Clarissa fucking Dupier had a new plan. Become royal mistress. After all, King Alexander had not only let her sleep in his bed, he'd sent her to a whorehouse to get better training. He was clearly invested in fucking her. All she had to do was convince him to be invested in her as a person and she was sure she could win him over and secure a life of luxury for herself.

Her earlier plan to marry Oliver and live an exciting life of court intrigue as his loyal wife... hadn't gone well. She'd been taken in by Oliver's good looks and thrilled by his proximity to the king. To make it even better, her father had warned her off Oliver. Clarissa loved doing things she was told not to.

Marrying Oliver had been a mistake. She could see that now. If a single person had bothered to tell her that the reason Oliver was in close proximity to the king was that he was the king's personal fuck toy, then she would have seen it earlier.

It was high time to turn her mistake around and emerge from this pitfall triumphant. Fuck Oliver. She didn't need him. There was nothing stopping the king's mistress from being married to another man.

From here forward, her sights were set and she would not be deterred.

She walked into the royal suite with her luggage in hand and a spring in her step.

Queen Amice was lounging in an armchair with a glass of wine and a book. She looked up at Clarissa as she entered, her expression not betraying a single hint of curiosity. "You're back early."

"King Alexander sent for me," Clarissa said. She savored the words. "He wants me back."

Queen Amice snorted. "You're not the one he's trying to get back."

"Yes, I am." Clarissa tilted her head back to display confidence. "I understand you feel threatened by me as a rival, but I believe we can come to some accord. Wives and mistresses find ways to settle their differences all the time."

Queen Amice burst out laughing. It was not the reaction Clarissa had expected. The queen kept laughing until she snorted, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. "Clarissa. How do I explain this to you? The sooner you realize you're nothing more than a pawn in a game, the better this will go for you."

"What game?" Clarissa refused to be a pawn. She carved her own path. She'd even defied her father and while, yes, that had been a mistake, the spirit of the thing remained.

"Whatever fucked up game Alexander and Oliver are playing with each other. Honey, no one gives half a fuck about you."

"King Alexander cares about me, or he wouldn't have sent for me to come back early."

Queen Amice snorted. "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you."

Clarissa gritted her teeth. She wouldn't let the lies of her rival dissuade her. She decided to fix herself up while she waited for King Alexander to return, to make sure she was extra seductive.

She hauled her luggage to the bedroom and opened it. She'd acquired some possessions from her time in the whorehouse, along with a few new skills. She picked out a lacy red lingerie that she thought would do the trick. She also fished out an extra special prize, a necklace that would double as nipple clamps. She put it on, envisioning how the king would be driven wild with lust for her once he saw her.

She heard the door to the royal quarters slam open all the way from the bedroom.

"Amice! Where's Clarissa?" The sound of the king's voice sent a thrill through Clarissa.

She stepped out of the bedroom with a sultry smile. "I'm right here."

King Alexander's gaze skimmed over her but didn't seem to take her in. "Good. I already sent Oliver a message to let him know you're back. Assuming he cares."

Clarissa blinked. He'd sent for Oliver? Why? Wouldn't their affair be easier with Oliver out of the way? Now that Clarissa was actually looking, she couldn't help but notice that the king looked... not well. His normally perfectly styled hair was disheveled and there were dark circles under his eyes. What on earth had she missed?

King Alexander sat down on the couch and glared at the door, as if daring it to open. Clarissa tentatively took a seat next to him. "Do you like my outfit?" she asked.

He didn't even glance at her. "Shut up, Clarissa."

Clarissa wilted. She'd been so sure her new plan was going to work. She just needed to make him want her.

She got off the couch and went to her knees in front of him. "I learned a new cock sucking technique I could show you."

King Alexander turned the full force of his glare onto her. Clarissa willed herself to hold her ground. She hooked her thumbs in the top of her lingerie and tugged it down, causing her tits to pop out of it. She had excellent tits. She'd been given several compliments on them from customers while she'd been whoring. A few had even wanted to fuck her tits, pushing their cocks between the soft mounds of flesh and thrusting until they'd come all over her face.

