Chapter 8 Chapter 8
Lydia walked over to Isabella's room, her pulse climbing against her ribs. When she opened the door, she saw Isabella sitting on the edge of the bed, looking sad.
Lydia had already dressed her earlier that morning, but the princess looked completely drained.
"My lady, the prince wants you to come down for breakfast," Lydia whispered, bowing her head as fear gripped her throat.
Choosing to serve this heartbroken princess felt like the absolute worst mistake she could have made.
"Tell him I am not hungry," Isabella answered, her voice cold. She kept her eyes glued to the window, staring out at nothing.
Lydia hurried back down to the grand dining hall.
The moment Kade saw her return empty-handed, pure fury flared in his eyes. Before Lydia could even open her mouth, Kade cut her off.
"Tell her if I do not see her here in five minutes, I will send your head to her room as a gift," Kade growled, his face twisting in rage.
Lydia ran back up the stairs in absolute terror.
She had to plead with Isabella and tell her the situation before Isabella finally stood up from her bed and stormed into the dining hall.
Lydia didn't have to follow her back; she just stayed behind, breathing a sigh of relief that Isabella had listened to her.
Kade leaned on the table as he awaited the arrival of his stubborn Omega.
He really couldn't believe she had dared to defy his order. That was when he heard footsteps approaching the dining hall, and only then did he lift his head up.
He watched her sink into a chair beside his mother, right across from him, trying to avoid looking at him. She looked angry, and he also noticed how swollen her eyes were, as if she had been crying.
His eyes then narrowed to slits when he noticed her hair was chopped short and wildly uneven.
He couldn't describe the anger he felt at that moment, because he had loved those long brown locks the first time he laid eyes on her, and now they were suddenly gone.
His mother, Queen Nyssara, offered a bright, welcoming smile, though Kade saw that Isabella kept her eyes glued strictly to her empty plate, as if it were the only thing worth looking at in the dining hall.
Queen Nyssara motioned for the servants to dish out Isabella's food, which they did.
"I hope the meal is to your liking?" Nyssara asked warmly, trying to bridge the gap as Isabella picked at her food.
Isabella just gave a slight nod, forcing a tiny piece of rice past her lips.
Kade ignored his own food entirely, his attention fixed on her every move. He watched her lips wrap around the fork, and an intense, overwhelming cold surged through his veins.
The strange sensation made his chest tight, forcing him to swallow hard every time she took a bite.
Isabella suddenly lifted her head, catching him staring directly at her without him even trying to look away after being caught.
She shifted restlessly in her chair, putting her fork down on her plate before she suddenly pushed her chair back and stood up.
"Excuse me, Your Highness," she managed politely, turning to leave.
"Sit," Kade commanded, his voice deep and demanding. He really didn't want her to go; he wanted to keep watching her eat and swallow every bit of her food.
"I need to use the restroom, Your Highness," she squeezed out between tightly clenched teeth, not even trying to hide her irritation.
"Oh, come on, Kade. Let her go," Cassian chimed in smoothly, taking a slow sip from his cup.
Without waiting for Kade's approval, Isabella turned and walked out, leaving him sitting there, more furious than ever.
After the breakfast incident, Isabella hoped she could hide away in her room for the rest of the day, but having a future husband like Kade meant peace was impossible.
He had made Lydia prepare tons of food, exhausting the poor maid. Isabella guessed that was punishment for her own disobedience. As if that wasn't enough, he made Lydia bring the food to her.
"I am not hungry," said Isabella, standing by her window and staring out into the open space. "You can eat them, and tell him I was the one who ate it," she said again, wrapping her arms around herself.
Her stomach felt tight and full even though she hadn't eaten anything.
"He will know. No one can lie to him, and he has ways of punishing such a person," said Lydia as she opened each dish she had prepared. "My lady, trust me, you will like it." She sounded desperate.
Isabella sighed heavily, frustration crawling all the way to her chest. She remembered what Kade had done to her the first day she had an encounter with him.
