Author's Note

Although we are slightly early to dinner, we are the last to arrive. Elara sat at the head of the dinner table, Evangeline to her right. Metal rings and studs made her dress bright and quite beautiful, but all I could think of was that those pieces of metal could kill me. Maven leads me to the opposite side of the table, where he unhooks his arm from mine to pull out my chair. I seat myself, and he does the same.

I can feel Elara and Evangeline's eyes on me- but my eyes flicker from painting to painting, refusing to look at either of them. Maven disrupts the silence, maybe sensing how uncomfortable I am.

"How did the meeting go Mother?" He inquires. Elara's attention switches to him, and I quickly cast my eyes towards her. Her eyes are full of compassion, something I never knew she had.

"It was nice. Well, that was before I was so rudely interrupted by your betrothed's little act of rebellion."

She's talking about Corros Prison- she was the for a meeting.

She says betrothed as if it pains her to call me anything of the sort, a pain to associate me with her son.

I don't listen to Maven's reply, and instead focus on Evangeline. Her cruel black eyes meet mine, but she seems almost defeated.

She's not wearing her usual cruel smirk, but instead a tight frown, and I understand why.

She's no longer the future queen- I am, which means that laying a hand on me will result in severe consequences. And, there's no point in exposing the color of my blood, because everyone knows now.

And looking at her makes me conflicted. She's the girl that almost exposed me as Mare while I was Mareena. The girl that was to be my executioner, employed by my future husband. The girl that was betrothed to my love. The girl whose brother tried to kill me at Corros Prison.

My most dangerous enemies surround me, only I'm supposed to eat dinner with them and engage in idle conversation. It almost makes me want to laugh.

And the only person to seem to want me here is Maven, the man I loved and loathe. This must be some twisted form of karma, and I deserve it, but that doesn't make me like it any better.

Still, Evangeline and I both know that we don't have to be friends, but we must talk at meal times, whether we like it or not. That doesn't make me any less hesitant to speak.

"Congratulations on your engagement." She murmurs, and she sounds forced and bitter.

I clear my throat," Thank you." I take a shaky breath," Your dress is beautiful. Your ability is too. I was captivated by your display at the Queenstrial." It hurts to compliment her, but imagining that we aren't enemies and that she's not a cut-throat bitch makes it easier.

It's not like I'm lying anyway. Sure, being rotated against my will by a girl only a year older than me was scary, but what she did was amazing and impressive. She gives a small nod but doesn't look me in the eye.

"I was also captivated by your strength at the Bowl of Bones. You aren't one to be underestimated." Her words sound even more forced than mine, but they still swell me up with pride. I can tell her words are truthful, and having her acknowledge myself feels like a feat by itself.

Servants enter the room swiftly and quietly, looking down while spinning around the table with platters in hand. They stare at me with fear, admiration, and confusion written on their face. I try to assure them as much as possible, trying to make them have faith in me. A silver chef stands at the opposite end of where Elara sits. He bows and motions towards the food that lays in front of us.

"For the royal family, I have prepared Vegan Charcuterie and Lamb Salad with Fregola. Enjoy the meal." With that, he and the servants disappear, leaving us with the food.

I take the hood off my platter and set it to the side, and immediately I am hit with the nice aroma of the meal. However, five different types of forks and spoons and a whole bunch of knives also sit in the platter.

Lady Blonos didn't teach me about how to eat, only etiquette, and I don't care that I don't know what to do. I take a random fork, but before I can put some of the Charcuterie on it, Maven lightly swats my hand, making me glare at him.

"Wrong fork. Use that one." He murmurs, and I make a show of dropping my fork and picking up the new one.

"Does it even matter? They're all forks." I say.

His jaw sets as he tries to think of why it does matter, and he turns to me.

"Think of the forks like they're Reds. Some of them are newbloods, some are not. Pretend the salad and Charcuterie is me. Would you choose the newbloods or the regular Reds to kill me with?"

His mouth is twisted into a smirk, which is more than enough to make me uncomfortable. "Say my hands represent myself. I'd kill you by myself, and I think my fists are a good example. We Reds don't care about your wide array of forks- I've spent my whole life eating with my hands, and I'd do just as well to strangle you with them."

Maven chuckles. "You never fail to entertain me with your big words. Is this how you motivate yourself and your soldiers?"

"My big words are true words. I could strangle you and I really want to."

Watch what you say Mare Barrow. I almost jump inside at the voice inside my head, but after recovering from my shock, I look to Elara, who acts oblivious.

You are not only talking to the King, but my son as well. Your humongous ego will be your downfall.

I grit my teeth and look at Evangeline, whose eyes remain concentrated on her food.

Maven looks from me to his mom, and returns to eating silently.

I do the same, and again, silence falls at the table.

