3
That night, my parents and my brother, Damian, were all too worried to eat as well.
Damian, ever the cavalier, slammed a fist on the table. “Seriously, Dad? You couldn’t just say she was already spoken for? Do you have any idea
the filth they’re spewing about her out there?”
Mother’s face was a mask of frustration. “If it were anyone else, we could just have them… disappear.” Before her marriage, she was infamous for
eliminating several rivals within her own family to secure her position. Talk of murder never fazed her.
Damian nodded eagerly. “A knife in the dark solves a lot of problems. Better dead than miserable under the Prince’s roof. I’m with Mom on this
one.” He turned to me, his eyes filled with a rare spark of pity. “Poor Cassia. So young, and already being set up as the unloved wife.”
He’d picked up that particular turn of phrase from me. He was using it perfectly now.
My father looked like he was about to explode. “Have you both lost your minds?” he roared. “We’re talking about the Crown Prince and the Lord Marshal! Who, exactly, do you plan on assassinating? And he’d better not treat her like that. He wouldn’t dare!”
Tears welled in my eyes. I couldn’t say it out loud, so I screamed it in my head. [Of course he’d dare! I’m not just the unloved wife, I’m the villainess!
The evil counterpoint to his perfect Trista. I’m her stepping stone, the ultimate sacrificial pawn! No matter what I do, I’m destined to die!].
The mood at the table grew even heavier. I stared at the feast of roasted meats and exotic fruits before me, and for the first time in my life, it all
tasted like ash.
Damian slammed the dining room doors shut, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Then let’s do it. Let’s start a rebellion. Father becom-
es King. Then let’s see who dares to bully Cassia.”
My parents said nothing. Only 1, the one who knew the script, sighed internally.
[The wedding has to happen. Refusing is treason. The King is already looking for an excuse to destroy our family. This is just the beginning. Once l‘
m married, they’ll send Damian to the frontier, where he’ll be betrayed and take a dagger in the back. With me trapped and my brother dead, our family will be defenseless, lambs to the slaughter. We’re all going to die!).
My brother’s breath hitched. My mother’s eyes grew as cold and sharp as daggers. My father seemed to reach a decision, snapping a pair of ivory
chopsticks in his hand.
“Rebellion it is!” he declared, his voice a low growl. “Anyone who dares to harm my Cassia will not live to see another dawn.”
We spent the rest of the night plotting. The plan was simple: I would marry into the Prince’s household and act as their eyes and ears on the insi-
