She ignored him, her focus shifting to Annaïs. “First, you tried to turn the princes against each other,” she said. “Your father wanted you to manipulate them to incite a civil war, didn’t he? Divide Asadia so he could pick up the pieces.”
Annaïs’s lips tightened, but she remained silent.
“And when that failed,” Reiya pressed, her tone sharpening, “you partnered with the very man who exploits Omegas like us. Is this truly what you want, Annaïs? To see Asadia burn just so he can wear its crown?”
“Enough of this,” Castiel interrupted smoothly, his voice a silken drawl. “The princess is stalling. She’s trying to provoke you, my lady. Don’t let her get under your skin.”
Reiya turned her attention to him, her voice cooling. “And you? What’s your price for their compliance, Castiel? What did you promise them in exchange for me?”
He smirked, tilting his head as if savouring her question. “Simple, really. I provide the High Chancellor with the means to destabilize the kingdom—smuggling weapons into the provinces, sabotaging trade routes, funding mercenaries to pose as loyalists. And in return?”
He leaned in slightly, his voice dipping into something almost intimate. “He ensures I can stroll into Turasid Palace and collect you.”
Hassamir’s calm voice cut through the tension. “An Omega as rare as you is an asset worth leveraging. This arrangement benefits us all.”
“A divided kingdom benefits no one,” she hissed.
Hassamir’s composure didn’t waver, his tone almost conversational. “A divided kingdom is easier toseize. The princes will mourn you. Grief has a way of softening even the strongest wills. And when that grief settles?” His gaze flicked to Annaïs, his voice smooth as silk. “They will turn to her.”
Reiya’s chest tightened, fury simmering beneath her skin. “Do you truly believe they’d fall for that?”
His smile didn’t falter. “They don’t have to.” He gestured subtly to the grand ballroom behind them. “The court will demand it. An Omega to soothe their loss, a queen to unite the fractured crown. Whether the princes want her or not, political necessity will leave them no choice.”
The implication in his words sank into her chest. He wasn’t relying on Kaelen or Alarik’s grief—he was relying on the world around them to push them toward Annaïs, trapping them in duty and expectations.
“So—is seducing the king a mere contingency, or a decoy to throw off the scent?” she pressed.
When neither answered, Reiya’s gaze shifted to Annaïs. “Is that what you want? To be passed around like a harlot, sacrificed on the altar of your father’s ambition?”
Annaïs’s mask slipped—just a fraction, just enough for something raw to flash behind her eyes. But she recovered swiftly, lips pressing together in a thin line.
Then—without warning—she struck.
The crack of Annaïs’s palm split the night air, sharp and searing. Reiya’s head snapped to the side, heat blooming across her cheek—but she neither flinched nor stumbled. Strangely, it was the most genuine thing she had seen from Annaïs, raw and unpolished, a flash of something real beneath the layers of charm and calculation.
Reiya swallowed the morbid urge to laugh. If the situation wasn’t so dire, she would have. Because it tookthis—a coup attempt and an abduction—to get Annaïs’s true self to emerge.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I met you,” the woman said, voice smooth but edged with a dark emotion—anger, envy, something Reiya couldn’t yet name. “You know nothing of what I’ve endured. Power isn’t given—it’staken.”
Reiya inhaled through her nose, forcing herself to remain still. Slowly, she turned her head back to face Annaïs.
“And what have you taken?” she asked softly. “A crown that will crush you? A legacy built on deception? Three Alphas who don’t really want you?”
She let the silence stretch between them, then added, softly, “And there I thought you were more than your father’s pawn.”
Hesitation flickered across Annaïs’s face—a flash of doubt. She schooled her expression just as her father exhaled impatiently.
“Enough of this. Lord Castiel, take her to the carriage. We’ve indulged her nonsense long enough.”
Castiel’s smirk returned as he pulled her toward the carriage. “Let’s not keep our ride waiting, dove.” He turned to Hassamir. “You’ve had a horse prepared for me? For later?”
The High Chancellor nodded. “My man waits at a safe distance beyond Mezerin. The carriage will carry you past the gates unnoticed and bring you to him. From there, you’ll take the horse and slip into the desert.”
Reiya wrenched free of his grip one last time, stepping closer to Annaïs. Her voice was a whisper, low and fierce. “You don’t have to follow through with this. You don’t have to be part of his games. If you ever cared for the princes, for your people, foryourself, think about what you’re doing.”
Annaïs didn’t respond. But as she was dragged away, she caught the faintest fissure in the woman’s composure.
The carriage door slammed shut, cutting her view. The wheels began to turn, carrying her into the night. Her fingers tightened around her skirt, her mind racing.