Betrothed to the Devil

g began with th

weapon-but

sh pot of coffee steaming beside her. Across the room, sunlight spilled through the

t see Nic

felt

air. An unsettling silence, li

well," he said, voi

eally. I dreamt of my freedom. It's alw

d to the head of the table, poured himself

cl

f him. He didn't speak. D

m, chin high. "Staring wo

ient," he said. "I

raded as your untouchable queen w

t when my enemies try to destroy me, they'll realize t

ttled deep i

t he'd come to ca

You sound like a man with a

a man who te

omething then. The truth. Why now? Why suddenly

his coffee. C

se time is r

ked. "Fo

dn't

ened-like there were ghosts be

nd herself ushered into a room

ble. N

a roaring fireplace, and a wall filled wi

waited

nd a scar down the side of his face. His presence

as said behind her. "Family con

ed sharpl

and beside me, you need to

and extended. "Gold. Or wo

" she said, sh

as firm. U

machine. A network of power that operates beneath every headline, every

r," Gold said coolly.

ied her for

singly, he n

tional names and black-market allies, allia

't a fa

was

ux was a general w

r head buzzed with names and warnings. She pressed

her. "There's someth

h the twisting corridors of the estate until the

r felt diffe

per

efore a single

her," Clara said softly.

why

told me to

er the key and

frozen fo

turned the lock

. Old perfume still lingered in t

ick tubes, an armchair draped in velvet, an

d to it o

ed it up

-stood beside a beautiful woman with haunting

mo

en in youth, Nicolas had looked li

frame down wi

wasn't jus

he hadn't all

couldn't explain, he

colas didn't joi

rived on cream pap

the cliffs

-

the clock struck twelve, the ocean roa

ved as

ed in

le. No

t h

d unre

mother's roo

kno

trust

ccess. That's

what w

pped c

is voice, when it came, wa

healing. I believed in surv

lled. "She died

ause of the war I refu

n't ask

d with him. Q

time, he didn't lo

buried his heart a long t