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

The party of four boarded the ship after their extensive farewell celebrations. Astrid’s parents and the girl stood on the shore waving and watching as their ships pulled away from Epirus.

Astrid pressed her lips together, willing the tears not to fall from her eyes. She ached as they drew farther and farther away until Epirus was out of sight range.

"It’s alright, my love," Selene said as she hugged Astrid tight. "You don’t need to hold it in. I know how you feel."

"I’m tired," Astrid sighed through the tears.

"I am too," Selene replied.

Astrid pulled away, looked at Selene, and they instantly burst out laughing.

"I should just abandon them in Erindros, don’t you think?"

"Then you’d better be ready to face your mother’s wrath. That woman does not play with her daughter. And you might not have thought of it, but that is her favourite child."

Astrid tutted, "Don’t remind me, Selene," she said. I already have enough heartaches as it is."

Selene laughed.

They leaned against the guardrails, watching the ocean. The air smelled of the sea, clean and rich. But around them, it was quiet and lonely.

"Why do parents lie about that anyway?" Astrid chuckled. "I knew who my parents’ favourite was, all the time. But you ask then and they lie straight through their teeth. Even Rebecca, a nanny I had while growing up, had a favourite child for different seasons, emotional and otherwise."

"I’ve never been a parent, Astrid."

Astrid nudged her on the shoulder, and Selene grinned.

"To be honest," Selene said, "I have no idea. Maybe they want an equal playing field for all children? Does it really matter?"

"Now that I think about it, our mistress also had favourites," Astrid said.

"Don’t start, Astrid. Don’t start."

Astrid raised both hands and smiled. "Fine."

Adonis and Augustus were on the other side of the ship, sitting as they watched the girls converse with one another.

"Augustus..."

"Your majesty."

"Would you describe this campaign of ours as a success?"

"Most certainly, your majesty. We’ve suffered so much hardship these past months that sometimes I think it’s a miracle we managed to achieve anything at all."

Adonis nodded and stared ahead.

The day went by uneventfully, like any other day they had spent at sea. The sun rose to its highest, and everyone entered below deck, into their cabins. Adonis lay awake, thinking of the months they had fought battle after battle. The men he lost, and the men he had to kill.

It riled him up and disgusted him. Killing would never become second nature to him, no matter how many times he repeated the act.

Within all the thinking, he’d fallen asleep. His body was heavy with sleep when he woke up, and he had a pounding headache. "Stupid..." He said, cursing himself for oversleeping.

He sensed it was probably dark already. He sat up, held his head in his hand, and stayed in that position for a few minutes, trying to gather himself.

Then he stood up and headed up the deck. As he climbed up, he could hear someone giggle, and his heart began to beat fast. He knew that sound.

He peeked through the latch. The deck was illuminated by the moonlight, and the air was cool. As he scanned the length of the ship, his eyes finally landed on them. They stood near the bow, facing each other as they laughed.

His blood boiled at the sight of them. His hands tightened around the latch as he watched Augustus hold her hand. He hated how her body reacted to him, how his eyes tingled and shone at the sight of her.

He watched as he tried to pull her in for a kiss, and he could take it no more. He pushed the latch violently, and there was a loud thunk when it hit the floor.

Augustus and Astrid pulled away from each other, startled by the sound they’d heard.

Astrid turned to see what had happened and saw Adonis approaching. She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"My prince, what brings you here?" She said as soon as he was near.

"Can I not come onto the surface of my own ship?"

She laughed awkwardly, "You can, I only thought you had retired for the day."

"Well, I am well rested and back from retirement." His face was stiff as he spoke, and his eyes were as cold as ice.

Behind Astrid, Augustus watched Adonis intently. The air charged between them as they stared at each other.

Astrid looked between both men and cleared her throat. "Well, I’ll see you both later. It seems you both have something to talk about," she said as she looked from one man to the other, confused.

Adonis immediately drew close to Augustus when the Astrid went below. "You seem to have forgotten Augustus, but I told you to stay away from her, did I not?"

"The choice is hers to decide, not you. If you wish to possess her, do so openly and not within the shadows. If you harbour affections for her like you say you do, then be the man that you always claim you are and tell her."

Adonis grew angrier with every minute that passed. "What do you know about being a man?" His voice was deathly calm. "Do not delude yourself, Augustus. Astrid will never be with a man like you, and the earlier you understand that the better for all of us."

Augustus smirked. "If that were the case, why are you here?" He asked, his tone dripping with mockery, "It’s because you are scared that she would choose me over you. Adonis, the prince of the greatest empire in the world."

Adonis drew back instantly and punched him hard in the jaw, and his teeth rattled. "I refuse to kill you where you stand because you have been a great asset to me and the empire. But if you ever speak to me in such a manner, you will wish you had never been born."