It Could Not Be Good

Lorelai's legs kept trembling as she slowly paced through the long, dim hallway of her stepbrother's quarters. 

It could not be good. After last night's incident with the stimulant Lady Lucia had mixed into the plum wine, her family was bound to find out that something had been wrong. After all, she was supposed to meet Duke Kalder and spend time with him, but she evidently did not. 

Kai had a reason to summon her today. He would definitely be mad. 

Having reached her destination, Lorelai stopped and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the air that only seemed to suffocate her even more. 

It took her a while to get ready on her own because she did not want Marianna to see her body, and the Crown Prince eventually got tired of waiting and invited her to meet him in his "dark room" instead. 

The princess got a little nauseous. What if he wanted to make her watch another bloody scene? Perhaps today, his threats would not be just empty words.