‘Neither am I.’
Marko knelt before me, the hilt of his dagger resting against my knee. It was cold. I shivered.
‘Short it is, then. We’d better announce our news.’ He kept staring at me, as though he was waiting for me to falter.
‘Let’s do it,’ I seized his hand.
He sucked in a sharp breath before drawing me to my feet.
‘Congratulations, Miranda,’ he said with a teasing grin. ‘You’re engaged.’
CHAPTER TWENTY
BIRDS STILL SANG in the background and the fake sunlight gave our surroundings an eerie backdrop. I was in an alternate universe, living an alternate existence.
But was my situation truly so bad?
I stared up into Marko’s beautiful face, the kind of face artists would willingly starve to paint. It would be easy to fall under this intoxicating spell of fantasy, to imagine that I was a character in a book and indulge in wherever the story went. Let Marko lead me into a world I wouldn’t dare tread in reality.
He leaned down, as though he was about to kiss me, but turned his head at the last minute, leaving me breathless.
‘We must find my grandmother’s ring.’ He tugged my hand. ‘Come.’
I nodded my head, trancelike. Marko was writing the next word, the next sentence, the next paragraph—the entire chapter of my life story, which was dangerous.
I had to get a grip before I lost all power. A sick feeling churned my stomach.
When we passed a female gardener pruning a hedge, Marko paused momentarily to announce the engagement. His eyes were lit up, like blue light crystals, and he couldn’t stop smiling. Perhaps he wanted to play the part well so that when word got out to Damir our marriage would be believable. Or maybe he could see through my fakery and wanted to see how far he could push me before I broke. He tugged at my arm and I nearly tripped over my feet as he rushed us through the main castle entrance inside.
‘Sylvia. We must tell Sylvia that you’ve consented,’ he said. ‘But, first, the ring.’
He led me past my room, past Lily and the other woman, who stared at Marko as though he’d gone insane. A hysterical giggle, brought on by my jangled nerves, escaped my lips. But there was nothing funny about what was happening.
When we arrived at Marko’s room, an attractive female guard with closely cropped black hair and legs for miles smiled seductively at Marko but ignored me completely. She held open the door, winked at him with bedroom eyes, but blanched when he smiled and announced, ‘I need to be alone with my fiancée. You may take your leave, Sasha.’
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed me. I studied the reaction on the woman’s face, but she managed to regain her composure and plaster on a false smile. ‘Congratulations…to you both.’
Marko pulled me in and hastily closed the door behind us before leading me to his four-poster bed.
The large golden chest, which rested at the foot of the bed, creaked when Marko opened it. From it he withdrew a small golden box and held it before me.
‘Open it,’ he whispered, his chest rising and falling.
I lifted the lid with trembling fingers. Music filled the room, something resembling a lullaby.
The ring was beautiful and had a glittering sun at its centre, carved out of light crystal.
‘It’s a locket ring. You can store…my picture beneath the crystal if you like.’
Marko plucked it from the box.
‘You’re going to bring so much happiness to Marin…and to me,’ he said, his eyes boring into mine while he slipped the gold band onto my ring finger. It felt warm and heavy.
Before I got a chance to get a good look at it, Marko quickly tugged it off.
‘No—I need to do this correctly, seeing as you’re so serious about this,’ he said, before getting down on one bended knee and gazing up at me as though in love, which of course couldn’t be true. He was just playing.
My hand trembled. Marko continued to gaze up at me, his eyes searching mine.
‘Miranda, forgive me—I don’t even know your last name.’
‘Sun.’
‘Sun?’ Something changed in his eyes. ‘Perhaps this is meant to be,’ he whispered. ‘We have no sun, but now we do.’
He traced a finger over the sun-shaped crystal, and looked up at me like I was some kind of goddess.
‘Miranda Sun, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’ His chest swelled with each breath. ‘Because if you say yes then you are bound to me for eternity, even in death…’ He narrowed his gaze slightly and his left cheek twitched.
