Fatal Princess by Ella Miles

Beckett

I step inside the restaurant and immediately know I made the right decision. There haven’t been many times in my life when I felt like I made the right decision. A sense of calm washes through me when I step into the restaurant; I know I’ve made the right decision.

Caius is on my left as we walk into the Italian restaurant owned by the Corsi family.

It took a lot of convincing the Retribution Kings to let me come, to keep competing since Odette is alive and I no longer have a need to win Rialta as my wife. But I told the Kings we still needed to finish the game, and I’d do everything in my power to help Caius win. I promised them if I somehow won, I’d have Caius or another member of the Retribution Kings marry Rialta. Corsi and controlling his kingdom are too important for me to bow out.

Ultimately, Odette was actually the one who convinced everyone I should go. I don’t know what her motivations are. Maybe she wanted me to help protect her brother. Maybe she wants to see me dead. Or maybe there’s something else going on I don’t know about, but once she said I should go, there was no more discussion about it.

So here I am.

I have no idea why this game is taking place in one of their Italian restaurants, but at least we aren’t decked out in tactical gear or arriving in the middle of the forest.

That has to be a good sign, right?

One of Corsi’s men leads us through the empty restaurant to a back room where a large table has been set up. A few men are already sitting at the table as Caius and I take our seats. Ryker shows up next, but he pretends he doesn’t know who we are. He sits next to one of the most ruthless men still in the game.

The table quickly fills up. Wine is poured. Bread is brought out. But still no sign of Ri or her father.

“Something’s not right,” I whisper to Caius after the main course is brought out.

“I agree. Do you think the game has already started, and they didn’t tell us the rules?” Caius stares down at his food. “Like they poisoned the wine or food and want to see who has the strength to survive?”

“That seems farfetched. I more meant they were planning on starting the games at seven, like the text said, but had to move it back because something happened.”

“You think something happened to Ri?” Caius asks, his face turning white instantly.

“I don’t know, but something just doesn’t feel right.”

“Ryker put a tracker on her; maybe it’s still active.”

I glance across the table to where Ryker is. He laughs at something the man next to him says, acting like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

But then Ryker’s eyes meet mine.

I don’t know how to communicate with him to tell him we’re worried about Ri.

He looks down at his lap, and I realize he’s on his phone. I wait a minute to pull my phone out after I feel it buzz in my pocket. I don’t want anyone to notice we are communicating. Before I can pull my phone out, the back doors open, and Corsi, Ri, and a third man enter the dining room.

“Holy fuck, that’s Kek” Caius whispers next to me.

What the hell is going on?

All three of them take a seat at a table on the other side of the room facing us. I study Ri carefully, looking for any signs that her mind has been messed with, that she’s been hurt, or is scared to death and sending signals for someone to help her. Instead, all I see is a ruthlessness in her eyes as she scans the room.

She starts her perusal on the other side of the table, looking at each man one by one. I don’t know what she’s so pissed about. I don’t know what she’s looking for in each of our eyes, but a small silence falls over the table under her gaze. Each man is being judged for his sins in her eyes.

She looks at Caius, and even he sinks down into his chair. She holds nothing back.

And then she looks at me. For a split second, her eyes widen and soften. There isn’t the same hatred and pain she gave the other guys.

She’s surprised I’m here.

A second later, that look is gone, replaced with the same heartless stare she gave everyone else. I’ve never seen Ri so furious.

She continues on until she has stared down every single one of us.

Corsi clears his throat, and the room goes silent. He doesn’t move from his chair as he says, “Tonight’s game is simple. You will meet with us, one at a time. Your task is to convince us that you should win, that you are worthy of my daughter. Only the top half will be advancing.”

They are eliminating half of us. The question is will the losing half get to live?

Caius swallows hard next to me, and I suspect he’s pondering the same question.

A name is called to their table, and then another course of food and wine is brought out. Conversation returns as the man takes a seat at the table and begins his interrogation—because I’m sure that’s what it feels like.

Five minutes later, the guy returns to the table, looking completely unfazed. This is how it continues down the line. No one can really hear what the others are saying. The tables are too far away, and the sound of us chatting while we eat and drink drowns everything else out.

It’s Caius’s turn to be followed by mine.

I consider what I’m going to say.

What can I say?

I love you, Ri. I’m only staying with Odette to try and protect you from the guy you’re currently sitting next to. The only reason I’m staying married to Odette is because she and Caius know the phrase that can be used to undo whatever Kek does to you.

Caius walks back to the table. He gives me no clue what he said or what happened. Now it’s my turn.

I still don’t know what I’m going to say as I approach the table. I came here to see if she’s okay. Clearly, she’s not okay. Something terrible happened, and I have no idea who to save her from.

“Have a seat, Beckett,” Corsi says as I approach.

I take the seat across from them. Corsi doesn’t show any emotion. Kek looks like he wants to murder me. And Ri—she looks completely lost when she looks at me.

It’s then that I realize what I have to do. I have to stop leading her on. I have to put the final nail in her heart, severing her from me completely.

“You have five minutes to convince us why you should win and marry my daughter,” Corsi says.

I take a deep breath, staring right at Ri. I came here to end this, to provide closure for both of us. I hope she can be with someone worthy of her, someone who deserves her.

“I shouldn’t marry your daughter. I’m the last man who should.”

Corsi’s eyes raise, and Kek’s face darkens, but Ri doesn’t react to my words. She’s strong and already knows what I’m about to say. I’m not even sure she needs to hear my words, but I need to say it out loud.

“I’ve betrayed her, hurt her, lied to her. I gave my heart to another woman who I thought had died. No, not died—I thought Ri killed her.”

I look Ri dead in the eyes. “But I know that isn’t true. My wife is alive. I’m a married man, which is one of the many reasons I’m not the right man for her. I’m not worthy of her. I’m not a good man. I suck as a leader. I let my emotions drive my actions. I failed to protect her time and time again.

“But the number one reason I’m not the one for your daughter—I’m in love with another woman.”

I wait for Corsi to chew me out. I wait for Ri to ask me to resign from the games. Neither happens.

“Thank you, your time is up,” Corsi says.

I stand and turn to head back to my spot, unsure what’s going to happen until I hear Kek speak.

“He’s a dead man.”