Claimed By The Tyrant King

Claire swallowed nervously before speaking again. "Sa... Sabine," she began carefully, and Sabine turned to her with an annoyed look. "I think it should end here. You have to stop now. Did you not see how his majesty protects Rosalind? If he finds out that you want to harm her, he will punish you."

Sabine’s eyes narrowed further, and she turned to stare ahead. "Nonsense," she said coldly.

Claire stared at her in disbelief. "Nonsense?" she repeated.

She was only trying to help. She was worried for Sabine and wanted her to give up whatever plans she still had before things became worse.

Sabine’s voice lowered as she began to explain. "Luck is clearly on my side... That is why Thalia took all the blame today."

Claire shook her head. "I think it is a second chance for you to think things through," she said, trying to reason with her.

Sabine let out a mocking laugh. "You are too weak and you understand nothing," she said sharply. "Do you not see it, Claire? If I was meant to fail, I would have been exposed today... The fact that I was not can only mean I am meant to continue."

"The Lord is giving me another chance." She added coldly.

Claire blinked in confusion. "The Lord told you that?" she asked.

Sabine nodded without hesitation. "Yes"

She said smoothly. "I was just speaking to Him, and He was showing me what to do next. He will continue to favour me over that wretch, and you will see that we will succeed."

Claire did not know what to believe anymore. The words sounded wrong, yet Sabine spoke with such confidence that it was hard to argue.

Sabine turned to look at her. "So, are you with me? Or are you going to back down now because you are scared?"

Claire lowered her gaze, fear tightening in her chest. She did not want to be left alone against Sabine. Then finally she said, "I will do whatever you do. You must be right, Sabine."

A small smile touched Sabine’s lips before she looked ahead again and resumed praying.

In truth, she had heard no message from the Lord.

But to Sabine this was a sign, because why else would she still be safe?

And so she prayed for strength for whatever came next.

****

By nightfall, the quiet sound of water pouring filled Rosalind’s room. Her gaze rested on Rowan, who stood by the table refilling the water jug for her.

Rosalind let out what felt like the hundredth sigh that night as she looked toward the window, where the curtains moved gently in the breeze.

Rowan’s gaze briefly lifted from the water, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at her before returning to what he was doing.

"Are you alright, my lady?" he asked.

Rosalind let out a slow breath, still looking toward the window, her fingers absentmindedly smoothing the edge of the blanket. "I do not think I can stay in this room all night," she said, almost as if speaking to herself. "Perhaps I will go to the east garden later. I need some air."

Rowan’s hands paused on the jug... only for a heartbeat, but long enough for Rosalind to notice before he carefully set it down on the table. "Yes, my lady," he answered.

Rosalind eyes narrowed at the slight pause because normally, he was quick to respond.

At least now, she had begun to notice that he answered her more easily than before, unlike those earlier days when he would remain silent and leave her frustrated.

"I will take my leave now," he said, turning to look at her.

Rosalind swallowed and her hand moved almost instinctively to her collar, pulling it closer around herself.

Rowan’s gaze immediately dropped, and something in his chest tightened at the thought that she might be uncomfortable because of him.

She gave a small nod.

He bowed slightly before leaving the room.

The moment the door shut behind him, Rosalind’s expression changed.

If what she was beginning to suspect was true, then she would know whether her footman could be trusted.

He could either ruin her plans...

or help them.

Rosalind had decided she would have to speed up her plans to leave the palace as her life was constantly at risk.

And the more she thought about everything that had happened, the more one thought refused to leave her mind. Ever since the fire, it had started to feel as though the king was always one step ahead of everyone around him.

Whether it was how quickly he uncovered the sabotage or how he always seemed to appear at exactly the right moment, nothing ever seemed to escape his notice.

The thought unsettled Rosalind deeply.

At first, she had tried to brush it aside as nothing more than the authority of a king.

Perhaps this was simply how a ruler governed his palace by always watching, always informed, always in control.

But the more she thought about it, the less it felt like coincidence.

The king could not possibly know everything on his own. Which meant someone had to be reporting to him. Her thoughts drifted immediately to Rowan.

He was always near...

If Rowan truly was reporting everything to the king, then she would soon find out.

And what better way to test that than the false plan she had just casually placed before him?

By then, Rosalind would know whether Rowan was her greatest obstacle... or her only way out.

****

Rosalind now stood by the window, her gaze fixed on the east garden as she watched closely for any movement.

Earlier, she had heard the sound of footsteps retreating from her door, and she could only assume it had been Rowan leaving his post.

It was starting to align with her suspicion that he might be reporting her movements to Alaric, especially now that she had mentioned leaving her chamber at an hour when everyone was meant to remain inside.

She stayed completely still as she observed through the iron bars of the window, her arms folded across her chest while her fingers tapped lightly against her sleeve. Minutes passed, stretching longer, until her brows slowly drew together.

...The guards she had expected to increase in number were instead withdrawing from the garden paths, torchlights moving away rather than gathering closer.

She leaned forward slightly, gripping the cold iron as she watched carefully, trying to confirm whether her eyes were deceiving her. But there was no mistake... the guards were truly retreating.

This was not what she was expecting!

She had expected guards stationed at every entrance. Possibly even Alaric himself appearing to question why she would dare step out at such an hour. But none of that was happening...

A faint sound of footsteps reached her door again, and she immediately understood that Rowan had returned to his position.

Rosalind had not actually intended to go to the garden.

The mention had only been a test, a false intention meant to confirm whether Rowan would report her to Alaric.

But now that she saw the guards withdrawing instead of tightening their watch, she no longer knew what to believe.

Perhaps she should go after all...

If this was a trap, stepping outside would confirm it, Rosalind thought.

With that, Rosalind slipped into her cloak and moved toward the door, taking a steady breath to calm herself.

This could go either way. If Alaric was waiting for her, then she would need a reason strong enough to justify being outside at this ungodly hour. Simply wanting fresh air would not be enough.

The mad king would not see it as harmless... he would see it as trying to escape.