The blood drained from Lydia's face in an instant. Her lips, parted to deliver another insult, froze in a silent 'o' of horror. Her eyes widened, pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
She knew that face. Every citizen did—stamped on coins, carved on busts, staring from royal proclamations with cold, unyielding authority.
Damian Sinclair. The Prince Regent. The man she had just accused of being a common servant, a partner in a sordid tryst.
The silence that fell over the clearing was absolute, heavier than stone. Nobles who had been whispering moments before now stared at the ground, at the trees, anywhere but the Prince Regent's face, as if avoiding his gaze could save them from the storm they knew was coming.
Damian's eyes, like chips of arctic ice, swept over the crowd. Each person he looked at flinched as if struck.
His captain, Gavin Hayes, a man built like a fortress, dropped to one knee. "Your Highness," he said, his voice a low rumble of shame. "I failed in my duty. I ask for punishment."
The title—Your Highness—was the final nail in Lydia's coffin. It echoed in the dead quiet, confirming the impossible truth.
Lydia's knees gave out. She crumpled to the ground, a heap of fine silk and shattered ambition. A choked, whimpering sound escaped her throat, the only noise in the petrified forest.
Sloane watched it all unfold, a flicker of grim satisfaction in her eyes. She crossed her arms, the rough grip of the guards on her biceps a minor annoyance. This was better than she could have planned.
Damian's gaze finally landed on her—a complex, unreadable look, fury warring with grudging acknowledgment. He knew, on some level, that the searing heat of her body had just saved him from a fate worse than death. And now, thanks to this idiotic plot, their shames were inextricably linked.
The reputation of the royal family was paramount. This could not be seen as assault. It had to be controlled.
For a long moment, he simply stared at Sloane, his eyes like shards of ice. Then something shifted in his gaze—something cold and calculating clicking into place. His jaw tightened, and he turned just enough to address his captain, voice dangerously soft.
"Gavin. Escort our guests back to the lodge. No one is to leave until I have concluded this matter."
His personal guard moved with swift, disciplined efficiency, herding the terrified nobles away.
Damian's attention turned to the trembling girl on the ground. "You," he said, his voice dropping another degree. "What did you call me?"
Lydia flinched violently. She scrambled forward on her knees, forehead hitting the dirt. "Forgive me, Your Highness! I am blind! I saw nothing! I know nothing!" she babbled, her mask of innocence ripped away.
Sloane chose that moment to sigh, a sound of theatrical disappointment. "Lydia, what's wrong? Weren't you looking for me? You seem to have lost your tongue."
Damian's eyes narrowed. The pieces clicked into place with chilling speed: the convenient arrival, the feigned concern, the immediate assumption of a low-born lover. He hadn't stumbled upon a scene; he had been cast as an unwitting actor in a play designed to destroy Elara Michael.
And in doing so, this foolish child had dared to use the Prince Regent of the Empire as a prop. An insult so profound it bordered on treason.
He stopped looking at Lydia then, dismissing her as one might dismiss a fly. She was already dead; she just didn't know it yet.
He walked towards Sloane, his presence sucking the air from around her. He stopped directly in front of her, so close she could feel the residual cold radiating from his body. The guards holding her arms released her instantly, stepping back as if repelled by a physical force.
He leaned down, his voice a menacing whisper meant only for her.
"You have ten seconds to give me a reason why your fate should not be the same as hers."
Sloane didn't flinch. She met his icy gaze, her own eyes clear and steady. The adrenaline and lingering poison had sharpened her senses to a razor's edge.
"Because I saved your life, Your Highness," she whispered back, her voice equally quiet but firm. "Just as you... saved mine."
She emphasized the word saved. A statement of fact, a reminder of the debt between them.
Damian's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
He had expected tears, pleas, denials. He had not expected a declaration of equality.
He realized, with a jolt of unwelcome clarity, that this woman—this disgraced, scandalous woman—was far more dangerous than he had ever imagined. And far more interesting.
---
