Chapter 2

I stared at John Chase, his dark, intimidating gaze fixed on me.

He bowed, making a reverence filled with cynicism, a lascivious smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"My commander, I cannot go for a walk with you right now. I need to attend the ball," I said, trying to be diplomatic.

He studied me and shook his head.

"They'll survive without your presence. Besides, it's only a walk of a few minutes, princess."

He wasn't giving me a choice. Although his words were polite and his gestures delicate, I could see in his eyes that he was a man nobody said no to—and from what I was seeing, not even a princess.

I gave him a strained smile and continued down the corridor toward the palace gardens. My guards followed us, and Commander Chase positioned himself beside me as we walked.

I maintained my proud posture and kept my eyes fixed on the path ahead. From the corner of my eye, I saw him staring at me, studying me exactly as a predator would.

And I thought that was exactly what John Chase was—a predator.

We turned left and entered a small hall that led to the large doors opening onto the palace gardens.

The night air was pleasant, and the sky was clear. I was caught off guard by the number of stars in the sky, but one in particular was shining intensely tonight—the star Lina, which I had watched since childhood.

The last time I had been in these gardens had also been at night, late into the evening, with Cristhofer beside me. We had watched these same stars together.

With those memories flooding back, I had to summon all my strength to keep the tears from falling, tears that cruelly refused to let me release them.

Everything was wrong about this night.

"Doesn't this garden bring back good memories, princess?"

The commander's deep voice interrupted my thoughts. We were following a small stone path with several apple trees surrounding us, the sounds of the night and insects filling the silence between us.

His question surprised me because, somehow, he had understood my state of mind. And that made me extremely uncomfortable. I didn't want this man noticing my emotions, reading them on my face.

"You seem radiant, my lord. You don't even look like a man who was in an arena a few hours ago," I retorted.

He studied me again.

"Do you know their names, princess?" he asked after a pause.

I turned my face toward him. His gaze was fixed on me, and there was seriousness in his expression.

But I hadn't completely understood his question.

"Whose names?"

"The men who died fighting for your hand."

I stopped walking.

He had asked a question whose answer would make me look insensitive, exactly what my previous comment had suggested about him. Chase was playing with me, and he had skillfully turned the game against me.

I looked into his cunning dark eyes as he waited for my answer.

"It can't be easy to take a man's life," I tried to evade the question.

We were now almost at the end of the stone path between the apple trees. A few yards ahead stood a fountain and several stone and marble benches.

We stopped facing each other. He gave me that analytical look again, then resumed walking. I did the same, and when we reached the fountain, I dipped my hands into the water.

He looked up at the sky, standing in front of the fountain.

"Actually, it's easy," he said after a long pause, so long that I thought he wasn't going to answer anymore.

His response brought back the memory of his sword decapitating Cristhofer in the arena. My heart raced, my breathing quickened, and a feeling of indignation and anger began rising in my heart like poison spreading throughout my body.

I felt my cheeks burning with that bitter feeling inside me. His answer was cold and cruel. He had killed the man I loved today, and not a trace of guilt or remorse weighed on his conscience.

It had been easy for him.

Perhaps even pleasurable.

And this was the man I would eventually marry?

Unless another competitor killed him.

That possibility awakened something in me I had never imagined I could feel toward anyone—the hope that someone would die.

In my heart, I sought revenge against him, some form of justice for what he had taken from me. He had taken away my chance at a happy life, and I hated him for it.

I sat on the edge of the fountain, and in silence, he did the same.

"That wasn't the answer I expected."

It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"I suppose that for some people, killing is easy."

I hoped he could hear all the contempt in my words.

"Which one, princess?" he suddenly asked.

I blinked, pretending not to understand his question, but deep down, I had understood perfectly.

He sighed and spoke again, this time more firmly.

"Which one of the bastards had your heart?"

I froze at his direct question.

In just a few minutes of conversation, had I been so transparent to him that he had figured it out?

"I don't think I understand your question, commander."

I hoped he wouldn't insist, that he would accept my evasion.

"You understood perfectly, princess. You just don't want to answer. Not that you really need to. I saw your eyes today in the arena—the eyes of a woman in love. And when I killed him, I saw that I killed a little piece of you too."

I could no longer steady my breathing. My chest rose and fell as my heart hammered far too quickly. Once again, the poison of anger spread through me, coursing through my entire body and making me want to kill him.

"You killed a person today," I accused him.

His expression was impassive.

"I killed a man who was trying to kill me," he said simply.

"You didn't have to be in that arena."

"Cristhofer didn't have to be there either. He was a free man who chose to be there today, wasn't he?"

I stared at him in shock.

The mention of his name on his lips paralyzed me. He wasn't worthy of saying his name.

"Compose yourself, princess. You have a ball to attend. Your feelings are very clear. And yes, I know his name. I know the names of all the men I've killed, not just those in that arena."

He stood and extended his hand toward me.

I stood up, but I didn't take his hand. My entire body was trembling.

Before we resumed the path back, he murmured:

"In the future, you'll be glad to know that I don't tolerate my wife keeping things from me."

"Perhaps in the future I won't be your wife. Perhaps you'll never even have one," I retorted.

He raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"That makes me think the princess may be wishing for my death in the final battle. In that case, I'll have to disappoint you. For years, my enemies have wished for the same thing the princess does, yet I refuse to grant that wish. Not even for a princess as beautiful as you."

With those words, he led me back along the path.

The man was diabolical.