Clarissa grabbed her tits and pushed them up enticingly. King Alexander scowled. "Keep your clothes on and get out of my face."

Clarissa slunk back to her spot on the couch, momentarily defeated. She didn't understand. The king had fucked her before. What was she missing?

The door opened and Oliver stood in the entrance with his arms crossed. Fucking Oliver. He ruined everything. Every single time she'd fucked King Alexander, he'd been there. Oh. Oh, fuck.

King Alexander shot to his feet. "Oliver." He grabbed Clarissa's arm and hauled her to her feet. His grip hurt, but Clarissa willed herself to keep a stoic expression. "I brought Clarissa back." He shook her like she was a chew toy. "You took a vow to keep an eye on her."

"Clarissa," Oliver's voice was cool as he greeted her.

Clarissa had no idea how to respond to a greeting from her newly married and already estranged husband. She settled on a small nod.

"You can leave with me or stay here," Oliver said. "It's your choice."

Clarissa stared at him. Leave with him? Was he out of his mind? Maybe her plan was already off track, but there was no way she was going back to her whore of a husband. "I'm staying."

Oliver shrugged one shoulder. "Fine." He turned to leave.

King Alexander made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. "Wait. You have to- I brought Clarissa back for you."

"Fuck off, your majesty." The door slammed shut. King Alexander looked stricken.

"Send the guards after him," Clarissa said. "He disrespected you. How dare he?"

King Alexander turned on her with a snarl. "No one touches Oliver but me. Understand?"

Clarissa took a few steps back while nodding frantically.

King Alexander stalked over to where Queen Amice was sitting, grabbed the wineglass from her hand, then threw it against the wall. He stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door.

"Well," Queen Amice said. "That went well."

King Alexander looked smug the next day when he returned to the royal suite with a man in tow. The man was short and sandy haired with a chiseled jaw line. Clarissa felt her pussy get wet just from looking at him. She set aside the needle point she'd been bored stiff by all day, grateful for the welcome distraction.

King Alexander snapped his fingers at Queen Amice to get her attention. She looked up from the book she was reading, annoyed.

"I don't need Oliver," the king said, crossing his arms. "I hired a whore. His name is Herman."

"Ye gods," the queen muttered, lounging back in her seat. "Go on, then. Fuck your whore."

King Alexander scowled. "I will." He pointed at Herman. "Suck my cock."

Herman immediately complied. He dropped to his knees in front of the king and undid his trouser buttons. Instead of looking aroused, King Alexander glared at Herman. Herman wrapped his mouth around the king's soft cock and began to apply his considerable skills to the task.

Clarissa watched with interest, always happy to learn a new technique. The whore was playing with the king's balls with one hand while he licked at the cock in his mouth.

"You're doing it wrong," King Alexander complained.

Herman pulled back, his mouth wet with saliva. "Did you have any requests?"

"Take your clothes off first."

Herman undressed slowly, revealing his tight body inch by inch. The king kept checking the time piece on the mantle impatiently. Clarissa decided to appreciate the view in his stead. Herman had a round ass that looked like it would bounce while it was being fucked. His abs were well defined to a lickable degree.

Herman twisted his own hard nipple in his fingers. King Alexander didn't look impressed. "Back on your knees. Say you like it."

Herman followed the order and smiled flirtily up at the king. "I love sucking your cock, your majesty."

King Alexander swore and put his flaccid cock back away. He threw himself into his favorite chair. "Forget it. You're useless. What an awful whore."

Herman remained in place, looking baffled.

"If you've already paid for him," Queen Amice said, rising from her seat. "There's no point in letting him go to waste, is there?" She ran her fingers through Herman's hair, her expression hungry.

"Do what you want," the king said sulkily. Ye gods, was he actually pouting? What had happened to the confident king with his effortless arrogance?

Queen Amice trailed a finger down the whore's face and over his mouth. "I want to be fucked," she said. "You'll make sure to give my clit enough attention for me to orgasm. You, on the other hand, will not cum while you're inside me. Understood?"

