Chapter 156: The Storm Before the Ball
Zane~
The moment I stepped into my chambers, the weight of the last hour clung to me like armor. My jaw was still clenched, the ghost of my father’s threat ringing in my ears. Make her disappear...
Not in this lifetime.
I reached for her through the mind link—my anchor, my fire, the chaos I willingly let consume me. "Natalie?"
Her voice came sharp and laced with heat. "What?"
I winced. Okay, she was still angry. "Don’t be mad at him. My father—he didn’t know any better. He didn’t know who you are... what you are to me. Please, Nat."
"Zane," she said, her voice cold, "He insulted me. In front of everyone. Called me cursed. Like I was some plague."
I exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I know. I was there. And if I could take it back, I would. But he’s not used to people standing up to him, and you—" I chuckled under my breath "—you didn’t just stand up. You planted your boots on his royal ego and danced."
"Damn right I did," she snapped. "Because no man—king or not—gets to insult me and expect me to curtsy afterward. I won’t take that kind of treatment ever again."
"I’m going to make him apologize." The words came out like a promise carved into stone. "I swear it. Publicly, if I have to. You deserve that much."
There was a pause on her end. I could feel her heartbeat through the bond—still fast, still angry, but no longer spitting fire.