He advanced toward me, his eyes hard. “I said, where have you been?”
“I don’t like the tone of your voice,” I shot back. “And I don’t have to tell you where I go. You lost that privilege when you lied to me.”
He didn’t flinch at my words, drawing to his full height. For a brief moment, I thought he might do something like hit me. Arthur had never been rough with me. I couldn’t say the same about the other two kings, but he had never showed an ounce of anger directed at me.
Suddenly I wished I had that sword in my hand once more to protect myself with. “What? Are you going to force it out of me?”
His eyes widened. “What? No. I would never lay a hand on you, Anna.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “You sure look like you could right now.”
“Because you are being difficult.”
I gave him a short laugh. “Difficult because I won’t tell you who I was with?”
The slip of my tongue caused Arthur to go on instant alert again and I inwardly cursed. “You were with Royce,” he said flatly.
I couldn’t stop the flush spreading across my cheeks and his gaze grew angry again. “I told you to stay the fuck away from him.”
“Funny,” I challenged. “He told me the same thing about you.”
“Of course he fucking did!” Arthur exploded, catching the attention of the other freshmen on the hall. It was already a rare sight to see a senior on the freshman hall, much less one raising Cain. I gave him my back and opened the door, stalking in so that he could follow me. Too much of my dirty laundry had been aired out in this academy. I didn’t want to become a sideshow attraction.
Arthur slammed the door so hard that the picture frames on the wall rattled and I turned to face him, no longer scared of what he might do. “Do you know that he’s going to tell you whatever he can to keep you away from me?” he seethed, shoving a hand through his hair. “Royce is a selfish bastard, only looking out for himself, no one else.”
“Hm,” I countered. “Sounds like a few other kings I know.”
Arthur closed his eyes, likely counting to ten so he wouldn’t hit me before opening them again. “Anna, can we talk about this rationally?”
“So, talk,” I said with a shrug. “I’m not the one losing my mind over something that I had no business trying to control in the first place.”
“I’m trying to make you see reason,” he replied, his voice softening. “You are playing with fire.”
“I started playing with fire the day I stepped foot inside this academy,” I answered.
“All the more reason for you to trust me and me only.”
Trust him? That was a crock. I couldn’t trust Arthur even if I wanted to anymore. He had lied to me, kept me in the dark about so many things that would have made my past few months here so much easier. I felt like I had wasted so much time with him, believing that he had my best interests at heart only to find out that he wanted to be the first to lay claim to my body, to my future children for his political sake.
That was one of the many reasons I would never trust him again. “Ever since you found out about my father’s will and my true heritage you have been far too possessive,” I told him, hurt pouring out. “You have got to stop, Arthur. I’m no longer someone you can claim.”
A wounded look crossed his face. “I’m trying to protect you, Anna. If I don’t, no one else will and you will find out how harsh this world we live in can be.”
“You mean I haven’t already?” I shot back, letting the bitterness come out in my words. “Tell me, Arthur, what could be worse than having your heart broken by someone you thought cared?”
“That’s not fair,” he started, but I held up my hand, halting his words.
“What do you mean that’s not fair? Did you not lead me on and take my virginity all because you would benefit from me being pregnant? Where in those plans did my feelings come into play?”
“I would have taken care of you,” he countered. “You would have had everything at my disposal as my wife.”
I laughed harshly. “No, you would have had everything at your disposal, not me.”
Arthur didn’t respond, but I could see it in his eyes that he had no answer for my retort. It was because he knew I was telling the truth. The only reason he or any of the other kings were interested in me, an orphan, was because of my so-called political standing, and now, the fortune that my father had left me. They didn’t care about me as a person, or the fact that I had a soul that wanted to be loved and cherished.
Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this life after all, because I didn’t think any of them had a soul to begin with. “Why are you here anyway?” I finally asked, tired of fighting with him. We could go around and round all night about the shortcomings between us.
“Because,” he said, his own voice sounding tired. “You missed our appointment.”
Oh yeah, the lessons that he was supposed to be giving me. How very different I felt about them now that I had taken lessons from Royce. “Can I ask you a question?”
“You might as well.”
“Are the lessons truly for me or just to prepare me for marriage to you?”
He drew up short on that question, though I didn’t really need an answer. It was written
