Page 42 of Never Ever After
“Why not plant more in the palace, Your Highness?” I’m grasping for something to say—not from any desire to entertain him, but from fear. “Not all flowers require much tending. Some are just as beautiful when allowed to grow wild.”
“My father didn’t like them—their fragrance, how quickly they withered.” He looks around my garden, his lips pursed. “This place is smaller than I remembered. Tomorrow, I will have you moved to larger quarters.”
“I like it here, Your Highness.”
His forehead creases as he sits across from me. “It doesn’t suit your position.”
“My position?” I laugh to conceal the edge in my tone. “I have none.”
The eyes he turns to me are pools of ink. “I will bestow one upon you,” he says formally, like this is a great honor.
The world seems to slow, taking on a hazy quality. I don’t speak; I don’t know what to say.
“Yining.” He says my name softly. “When I ascend the throne, I want you by my side as one of my consorts.”
Even though the princess had alluded to this—it’s too soon. I’m caught unaware, grasping at a reason to delay, one that won’t offend him. “I… I’m not worthy of the honor, Your Highness.”
“Will you accept?” He brushes aside my protest. After all, he is offering power, safety, and wealth: a life in his palace, draped in silk and gold, attending a whirl of banquets where every guest will have to bow to me. Even Jin. The last thought tempts me more than it should.
I should be overjoyed—grateful. I should accept wholeheartedly. Anything else would be to throw the door open to disaster. This moment should be perfect, except for one thing: I’m not in love with the Prince of the Iron Mountains.
I almost wish I were.
Prince Zixin’s eyes harden to shards of obsidian. Cold glazes me, my heart leaden. In all my dreams, even in my nightmares—I never imagined that I’d turn him down.
“Why are you hesitating?” he asks sharply, almost incredulously.
Silence has never felt so loud. I must say something to dispel the cloud settling over his face. “Your Highness will marry several consorts.”
“Does that matter to you?”
“Yes.” I’m hoping he will take this as flattery.
“I must marry to strengthen my kingdom,” he explains in a calmer tone. “A formality—a necessity, even. But there is no one else I’m looking at; all I see is you.”
My heart quickens; I hate that it does. I must stamp out the remnants of this dream, a hard one to relinquish. I have to ease the sting to his pride, like he’s a disgruntled customer who doesn’t like the fortune he’s been told.
“Why me, Your Highness?” Perhaps I can persuade him otherwise.
“Because I like you.”
He speaks with the simple assurance of choosing what to wear or eat—not that of a life partner. This is an easy decision for him because I will be one of his consorts. While if I agree, he will be my only husband. Unlike me, he can afford to choose wrong.
“Your Highness has countless admirers here.” I’m trying to make it seem like he’s better off without me. “Many who are far more beautiful and—”
“Are you jealous? Do you fear being outshone?” A smile hovers on his lips like he’s solved the puzzle to his satisfaction.
No. Yet it’s safer that he thinks so. “I need time, Your Highness. We only just met—”
“What I’m offering you is far better than your life in the village, than anything you can hope for here.”
As I drop my head, biting my tongue—he snaps to his feet, looming over me. A dull flush creeps up his neck. “Since you need time to think, you are confined to your quarters. Send a message to the chief attendant when you come to your senses.” He speaks with cold, righteous fury though he has no right. Is this how he behaves when thwarted, when things don’t go his way?
As he stalks from my courtyard, I’m seething at being confined like when Mistress Henglan used to lock me in the storeroom. I grind my fist against the stone table, bruising my skin. Prince Zixin only sees the world through his eyes, imagining it fits his needs, his wants and desires. And when it doesn’t, he forces it to.
But he’s wrong about me; I won’t yield that easily.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
