Forced to marry the enemy prince in her sister's place

Adonis clenched his fist s when he saw the trio walk out of the dinning hall. To see her smile directed at someone else, it should have been him and no one else.

He angrily swept the plates off the table, and landed on the floor, shattered to pieces.

A few of the soldiers left in the hall jumped from their seat. "Your majesty!" A few of the men cried out. They all sent each other questioning glances. He was never this erratic.

"I want to be left alone," he ordered, his voice sipping with annoyance. "I want you all out."

"But your majesty, is something the..."

"GET OUT!"

The soldiers and servants stared, wide-eyed at him, then they all slightly bowed and left the hall.

He breathed out, got up from his seat, clenched his fist, and began to pace. Was she blind? He thought. Could she not sense his deep affections for her? Why did she have to be so stubborn and take an interest in his lieutenant?

Recently, whenever he saw Augustus, his blood boiled with anger. His eyes roamed around the room, and he huffed. He would see exactly what they did together in his absence.

Astrid, Andrea, and Augustus were already in front of the female quarters.

"You’re sure we’re supposed to be here? " Augustus asked wearily.

"I suspect that this is a section of the palace dedicated to just the women, which is a little strange to me, but i guess everyone has their beliefs," Andrea rambled. "Anyways, i don’t think men are allowed to be here."

"Who would have thought," Augustus said flatly.

"Did we need all that information, Andrea?" Astrid asked. "Anyways, I’m sure that because we’re under special circumstances, they wouldn’t really mind as much."

The women covered their hair with veils and colored the rims of their eyes black. They stared intensely at the three of them.

"They look like they’d gouge out our eyes and cut our throats if they were given the chance," Andrea whispered.

"And you got all of that by looking at them?" Augustus scoffed..

"Look at their eyes, Augustus, " Astrid said. "The eyes never lie."

Augustus glanced at a few faces and then stopped at one. She had gray eyes, and her face made a soft curve across her chin. She stared back at him, her gaze daring him to break free.

"Augustus!" Astrid hissed. "It’s rude to stare. I don’t think they’ll appreciate the attention."

"It feels wrong being here, lefts leave." He did not wait for the girls to protest before he turned and left.

"You’re so strange," Andrea said when they caught up to him.

"I just didn’t think we belonged there."

"That’s rich coming from a citizen of an empire that likes conquests."

"Can we just go back?" Augustus asked. "The pain is starting to get to me."

Nothing much happened for the rest of the day, except for more endless meetings on who to send to the remaining kingdoms, except for Epirus.

Astrid opted for no dinner so she could stay beside Doris. She watched her chest rise and fall slowly. She still looked sickly, but at least her lips were no longer pale like that of a corpse.

"Hey," It was Adonis. "We missed you at dinner."

"Yeah." She said quietly.

He put a hand over her shoulder, "She’ll recover soon enough, believe."

"There’s nothing else I can do but believe."

He released his hand for her shoulders and leaned back against the wall.

"My mom, she died in a similar fashion," he said abruptly. "She was poisoned. I had no idea what to do. I’d stayed by her side for so long, yet.."

"So, you mean Doris isn’t going to get better?" Her voice quivered.

"No. It reminded me of my mom. Doris is a fighter, just like you. Trust me when I say it."

"So, you’re a seer now? Or a wizard?" Astrid said

Adonis chuckled. "Neither I just feel it in my gut."

She smiled. "Thank you."

The night deepened with both of them sitting quietly in the silence. When she wasn’t looking, Adonis would sneak a peek at her.

She nodded off to sleep after a while, and Adonis couldn’t help but smile and move closer to study her face. Every line, every twitch when she moved.

He sighed; she looked beautiful when she slept. As gently as he could, he traced the lines of her face, her lips, her eyes, and pecked her gently on the lips.

"Astrid, are you in here?" Andrea called as she walked in.

Adonis jerked away, but shook Astrid awake before she walked in.

"Astrid, have you been here all this time?" She asked.

"Yes," she replied and yawned. "Where else would I have been?"

"Fine, it’s late enough. Why don’t you head to bed?"

Astrid looked from Andrea to Adonis, then Doris, before she got up and stretched. "I think I’ll have a bath," she mused. "Will you bs staying here to watch her?"

be

"No, i won’t. We’ll see her tomorrow, so I’m going to bed as soon as we leave this room."

Astrid sent her a soft smile. "What about you, Adonis? Will you be heading off to bed? "

"Yes," he replied. "I’ve had a long day today, and it’s only going to get busier as the days go by."

"Why don’t you send me?" Astrid asked, " I’m very skilled in these types of jobs, you know. "

They both stared at her, looking overcome with so many emotions.

"What?" She asked.

"Please, Astrid, don’t make such stupid jokes again," Andrea retorted.

"We’re already on a battlefield. We’ve been fighting ever since we started this journey. How’s going on a spy mission any less or more dangerous?" She shot back.

"Stop, STOP!!" Adonis said sharply. "Heavens," he muttered, "you’re a real pain, you know that? But you know what, we’ll talk about this tomorrow. For now, please head off to bed."

"This isn’t over, and you know it," Astrid said.

"I never said it was."