To Wed A King

The Bait

Adeline lay back on the shed she had found, her chest heaving, her eyes wide. She had been running for hours, and she was still in Perla, but very far from the Palace Inn that Lucan was.

She straightened, her brows furrowing as she took in the environment. She had close encounters with the soldiers from Vahrenhall, but at some point, all of them had suddenly pulled out, leaving the coast clear.

Maybe Lucan had finally accepted that there was no way she would become one of his w****s and was finally retreating to Vahrenhall.

She wondered, however, if there was a chance of him going back to Olyndria. After all, he did not seem like the type to be easily defeated like that. He didn't seem like the type to just give up after a few hours, especially since he took an entire country down just to take hus obstacle out of the way.

She sat up, closing her eyes tight. She was sweating profusely and needed a bath, but it did not make sense to let down her guard like that.

She did hope Lucan had pulled his soldiers in defeat and would go to Vahrenhall and be content with whatever woman he already had.

She closed her eyes again, then took in quick, deep breaths, her chest heaving hard. She really did not want to think of Lucan. Especially with what Evander had said last night still so fresh in her mind, she wanted to be able to forget it all.

Maybe she could start over. Maybe she could become a commoner. If she ever went back home, she was not sure how her father would look at her. And if she did, she might be endangering him again, putting them all at risk.

She could not go back home. At least, not so soon.

Maybe when she would be able to look in a mirror or the clear reflection of her face in water and not see the blood she had seen on Evander. Maybe when she would stop seeing her father's grief-stricken eyes every time she closed her eyes.

She sighed and stood up. She had to leave Perla tonight. She could not trust Lucan, and she needed to go as far as possible. As far as her feet could take her.

Those days she had snuck out of the Palace to pursue adventure was paying off, but she probably would be getting ready to be a bride had it not been for those adventures. She shook the thoughts away and sighed.

She would need water. She could go a few more hours without food, and she did not even have any money, so there was no way she could buy some.

The market was way too dangerous, and she decided on simply going to find a clean source of water.

She had started walking away when two women, one a voluptuous woman wearing a dirty apron and messy hair, and the other, a much skinnier, elegant woman sat on the shed she just stood up from.

"This is one of those days when I wish I had not sold my stall in the market. I can not believe the profit you have made."

The robust woman laughed, then made a point to pull out a pouch of hard gold.

"They even paid in gold," she said with a laugh. "Apparently, they will be giving all the food, ornaments, and groceries out for free."

Adeline raised a brow. Free food? Her stomach suddenly gave a long growl, and she closed her eyes, her hands wrapping around it.

"It pays to be of royal blood. If my husband had pursued better endeavours..."

"Oh, please. Priscilla. Your husband is not royalty. He was adopted and later let go of after he fled a battlefield and endangered the king. Everyone knows that. Besides, even if he had become a true royal, I doubt he would be this wealthy. Just be grateful you do not have to toil every day in the market. Tis not every day we get this lucky, you know."

The skinny woman gave a long sigh. "I would need some gold..."

"Excuse me," Adeline said, leaning slowly to the two women.

They both turned to her, and their eyes widened simultaneously.

"Oh my good days, what a beautiful man!" The robust one exclaimed, then immediately put her hand under her large bosoms, pushing them forward and pressing.

The skinny one stiffled a laugh as Adeline took a step back, her cheeks colouring with the woman's rather audacious behaviour.

"Where is this... place where they give free food?"

The robust woman smiled, grabbing Adeline's hand. "You are so handsome. I could feed you. I am the best cook in the entire market."

"For goodness sake, Mary. Let the man attend to his duties."

Mary sighed as Priscilla turned towards Adeline. "We are going there. I think the king has something to celebrate, and that is why he is throwing such a large feast. You can come with us."

Adeline smiled gratefully, then bit down on her lips. "I was... wondering. Where do I find clean water?"

Mary immediately pushed forward. "I will get you some on the way. With ice. Ice."

Priscilla gave a small laugh. "I apologize. The life of a spinster is really hard."

Adeline smiled and leaned away, then watched the two women as they readied themselves, Mary taking every chance to hold her.

Adeline did not mind, however, and soon enough, they were on their way. Mary fulfilled her promise and gave Adeline water with ice, one that brought back violent memories of all the times Evander fed her with ice shavings.

She sighed, her chest lightly heaving as they continued on the way. Soon enough, they were at the large square. Most of the population of Perla were already gathered around, discussing in hushed whispers. There was, as promised, so much food, groceries, and ornaments for the taking that the place looked more like the market than the market probably did.

Mary brought food and snacks on small plates and handed them to Adeline, who immediately dug in, her hunger threatening to r****h her.

She was curious about the event, however, her eyes squinted as she took in the dancing women and loud music.

Suddenly, the women stopped dancing, and she watched as an elevated carriage came forth. Right beside it was a smaller carriage carrying the king of Perla.

"Why is the king in the smaller carriage? Who is in the bigger one?" Mary asked, her voice muffled by the food she was eating.

Adeline stopped eating as the curtains covering the carriage went up, and slowly, Lucan came into view, his smile small.

The plate fell off Adeline's hand as she took him in, her chest heaving with fear. It felt like she had walked straight into his trap, yet again.

"What is this?" Priscilla asked, her voice low. "That... the black ink... it looks like the emperor of Vahrenhall."

"Oh lord, that is one perfect man," Mary sighed. "Wait. Does that mean he was the one who organized this? Purchased all of the goods? Why?"

Priscilla clapped, jumping a little. "I knew it! I knew the king would not be able to buy off the market in splod gold. He would have to turn to begging for food because he would have emptied the treaury if he dared."

Mary nodded in agreement, her eyes lifting to focus back on Lucan.

He was scanning the crowd slowly, a small, wicked smile on his lips.

Angel suddenly walked forward, and two soldiers brought a man to his knees right in the middle of the square. The man was wearing a black cloth over his head, and everyone knew what that meant. A death sentence.

"A death sentence? It is an execution with so much gaiety?"

Adeline's eyes thinned as she caught the small ring on his thumb. Her eyes filled, and she brought her hand to her mouth to stop her from vomiting the food she had just eaten.

"He must have been an incorrigible criminal for two kings to want to witness his death," Mary surmised, turning briefly towards Adeline.

Lucan raised his hand, and Angel came forward.

"You are right," he said with a small sneer. "This is indeed duel to the death. An execution, if you so wish."

Angel walked to the kneeling man and pulled off the black cloth, then stepped back, throwing a sword to the floor.

Evander was breathing hard as he took in the sword, his fingers lightly trembling, his heart hardening with the humiliation he had to take in the past two days.

"This man will keep on duelling with soldiers till he dies of fatigue, or till one kills him. He is our criminal, and this is his execution."

Lucan smiled as his eyes slowly fell on Adeline in the crowd. She was rather predictable, and he smiled a bit wider, showing off his sharp canines.

"This is an execution," he said, his voice deep, his eyes still fixed on her. She looked up to meet his eyes, and he smiled even brighter. "But it does mot have to be."