My father keeps looking at me in a way that makes my stomach churn. I have to believe that the reason he is even in Montovia is because of the arrangement he and I made when I agreed to marry William.

A few days ago, I would have been happy to have an annulment of my marriage. It would have been a welcome relief from the non-stop torture that seems to have followed us from the day we wed. But now… Now, I’m still not certain we would be ready to marry under normal circumstances, but given that we are already married, it would be silly to end things right when they seem to finally be headed in our favor.

But I entered into an agreement with my father. I didn’t know the specifics of his plan—I was barely listening to him when he offered to allow me to get out of the marriage after three months. I had been thinking of little other than leaving this life for good. Of having a fresh start, one where I’d have a reasonable chance of living a normal life.

Of course, nothing about my life is normal, even now, but things seem to have turned around with William. The childish games have stopped. The jealous rages William seems to fly into have ended, at least for the moment.

It all seems so long ago now—the things that happened in Montovia that caused this whole arrangement in the first place. I glance across the table at Prince Andrew. He doesn’t seem to notice my gaze at all—as always, he is focused solely on his fiancée, Victoria. And while the thought of how Andrew humiliated me on international television still stings, I can’t fault him for wanting to marry for love.

But that was months ago. And there is still a faint echo of anger in my heart over how William decided to save the day by marrying me. I still remember how outraged I was that night—how it only got worse the next day when my father had guards posted at my door to ensure I wouldn’t slip away in the night. It wasn’t until a few days after that—when he’d hinted at his real plan—that I’d agreed to any of this. It was something about bringing shame to Montovia and restoring Rosvalia to its former glory. At the time, it all seemed to be the same rhetoric I’d heard from him and my brother Reginald my entire life—that everyone in Rosvalia would be lifted up if only Montovia could be brought down.

I wish now I had asked about the particulars of the plan, not that he would have revealed any of it to me. But if I could at least warn my husband, or perhaps his brother Andrew…

I’m pulled out of my near-trance by William’s squeeze of my hand. I look over at him, giving him the same plastic smile I’ve had plastered on my face all night. I haven’t been listening to the goings on at the table, and I’ve only been picking at my food. William, to his credit, hasn’t let go of my hand at all, and I’m certain that no one else at the table can tell.

He leans over, his voice lowered so that my father doesn’t hear. “Are you all right? You haven’t touched a single thing.”

I give him a quick nod and quickly pop a bite of the current course into my mouth. It only takes a moment to realize I’ve made a huge mistake. It’s some sort of seafood stew—and I’m fairly certain I’ve just swallowed a large piece of shrimp.

I widen my fake smile and turn to my husband. “Is this…?” I clear my throat, lowering my voice. “Is there shrimp in this stew?”

His eyes widen slightly, and he pulls his napkin from his lap, placing it onto the table. He stands, giving my father a shallow bow before he turns to King Edmund. “Pardon us, Father. Mother. I need to take my wife to the infirmary. I’ll check in with you later.”

I’m fairly certain I feel my throat closing already. My face feels like it’s on fire, but I’m not sure if it’s from an allergic reaction or from the extreme embarrassment.

Before I can protest, though, William is yanking at my arm and pulling me out of the dining room. He turns to me when we’re midway down the corridor. “Are you all right? Did something—?”

I lift my hand to my throat to interrupt. Something is definitely happening.

“You didn’t really eat shrimp, did you? My God, Justine. Your chest—your face.” His eyes widen and he shakes his head. “I thought…I thought you were trying to get us out of dinner. But you weren’t trying to get us back to bed, were you?”

I shake my head, but even as I do, my vision is tunneling, and blackness is closing in around it. I can hear myself wheezing—I have an emergency injection in my bag, but it’s all the way on the other side of the palace. And at the moment, I have no way of telling William what he needs to do—he really does need to get me to the physician as soon as possible.

But I don’t have the chance to say it. The darkness envelops me, and the last thing I see before my sight goes black is William rushing toward me.

I wake up in a brightly lit room with a woman I don’t recognize hovering over me. She nods and makes a sweeping motion with her arm.

William is at my bedside a second later, and I realize she was allowing him in to see me.

He sits next to me on the edge of the bed, caressing my face. “You frightened me.”

“I… I’m sorry.” My throat is tight, scratchy, and I barely recognize my hoarse voice. “I didn’t know… I wasn’t paying attention.”

He shakes his head. “I should have thought to call ahead to the kitchens. I should have warned them about your seafood allergy.”

I reach for the glass of water on the table that is over my lap, but William takes it first and lifts it to my lips.

I sip at the glass, trying to get the itchy feeling from my throat. As I lie back in the bed, I look up at him. “You don’t have to do that. I can drink water myself.”

He smiles, but it isn’t his trademark grin. “I just want to help. It was terrible of me to put you through that—”

I interrupt with a wave of my hand. “It was as much my fault for not carrying a bag with me. I carry the epinephrine with me everywhere I go—at least if there is any chance of having seafood. I suppose I was just…” I bat my eyelashes at him. “Distracted today.”

He laughs and leans over to kiss me on the cheek. “I will carry some with me at all times from now on, I promise. I couldn’t bear to see you like this again.”

We sit in silence for a few moments before he pulls my hand in his. “The physician said you’ll need to stay for several hours. She wants to give you some steroids or some such thing.” He nods toward my other arm, the one with the IV device connected to it. “But she did say I could stay with you until you’re ready to return to my—our—suite.” He grins. “Our suite. I do like the sound of that.” He pauses, his smile never falling. “Would you ever consider making a life here? In Montovia? I realize now is probably not the best time to ask such a thing.” He caresses my hair, trailing his finger down my cheek. “But perhaps now we can think about it.”

I try to smile at him, but I can’t shake the feeling of guilt still churning in my gut. “William…”

“Shh.” He grins down at me. “You don’t have to say anything now. Just think about it. You’d be far away from the influence of your family. And I can guarantee that my mother would love you. She already loves you.” His smile widens. “As do I.”

“I…” I want so much to be honest with him, but I don’t know how. I don’t really even know what the truth is—but I suppose I need to tell him what I do know.

“William—”

“Not now, Justine. I only wanted to plant the seed. To have you at least consider the possibility.”

I nod. “And I shall. Consider it, that is.” I take in a deep breath. “I need to tell you something.”

He kisses my cheek, then my lips. “Anything.”

I pull away from him slightly. “It’s important.”

“Okay.” He nods, sitting himself upright. “You can tell me anything.”

I nod. “You remember how I told you of my agreement with my father? That if I were to marry you, he’d allow me to attend graduate school in America?”

He shrugs. “Yes, I believe we’ve already discussed this. And if that is what you really want to do, I’ll go with you.” His smile widens slightly, but I can see it’s forced. “I’ll find something to do with myself while you’re studying.”

“I…” I frown. “I haven’t decided what I’m going to do about Yale yet. I…I don’t know.”

His eyebrows draw together and his smile falls to a frown in an instant. “I don’t understand.”

I nod. “I know. I…I have to tell you the rest of it. I mean, I don’t actually know the rest of it, only that I need to tell you.”

He smiles again. “Perhaps whatever the doctor has given you has affected your thinking, my love. I think maybe you should just rest—”

“There’s a plan, William. I don’t know what it is, I only know that there is one. I was to stay married to you for three months, and then my father—and probably Reginald, too—are going to do something. Something to ruin you and your family. Something to ruin Montovia.”