But he doesn’t blink.
He doesn’t soften.
He doesn’t even look at me again.
“That,” Adrian says calmly, “is my role to play. Not yours. And whatever happens between us…” he gestures vaguely between me and himself, like I’m an afterthought,“should not concern you.”
His words slice deeper than Katerina’s insult.
I try to breathe, but my chest won’t move.
He continues, turning to Frederick with cold authority.
Adrian continues, “The queen may have made a mistake. But she is a queen. Every woman in this palace, in this entire kingdom—falls under her authority. You will show her the respect her title commands.”
I don’t even feel the floor beneath me anymore.
Something inside me cracks.
It’s not the pain in my legs. It’s the pain in my chest, the hurt of realizing that he, the man whose
