It doesn't matter, either way. You're engaged to Edmund now. You have to let him go.
Inhaling a long, slow breath, she turned her head to face the dais, focusing her attention on her father, who watched her approach with a tender smile on his lips. He held out his arms to her as Edmund led her up the steps, and she released her hold on Edmund's arm, falling into her father's embrace with a sudden surge of emotion. He placed a gentle kiss against her hair before releasing her and letting his gaze fall on Edmund, who took a knee, his head bowed in reverence.
“You have something to ask me, I expect?”
Edmund looked up and nodded. “I would like to respectfully request your daughter's hand in marriage, Your Majesty.”
Her father raised his eyebrows. “And my daughter has agreed to this proposal?”
Edmund's face lit up as he answered, a grin pulling at the sides of his mouth. “She has, Your Majesty.”
Her father's face broke into a matching grin, and he motioned for Edmund to rise before clapping him on the shoulder.
“Well done, Sir Edmund. I approve.”
He turned to face the crowd of onlookers, everyone craning their necks to see what was happening. Raising his hand for silence, his booming voice filled the ballroom, demanding everyone's attention.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce the engagement of my daughter, Princess Josselyn deLure, crown princess and future queen of Eldour, to the noble Sir Edmund Brandt.”
Cheers rang out through the room, with everyone pushing forward to congratulate the newly engaged couple. Prince Stefan made his way over, flanked on either side by several of his noblemen. A hush fell over the people standing closest, but the prince gave the couple a benevolent smile.
“An excellent choice, Your Highness. I look forward to working with the two of you for many years to come.”
Josselyn raised her eyebrows in surprise, but bit her tongue before she said something snarky that she'd later regret. Her father inclined his head in the prince's direction.
“That is most generous of you to say.”
The prince grinned and waved over to a servant who was holding a bottle of wine. Taking the bottle from his hands, he held it out toward the king's empty glass.
“I believe a toast is in order, don't you?”
The king held out his glass, allowing the prince to fill it. He raised it in the air, and the others in the room soon followed his lead, holding their glasses up toward Josselyn and Edmund.
“To our future queen and king!”
The crowd echoed the toast with enthusiasm. The king took a long drink from his glass, before handing it off to a waiting servant. The glass had barely left his fingers when his face blanched, and he raised a hand to his throat. His eyes widened as he stumbled forward, his skin taking on an ashen hue.
“Father!”
Josselyn fell to her knees in front of her father as he collapsed onto the floor, his breath coming out in a raspy wheeze. His eyes met hers for a moment before the light went out of them and his body sank in a lifeless heap.
Chapter Ten
A scream ripped from her lips as she stared in horror at her father. She reached for him, but before her fingers could even graze him, someone grabbed her arm with a roughness that startled her from her horrified stupor. She looked around frantically as she was pulled to her feet. One of the prince's men had his meaty hand wrapped around her upper arm, and a dangerous looking dagger came up to press against her neck as he pulled her backwards. Edmund was being restrained, as well, and he stared at the dagger pressing against her neck with wild eyes.
Screams rose up from the crowded ballroom as soldiers flooded in from every side. Smirking, Prince Stefan stepped forward, pushing the king's body aside with his foot as he addressed the men holding Josselyn and Edmund captive.
“Escort my bride to her chambers, unharmed, if possible. The interloper can be thrown into the dungeon.”
Jossleyn glared at him with pure, unadulterated hate. Heat stirred in her belly and the marks on her forearm burned into her flesh. A feral growl filled her head, and she bared her teeth, letting the sound spill out of her lips.
The prince grinned, reaching out to stroke a finger beneath her chin.
“If you think to intimidate me, princess, you'll find it won't be easy. I like my women with a bit of fire in them.”
She spat in his face, and the man holding her jerked her arm, letting the tip of the dagger prick her skin. The prince chuckled, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve.
“You may take the tigress away, now. I shall attend to her soon enough.”
“Josselyn!”
Edmund struggled against the men restraining him, as she was hauled away through the panicked crowd. A fist came down hard, knocking him over the head with the hilt of a sword, and his body went limp, a trickle of blood running down his temple.
“Edmund! No!” Josselyn dug her heels in, dragging her feet as she was pulled toward the servants' exit. Her burly captor grunted and his grip on her arm tightened.
“Quiet, bitch. Be a good, little princess and just do as you're told.”
He pulled her into the corridor that lead to the servants' stairwell. Her eyes lit on the door to the kitchens, which led to the stable yard. If she could free herself, she could make a run for it. Her stomach rolled, nausea building from the strange heat that had begun simmering there since witnessing her father's murder. She fell to her knees, vomit spewing out over the floor.
“Shit!”
Her captor jumped back, dropping his hold on her arm, his face turning a bit green as he leaned away from the pungent mess. His dagger hung loose in his hand as he covered his face with the other. Feigning a second round, Josselyn doubled over with a dry heave,
