Fatal Princess by Ella Miles

Ri

Barely anyone pays us attention when we walk into the banquet hall. It’s strange not to be the center of attention, but I like it.

The only people who do see us are the table at the far end of the room. Everyone is staring in their direction, which is why they don’t notice Caius and me.

Beckett, Odette, and the guys notice me.

Beckett pretends he doesn’t.

Odette pretends I don’t phase her.

And the guys stare at me like they’ve seen a ghost.

Beckett laughs. It’s a beautiful laugh, the kind I don’t think I’ve ever seen.

Hmmm…

Then he pulls Odette against his lips in a big show of their love and affection for each other.

I stop walking when they kiss and study them like animals in a zoo exhibit.

Caius stumbles to a stop next to me. His arm is draped around me, shielding me as best as he can.

“You okay?” he asks, looking from me to the happy couple.

I check my feelings expecting to feel immense pain, heartbreak, or rage. Instead, I feel nothing—just nothing—no feelings whatsoever watching them.

Strange.

I nod. “I’m hungry. Let’s find a table to eat.”

Caius leads me to an empty table toward a quieter corner of the room. He flags a waiter down and orders for me, so I don’t have to think. He probably thinks I’m in shock.

He thrusts a glass of water in front of me and tells me to drink. I comply.

Next, a plate of food is brought over. Chicken, potatoes, macaroni—comfort food.

I dig in, not caring what the food is.

I’m mid-chew when I hear footsteps approaching our table. I look up to see them all stop suddenly, staring down at me like I’m an alien.

“Are you going to join us or just stare?” I ask.

They all take a seat at once.

I look from each face to the next. All of them look solemn and frightened of me like I’m going to punch them.

“What’s wrong?” I ask before shoveling more food into my mouth. I’m starving; I can’t believe how hungry I am. I don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring, but I need to regain my strength.

Hayes looks from me to Beckett. I let my eyes follow his gaze. “Are you okay with…”

I reach across the table and grip his hand. “I’m fine, just hungry.”

“Are you really okay? Kek didn’t hurt you?” Lennox asks, worry threading his voice.

I nod. “I’m fine. He locked me in a room. Maybe fucked with my memories a little, but otherwise, I’m perfectly fine. No broken bones. No scars. No bullet wounds.”

They all look at me suspiciously, and I can tell the question they want to know, but none of them have the balls to ask.

“He didn’t rape me,” I say, putting them all out of their misery.

They all exhale at once as if they couldn’t breathe until they knew.

I roll my eyes. But it’s nice how much they care.

Caius rubs my back, and I don’t flinch away.

Gage especially stares at the contact like he can’t believe what he’s seeing. Ryker is the only one who hasn’t shown strong emotion.

“I need to talk to you,” I say, putting my fork down.

“We’re here to listen,” Hayes says, with a tiny playful smile.

“Individually,” I say, looking from him to the others.

Everyone nods, and Lennox, Gage, and Ryker all stand. I look to Caius. “Leave us.”

He frowns but then stands. “I’ll get you something to drink. What do you want?”

“Red wine.”

He nods and then heads to the bar. Hayes is left at the table to speak with me alone first.

“Has Caius—” Hayes starts.

“No, Caius has been a perfect gentleman. He rescued me.”

“That’s why you are being so nice to him?”

I nod but don’t say more. I don’t know who to trust anymore.

“So why do you want to talk to all of us alone?”

“I want to know about Beckett.”

Hayes frowns. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know. But why do you need to hear from us separately?”

“I just think my heart will believe it more if all of you tell me on your own that Beckett is in love with Odette.”

Hayes’s shoulders slump. “I can’t tell you who he loves. Honestly, I don’t understand a thing about him anymore.”

I raise my eyebrows at him, imploring him to get to the point.

He sighs, rubbing the back of this neck. “I don’t know. He either loves her, or he’s putting on quite an act.” Hayes must read the disappointment on my face because he adds, “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you too. You could still win him back! It just—”

“It’s okay, Hayes. Can you call Lennox over?”

Hayes gets up, and I let Hayes’s words settle into me before Lennox sits down.

“You want to talk about Beckett?” he asks.

I nod. He could always read people better than anyone else.

He considers his words carefully. “Let him go, Princess. Whether he loves you or her makes no difference. He’s made his choice.”

“Thank you for your honesty.”

“I’ll send Gage over.”

A few seconds later, Gage is sitting in front of me.

“Does Beckett love Odette?”

“Yes,” Gage answers in a single word. No other explanation. No sugar coating it. No ‘but he loves you too’ speak.

I nod.

He doesn’t say more. He just gets up and tells Ryker it’s his turn with me.

Ryker is the only one who smiles at me when he sits across from me. “It’s good to see you, gorgeous.”

“That’s only because you needed to save your own skin.”

He laughs. “Partially, but also because I’ve become fond of you, kiddo. And I want to finish the games. I think I have a good shot at beating Charming over there.” He points to Caius.

“And the dickhead on the throne.” He motions to Beckett.

“I doubt the dickhead on the throne will be competing much longer. Why compete for me when he already has a wife?”

Ryker falls back in his chair. “That’s what you wanted to ask us. Do we think Beckett loves her or you?”

I grit my teeth, feeling stupid asking them all the question, but I need to know what Ryker thinks, perhaps more than the rest.

He studies me for a moment as if somehow, I have the answer displayed somewhere on my body.

“I think you’re asking the wrong question.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t think it matters who Beckett is in love with. It matters who you love. You have a lot more power and control over your destiny than you realize. If you love him, go get him.”

I frown. “That easy, huh?”

“Of course.”

“And I don’t suppose you love anyone?”

“That is a moot point. We aren’t talking about me; we’re talking about you. Stop listening to everyone. Stop paying attention to his actions. Listen to your own heart. If you want him, go get him. If you don’t, let him go.”

“What if I want him, but it would hurt more people to go after him than it would if I let him go?”

Ryker frowns at me. “I can’t answer that for you. That’s something only you can decide.”

The others join us, and we all drink wine together. Hayes makes jokes. Caius rubs my back. The others alternate glares between Caius and Beckett.

That is until Beckett is handed a microphone.

He stands with Odette at his side. She holds onto his shoulder as he holds the mic with his one hand.

“Thank you all for coming here to celebrate me getting Odette back. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

Beckett leans over and kisses her forehead as she beams.

I notice that no one at my table claps.

“I hope you have all enjoyed yourselves tonight, and you’ve gotten plenty to eat and drink.”

Everyone mumbles their agreement.

“Good, because I have a serious announcement to make.”

The room goes silent, and I stop breathing. What could he announce that’s worse than being married to her? She’s pregnant—that would crush me. It would mean he’s been with her while he was with me. What a fool I’ve been.

“As you all know, Enzo Black was one of the men responsible for taking my wife from me. We are going to get retribution for those weeks of torture where I thought the love of my life was dead. We are going to war with the Black Empire.”

The room breaks out in cheers. Everyone is happy except our table, once again. My table looks at him in disgust, like they can’t believe what they are hearing. Even Caius seems disturbed.

Then Beckett’s eyes land on mine. They are empty and vacant. I don’t know if he loves her or me, but I know he loves his brother. I know he played a part in Caius finding me.

Ryker told me it didn’t matter what Beckett felt; it matters what I feel. He’s right. I still love Beckett, even if I want to kill him.

My final act of love will be trying to stop this war.