Once Upon A Royal Matrimony

44. make the rules

Adalina Salvatore

Nobody knew how fucked up their spoiled little princess was until they saw me half naked in my husband's dress shirt stumbling into the burned throne room where they laid their fallen leaders, cold and incredibly murderous.

I glared at the faces in the crowd. The room stilled as time froze and the world stopped spinning. Agonizing sobs echoed into the tall ceiling of the hallow room. Dukes and duchesses mourned their king and queen with their most loyal counsels.

My skin crawled in disgust at the sound while anger burned down every vows I ever swore. I was going to fucking kill them all until their blood flooded the palace then I would swim in it up to my throne.

" Get the fuck away from them. " I snapped and everyone parted away to either side of the room.

My whole world collapsed as I dropped to the ground sitting beside the cold corpses of my parents. I stared at them for a long while, the feeling of their icy blood covered my skin like sticky glue. I moved my hands from their lifeless faces to their hearts. Father's body jerked up under my touch, the room fell silence and for a moment I thought he was alive. My eyes snapped to his face in false hope, our eyes matched except the life in his had faded away forever. More blood oozed out of his mouth before his body slumped into the ground again. Still dead and cold.

I tore my gaze away and looked at mother, wiping away the dried blood on her rosy cheeks. " Still beautiful, your highness. " I whispered, lowering my head and planted a kiss on her face.

" I won't let you down. Promise. " I closed my eyes, pressing my ear against my father's chest, hugging them both one last time.

I stood up and stepped away from the bodies after awhile. Every pairs of eyes burned through my skull as they watched, waiting for me to break down. My hands balled into dead lock fists shaking on both sides of my body. Not a single tear slipped past my eyes.

" What happened? " I asked, staring back at them. Whispers and murmured erupted at my question as if I had just asked the most ridiculous thing ever.

The head of counsel, Kingsley, stepped forward bowing his head in my direction. I tilted my chin up in anticipation. " They were found choking on their own blood in the library, your highness. Forty five minutes after they came back from the dinner. "

A few hours ago, I was sleeping on our bed drowning between his scent. I was happy. The sweet freedom away from the terrors in my life suddenly tasted bitter on my tongue. Family dinner with the people I could trust with my life, the smiley faces around the table, the sound of his soft chuckles in my ears and the warmth of my parent's words telling me they were proud.

I knew it was all too fucking good to be true.

Everything came crashing down the moment Thane barged into the room and I accidentally overheard the hard painful news. It was like a slap in the face, a punishment for getting lost in the happiness I didn't and would never deserve. I remembered the relief in his voice when he found me in one piece sleeping soundlessly on the bed and the tension radiating off of him when he continued the conversation on the phone with Elliot unaware of my consciousness.

The king and queen are dead.
The king and queen are dead.
The king and queen are dead.

I was numb, empty to the point where I enjoyed the wrenching feeling in my chest, the unbearable pain of his words felt like a knife being stabbed right into my soul as my organs ripping out. I humored those feelings until he walked out and closed the door behind him. Then I turned it into anger when I grabbed Eden's discarded shirt from the floor and escaped to the palace.