SERAPHINA'S POV
He casually pulls out a chair by the wall and makes himself comfortable with it, right in front of me. I wait patiently, tinged with a bit of anxiety.
A part of me tries to figure out what this is going to be about.
Will I be tossed in some dungeon out of vengeance, forced to live a pathetic life?
Or will I be killed for daring to interrupt his precious royal wedding, in hopes that Artemis can form a bond with someone else when I'm gone?
His cold silence is choking, and I can't take it anymore.
"If this is about the marking-"
"Congratulations, Seraphina Hawthrone."
I freeze at words I was not expecting him to say, congratulations I was not expecting to receive. I expected rage, anger, flipping the bed I'm on before I'm dragged off.
But his smile hasn't left his lips yet, watching me with calmness.
"What?" I blurt out.
"Well, isn't it a beautiful thing, to have found young love and find yourself lucky enough to participate in something so sacred that your kind can only dream of."
It sounds like a backhanded insult. I don't know what to feel about it.
"I was expecting to be tossed into prison."
"And risk you dying in there, subsequently affecting my son? There's too much risk in doing anything that can harm you, while I haven't figured out what to do with that mark." His eyes shift to my bandaged neck, and I can't help but touch it.
The fabric of the white bandage is thick and soft, yet I can still feel the wound pulsing with life.
"You almost sound like you love your son."
"He is the next ruler of my kingdom and has a very important role in upholding decorum for our people," he vaguely points out.
I wonder what he'd do if he knew that I'm the herald of that darkness and his own son just made sure that the end he so desperately wants to prevent will happen.
"I'm here to strike a deal with you," he says, catching me off guard.
"A deal?"
"Yes. You see, all the guests are already here. They've flown in from far places to be present, and it would be awful, terrible if tomorrow's ceremony is cancelled. A bad rep would be added to my name, and rumors of my son will only get worse. The philanderer can't even stay with his own fiancée and bails the day before the wedding. I don't want that."
"So you want it to hold?"
"Yes and no. Yes, there will be a grand ceremony tomorrow, but with you instead of the other girl."
I freeze in place, my eyes widening like saucers. Surely he didn't just say what I heard.
After a week of trying to get him to call it off and change his mind, after pushing Artemis to the extreme and forcefully marking me out of desperation, now he wants us to be together.
"What?" I stare at him as if he's lost his mind.
And maybe he has, just like his son. Maybe they do have things in common, like their spontaneity of thinking. I shake my head again, pulling myself out of my crazy thoughts.
"Forgive me, it's very hard to believe that you'd agree to this, to us being together."
"Trust me, this is a circumstance I never wanted to give into, but the circumstances have changed and so must I for the good of my people. This isn't me allowing my son to run off with the girl of his dreams, no, this is you playing my games."
"What makes you think I would agree to anything that comes from you?" I frown.
To my knowledge, he was the one involved in using magic for forbidden purposes for his selfish gains, the same man that shares in the hate of Astria witches alongside the ancestors that murdered innocent lives.
I know in my heart that I shouldn't trust someone as hypocritical as him.
"Well, if you value your precious mismatched family at the orphanage, if you value your own life too. That boy is my son, my blood, but if the worse situation comes down to it, I am not afraid to take drastic measures into my own hands, even if it means killing you and risking him becoming a shell."
He smiles wickedly, showing off his teeth as well, watching my face contort into horror at what he means. He talks of scarring his own son so casually.
"A shell can sit on a throne perfectly well," he points out matter-of-factly.
I gulp, feeling more apprehension. He sees it and becomes pleased.
"Good. Now, our deal is simple. You will be with my son as much as you like. You will arrive in place of Kamila and have an official mating ceremony rather than a wedding between the two of you. It would set a tone for everyone, the humans and wolves. Usher in an era of unity amongst our people, and most importantly, keep other high-ranking wolf families in check."
"Why would you need to?"
"Recently, I've received news of Gideon Wildheart using his newly acquired position as in-law to the crown to steal funds, disrupt pack order, destroy the parliament I've wasted my precious time on. He's begun an internal crisis on the board over a little taste of the power he thinks he has to challenge me. I don't want that. You will be a way to show them that I can choose whomever I will and at whatever time, that they are just as dispensable as a pair of stockings. Do you understand, child?"
I nod slowly.
I guess the Wildhearts are not only a menace to Artemis and me; even the King seems to have reservations against them. Yet he wants his son to marry Kamila.
"Of course, you have things to benefit from this. Your orphanage home has been ignored, abandoned, and run down. I can renovate that for you, make sure everyone there finds good families and attends the best school. I could also look into the segregation issue in your school. Less of your friends will have to bother about being pushed into suicide."
I frown, feeling disgust curl up in my gut.
"You could have decided to do all that without offering me as a deal."
He could have been a good king and more involved without having to use it to manipulate a teenage girl to be his puppet. He only needed to be genuinely interested.
He shrugs casually, getting to his feet.
"Do we have a deal?" He throws the question at me as if it comes with the option to refuse him if I wanted to.
It's false free will, a choice already made for me. Accept it, or face the consequences.
"Yes," I respond, avoiding his eyes, lest he sees the resentment in them.
I feel the anger bubbling up in my gut from the sound of his voice.
"Good girl," he commends me. "Once the ceremony happens, a couple of things will change: your living quarters, your school schedule... all that. I will forward your new timetable to you through your administrator once it's all ready. Goodbye."
He turns towards the door and walks out, finally leaving me alone with my thoughts. I fall back on the bed, finally able to breathe, staring up at the ceiling but not really seeing it.
My thoughts are scattered, everywhere but here.
My plans to run away are ruined now, and I'm tied to Artemis, and the biggest issue is playing this game, dancing to the tunes of his father. There seems to be no way out; I really am trapped here.
Could this be destiny?