I sighed, drew a deep, shaky breath and closed my eyes for a moment before opening them to look down at him.
‘In death, too?’ I said, trying my best to make light of it all.
Marko, still on his knees, mumbled, ‘Mmmm…yes,’ before he bent his head and pressed his lips to the back of my hand.
I gasped and tried not to melt like candle wax.
‘I’m serious about this, Miranda.’ Smouldering eyes bore into mine. ‘Are you?’
His hot breath fluttered against my hand.
‘Yes,’ I whispered, restraining the urge to extend my fingers and brush them against his mouth.
He got to his feet, took a step closer and traced his thumb across my cheek. Then he took me by the wrists and wrapped my arms around his neck before snaking his own arms around my waist to draw us together.
‘Now that we’re engaged, Miranda, I guess you won’t object to this,’ he whispered before lowering his face. He was going to kiss me, and I wasn’t going to stop him. I’d be lying to myself if I said I was only doing this for my freedom. I wanted his lips on me.
The kiss was gentle at first, his lips moving over mine with just enough pressure to make my mouth tingle. A soft moan rumbled in his throat, and my stomach fluttered. I caressed his neck and slid a hand up into his thick, dark hair. In response, his hands gripped my waist tightly, and moved to rub the small of my back. My hands left his neck and slid over the breadth of his shoulders and down his arms. His biceps flexed and hardened at my touch.
The kiss became urgent. Marko’s lips trailed lightly down my neck, his breath warm and fast against my skin. When we gravitated towards the bed, I suddenly realised things were getting way out of hand.
What on earth was wrong with me?
‘Stop, Marko,’ I whispered, and he instantly complied, his breathing ragged.
‘Having second thoughts?’ he asked, licking his lips and watching me through thick lashes.
I swallowed thickly. ‘Of course not. I’m just…I was—’
‘You don’t want to marry me, Miranda, admit it.’ He smiled wryly. ‘Although, I can tell you enjoyed the kiss.’
I shook my head. How could I let myself lose control with the person holding me captive? Why did he have such an effect on me?
‘Of course I want to marry you. I said so, didn’t I?’ I
folded my arms across my chest.
‘Even if I tell you I plan to kiss you like this on a daily basis? You still want to play pretend?’
Yes…even more so.
Argh! Why was he so intent on knowing my true feelings? Wasn’t this what he wanted all along? For me to agree to his plans?
I kept my arms folded and raised my head. ‘Yes, and I’m not pretending.’
‘So you want me to believe that you’ve suddenly fallen hopelessly in love with me,’ he said.
I ignored the smirk on his lips and said, ‘Yes.’
He folded his arms across his chest and stared down at me. Amusement sparkled in his eyes.
‘Say it, then. Declare your love for me.’
Blood pounded in my ears. My cheeks burned. He stood there, waiting.
‘You first,’ I said, my voice trembling. ‘How do I know that you’re not pretending?’
He raised his brows and said, ‘Fine,’ before snaking his arms around my waist and locking eyes with me. ‘I love you, Miranda.’
It if
wasn’t for his strong arms holding me, I would have melted to the floor.
‘Good. I…I love’—I cleared my throat—‘you, too.’
Marko grinned and kissed me again.
* * *
Back in my room, I paced the floor, twisting the ring on my finger and wondering what on earth I was going to do. There was no escaping it now. I was engaged. How weird. How crazy. How stupid. But what other option did I have?
Bringing a hand to my pounding head, I rubbed it, as though trying to erase the frantic thoughts running through my brain. I needed to see Robbie before I let myself get swept up in this whole marriage thing. Maybe I needed to try to convince him to help me one more time.
I tried to force Marko out of my brain, but all I could think about was his lips, his eyes, those words…‘I love you.’ I practically swooned every time I thought about it, though it was clearly a lie. But it was such a nice lie it was hard not to want to believe it.
At lunchtime, Anne came in and told me that Kris had sent a message of thanks. She was thanking me for my attempt at saving Philippe. But I’d failed, so why thank me? It gave me an idea.
