The Kingdom Thief

Chapter 28

Dakota's P.O.V

I almost just turn back and head to my bedroom but I decide to give him one more minute.

And, like clockwork, the man decked in dark clothes and an even darker soul appears and I have to fight the urge to run as far away as I can.

No. I don't run away. I scheme and I face my worst fears with a blank face. They always believe a blank face means a blank mind.

Fools.

I force a pleasant smile on my face before stepping out of the shadows and walking towards the man so many now feared.

"Your majesty" I reply, faking shock at running into him. There is nothing coincidental about my timing.

"Lady Dakota" Jack replies, his eyes raking down my body the way so many men have done before. I have learned to take the action as a compliment.

I force myself to blush before speaking. "I was hoping to run into you sometime. Might I accompany you for a talk?"

Mischief gleams in Jack's eyes as he smirks at me. "I would love for you to accompany me, but I doubt there will be much talking."

When Jack had forced Mason and his little Robin Hood out of the castle, he also made an example out of many of the workers and servants who showed any sign of false loyalty to him. The castle reeked of blood and was filled with shrieks for weeks. The sound and smell still haunt my dreams.

But luckily, my mother had raised me to know what to do in this situation. I pledged loyalty to the new king and made subtle advances until the new king learned that my loyalty went deeper than the kind his other subjects pledged.

The first night I found myself in his bed, in a drunken haze, Jack had muttered the words that changed my mindset completely.

"Thank God you're nothing like her"

It should have made me feel elated. There was nothing in this world that I hated with a deeper passion than that mess of a girl that had in one night had taken away everything I had worked towards.

I should have been happy at the contrast Jack had made between the kingdom thief and me. Instead, all I could think about was, despite every flaw she had and she had almost all of them, Bridget was loyal.

More importantly she was loyal to herself. She knew her morals and could stand with them while I would sometimes catch my reflection in the mirror and not recognize the girl I was seeing.

I had nothing. No goal in life other than to keep in good graces with whoever was in charge.

But how do you support a monster that murders his own sister?

Family was supposed to be a bond stronger than any other. If shared blood didn't stop him from killing that girl, what good was a shared bed going to do?

That was when I changed my mindset. Now, instead of looking for his acceptance, I look for his weaknesses. Any cracks in an almost flawless foundation to at least try to make bigger. Anything to use against him.

Which is why I smile at his advances and softly purr in his ear "Then how about a deal. You allow me to talk to you all the way until we get to your room and then afterwards, I promise, no more talking will be necessary."

Jack's chest rumbles in a low chuckle as he leans back to meet my eyes. "You drive a hard bargain, Lady Dakota, but I doubt anyone has ever been able to say no to you before."

I lower my eyelids seductively. "Please don't be the first."

Jack turns towards the guard flanking behind him. "Gentleman. Keep a good distance behind my lady and I". He snakes an arm tightly around my waist before leading me down the hall.