The silence doesn't last for long. Elara is the first to finish eating, although she's taken nothing but tiny bites at a time. "Evangeline, how is practice going?" Evangeline's eyes glitter with pride at the sound of her name and she confidently says, voice haughty,

"Very well Your Highness. I ranked first in my class." She shoots me a proud look, and I sneer at her. She's so pompous. Elara, however, seems delighted at the news," That's wonderful Evangeline. You're sure to be the most powerful magnetron in Norta."

"I hope so, Your Highness."

The two continued their conversation, talking about luncheons and competitions. Maven continues to eat his food silently, but doesn't seem affected by Elara and Evangeline. It's obvious that the two are very close, and I wonder if Maven is jealous. He doesn't show it.

Soon, dinner is over (thank goodness) and Maven escorts me to my room.

"How was the food?" He asks while we walk together in the hallways.

"It was… different."

"Well of course it was."

When I don't say anything else, he nudges me, but not out affection. The gesture hurts, and when I look at him, there's an impatient look in his eyes.

"Something wrong, Mare?"

I look at him incredulously," I'm back at the place I never wanted to return to, betrothed again to the man that tried to have me executed, my mother-in-law is almost as horrible as my fiancé, and the girl who was to be my executioner is here, too. On top of that is a whole bunch of other things that you wouldn't understand because you have no conscience or understanding. That's what's wrong, your Highness."

His face scrunches up in what seems like confusion and amusement. "Every man has a conscience, mind you. Some just choose to ignore it. And, I understand many things, but this is something I don't understand."

He comes to a stop, making me halt as well. Then he spins so he is facing me. We are only inches apart, and our eyes meet- my mud brown to his ice blue. "I don't understand you." He then continues to walk, and continues. "Your confidence is overwhelming, and from the amount of times I've watched you fail, I'm surprised you can bounce back as quickly as you do. You say you want to kill me, but you've been hiding from me for quite some time. Understandably, but with how impulsive and reckless you are, I'm surprised you haven't gone after me already. You try to put the world on your shoulders, but you can't even properly deal with your personal life. You melt into my kiss just to do the same to Cal not more than a week later. It's just so laughable! Your journey is to save the Reds, but you don't even try to protect them. Your real goal is to gather more people like you. It makes you feel powerful and like you're not alone. You're insecure yet your ego is large. You can't make good decisions and without your lightning, you're nothing. The moment Silent Stone is suppressing your ability, all you do is shout threats and try to act strong. You're the most complex person I've ever met."

He speaks about me as if I'm some interesting concept, the way Julian talks about his books and maps. But some of his words sting.

Without your lightning, you're nothing.

You melt into my kiss just to do the same to Cal not more than a week later.

You try to put the world on your shoulders, but you can't even properly deal with your personal life.

"Well then this is what you don't understand. People aren't toys to play with, people to use. And me being betrothed to you didn't mean I had to love you. Don't think that because I kissed you means that I love you- I will never love you. Cal and I were more than just a kiss."

He scoffs," People aren't toys to play with? Life is a game Mare, and everyone is a player. Your goal is to not get played, to not be a pawn, to win. You've had your share at being a pawn and the puppet master. You were my pawn and Cal was yours. Another thing I don't understand is how hypocritical you are."

I rip my arm away from him," It's differe-"

"It's not different. We just manipulate for different reasons, and your cause being "noble" doesn't validate the amount of lives you've payed and the trusts you betrayed."

I purse my lips and turn my head so that I face away from him. He grabs my chin and faces me, his cold eyes sparkling with amusement. "You let people get under your skin way too easily. And it doesn't help that you don't like the truth." He releases my face, and I take the chance to walk briskly to my room.

He doesn't try to keep up, instead walking quietly behind me, and I can feel his inquisitive eyes burning a hole in me.

I let him win, something I said I wouldn't let happen. I grit my teeth and walk faster, willing him to leave me alone.

But, when I'm almost at my room, I hear him speak. "Don't forget your schedule, Mare. If you have any questions, one of your personal guards will answer."

I don't answer, opening the door into my room, noticing a new Sentinel moving next to me from seemingly nowhere. I open the door and slam the door behind me. The new Sentinel manages to slip in, and even in the darkness she has distinct features.

She has unforgiving black eyes and black hair that falls to her shoulder. Her chin is sharp enough to stab, and her olive skin shines in the moonlight. She watches my every move, just like Maille. I rack my brain, trying to remember her name, but soon I give up, deciding I don't care enough to ask.

She takes her post near my door and stands as stiff as a statue.

I ignore her and move into my closet, pulling out a satin nightgown. I slip it on, after taking off my dress, leaving the makeup on my face because I don't know how to remove it. I fall onto my bed, not covering myself up despite the slight chill as the autumn night sets in.

After shutting my eyes, I mentally prepare myself for my haunting demons.

They visit me every night.

Author's Note

I feel like I've been making Maven a little too nice, so that is going to change haha.