I take a sharp breath. “Word travels fast,” I say.
“There are no secrets here, Nolan,” he says. “You should know that. But I guess you haven’t been at court in a long time.”
“Some things I never forget,” I say to him.
He stops in front of me and I appraise him. I haven’t seen my cousin in years. He’s a bit shorter than me, a bit wider, but we have a family resemblance in our faces. He could almost be a brother, except he’s a piece of shit, and I despise him.
“Be careful,” he says to me. “You’re out of your league now.”
I smirk at him, anger rising in me. “Don’t forget who I am, Julian. You’re just a jumped up cousin, but I’m still the prince.”
“Maybe. But you’ve been gone, Nolan, and I suspect you don’t have what it takes anymore. No, I’m not worried. This marriage thing is just a stunt.”
I laugh softly. “If you’re not worried, why are you standing there trying to intimidate me? I would think such tactics were below you.”
He stumbles a second and I catch a glimpse of the rage behind his façade. But he quickly gathers that up and shakes his head.
“Watch yourself, prince,” he says. “You’re not long for this castle.”
I just laugh and walk away from him, seething with rage. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of getting into a petty little insult war with him in the corridors.
That run-in couldn’t have been a coincidence. The castle is huge, and Julian is staying far away from Andrew’s office. No, Julian knew that I was signing the papers right then, which means I have a leak in my own staff.
Julian is right about something. I’ve been away from court for too long. I’ve grown too trusting. I’m not nearly paranoid enough. I should have fired that steward immediately and gotten someone that I trusted from Andrew. Obviously he’s been leaking information to Julian this whole time. It doesn’t matter, though. Julian couldn’t stop this, and it’s not like what I’m doing is a secret.
Soon, everyone is going to know. The prince is back, and he’s definitely a player.
I’m playing the court’s game and I’m going to fucking win.
10
Hazel
It takes me maybe twenty minutes to pack up my tiny little room. I won’t even pretend that I’m going to miss it. The owners of the hostel have been really nice to me, since they know my situation, but their place isn’t exactly what I’d call nice.
Besides, I’m going to live in the castle now. That idea scares the hell out of me, but I’m moving forward, one step at a time, and I won’t look back.
I can’t, anyway. I signed that contract and now I’m officially the Wife Consort, or whatever the heck that means. I have freedoms, but I also have responsibilities, and my life is going to be very, very different from now on.
As soon as I get outside of the hostel, there’s a castle steward standing there with a black car.
“Your bags, miss,” he says to me.
I hesitate. I assumed I was going to walk. “Thanks,” I say finally. “Are you, uh, here for me?”
He nods, but doesn’t smile. Stewards are always so dour. “Yes, miss. I’ll be your steward. My name is Thomas.
“Uh, nice to meet you, Thomas. I’m Hazel.”
He nods. “Yes, miss. I know your name.” He takes my bag, puts it in the trunk, and opens the back door for me. Once I’m inside, he goes around and gets in the driver’s seat.
Thomas is the image of efficiency. He’s stouter than most Polovian men, round in the middle with thinning dark hair and a serious face. I don’t know what it means to have a steward, although I know what the stewards generally do. They’re like personal assistants for the most important people in the palace, and they work closely with the royals to make sure that their days run smoothly.
The fact that I have a steward personally assigned to me is actually pretty terrifying. But then again, I can’t really complain. I planned on walking back to the castle with my bag, but now I don’t have to do that at least.
I can’t stop thinking about the way Nolan looked at me in that room. As soon as I signed that paper, his eyes lit up, like he was genuinely happy. I don’t really understand it. The man doesn’t know me, and yet he wants me to be his wife. I could be a total psycho or something, he has no clue.
I understand what he’s getting out of this though. He needs a wife to get back into his father’s good graces, and I suspect that he never does anything the easy way. He probably could marry a Polovian girl, maybe some noble girl, much more easily and have things work more simply. But he chose me, although I don’t understand why.