Chapter 14
1118 Words
The water struck her skin like needles, a punishing cascade of cold that climbed her spine in merciless waves. “Cold... cold... cold,” she whispered under her breath, staggering back from the icy downpour. She shut off the stream, her shoulders sagging as she wrapped her arms around her chilled body. Reaching for the towel, she drew it tightly around her soaked frame, hands trembling as she wiped her face.
Then she turned and froze.
All the blood drained from her face as her wide, panic-stricken eyes locked onto a pair of burning amber irises. Her heart leapt into her throat, thundering with reckless terror. He stood there silent, immovable expressionless save for the faint twitch in his jaw. But his eyes, like molten fire buried in permafrost, slid slowly down the length of her drenched form.
That slight, involuntary movement shattered her already fragile composure.
Her hands curled into tight fists around the towel, trying to anchor herself as her chest rose and fell in rapid, shallow breaths. When his gaze returned to hers, it wasn’t blank it was brutal.
Hatred.
“What the f**k are you doing here?”
The venom in his voice sliced through the air, leaving goosebumps rising on her damp skin. The hate in his eyes was so raw, so absolute, she instinctively dropped her gaze.
“I...” she started, but the word caught in her throat, strangled by the thick knot of fear. Her mind stuttered. Even the simplest word slipped away from her.
His lips tightened with impatience.
“The King c-commanded Benedetto to bring me here,” she managed at last, her voice cracking with the cold or perhaps the sheer dread clawing at her insides. A faint furrow settled on his brow.
“Why?” he asked, calm now. Too calm. The kind of calm that came before something awful.
She swallowed hard, eyes flicking to the floor. She considered lying. But something told her lies wouldn’t survive in his presence.
“He believes you've been ignoring his orders... that both Princes are to spend equal time with me.”
Somehow, despite the fear, despite the icy water still dripping from her skin, her voice came out steady. She clenched her fists in victory quiet, internal because she hadn’t crumbled.
“You speak as if you’re a princess,” he sneered, voice laced with disdain. “Not the pet you are.”
That accent deep and foreign sent a shudder of dread through her.
She said nothing. Defiance wouldn’t save her here.
The massive bathroom, with its luxury and space, suddenly felt no bigger than a closet. He filled the doorway, one hand buried in his pocket, those smoldering eyes locked on her like a target he intended to destroy.
“Explain,” he demanded.
Her breath caught again. She bit her lip, scrambling mentally for a reason to be in his space. Maybe... maybe she could say she’d been admiring the marble countertops or the absurd size of his ensuite?
But the moment passed.
He moved swift and deliberate. Her heart leapt as he stalked toward her, his pace slow but undeniably dangerous. She backed away, eyes wide with fear, shoulders curling inward.
Then his hand shot out. He seized the leash.
Her leash.
She gasped as he yanked it, jerking her forward with such force that her knees nearly buckled. She stumbled a step away from him before the leash tightened again, holding her fast.
Without a word, he turned and strode away, dragging her behind him like something unwanted.
At the tall window, he gripped the heavy drapes and tore them aside. She blinked at the sudden brightness spilling in through the towering glass wall. Then he slid the door open.
Without looking back, he released the leash. It hit the floor near her bare feet with a soft thud.
“Out.”
The growl in his voice held no room for negotiation.
She flinched, heart rattling against her ribs, and stepped outside. The wind slapped her damp skin, cruel and biting. The grey clouds churned above, and her lips quivered as the cold gnawed at her bones.
“Stay.”
He shut the door behind her. Then the curtains were wrenched shut.
Azzurra stood there, dumbfounded.
He'd thrown her soaked and barefoot onto the terrace, in weather cold enough to herald the first snow of the season.
Tears stung her eyes, but she swallowed them back. She wouldn't cry. Not here. Not in front of him. He wanted to break her but she wouldn’t let him.
She could go back in. Challenge him. Demand warmth. But something in her gut something primal screamed not to provoke this man. There was something dangerous about him. Something unholy.
She searched for shelter, for warmth, for anything.
Nothing.
Only the pool. And the howling wind.
Shivering violently, she crouched and wrapped the towel tighter around her frame. Her lips were ice. Her ears throbbed from the cold. She pressed her hands over them, trying to block out the torment.
The bandage on her hand was still dry. One small mercy.
The sky bled orange as the sun dipped low, casting long shadows across the terrace. The wind grew wilder. Her body ached from cold, her limbs going numb. Even her breath slowed, shallow and sparse.
She wanted to throw herself at the door. Bang on it. Demand entry.
But she didn’t.
He was still inside. That terrifying man. And his presence alone could freeze her blood.
She wouldn’t give in. She could survive this. She would prove to him that she wasn’t weak. That she wasn’t easy to break.
But the cold was winning.
Finally, with her body stiff and fingers blue, she pushed herself upright and stumbled toward the door.
Just as she reached it, it slid open.
Her heart seized.
Panic struck was he coming to punish her?
She braced herself, ready to be struck, strangled, silenced.
But nothing happened.
She cracked open one eye.
“Traitor,” she muttered under her breath when she saw Benedetto standing there.
He gave her a tight-lipped smile. “I saw him leave for the study. I came to check on you,” he said quietly, eyeing her shivering frame. “And honestly... I expected this.”
He stepped aside to let her in.
Inside, her gaze fell on a golden cage in the corner of the room one that hadn’t been there before. Her stomach turned.
Benedetto followed her stare.
“He had it brought up earlier,” he said.
Then, addressing a maid who hovered nearby, he ordered, “Bring her something warm to wear. And food.”
The maid bowed and quickly disappeared.
- Writer
