**THE PRINCESS SERIES is part of the GOLDEN UNIVERSE, and considered a sequel to THE GOLDEN QUEEN/A BRAZEN LOVE**
♦YOU MUST HAVE READ THE GOLDEN UNIVERSE NOVELS AND THE BRAZEN NOVELS TO READ THIS SERIES! AS WELL AS BOOK ONE, PRINCESS OF CANDOR, AND...
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♪ Breaking up slowly is a hard thing to do I love you only, but it's making me blue ♪ {Lana Del Rey ft. Nikki Lane—Breaking up slowly}
A night of fitful, lonely slumber left Cordelia waking feeling like she'd had fifty glasses of wine before bed. She'd had none—some liquor might have helped her sleep better, in fact—and scrubbed her face as she woke, to find a letter deposited on her nightstand, along with a steaming cup of tea.
"Excuse me?" She snickered at the mug, though its heavenly scent of herbs and lavender pleased her stomach.
Someone had come in while she slept, quiet as a mouse, disturbing her privacy. Prisoners, sure; but weren't they to be accorded some tranquility, some decency?
Whoever it was—the guard at the door or the serving girl, she'd never know—had dropped off yet another bit of correspondence. Was it Sébastien, again? Or Sir Richel, to threaten her into accepting his not-quite proposal?
As it turned out, it was the latter—but not what she'd expected him to say.
Highness,
I know of your secretive communications with your brother, Prince Sébastien. But I wanted you to be aware that I have allowed it. You would not have received a letter from him if I had not informed my men that it was permitted beforehand. If you both thought to best me, I am sorry to tell you that you have not.
I am also aware your non-noble friend has gotten away, and though I considered sending my men after him, I have opted not to. Let him reach your King first, I care not; our message will be the same, and the King's reaction will not differ. He will want to save his siblings, and so he will bargain with me. But he and your friend do not know the truth of what I plan to do before he sends his own envoy for discussions to proceed.
Today, I am allowing you and Sébastien to meet with one another. You are both essential pieces in my plans, and I think it best that you should be able to convene and work on strategies to avoid bloodshed. I am not so kind or peaceful, but I will give you both a chance to prevent my anger from backfiring. If you can find a means to not kill King Antoine, and for him to hand over his throne without fuss, then I am all ears.
Be ready by noon, and one of my men will escort you to meet with His Highness at the indoor garden.
Regards, Barnabé Richel
Mouth gaping open, Cordelia lowered the letter onto the bedspread. "He thinks Séb and I will help him in his sordid plans?" She crunched the paper in her hands and growled. "That we will facilitate his schemes to dismantle my family? The nerve!" She hurled the note across the room, watching as it hit the window and fell to the floor.
