But inside, my mind was already racing.
I wasn’t here to be his queen. I wasn’t here to be his w***e, no matter what label he dressed it up with. I wasn’t here to give him a child.
No.
I was here to make him trust me. To get close enough, deep enough, that one day—when he least expected it—he’d drop his guard.
And when that day came, I’d be gone.
Gone, without a second thought, without ever looking back.
******
The door clicked shut behind her, the faintest whisper of finality in its wake. For a moment, silence hung heavy in the chamber. Then I reached through the link.
Lucien.
‘Yes, Your Majesty.’
‘Keep eyes on her. Every second. Every step. Shadows only—she must never know. I want to feel her every breath through you.’
There was a brief pause, the soundless weight of obedience
