Chapter 6

Though she was still shaken from her discovery, Lilac sat still as Mina prepared her for the evening. Derek had summoned her to join him for a private dinner.

Mina moved quietly, her hands gentle as they brushed Lilac’s platinum hair and arranged the folds of a deep crimson gown. The color, the color of blood, felt like a cruel joke.

She stared blankly into the mirror, her mind replaying the words from the book. Assassinated. Iron fist. Mercilessly. Derek was a living legacy of violence.

“The king requested you to wear this, milady,” Mina said softly, fastening a delicate silver necklace around Lilac’s neck. It was a beautiful piece, the silverwork intricate with a dangling ruby pendant for a statement.

Lilac almost laughed out loud. He was dressing her in the colors of his kingdom’s history of blood. He was toying with her, enjoying her ignorance.

Derek was already waiting in a room adjacent to his private chambers, his eyes closed, his head propped on one hand. He opened them as Lilac walked in.

“Find anything useful in the library?” he suddenly said.

Lilac stopped in her tracks, keeping her silence, her heart stuck in her throat.

“None of my librarians wear rose-scented perfume,” Derek added.

The floor seemed to drop out from under her. The scent, a simple, foolish indulgence from a bottle Mina had left for her, was now her undoing. She had been so careful, so silent, but she had overlooked the most basic detail. Her blood ran cold, and for a terrifying moment, she couldn’t breathe.

He had known. He had let her go, let her read, let her discover his secrets. This wasn’t a dinner invitation; it was an interrogation.

She slowly lifted her chin, forcing herself to meet his piercing gaze. The fear was still there, a cold knot in her stomach, but it was now joined by a spark of defiance.

“I found your library to be quite impressive, my lord,” she said, her voice surprisingly steady. “A testament to a king who values knowledge.”

She took a slow step forward, her crimson gown whispering against the stone floor. “It is only natural for a future queen to wish to understand the history of the kingdom she is to serve.”

She was walking a razor’s edge, turning her transgression into an act of loyalty, but she held his gaze, refusing to be the first to look away.

Derek smiled and shifted. “Eat,” he commanded, as he pulled out the chair across from him for her to sit.

The silence of the meal was heavier than any conversation. It was a battle of wills played out over plates of roasted venison and glasses of dark wine. Lilac forced herself to eat, to appear composed, though every fiber of her being screamed in protest. She could feel his eyes on her, a cold, assessing weight that made the food taste like ash in her mouth. She had challenged him, and now she was waiting for the consequence.

When the last plate was cleared, he moved with a sudden, fluid grace that was terrifying. He didn’t speak, didn’t give her a warning. He simply grabbed her arm, his grip like a vise, and hauled her from the chair. The force of it made her stumble, her legs struggling to keep up as he dragged her.

The anteroom turned into a blur of shadows and expensive tapestries before he pulled her through the connecting door, into the vast expanse of his bedroom. The room was dimly lit by the blazing hearth at the far end. He kicked the door shut behind them, the sound echoing like a hammer in the sudden, deafening silence.