Sold To The Cruel Prince

Aveline couldn’t shift her attention.

She stood before the display, her gaze fixed on the stone so white it almost hurt to look at. It didn’t merely shine; it radiated, its light clean and intense, rivaling even the brilliance of a diamond, perhaps even the sun itself.

It was... undeniably striking.

"They haven’t figured out the properties of that one yet," Theron said, lowering himself slightly to match her level.

He would have preferred to keep a respectable distance, especially from the unfortunate-looking stone she was admiring, but she had leaned in so close that he had little choice but to follow.

"This is the cheapest stone we have," the shopkeeper added, unable to keep the confusion from his voice. He truly could not understand her interest. No one had ever given that particular stone more than a passing glance, mostly because of its simple and almost ugly appearance.

Aveline blinked at that.

Cheapest?

But it was the brightest one here. How did that make any sense? How do they even appraise these things?

Still puzzling over it, she turned her head slightly to look at Theron, and only then did she realize just how close they were.

She was close enough that she could feel his presence without even looking, close enough that if she leaned even a fraction further...

Her breath caught, just for a moment.

Her eyes had fallen, without permission and without thought... on his lips.

Those same lips she had stopped only moments ago.

The memory rose too easily. The warmth of his breath against her fingertip. The softness she had almost... almost let herself feel.

Aveline cleared her throat abruptly and straightened, stepping back as though distance alone could steady her.

"I’m hungry," she said, too quickly.

And before he could respond, she turned and walked out.

*****

Outside, the air felt sharper.

She pressed a hand lightly against her chest as she moved, trying to quiet the uneven rhythm of her heart.

That was close...

Too close.

The memory lingered stubbornly, refusing to fade. The way he had held her. The way he had leaned in. The way those eyes looked at her... The way she had nearly...

Aveline let out a small, startled yelp under her breath as her thoughts spiraled, her pulse jumping again.

No.

I need to stop.

*****

Inside the shop, Theron remained where he was for a moment longer, watching the space she had just vacated.

A faint crease formed between his brows.

She had been... avoiding him. She was getting jumpy and distant out of nowhere, as though even standing near him made her uneasy.

Did she hate him too much now? Was that why she was pulling away? Again?

The thought lingered longer than he liked. Was she truly that unwilling to be close to him?

He fisted his hands. But can he even blame her?

His gaze shifted back to the display, to the stone she had been so captivated by.

He studied it again, tilting his head slightly. It still looked like nothing more than an oddly shaped cluster of dull, uneven lumps, like goat droppings, utterly unimpressive, no matter how many times he examined it.

And yet...

Without another word, he purchased it. If this was what caught her attention... then it mattered.

It cost almost nothing, despite its supposed rarity. The shopkeeper handed it over quickly, still faintly bewildered by the entire exchange.

Theron tucked it safely into a pouch and stepped out, his pace quickening as he followed after her.

*****

Aveline barely noticed him approach as her thoughts had tangled into something far more consuming.

When he held out the pouch, she blinked, startled back into the present. "For me?" she asked.

She opened it, and her face lit up instantly.

To her, it was beautiful.

The soft, luminous white of it, the way it seemed to hold light within itself... it was easily the most striking stone she had seen inside.

Her fingers curled around it carefully, almost reverently, as her smile widened without restraint.

Theron watched her reaction closely. "It’s pretty useless," he said lightly.

But he wasn’t dismissing it. He was watching her, waiting to see her reaction. Because he wanted to know what she saw in that stone.

Aveline opened her mouth to respond, but then she stopped. Something shifted in her.

Her gaze dropped back to the stone in her hand. Useless?That doesn’t make sense.

No matter how she looked at it, it didn’t look ordinary. Not to her. It glowed beautifully, in a way that felt almost alive.

Slowly, unease crept in.

So... it looks different to others?

Her thoughts began to connect, one piece sliding into place after another.

The mountains... The colors she had seen there, the colors no one else had acknowledged... And now these stones.

Some of them glowed the way she expected. Others carried hues she had only ever seen in those distant peaks. And yet here they were, locked behind glass, sold for unimaginable sums.

Her grip tightened slightly.

So I can see them...The expensive ones.

And then, another thought rose quieter and sharper in the bottom of her heart.

Only Theron knows I could see those colors.

Her breath slowed. He had asked her before, about the mountains, and about what she could see.

She had lied. And now he had brought her here and shown her this.

A cold realization settled in.

Did he come back because of this?

Not for her. But for what she could do. Her mother had always warned her to keep it hidden. And she had told Theron without thinking and without hesitation.

Her chest tightened.

Was that why he spent so much on me?

That eye-watering amount he spent to buy her from the slave market... The dresses... The jewels... The roses... even helping her avenge Mortimer and his family...

Was it all... an investment because she was useful?

Her thoughts turned darker.

He bought her, not to rescue her, and not just to keep her with him. He had told her that he had bought her for the crown prince.

He had bought her to trade her, to gain power, to offer her to the Crown Prince, in exchange for... whatever his heart desired.

Everything aligned too neatly and too painfully. Her fingers tightened around the stone... until the edges pressed painfully into her skin.

Slowly, she turned to look at him.

And this time...

There was no warmth in her gaze.

Her heart had gone cold.

And for the first time... she looked at him like a stranger.