I stood paralyzed, the robe draped open, revealing almost everything to his predatory gaze. My heartbeat accelerated, but this time, it wasn't fear. It was a scorching, humiliating heat.
"I... I thought you were the maids," I choked out, my hands fumbling to grab the edges of the silk.
Kaeren didn't look away. His gaze traveled slowly and hungrily down my body and back up to my face. He no longer looked like the jerk who had called me a pawn in the hallway was gone. Right now, he looked like he was fighting the urge to cross the room and begin what we might not have the balls to finish.
"I changed my mind about the maids. I came to check if you'd drowned. Clearly, you're enjoying the hospitality." He said, smirking cockily.
I'd give anything for the ground to open up and swallow me right now.
I finally managed to yank the robe closed, knotting the sash with trembling fingers. "You could have knocked."
"It's my palace, Waverly. I don't knock on doors I own." He took a step into the room, the scent of mint and rain suddenly overwhelming. "And don't get too comfortable in that Queen mindset. You're a stand-in. Nothing more."
I flinched. Right. I was the placeholder. The girl who looked enough like a noble to pretend to be the fated mate he couldn't find. He was using me to satisfy his family and the Council, and I was using him to stay out of a noose.
"I know what I am," I snapped, pulling the robe tighter as if it could protect me from the way his eyes still lingered on my shape.
"I'm the girl who's helping you hide the fact that the Great Prince Kaeren hasn't found his real mate yet. I'm the lie. I haven't forgotten."
Kaeren stopped just a foot away from me. He was so tall I had to crane my neck to look at him. He reached out, his thumb grazing the damp skin of my collarbone, right where the robe met my neck.
"Then remember this, too," he whispered, his eyes locking onto mine. "Tomorrow, when you're standing in front of my family, you aren't just a stand-in. You are the only thing standing between us and a very messy end.
"Actually, you won't be putting anything on yet," he said, his voice clipping the air. "I don't need you peacocking around the suite tonight while I'm trying to think. You'll wear one of my tees for now."
I blinked. "Your... shirt?"
"My sister, Rose, has a closet full of new arrivals she hasn't even touched. You have the same build. Tomorrow, I'll have her give you something from her collection to make the High Class transition believable. But tonight, you stay in this room."
He walked over to a dresser and pulled out a plain black t-shirt. He tossed it at me. It was heavy, smelling faintly of that mint-and-rain scent that was starting to haunt my senses.
"Fine," I muttered, clutching the fabric. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to sleep. It's been a long day of escaping death."
I waited for him to head for the door. He didn't move. Instead, he kicked off his shoes and began unbuttoning his cuffs.
"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice rising.
"I'm sleeping," he said simply.
"In the library? On the couch? Anywhere that isn't here?"
"In this bed, Waverly." He turned, his gaze flat and unyielding. "I can't let you sleep comfortably. You're a flight risk, and a girl who thinks she can outrun an Alpha. I'm sleeping right beside you to make sure you don't decide to climb out that window and ruin my life before breakfast."
"You have guards for that! I am not sleeping in the same bed as a man who calls me a pawn." I hissed.
Kaeren took two long strides, closing the distance until he was towering over me. The jerk was back.
"You'll sleep where I tell you to sleep. This isn't a negotiation, Waverly. It's a survival tactic. If the staff or a stray family member finds out we slept in separate rooms, the lie dies. And if the lie dies, you go back to the gallows. Do you understand, or do I need to make you understand?"
He was bullying me. He knew exactly which buttons to press—the fear of the noose, the weight of his power. I glared at him, my knuckles white as I gripped his shirt.
"I hate you," I whispered.
"Get in line," he countered, though his eyes lingered on my lips for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. "I need you to change right here in front of me."
My heart gave a violent thud against my ribs. "You... you're joking."
"Do I look like I'm joking, Waverly?"
"You're a sick, twisted man," I whispered, my voice shaking with a rage that was barely keeping the tears at bay. "You think because you 'saved' me, you own the right to humiliate me? I would rather go back to that mud-slicked Outer District than let you look at me like that."
"Actually, he's an Alpha. Maybe we should just… let him look? For safety?" Pia whimpered in my mind, her tail wagging so hard it felt like my own spine was vibrating.
Shut up, Pia! I screamed internally. He's a jerk! He's a bully!
"I don't have time for your modesty, Waverly. I need to know you aren't hiding a weapon. I need to know you don't have a burner phone to call your greedy family with. This could be a setup for all I know." He threw his hands listlessly in the air.
"How can I trust a girl who claims to be what she is not? In this palace, trust is earned through transparency. Now. Take. It. Off."
I glared at him, my knuckles white as I gripped the silk sash of the robe. I hated him. I hated the way his presence filled the room, making me feel small and insignificant.
But more than that, I hated that he was right. If I walked out that door, I was a dead woman walking.
With a jerky, violent movement, I pulled the sash loose.
The silk fell to the floor in a shimmering pool of white. I stood there and my skin prickling in the chill of the air conditioning, baring every scar, bruise, and every inch of my body to his unyielding gaze.
I expected him to look away, to show some shred of decency. He didn't.
His eyes traveled slowly, almost painfully, over my frame. He saw the thin white lines on my back from Drodd's belt, the faint yellowing bruises on my ribs from the mines, and the raw, angry scratch on my hip from the struggle earlier.
For a split second, the stoic demeanor crumbled, and his jaw tightened so hard I heard the bone click.
"Satisfied?" I spat with utmost disgust.
Without a word, he tossed the black t-shirt at me. I scrambled to pull it over my head, the oversized fabric finally shielding me. It smelled so strongly of him that it made my head swim.
"The bed. Now," he commanded.