Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards #2)(93)

I had barely finished speaking when I heard a key slide into the lock. Paloma heard it too, and we both froze.

“Come in.” Helene’s voice floated through the door. “I’ll give you a tour.”

My head snapped back and forth as I searched for another way out of the greenhouse. I spotted a door in the glass wall. I pointed it out to Paloma, and we hurried in that direction.

Luckily for us, this door wasn’t locked with magic or anything else, and we slipped through it and stepped out onto the balcony. I darted to my right and pressed myself up against the cold stone wall of the palace, although I could still see inside through the glass. Paloma did the same thing beside me, literally breathing down my neck.

Too late, I realized that I’d left the balcony door open, and I pushed on it with my hand. It swung toward the wall, but it didn’t quite shut, leaving a crack of space between the glass and the frame. I grimaced, but I didn’t dare step forward and try to close it the rest of the way.

“Strange.” Helene’s voice drifted out through the cracked door. “I thought I locked the greenhouse with my magic, but I must have forgotten.”

The plant magier strode into view, still wearing the green ball gown she’d had on at dinner. She unwound a black silk wrap from around her shoulders, revealing her muscled arms, and laid the cloth on a table. Then she turned around, a smile on her beautiful face.

My stomach clenched with dread. I’d seen her look at only one person like that.

A second later, my worst fear was confirmed, and Sullivan stepped into the greenhouse and shut the door behind him.

I hadn’t seen him since he’d stormed out of my chambers earlier, but he looked much calmer now, as if he’d made a decision about something important, like exactly how much he despised me. My heart squeezed tight, but I’d brought his contempt upon myself, and there was nothing I could do about it now. Maybe not ever.

Helene strode over to a table covered with liquor bottles and glasses. She poured two snifters of what looked like Ungerian apple brandy and handed one to Sullivan. He nodded his thanks, then wandered around, staring at the plants, flowers, papers, beakers, and creams.

“You weren’t kidding when you said that you had expanded your operation.” Sullivan took a sip of his brandy. “I remember when you only had one little table of plants in here.”

Helene beamed with pride. “Ever since my father’s death, I’ve become much more involved in the family business. Now that I’m running things, I can finally offer some new products, just like I’ve always wanted to. Not just beauty creams for wealthy nobles but products that anyone can afford, like this burn cream.” She pointed out the same jar that Paloma and I had examined earlier. “Things that can really help people.”

“I always admired that about you,” Sullivan said. “That you wanted to sell your products to everyone, even though your father only cared about pleasing the other nobles.”

She shrugged. “It’s just good business sense. More customers means more money. Besides, you know how much I’ve always enjoyed growing new plants and experimenting with new ingredients and formulas.”

I wondered if those new plants, experiments, and formulas included poisoning King Heinrich and the weather magier, but of course I couldn’t knock on the glass wall and ask her.

Helene eyed Sullivan over the rim of her snifter, then took a dainty sip of her brandy and set it aside. “But chitchatting about my family’s business isn’t why you asked me to give you a tour.”

His fingers curled around his glass, but he didn’t respond to her obvious opening, so Helene smiled again and walked forward, stopping right in front of him.

“I truly am sorry about Everleigh and Dominic,” she said. “I can see how much you care about her.”

Sullivan drained the rest of his brandy, then set the glass aside. “It doesn’t matter. Not now.”

Helene smiled again. “I was hoping you would say that.”

She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sullivan stared down at her, an unreadable expression on his face. Helene swayed even closer to him, then stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

For a moment, Sullivan just stood there, with her lips on his, but then his hands settled on her waist, his eyes drifted shut, and he leaned into the kiss.

My heart shattered at the sight, each cold, sharp shard twisting itself deeper and deeper into my chest. Every second they kissed made me want to scream. I longed to charge through the door, tear him away from her, and confess my lies, but I stood there in stoic silence. I had no right to be angry with Sullivan. I was the one who had hurt him and driven him away, and now I was seeing the horrible consequences of my actions.

Paloma placed a hand on my shoulder. I nodded back, grateful for her support. It wasn’t her fault I wanted the one person I couldn’t have.

Sullivan’s kiss with Helene went on . . . and on . . . and on . . .

Suddenly, he dropped his arms from her waist and drew back. “I’m sorry.” He scrubbed his hand through his hair and then down his face. “I can’t do this.”

“Really?” A mocking note crept into Helene’s voice. “We both know that the real reason you asked me here was so that you could fuck me and get your revenge on Everleigh. And now you can’t go through with it?”