‘Anne. Do you think you could get a hold of a pen and some paper for me please?’ I asked, and she nodded, her eyes widening.
‘I’ve got some here, in my apron pocket,’ she whispered shyly, as if she had a man hidden in there. She handed me a ballpoint pen and a notepad, and I took them from her and scribbled away, carefully crafting my words so that if the letter was intercepted it would appear innocent.
Robbie,
I’m not sure if you’ve heard the news, but Marko has proposed and I’m wearing his grandmother’s ring. We are engaged.
I would love to share this good news with you in person. Miranda
I folded the note and asked Anne to give it to Robbie as soon as possible and to tell no-one about it. She nodded, excitement lighting her eyes as if this was the most exhilarating thing that had ever happened to her.
I prayed I could trust her, but as soon as she left I regretted what I’d done and waited in agony for a response, wondering if I’d even get one. What if the letter was intercepted? Was it enough to draw suspicions about Robbie and me and the things we’d discussed?
An hour or so later, after drifting off to sleep, I woke up in a sweat. Anne had been let into my room. She entered, all skipping, guilty eyes, her hands bearing a tray with a mug of steaming tea and a wedge of cake upon it. She set it down and slid a note into my hand before winking largely.
‘Thanks Anne,’ I whispered, and she winked again, elated.
I waited until I was alone again and opened the note with trembling hands.
Miranda,
I will personally congratulate you this evening, when I assume my duties at your door.
Robbie.
I folded the note and tucked it beneath my pillow. Maybe I could subtly extract enough details from Robbie about the shuttles and the travel chutes and just escape myself, that way I would only be endangering myself. But then what about Aiden? I looked at the clock and sighed when I saw that it was only two thirty. I wondered what I could do to fill the time before Robbie began his shift.
I decided to have another bath, but just when I had picked out some fresh clothes to change into, there was another knock at the door.
‘It’s only me, Miranda,’ Sylvia announced. The lock turned and the door burst open. She breezed in, rushing to my side, and took my hand into her own to admire the sparkling sun ring.
‘Congratulations, Miranda. Just don’t lose it. It was my grandmother’s. The sharks will have you if you do,’ she purred, pressing her perfect lips to both of my cheeks. She drew back and appraised me from head to toe. ‘You are now my future sister-in-law.’ Her eyes, normally so hard and unreadable, turned liquid soft. ‘I’ve always wanted a sister.’ She stepped forward and placed her face an inch away from mine. ‘But I warn you: do not play games with my baby brother, you hear?’
‘I don’t—’ I swallowed thickly. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘I don’t know what you’ve done to make him so happy all of a sudden, but if I find out you are purposely misleading him—’
‘You’ll throw me to the sharks, I know.’ I sighed and glanced down at the dress I’d just selected from the wardrobe. Hoping she’d get the hint and just leave.
‘Thanks for coming by,’ I said, smiling a fake smile.
She kept her gaze narrow and hard.
‘I’ve never seen Marko this happy before; not since he found Robbie all those years ago. He deserves to be happy, Miranda.’
‘Everyone does,’ I muttered under my breath.
She fingered the material of the dress. ‘Are you planning to meet with Marko this evening? To celebrate your engagement?’ she asked before bringing two fingers to the place between her brows, which she began to rub. ‘Because I know he’s dealing with the Philippe matter at present. He won’t be back until later this evening.’
I shrugged my shoulders. ‘I was just getting dressed…out of boredom.’
‘Maybe I need to take time out of my busy schedule and spend more of it with you, Miranda. Be a good big sister.’
‘I already have a sister.’
She ignored my words and the malice behind them.
‘I’ll send someone to collect you at six. You’ll dine with me tonight,’ she said, ordering her command with a smile. I thought of Robbie and the information I needed. But saying no to Sylvia would only arouse suspicions.
‘Dinner will be great, thank you,’ I said.
