Adrian's POV(Dante's mind)
The hallway seemed endless.
Each step echoed like a countdown. Cassian walked ahead of me, relaxed and confident. The two guards stayed close behind me, their boots hitting the floor in perfect rhythm.
I was trapped in the middle with no way out.
"Remember when you were ten, Adrian?" Cassian asked suddenly, not turning around. "You tried to learn swordplay. Fell on your face in front of the entire court."
Adrian's memory exploded in my head—the sharp pain of hitting the ground, the sound of laughter echoing off stone walls, his father's disappointed sigh.
"I remember," I said quietly.
"Father was so ashamed." Cassian glanced back at me with false sympathy. "He stopped coming to watch your lessons after that. Said it hurt too much to see you fail."
Each word was a knife. Cassian knew exactly how to hurt Adrian—just keep reminding him he wasn't good enough.
But I wasn't just Adrian anymore.
I'd heard worse. Vincent had looked me in the eyes and called me a monster before shooting me. Words couldn't hurt me anymore.
"I'm sorry I disappointed him," I said, playing the weak prince perfectly.
Cassian smiled. "Oh, you did. You disappoint everyone, little brother."
We turned a corner and more memories crashed through me like waves.
The Kingdom of Valeria. A massive realm that had stood for three hundred years. Magic existed here but was rare—only one in ten thousand people had any power. Adrian didn't have any.
King Wilhelm ruled from the capital city, but he was dying. Some kind of sickness that made him weaker every day. The doctors said he had maybe a year left.
That meant Cassian would be king soon.
And the moment Cassian wore the crown, Adrian would die. Heirs were dangerous. Even useless ones.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"The throne room. Father wants to see you."
My blood went cold. The king? Why?
More memories flooded in. King Wilhelm had loved Adrian once—back when Adrian's mother was alive. Queen Isabella had been kind and warm, everything the cold king wasn't. She'd protected Adrian, loved him, made him feel safe.
Then assassins came when Adrian was eight. They'd been aiming for him, but Isabella threw herself in front of the blades.
She died in Adrian's arms, whispering that she loved him.
King Wilhelm blamed Adrian for her death. Not directly. He never said the words. But his eyes said it every time he looked at his youngest son. You lived. She died. That should have been reversed.
After that, Wilhelm stopped being a father. He became just a king who happened to have a disappointing third child.
"Father hasn't asked for me in months," I said carefully.
"He has something important to discuss." Cassian's voice was too cheerful. "About your future."
That word again. Future.
Except people planning your future usually meant they were planning your death.
We passed servants who immediately looked away when they saw me. Adrian's memories showed me why—being nice to the Mouse Prince meant getting mocked too. Everyone avoided him to save themselves.
Then we passed a tall woman in a dark dress. Princess Elara. Adrian's older sister.
She looked at me with cold gray eyes that calculated everything. Where Cassian used cruelty, Elara used intelligence. She was twenty-six and already controlled half the noble families through her late husband's connections.
She wanted the throne too.
"Little brother," she said softly as I passed. "How brave of you to face Father today."
That wasn't a compliment. That was a warning.
My stomach twisted. What was waiting for me in that throne room?
We reached the massive doors. Two guards stood outside, their faces blank and professional. They didn't even look at me.
Cassian pushed the doors open.
The throne room was huge—high ceilings, stone pillars, and at the far end, a man sitting on a golden throne.
King Wilhelm looked old. Not just old—dying. His skin was gray, his cheeks sunken, his eyes hollow. But those eyes still held power. Still held judgment.
Next to the throne stood a woman I didn't recognize. She was beautiful in a cold way—platinum blonde hair, calculating blue eyes, a smile that promised poison.
"Adrian," the king said, his voice rough like gravel. "Come forward."
I walked toward him slowly, feeling everyone's eyes on me. Cassian stayed by the door. Elara had followed us in and stood to the side, watching everything.
This felt like a trial.
"Father," I said, bowing like Adrian's memories told me to. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes." Wilhelm coughed hard, his whole body shaking. When he recovered, he looked at me with something close to hate. "It's time we discussed your marriage."
My heart stopped.
Marriage?
"I... I don't understand," I said.
The blonde woman stepped forward, her smile widening. "Allow me to introduce myself, Your Highness. I am Lady Vivienne Ashford. Your grandfather arranged our engagement before he passed."
Adrian's memories searched frantically. Grandfather Giovanni—a man even colder than the king. He'd died two years ago, but his influence still controlled everything.
"I wasn't told about any engagement," I said carefully.
