**THE BRAZEN SERIES is part of the GOLDEN UNIVERSE**
♦YOU MUST HAVE READ BOOK ONE, A BRAZEN MAIDEN, TO READ THIS SEQUEL!♦
♦♦It is ALSO recommended that you read THE GOLDEN GIRL/DUCHESS/PRINCESS & QUEEN to better understand events in this novel, as...
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♪ Done dealing with you Don't know how to deal with me ♪ {Jhené Aiko ft. H.E.R—B.S} EXPLICIT WARNING—for the song
Early the next morning, as a wave of thick fog blanketed the town of Torrinni, Harriet stole out of the Inn. She was too pressed for time to attempt to weed her way through the blurry streets and instead used Emeric's carriage and staff to take her to the place she wished she didn't have to go, to meet with the person she wished she didn't have to.
After how she'd left things—storming away from her screaming father as he tried to proclaim all he'd done was for the good of the country—she worried he might not want to see her. And she hated how, somewhere deep down, she wanted that. To confront him again was a nightmare come true, no matter how necessary, how essential to her and her associates.
Emeric and Axel had insisted on accompanying her, but she knew Eugene would seal his lips if they were with her. He'd turn stubborn, spit out insults, change his mind, curse their names—and she needed him focused. She needed him to cooperate.
Once at the top of the spiral staircase she knew by heart thanks to her horrid dreams of it, she took a deep breath, lowered her hood, and whispered a prayer as she approached.
She didn't need to knock—Eugene was already there, looking out the window, watching her.
"Father?" She squinted at him, at his unfocused and watery eyes, at his scrunched bushy brows.
"I knew you would come," he said, gruff and groggy as if he'd just woken from a troubling slumber. "To explain why I have been under constant scrutiny for the past few days, to tell me why soldiers and guards hover near this door day in and day out. What did you do?"
Upper lip curling, Harriet slithered closer, gulping down her fear at facing her father up close.
You can no longer intimidate me.
"I am protecting you. It appears there are some who want you dead for loosening your tongue, and I will not let them take you out. Not yet."
"Not yet?" His eyes widened, the grays and greens mingling but washed out, faded. His skin was blotchier than when she'd last seen him, and she could have sworn his cheeks sagged more. "So... you do not want me dead?"
Such a loaded question so early in the morning didn't sit well with her. She recoiled, unable to answer, even in her own mind. "I said not yet, because I want you to come clean. In writing. To officially incriminate those you worked with and for." She brushed a stray strawberry curl from where it tickled against her nose. "I cannot make promises but there may be some... retribution for you should you comply."
In reality, she had no idea if that was feasible. Once restored to his throne, King Antoine wouldn't be forgiving. Prince Jules surely didn't want Eugene drawing breath much longer, either. And somewhere within herself, Harriet didn't prefer him to be alive and continue his plotting... but he was her father. He had raised her, no matter how messed up and cruel he had been. He was her blood.
