The Devil In Him
1117 Words
AGATHA'S POV
“I can’t believe that! What the hell is wrong with our king?! I can’t believe he would do that to you, of all people. Why would he choose those two idiots over you?" Lirith exclaims, her voice rising as we arrange the cutlery on a tray for breakfast.
Since I revealed that King Atticus is my mate, and that he rejected me she hasn't stopped venting her frustration. I only told her because I needed her to check on Adrian for me.
"I’ll take this to the dining room,” I say, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
She nods and I take the silver tray and head out.
As I near the dining room, I hear this muffled voices emanating from one of the rooms close to the royal dining.
“Please, spare me!” a desperate male voice pleads from the inside.
"I would really love to, but you see I have to send a message to my brother here." My breath catches in my throat as I recognize the voice of king Atticus. It sounds menacing.
Curiosity piqued, I pause and lean closer to the tiny bit open door. I glance inside and I am instantly crowded in shock.
I have a clear view of king Atticus, who is gripping a man with a heavily bloodied face by the neck. Two men dressed like generals including, the one I met the first day here, Lahore stand by his side.
I can't hear what is being said, but the man trembles on his knees, begging King Atticus who draws a gleaming knife from his belt and slam the knife into the man's neck.
Oh my God!
A gasp escapes my throat and lahores eyes snap in my direction.
Oh crap!
My heart instantly hammers in my chest, my flight instinct kicking in and as we all know, flight always win.
In my haste to retreat, I stumble back from the door, and my foot catches on the edge of a rug. I fall hard, metallic items clattering to the floor around me.
“No! No! No!” The noise is deafening. I turn on my heels and bolt down the corridor.
“Agatha! What the hell?” Lirith exclaims as I burst into the kitchen.
“I—I saw something!” I stammer, breathless. “The king... he killed a man!”
The kitchen falls silent as all eyes turns toward me in shock.
Lirith quickly pulls me aside, away from the curious gazes of other workers. “What are you talking about?” she demanded, a frown forming on her forehead.
I swallow the thick lump of panic in my throat. "On my way to dinner, I heard voices and… accidentally saw King Atticus, he… he killed someone. I didn’t mean to look! It just happened." My hand fly to my chest covering my racing heart.
"Oh.” That is all Lirith says at first.
“Just pretend you didn’t see anything,” she whispers.
"What? Are you serious? He just stabbed someone!”
“He must have had a good reason for it.”
She shakes her head slightly. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to this kind of thing around here.”
I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing someone being killed, especially by someone who was supposed to be my mate. Yesterday, when I had provoked him, I had no idea he was capable of such cold cruelty.
“How much trouble am I in?” I ask, dread pooling in my stomach. “I’m sure they saw me.”
Her penetrating gaze returns to me. “Just don’t talk about it. You’ll be fine.”
“Leave the cutlery, the others will handle it. Let's go wake the brides.” she instructs as she leads me out of the kitchen and back toward my stepsisters’ chambers.
*******
"The heels seem a little low. They will make my calves look less slender." Penelope grumbles as she sits on the bed and Lirith gets her another pink pair and helps her put it on.
Aileen walks around the room to the mirror. "My breasts don't look so full in this dress." She complains.
I look at her exposed stomach and snow-white skin showing through the exposing dress she has on and repeats, "The King is waiting, my ladies. You don't want your breakfast to go cold."
Finally, we make our way to the dining room. King Atticus hasn’t arrived yet, so my stepsisters take their places at the table and wait.
Several minutes later he walks in and our eyes lock. I quickly look away my heart hammering against my ribs.
He is not in the same attire that he was wearing when he killed the man, he has changed into a sleek black leather outfit, but the same knife he used hangs on the belt around his waist. He looks strikingly handsome in those fitting clothes, but that doesn't take away how cruel and terrifying he is.
My stepsisters gets up joyfully to greet him and he leans down to kiss their cheeks before his gaze flickers to me.
He steps towards me and shilvers of fear rush through me. The urge to back away overwhelms me but by the grace of God I manage to stand still.
"Saw you fall really hard earlier. Are you alright?" His voice carries a mocking tone.
"Y- yes, your majesty." I stammer and he finally steps away, I let out a sigh of relief.
They settle back into their seats and servants begin to serve the food but Aileen raises a hand, stopping them from filling her plate.
"What? Is the food not to your liking?” King Atticus ask.
"We have a surprise for you.” Aileen's flirtatious gaze locks onto him as she stands up alongside Penelope.
“We’ll be dancing for you while you eat,” Penelope adds with a playful grin.
King Atticus raises an eyebrow, "Dancing?"
They both wear flirtatious smiles while sauntering back from the table with confident strides and into the center of the room. Lirith pulls me aside to give them space.
The sisters begin swaying their hips sensually, shedding their fur coats to reveal form-fitting lace dresses that cling to their bodies.
"Do you like it?" Aileen spins in circles at the centre of the room.
King Atticus doesn't respond or show any emotion so I can't tell if he is enamored or not.
I feel Lirith tugging at my arm again, I glance back at her. She motions for me to follow her outside with other servants. I take one last look at the scene before following.
- Writer