"Because you were deemed too... unstable... to know." Vivienne's words dripped with fake sweetness. "But now that you're twenty-three, it's time to fulfill your duty."
"Duty?" I echoed.
King Wilhelm leaned forward. "You will marry Lady Vivienne within the month. You will produce an heir. And then—" He coughed again, this time longer. Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Elara rushed forward with a cloth, but Wilhelm waved her away.
"And then," he continued, his voice weaker, "you will have finally served a purpose."
The words hit like bullets.
Cassian chuckled from behind me. "Congratulations, little brother. You're finally useful."
I looked at Vivienne again. At her cold eyes and calculating smile. This woman didn't want to marry me. She wanted something else.
Adrian's fragmented memories tried to tell me what, but nothing came clear.
"What if I refuse?" I asked quietly.
The room went silent.
King Wilhelm's eyes flashed with anger. "You don't have the luxury of refusing. You're a prince. You'll do your duty or—"
"Or what?" The words came out before I could stop them. Dante's instincts taking over. "You'll kill me? Seems like that's the plan anyway."
Vivienne's smile vanished.
Cassian stopped laughing.
Elara's eyes widened.
And King Wilhelm stood up from his throne, trembling with fury.
"What did you just say?"
My mouth had just signed my death warrant.
But I couldn't back down now. In the mafia, showing fear meant instant death. I had to commit to the threat.
"The poisoned breakfast this morning," I said, my voice steady. "The convenient timing of this meeting. The guards outside my room. You're not planning a wedding, Father. You're planning a funeral."
"Guards!" Cassian shouted. "Seize him! The prince has gone mad!"
Soldiers poured into the room from hidden doors. Ten, fifteen, twenty of them. All armed.
All coming for me.
I'd just accused the king of trying to kill me in front of the entire court.
Either I was right and they'd murder me now, or I was wrong and they'd execute me for treason.
Both options ended with me dead.
But as the guards surrounded me, something unexpected happened.
King Wilhelm started laughing.
It was a horrible sound—wet and crackling, like something breaking inside his chest. He laughed so hard he had to sit back down.
"Clever boy," he wheezed between laughs. "You finally grew a spine. Twenty-three years too late."
He waved at the guards. "Stand down."
They stopped moving but didn't back away.
Wilhelm looked at me with something new in his dying eyes. Interest.
"You're right, Adrian. About everything." He coughed again, more blood. "You were supposed to die today. After the wedding announcement, Cassian would arrange an accident. You'd never make it to the ceremony."
Cassian's face went pale. "Father, I don't—"
"SILENCE!" Wilhelm's shout echoed through the room. He turned back to me. "But you figured it out. You found the poison. You challenged me in front of witnesses. That takes intelligence I thought you lacked."
My heart pounded so hard I thought it might explode.
"So I'm giving you a choice," the king continued. "Marry Vivienne, produce an heir, and I'll let you live in exile after. Or refuse, and die right now."
I looked at Vivienne again. Her calculating eyes studied me like I was a puzzle she couldn't solve.
This wasn't just about marriage. This was about something bigger.
But what?
"I need time to think," I said.
"You have until sunset," Wilhelm replied. "Choose life or death, Adrian. Even you should be able to manage that."
The guards parted, creating a path to the door.
I walked through them on shaking legs, feeling everyone's eyes burning into my back.
As I reached the door, Vivienne's voice stopped me.
"Your Highness?" she called sweetly. "I look forward to our wedding night. I promise I'll be... gentle."
The way she said it made my skin crawl.
I kept walking, didn't look back, didn't respond.
But as I stepped into the hallway, I heard Cassian whisper to Elara: "He won't survive the week. Wedding or no wedding."
The door closed behind me.
I stood alone in the empty hallway, my new heart racing, my mind spinning.
I'd just bought myself until sunset to decide: marry a woman who terrified me, or die.
Some choice.
I started walking back to my room, thoughts racing. I needed information. Needed to understand what Vivienne really wanted. Needed to find a way to survive this nightmare.
But as I turned another corner, I heard footsteps running toward me.
A servant boy, young and terrified, skidded to a stop in front of me.
"Your Highness!" he gasped. "Come quick! They're bringing someone to your chambers. A woman in chains. Crown Prince Cassian's orders."
My blood went cold. "What woman?"
"A slave, sir. A war prize from the border conflicts." The boy swallowed hard. "They say she used to be someone important. A general or something. But she's all broken now."
Everything in my chest tightened.
A broken general given to the broken prince.
This was another trap. Another piece of Cassian's game.
But I had to know who this woman was.
And why Cassian wanted her in my room.
I started running.