The Mortal Queen | The Cruel Prince / Wicked King Fanfic

Seventeen

My thoughts are interrupted by the gravelly voice again.

"When will you return, Your Majesty?"

He pauses. "Two days from now."

"Are you insane?!" The other voice protests. "We can't possibly stall for that long. There's too much at stake."

This should be good. Someone challenging Cardan Greenbriar? I'm going to watch him turn you inside out with rage.

But he doesn't even get mad. He appears to clap the guy on the back, as if he just needed some encouragement to win a silly game of cards.

"I know you can do it. We've been planning for this, so go. I'll be back before you know it." He says, and then the other guy shuffles out the door into the night.

Cardan waits a few moments before leaving, most likely to avoid being seen sneaking around with someone. Cardan starts heading for the door to the grounds outside, and I put my hand on the knob to the door that separates us, ready to sneak through and see which way he goes. But he stops, and I freeze, fearing I've been caught.

Too many seconds tick by, but then he takes a deep breath and swiftly pulls the door open, slipping out into the night.

I count to three before I open my door and rush to the next one. The vent in this door stretches across the very top, definitely out of reach. Which means my only choice is to push it open if I want to see which direction Cardan went.

I peek through the door, and when I don't see anyone, I rush out and duck behind the bushes a few feet from the door. I can still see Cardan's silhouette moving across the grounds near the tree line. He's almost out of reach.

I stand and take a step forward, just as someone grabs my arm and hauls me backward.

"Not so fast!" The voice sneers at me.

I whirl around and yank my arm free, thankful to be greeted by a familiar face, but ready to lose it on him for grabbing me like that.

I almost forgot the real reason I came here in the first place. One of my mother's henchmen has been sneaking around at night, gathering information to use against Cardan in order to bring him down.

My mother made me promise to help her manservant or she'd destroy any chance I have at a future with Cardan.

The ugly little man snaps his fingers at me. Easy, there. I can still break you.

"Well--?" his oily voice makes me cringe. "What's the latest development?" He asks me impatiently.

I implied a few weeks ago that I knew what Cardan was up to, and that I'd need some time to get the proof I needed to trap him. And now I have it. I know how long he'll be gone, and when he'll be back. That's all I need to prove he's nowhere around, and that he's plotting yet again with his precious seneschal. His return is the perfect opportunity to catch him in the act.

But when I agreed to meet tonight, I had planned on saying I needed more time. I never could have imagined I'd witness just what I needed at the exact moment I needed it.

The manservant is waiting impatiently for me to spill what I know.

What I tell him now will change everything from this point on. The question is, can I do it? Can I ultimately betray Cardan like that? What exactly is it that I want to do with this information?

Do I want revenge? Yes. Jude has taken so much from me, it feels so right to betray Cardan and make him pay for all the pain I've gone through. After all, he's the one that decided to ultimately trust her, though no one knows why. And then I'd really like to see Jude suffer—really suffer.

Could Cardan eventually forgive me for what I'm about to do? Years from now when I'm his queen, and the events of now are long in the past? Will he forget about the mortal girl, Jude? Am I enough for him to guarantee that?

And then something Cardan had said moments ago drifts back into my mind. "I might suffocate if I don't go to her."

It infuriates me and makes me sick all at the same time.

"What is it you know, your highness?" He hisses at me.

Oh, now you acknowledge me properly, you insolent little twit.

He can sense my hesitation, and is most likely assuming I've got the information I've been waiting for.

It's now or never, Nicasia. Choose.

END OF CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Oh, hello! Did anyone else see the Nicasia POV coming?! ...because I sure didn't. Not until the idea smacked me in the face. This is actually the main reason I'm able to pick up this story again. I had this idea and then had to get it down because it was so exciting and interesting, and then everything else just came together.

What do you think she'll decide? Let me know in the comments ❤️