Bound to the ruthless prince brother

The water was already up to my ankles by the time I reached the third level of the sunken district. It was cold, salt water that smelled of old rust. In Oakhaven, the sea did not stay where it belonged. It crawled up the stone steps of the lower city, going higher every month. Most people ran away from the rising tide, but I walked right into it. The dead always left their best treasures underwater. I pulled my wet woolen cloak tighter around my shoulders and held my oil lantern high. The yellow flame flickered against the damp, curved walls of the forgotten vault. Water dripped from the ceiling, making soft, steady clicking sounds as it hit the floodwaters below. "Just five minutes, Lyra," I whispered to myself, my teeth chattering from the damp chill. "Find the glass, get the coin, buy real bread for a month." I was a restorer by trade, or at least I used to be before my family lost our estate and our name. Now, I was just a scavenger with a dangerous secret. I could read glass. If a piece of glass had been present during a secret conversation, a murder, or a betrayal, I could touch it and feel the memory trapped inside its smooth surface. It was a rare form of magic, and in Oakhaven, illegal magic got you thrown into the salt mines to work until your skin peeled off. I went deeper. The water reached my knees, dragging at my heavy leather boots. At the center of the flooded room sat a stone pedestal. Rested upon it was a dark wooden box lined with green velvet. The velvet was ruined by moisture, but the object inside was untouched by time. It was a handheld mirror made of black, sea-forged glass. My breath caught in my throat. The Heart of Glass. It wasn't a real heart, of course. It was an ancient relic carved centuries ago by the first tide mages. Black market buyers in the upper city would pay enough gold for this single piece to buy me a dry house on the highest hill in Oakhaven. I stopped a few feet from the pedestal. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. Stealing from the drowned vaults was illegal, but stealing a royal artifact was treason. If the Iron Wardens caught me here, there would be no trial. I took a deep breath, reaching out with my bare right hand. I hesitated for a second, then pressed my fingers against the cool, dark surface of the glass. Instantly, a shock of ice cold energy shot up my arm. The room around me seemed to vanish. The sound of dripping water faded, replaced by the roar of a phantom storm. Vision flooded my mind. I saw a high tower bathed in moonlight. A man stood near a window, his face hidden in shadow. He was holding this very mirror, whispering words that sounded like grinding stones. "The blood debt must be paid," a harsh voice echoed inside my head. "When the sea reaches the throne, the sacrifice will be complete. Let the lower city drown." I gasped, pulling my hand away from the glass as if it had burned me. I fell back into the freezing water, splash landing on my hands and knees. The water soaked through my trousers instantly, but I barely felt the cold. The rising tides weren't just bad weather. Someone was letting the ocean swallow the lower city on purpose. "I need to get out of here," I breathed, my heart racing wildly. I reached out, grabbed the black glass mirror, and stuffed it into the waterproof leather pouch at my hip. I turned around to sprint toward the arched exit. A sudden, sharp glare of bright light cut through the darkness. I froze. Standing in the doorway of the vault were four men clad in polished steel armor. On their chests was the mark of a heavy iron lock surrounded by waves. The Iron Warden. The three guards stepped aside, drawing their heavy steel swords. Through the middle of them walked a tall man wrapped in a fur trimmed black coat. He did not look bothered by the water soaking into his expensive leather boots. He was broad shouldered and sharp-jawed, with hair as dark as a starless night. His eyes were a startling, icy silver cold, intelligent, and entirely without mercy. Lord Cassian Thorne. The High Commander of the Iron Warden. The King’s personal executioner. "Well, well," Cassian said. His voice was deep, smooth, and chillingly calm. It echoed off the wet stone walls. "I expected a master thief. A notorious smuggler. Instead, I find a wet rat drowning in a cellar." I pushed myself up, standing as tall as my shaking legs would allow. I kept my hand near my belt, though I knew I stood no chance against four armed soldiers and the most dangerous man in the kingdom. "I’m just a scavenger, my Lord," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I was just looking for scrap metal to sell for food." I lied. Cassian took a step forward into the water. He didn't draw a sword. He didn't need to. The sheer presence of him filled the small room, thick and suffocating. "Scrap