Chapter Fifty-Eight

M I K H A I L

“What?” I splutter. “What did you say?”

I advance forward, making my mother back away from me like she’s scared of being attacked. But the shackles hold me in place anyway, causing me to stagger back and end up in the same spot where I began. I meet her eyes and finally, she holds my gaze, but she’s basically squirming in her own skin.

While she stays silent, I try to calm myself down just enough to make sense of what has just been said.

So the plan is . . . to get me married off to another royal family from god knows where so I can avoid the mess I made here. I know that the leadership is a continental thing, and I refuse to be shipped off to another place like I will explode and cause more trouble here. It’s just insulting on so many levels.

I wait for her to say something, but she just turns away, filling me with frustration.

“That’s it?” I ask her, wishing so bad I can get out of my shackles so I can hold her back and make her face me. “You’re not going to say a