Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards #2)(102)

My gaze snapped back and forth, searching the area beyond the gazebo, but all I saw were the trees, flowers, pond, and hedge maze. I wondered how long the magiers had been out there. The thought that they had seen and heard my passion with Sullivan disgusted me, but I forced the emotion aside.

Instead, another thought rose up in my mind—why were they holding their positions, instead of surging forward and attacking us? They should strike now, while Sullivan was distracted and the two of us were isolated. But I didn’t get the sense that the magiers were creeping any closer. So what were they waiting for?

Sullivan shrugged into his jacket, and a bit of blue lightning sizzled out of his fingertips and sparked against the silver buttons as he fastened them. And I suddenly realized why the magiers were holding their positions.

They were waiting for Sullivan to leave before they killed me.

After all, they would have a far easier time murdering me if he wasn’t around. And the assassins probably wanted to keep things quiet as they killed me so they could escape afterward. Battling Sullivan and his lightning would definitely not be easy or quiet.

Sullivan didn’t have my mutt magic, so he didn’t sense the other magiers. Instead, he finished buttoning up his jacket, then turned toward me, an angry expression on his face.

“Well, highness?” he snapped. “What don’t I understand?”

In that moment, I knew what I had to do. The magiers were waiting for Sullivan to leave, and I was going to give them exactly what they wanted. There were too many magiers for Sullivan and me to fight off, and I wasn’t going to let him die because of me.

I had to protect the prince one last time, even if that meant hurting him yet again with my words.

I shrugged. “Apparently, you don’t understand how the world really works, Sully. Helene tried to explain it to you the other night in her greenhouse, but I see that it just didn’t sink in.”

His jaw clenched. “You were spying on Helene and me? Why?”

I shrugged again. “I was roaming the halls, looking for you, hoping to apologize, when I saw you enter her workshop. So I crept up and cracked open the door. I heard everything the two of you said.”

It wasn’t exactly the truth, but what was one more lie at this point?

“And what did Helene say then that you find so relevant now?” Sullivan growled.

“That sometimes people have to do things they don’t like for the greater good.” I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. “I am the queen of Bellona, and I have to make sacrifices for my people, for my kingdom, whether I want to or not.”

“Like marrying Dominic?”

“Exactly like that.”

“So what was this?” he asked, throwing his hands out wide. “Why did you come with me, if you’re still so dead set on marrying my brother?”

I braced myself for what I had to say next. “It’s no secret that I’ve wanted you for months, Sully. And the feeling was mutual. Tonight, we both finally got what we wanted.”

His eyebrows shot up. “And now what? You’re done with me? Just like that?”

“Just like that.” I kept my face cold as I stared at him. “What did you think was going to happen? That I would break off my engagement with Dominic just because we fucked? You should have known better. You said it yourself that queens don’t consort with bastard princes.”

He jerked back as though I had slapped him. Hurt flickered in his eyes, and the twin scents of his dusty resignation and ashy heartbreak burned my nose. But I still hadn’t made him angry enough to storm off to safety, so I decided to twist my verbal daggers in even deeper.

“Why did you dance with me in the ballroom?” I asked. “Why did you bring me here?”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that what happened between us was more about Dominic than it ever was about me.” I tilted my head to the side, studying him. “After all, what better way to finally beat your brother than by stealing me away from our engagement party and fucking me?”

Sullivan flinched again. “That’s not why I brought you here. I wanted to show you how I feel about you. This doesn’t have anything to do with Dominic.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But it’s a nice bonus, isn’t it? Showing Dominic, Heinrich, and the nobles that I care about you more than I ever will about him. Rubbing your brother’s face in the fact that I left the ballroom with you instead of him.”

“Dominic loves Rhea,” Sullivan snapped. “He doesn’t care about you. Not like I do.”

My heart squeezed tight at his words, but I forced myself to keep spewing lies and venom. “You told me once that you would never be satisfied with just one night with me. What do you think this is, Sully?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I don’t know, but I want to find out. Together.”

He stepped forward and held out his hand. That one simple gesture almost broke me, but I hardened my heart. Nothing mattered except making sure that he left the gardens, that he left me behind—forever.

“I am the queen of Bellona, and you are a bastard prince,” I repeated, making my voice as cold as possible. “We had our one night, and now it’s over.”

More hurt flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly drowned out by anger—so much anger. My heart squeezed tight again, but I made myself stay cold and impassive, as if I didn’t care about him at all.