metal?" Cassian raised an eyebrow, a cruel, faint smile touching his lips. "Is that what we call royal artifacts now? Hand over the leather pouch, girl." "I don't have anything," I lied, backing up until my spine hit the damp stone wall of the vault. There was nowhere left to run. "Do not play games with me," Cassian commanded softly. He moved faster than a man his size should have been able to, bridging the distance between us in two long strides. Before I could draw my small hunting knife, his hand shot out. His gloved fingers clamped around my wrist like a vice. He didn't pull hard enough to break my skin, but his grip was solid as iron. "You're shaking," he murmured, looking down at me. Up close, I could smell rain, ozone, and expensive clove spice on him. "Is it the cold, or do you realize how close you are to being caught?" "Let go of me." I yelled, thrashing against his grip. In my panic, my bare fingers scraped against the leather of his glove, slipping upward until my skin brushed the bare flesh of his wrist. Magic flared. It wasn't the glass this time. It was him. A jolt of pure thunder hit my mind. I saw a flash of silver chains wrapped around a bleeding heart. I felt a heavy, dark weight pressing down on his soul a curse, thick and old, binding his very life force to the royal crown. I felt his pain, his cold anger, and a desperate, buried secret that he kept locked away from the rest of the world. I gasped, trying to pull away, but the magic bound us for a terrifying second. Cassian stiffened. His silver eyes widened in genuine shock as he felt the invasion of my power. He pulled his hand back as if he had been burned, staring at his own wrist, then up at me. Silence fell over the room, heavy and suffocating. The guards moved forward, swords raised, but Cassian held up a single hand to stop them. "You're not just a scavenger," Cassian whispered, his voice calm. The cold amusement was entirely gone from his face, replaced by a dark, intense fascination. "You have the touch. You can read the memories in objects... and in people." I held my breath, my back pressed flat against the cold wall. Revealing my magic meant death. I had just signed my own execution order. "Execution is too quick for someone like you, Lyra Vane," Cassian said, stepping closer until he was standing only inches away from me. My breath caught. He knows my name. "You have two choices tonight, little thief," Cassian said, leaning down so his lips were right near my ear. His warm breath brushed against my cold skin, sending a violent shiver down my spine. "Option one.my guards drag you to the salt mines, where you will bleed out in three weeks." "And option two?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. Cassian stepped back and looked at me, a dangerous, slow smile spreading across his face. "Option two.you come with me to the upper court. You put on a silk dress, you wear my ring, and you pretend to be my beloved betrothed. You will use your magic to help me spy on Prince Julian, or I will personally watch you drown." I stared at him, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Fake a courtship with the High Commander? That's insane. They will kill me the moment they suspect I don't belong there." "Then you had better be a very good actress," Cassian replied coldly. He reached out and snatched the leather pouch containing the Heart of Glass from my hip, tossing it to one of his guards. "What is your answer, Lyra? The mines, or my bed?" I looked at the three guards with their drawn swords. I looked at the dark water creeping higher up my legs. Then, I looked into the icy, dangerous eyes of the man offering me a golden cage. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I had no real choice at all. "I'll wear your ring," I said quietly. "A wise decision," Cassian said. He took my hand, pulling a heavy, black-stone ring from his own pinky finger and shoving it onto my right index finger. The stone felt freezing against my skin. He turned around, heading toward the doorway. "Follow me. We have a prince to deceive." I took a step forward to follow him, but before my foot hit the water, the ground beneath us shook violently. A loud, booming roar echoed from above. The stone ceiling cracked open, and a massive wave of black ocean water tore through the archway, sweeping the four guards off their feet and slamming the heavy oak exit door shut with a deafening crash. The room began filling with water at a terrifying speed. Within seconds, it was up to my chest. I looked up through the dark, rushing water just in time to see Cassian reaching out his hand toward me, but a heavy wooden beam snapped from the ceiling and fell directly between us, pinning my legs to the stone floor beneath the rising tide. I opened my mouth to scream, but all that came out was sea water as the dark ocean pulled me under.