Is That Sienna?

Serenity POV

I stood in the middle of the hall with my fingers locked around the strap of my little handbag. The question Valerius had asked was still hanging in the air, and for a moment, nobody seemed willing to answer him. I could hear the soft movement of the candidates behind me, followed by a few whispers that quickly died when the King turned his head.

“Is that Sienna from Blackwood?” Valerius asked again, his voice colder and slightly irritated this time.

My heart slammed against my ribs. I looked toward the servant beside me, silently begging him to say something before my nervous face gave me away.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the servant answered. “This is Miss Sienna Gideon.”

A strange silence followed.

Valerius's eyes returned to me. They were nothing like Tristan's. Tristan used to look at me with warmth, or at least I had believed he did. Valerius looked at me as if he were trying to find a lie hidden somewhere beneath my skin.

Seeing the Lycan King, to most of us, was a privilege, and in Blackwood, they thought he was an old mad beast.

“Come here.”

My feet felt heavy as I walked toward him. I stopped a few steps away and lowered my head slightly.

“Your Majesty.”

“Look at me.”

I slowly raised my eyes.

His gaze moved over me from head to toe. The aura coming out from him was making me want to kneel before him.

I could feel every other woman in the hall watching. My old grey shirt suddenly felt even cheaper. My jeans were plain, and the little handbag hanging from my arm was nothing compared to the designer bags the other candidates carried.

“Where are your attendants?” he asked.

I swallowed. “I don't have any.”

His brows pulled together. “No attendants?”

I shook my head.

A few women behind me giggled. “Perhaps Blackwood has changed its definition of an Alpha's daughter,” someone whispered.

More laughter followed.

My cheeks burned, but I kept my eyes on Valerius.

“And your luggage?” he asked.

“I don't have much.” That answer seemed to make him even more suspicious.

He looked toward the servant who had welcomed us earlier. “You said this woman is Sienna Gideon?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Then why does she look as though she travelled here alone? Like an imposter?”

Nobody answered immediately.

I could feel the lie pressing against my throat. I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to say that I wasn't Sienna. That I had been sent here because my foster family had decided I was worth less than their daughter. That I had spent my life working in their house while Sienna lived like a princess.

But what would happen if I told him?

Would he send me straight back? Would Gideon come for me? Would I lose the only chance I had to escape Blackwood?

I lowered my eyes.

“My family had reasons for sending me this way.”

Valerius stared at me for several seconds. “What reasons?”

My fingers tightened around my handbag. “I don't know, Your Majesty.” The lie tasted bitter.

One of the women laughed under her breath. “She doesn't even know why she is here, such a fat dummy.”

Valerius's eyes moved toward her, and the laughter immediately stopped.

“Did I ask for your opinion?” The woman's face went pale. “No, Your Majesty.”

“Then keep it to yourself.” The entire hall went silent.

I looked at him again. For the first time, I understood why people spoke about King Valerius in frightened voices. He didn't need to raise his voice to make everyone obey him. There was something dangerous about the calmness in it.

His attention returned to me.

“You will answer every question I ask.” I nodded.

“You will not leave the palace without permission.” Another nod. “And you will not lie to me.”

My stomach twisted. I forced myself to meet his eyes. “I understand, Your Majesty.”

He studied my face as though he could already tell I was hiding something.

Then he turned toward the servant. “Take her to the candidates' quarters.”

I breathed out quietly, relieved that the interrogation was over.

But before I could move, Valerius spoke again. “And send word to Blackwood.”

My heart stopped. He paused for a moment before continuing.

“Tell Alpha Gideon that I want confirmation of her identity before the ceremony proceeds.”

My blood ran cold. If Gideon was contacted, everything could fall apart.

I stood frozen while the servant bowed and hurried away.

Valerius walked past me without another word. The candidates immediately moved aside to make room for him. Nobody dared speak until the doors behind him closed.

Then the whispers started again. “I knew something was strange about her.”

“She doesn't even look like an Alpha's daughter.”

“Maybe Blackwood sent her because Sienna was too good for the King, or she is here for wealth.” I kept walking.

I refused to look at them.

The servant led me through a long corridor toward the rooms where the candidates would stay. Every step made my stomach tighter. I had survived the humiliation outside, but Valerius's questions had frightened me more than their laughter.

He was suspicious. And I couldn't blame him. If I were him, I would probably be suspicious too.

A woman walking beside me suddenly spoke. “You are really Sienna, aren't you?”

I looked at her. She was one of the women who had laughed outside. Her eyes moved over my clothes before settling on my face.

“Yes.” The word barely left my mouth. I swear it felt so heavy.

She smiled without warmth. “Then you have a lot to prove to the Lycan.”

She walked ahead of me, leaving me behind.

***

I entered the room assigned to me and closed the door. It was smaller than I expected, but it was still more beautiful than the room I had lived in at Blackwood.

I placed my handbag on the bed and sat beside it. For a few seconds, I simply stared at the floor.

I had come here hoping to disappear into Sienna's name and away from Tristan. Instead, the King himself had looked directly at me and started pulling at every thread of the lie.

I pressed both hands against my face. “What am I going to do?” I whispered.

A knock sounded at the door. I quickly stood up.

When I opened it, a palace servant was standing outside. “Miss Sienna?” I nodded.

“His Majesty has requested your presence at dinner tonight.” My heart began beating faster.

“Tonight?”

“Yes.” The servant bowed and walked away.

I slowly closed the door. Dinner with King Valerius was the last thing I wanted. Especially after the way he had looked at me.

He didn't trust me. And somehow, I knew that surviving Frost Pack would be much harder if the King decided to uncover the truth before I had a chance to protect myself.