me p>
His lips curved. “I love how obedient you are. If you weren’t already mated, I would’ve made you one of my girls p>
He laughed, and I couldn’t help but smile as well. “If I were one of your girls, I’d stab you in your fucking sleep p>
His smile faltered, his eyes growing hard. “Clearly you haven’t learned yet p>
“Clearly you haven’t either,” I shot back. “I’ll do what you ask, but don’t you dare mistake that as compliance. The minute I get the chance, I will kill you p>
He stared at me for one long minute, and for a brief moment, I thought I’d pushed things too far and he’d take off my head, but to my surprise, he merely smiled.
“I look forward to it, but for now, you will sit pretty at my side tonight because we are having a feast to celebrate the full moon and your marriage to my son p>