ALLIANCE

II

The loud echoing of my heels fills the empty hall. I make way to the ballroom all alone without a care in the world.

All the guests had already been inside when I arrived. I stride in with confidence as my plan to show up fashionably late has been successful. Amongst other plans, this one was the only one that went right. My eyes lock with blank hazel eyes belonging to the man standing across the room. Cursing under my breath, I took a sharp turn and nearly bumped into the guest of honour—Julien Hilith—Prince of Alkarin.

"Woah there, in a rush are we?" He smiles warmly. Unable to catch it in time, my face mirrors him and breaks out into my smile. "No, you punk. Maybe if you hadn't invited him, I would've saved us both the trouble of creating a mess on the ground." I mentally curse myself noticing the drink that was once in Julien's hand, beginning to spread on the floor.

His laughter broke me from my thoughts. "Ah! Nothing to worry about darling, we'll get that cleaned up—" he pauses to wave his hand at a nearby server, "—and you know I have no say in who our father invites to our events."

"Yeah well, that's bullshit." I huff and my brother snorts.

Unlike me, Julien gets a say in higher matters. Unfortunately for me, I'm not my father's son so I'm expected to sit quietly with my back straight and legs crossed as he sells me out to other kingdoms for alliances. "Oh cheer up Sloane, I'm sure your fiancé isn't that bad." Julien teases. There's that word again—fiancé—and I've never hated anything more.

"He's not my fiancé. He's more of a liability if anything." I snarled.

"I'm sure he feels the same way about you."

"I don't give a shit."

My older brother opens his mouth to respond to me but is cut off as our father approaches us too quickly for my liking. He smiles at Julien and I take the time to notice the similarities between the two of them. They share the same ashy brown coloured hair and sable eyes. Julien is taller than my father, but both have the 'I will tower over you as you speak to me' demeanour. Unlike Julien, I inherited my mother's green eyes, although we all share the same brown hair.

My eyes are my favourite features because a part of my mother resides within them, even after her passing. Father has more wrinkles on his face due to his old age and probably from the stress of being King of Alkarin.

"Julien! How has the night been treating my son?" I discreetly rolled my eyes. My father, however, caught it. His eyes narrow in on me, "Sloane, why aren't you with Cadmus?"

I had to refrain from rolling my eyes again,

"I just got here."

This time, he rolls his eyes. "I'm not even surprised," he mutters.

Julien coughs, breaking the awkward tension, "The night is well father, thank you."

"Indeed it is!" I sarcastically state and grin widely.

"I'd prefer it if my daughter behaved for the night as a royal. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Julien. You welcome a new year and grow to make me proud each day—" he looks over at me, "—both of you make me proud."

I almost smiled. Almost.

Those same words I would've been dying to hear mean nothing to me anymore. Not after he sought me to be wed to the King of Vale—Cadmus Dacre. Everything about him makes my blood boil. His name, chestnut hair, absurdly tall height and hazel eyes—his fucking boring eyes—create a nasty fire in my heart. He needs a queen after his parents die and miraculously, my very own father has a fix like always and betroths me to him. In the game of politics, everything is fair. My father gets an ally and Cadmus gets a queen.