After she left the room, I hurled the dress across to the floor. In the process, my engagement ring got caught on the material and, to my horror, it slipped off my finger. I heard it ping somewhere in the far corner of my room, dangerously close to the air vent.
I rushed across. Crouching down low, I rested my hands on either side and peered down the hole. The ring winked up at me from the very top of the vent, dangling precariously on the ragged edge of the central metal bar that crossed the hole.
I sucked in a deep breath. The light-crystal ring was only a millimetre away from falling into the black abyss; and yet, it hadn’t.
Hovering over it, I brought my hand down, slowly. Sweat dripped from my temples as I placed two trembling fingers on either side of the sun.
Just when I was about to grasp it, somebody banged on my door and I jumped—sending the ring down the hole.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
THE RING WAS GONE. Sylvia would search my hand for it tonight, and she’d send me to the sharks. As she’d said, there were plenty of fish in the sea. They could just as easily find another girl like me.
I felt faint, sick to my stomach, and couldn’t even look at the tray of food the maid had left. If she hadn’t arrived and knocked at that moment the ring would probably still be sitting, snug, on my finger. But blaming someone wasn’t going to stop the inevitable.
Visions of hungry sharks with jaws of steel swam through my brain, but I told myself I was being melodramatic. Sylvia had to have been joking. Marko might lose it, he might get mad, but he would never send me to the sharks. He needed me, for the safekeeping of his crown and the safety of the city. And if that kiss was anything to go by he at least liked me a little.
Heat flared my cheeks as I recalled the way he’d groaned against my lips. Well, maybe more than just a little.
I stayed on the cold, hard floor, listening to the tick-tock of the clock, and before I knew it three hours had passed. Time had not been helpful. I only felt worse now.
Sighing, I got to my feet. Having wasted so much time just sitting on the floor staring down the hole, I now had to hurry up—Sylvia was sending someone for me in only half an hour.
I quickly threw on the stupid dress I’d picked out earlier, the one that cost me the ring, and the same leather jacket I’d worn out to the garden. I didn’t even comb my hair. When Thelma arrived from the kitchen to collect me, I overheard a red-headed fe
male guard and Lily talking about how Robbie would be relieving them of their duties in half an hour. I jolted alert at the sound of his name.
‘Come in,’ Sylvia said, when I knocked gently at her door. Her room was warmly lit, as large as Marko’s and with its own private dining table as well.
I shivered in apprehension as she removed my jacket and hung it up on a silver coat stand.
‘Where’s the ring?’ she asked, her emerald eyes riveted on my ring finger. I snaked my hand around my back.
‘I put it away in my drawer because I was afraid I’d lose it. It’s a bit loose on my finger.’
She frowned. ‘You’d better not let my brother see you without it. It’s a family heirloom. And Grandmother was precious to him because our mother died when he was born. That ring is the only connection he has left with her.’
Precious ring—I get it. My stomach turned.
‘Don’t worry, it’s safe,’ I snapped.
But the more I thought about it the more I realised that if Sylvia hadn’t come into my room to begin with I wouldn’t have thrown the dress, and the ring wouldn’t have come off in the first place. A sudden swell of anger rose from my chest to tighten my throat. I was sick and tired of being locked in a room and then dragged about to dinners I didn’t want to attend. And I was angry at myself for even caring about a stupid ring when I had worse things to worry about, like an impending marriage to someone I didn’t even love but was insanely attracted to. And the fact that I was miles below sea level, away from my sister, whom I hadn’t been truly honest with for years. I was a coward for contemplating life in Marin, for wanting to forget the mess I’d left behind. What I needed was to go back and clean it up.
‘Are you alright, Miranda?’ Sylvia asked, coming forward to touch my arm. Instantly my anger turned into tears.
‘I’m just upset because I had my freedom, this week, to roam around the castle, and I even did the fertility dance.’ I paused to swallow and took a deep breath. ‘I co-operated, but now I have the guards on my bedroom door again. And I’m claustrophobic. I just want my freedom to walk wherever I want again,’ I blurted out.
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