She believed if he could command her body and make it obey him, then he could do the same thing again just to get the truth out.
She didn't want any problems for Lydia; Lydia was the only maid who had agreed to stay by her side, and she was her only friend.
So reluctantly, she walked over to her bed and sat down, surprising Lydia.
"One plate of rice is enough," said Isabella, trying hard to sniff back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. With that, Lydia obeyed, and Isabella ended up forcing herself to eat.
Later that afternoon, Lydia entered the room with another message. Kade expected her to attend the weekly night tournament, and he had ordered Lydia to prepare her.
Isabella let out a heavy sigh. She stripped off her clothes and sank directly into the steaming bathwater without waiting for help.
"I can tell you are mad at Prince Kade," Lydia offered, giving her a knowing, gentle smile.
"Why can't he just leave me alone?" Isabella vented, her voice cracking with frustration. "He got what he wanted by dragging me here like it was his life mission. What more could he possibly want from me?"
Lydia sighed softly as she unfolded a thick towel. "I understand your pain, but do not worry. All of this will end once he is ready to marry his betrothed."
Isabella froze in the water, her breath catching in her throat. She had no feelings for Kade, but the word hit her like a physical blow.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as she studied the maid.
Lydia gasped, catching herself too late. Her face immediately turned pale as panic washed over her features, and Isabella instantly sensed that Lydia had said something she shouldn't have.
"I have said too much," Lydia whispered, dropping to her knees beside the tub.
"Please, Lydia. Tell me the truth," Isabella begged, sitting up straight in the water. "Does Kade have another woman?"
"Yes, my lady," She confessed, her voice dropping to a quiet whisper. "This is something they hid from everyone after the great war ended and peace was declared."
Lydia leaned closer and explained the dark reality the Serpent Kingdom had kept buried behind its fake display of peace.
Whenever a werewolf princess was married into the royal family, the prince already had an official betrothed of his own species.
The werewolf bride was treated like nothing more than a temporary decoration. Once the prince grew bored or decided it was time to marry his real wife, the werewolf bride was simply tossed aside.
If she bore children, their fate was even worse. Those half-blood children grew up as slaves, farm hands, or foot soldiers forced onto the front lines to die first.
Some of the daughters were even forced into brothels.
The absolute cruelest part was the mate mark itself. Once marked, the bond acted like a permanent cage. A marked woman could never mate with another man, forcing her to watch her husband love another woman while she endured the humiliation for the rest of her life.
Isabella stared at her, forcing herself to keep breathing as the horrific reality settled into her mind.
"Two of my brothers are already dead," Lydia sniffed, squeezing her eyes shut as tears spilled over. "They were used as punching bags in the tournament ring. In this kingdom, there is no fairytale ending for a werewolf woman or man; our lives are just nothing to them."
A wave of deep sorrow washed over Isabella. Everything suddenly made sense: why all the servants she had seen were werewolves, and why she had not seen a single serpent servant since her arrival.
Lydia wiped her eyes quickly and tried to shift her focus. "I need to get you dressed fast before I get into trouble," she murmured, helping Isabella out of the tub.
A painful weight settled in Isabella's stomach and refused to budge.
The romantic future she had always dreamed of sharing with her future mate had been completely destroyed. Kade had crushed every single bit of it.
Back in the bedchamber, she pulled on her inner garments and began to dress without Lydia's help. Then she picked up the dress, stepped into it leg by leg, and pulled it up to her waist. Before she could slide her arms into the sleeves, the doors burst open.
Kade walked straight into the room like he owned it. His sharp eyes instantly locked onto her exposed chest, covered by only a thin strip of fabric.
She gasped at the sudden invasion of her privacy, her face burning as she frantically pulled the top of the dress up over her chest to cover herself.
"What is the point of hiding that," Kade mocked, a dark, infuriating smirk pulling at his lips, "when I am going to end up seeing all of it anyway?"
