Chapter 148: Salty Sea Breeze
Soleia paced around in her room and yelled at the guards to let her out, but it was futile. The two men guarding her only gave her an apologetic glance, but they remained firmly devoted to their posts.
Exhaustion crept into her bones. Soleia wearily changed out of her wedding dress and into a simple nightgown before flinging herself onto her bed. Her body longed for rest, but her mind continued to whirl a mile a minute, and her stomach churned with worry for Orion’s entire household.
Would all of them be dead by morning? How many of them were already dead by now?
Sleep was uneasy, but it was broken when she heard a scuffle happening right outside her room. Her heart raced; had Sir Ralph escaped the dungeons to look for her?
But the door opened to reveal Florian’s maniacal grin. Soleia hurriedly staggered back, holding out her hands.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "What do you want?"
"What do I want?" Florian cackled, and his eyes roved all over Soleia, as though he could peer through the flimsy fabric of her nightgown and feast himself on the delicate curves of her body. He licked his lips greedily. "Is that a way to greet your future husband, my dear?"
"My future husband― no, that’s impossible!" Soleia’s face paled as Florian’s words sunk into her ears. "I would never marry you!"
"It’s not up to you," Florian laughed nastily. "The king was so impressed with my problem-solving skills that he kindly made you my concubine. There’s no harm in getting an early taste of the goods."