Herman nodded. Queen Amice got on her hands and knees on the floor and pulled her dress up around her waist. Her diamond necklace dangled in front of her tits. "Eat me out first," she said.

Herman buried his face in her twat and went to work.

Clarissa watched his round ass and thought again how good it would look stretched out. There was no reason she couldn't take what she wanted, was there? The queen wasn't the one calling the shots, and the king didn't seem likely to get involved.

Clarissa ran to the bedroom and sifted through the bag she'd brought with her. She fished out her harness and dildo and put it on, then she grabbed the oil. When she got back, Herman was easing his cock into the queen's tight pussy. Queen Amice panted as he pushed into her.

Clarissa oiled up her dildo and a few of her fingers, then she poured some oil onto Herman's crack. He looked over his shoulder at her, startled.

"I want to have my fun, too," Clarissa said.

He went back to fucking the queen, repositioning himself to push his ass up higher. Clarissa smiled as she pushed two fingers into him, working his hole open. His ass was muscled and tight, but he adjusted quickly to her violation of him. He was, undoubtedly, used to taking it in the ass. Clarissa pulled her fingers back out and pressed the head of the dildo to his entrance. He whimpered as she pushed in, the rhythm of his thrusts into Queen Amice stuttering.

The queen took over the rhythm, thrusting back with her own hips. Soon he was being pushed back and forth between them, helpless to the two women fucking him from both sides.

His hole did look good stretched tightly around the girthy dildo, and his ass bounced just as appealingly as she'd hoped as she pounded him from behind.

The friction of the harness against her clit along with the sight of Herman simultaneously being fucked by her and the queen soon sent Clarissa over the edge into her orgasm. She curled her toes as firework exploded behind her eyelids and her legs shook beneath her.

She pulled out of Herman and collapsed back on the carpet with a sigh. The queen moaned in the throes of her own orgasm. Herman, at last, got his dick out of the queen and into his own hands. He barely stroked it a single time before he came with a cry, his cum spattering into his own palm.

Clarissa felt the queen tugging on her hand. "I didn't say I wanted to share," the queen said.

Clarissa smiled. "I thought it would be wise to wring every cent of worth out of him we could."

After the whore left, the king skulked about for a few more hours before coming to talk with Clarissa. What could he possibly want? He'd made it very clear that he wasn't interested in her. Clarissa tried to look demure as she looked up from her tangled mess of a needle point.

"How did you court Oliver?" King Alexander asked.

The needle slipped through the cloth and Clarissa stabbed her own finger with it. "What?"

The king scowled and didn't repeat himself.

Clarissa cleared her throat. "He courted me." It was ludicrous to think she might have courted him. Before her life had gone sideways, she never would have been so forward.

"Why the fuck would he have needed to court you?" the king asked. "You must have been falling over yourself for a chance at him."

Clarissa chewed on her lip. She didn't want to deal with the king's obvious devotion to his fuck toy. "Did you need something?"

King Alexander kicked at the couch with his heels as if he was a small child instead of the man who controlled the lives of everyone in the castle and surrounding countryside. "I need to know how to court someone."

"Oh," Clarissa said instead of doing what she wanted to do, which was screaming what the fuck? "Sure. Umm." She wracked her brain for how her suitors had flirted with her in the past. "You can buy them flowers. Compliment their appearance. Take them somewhere, like out on a picnic."

King Alexander wrinkled his nose. "A picnic? Outside? Why would that be appealing?"

"Because you're spending time together. Getting to know each other."

King Alexander rapped his fingers on his thigh for a minute. "Fine. We're going on a picnic tomorrow. Wear something nice." He stalked off, leaving Clarissa baffled. Was he courting her? Hope rose in Clarissa's chest. It could be that he'd given up on Oliver and decided to settle for her instead. She might end up being the royal mistress after all.

Clarissa dressed carefully the next day, picking out her most appealing day dress. Normally day dresses had high necks, but she'd had her favorite one specially made with a plunging neckline to show off her cleavage. She arranged her hair in curls that fell softly around her shoulders then waited for the king.

He showed up at the royal suite a little past noon, clutching a bouquet of daisies in his hand and looking exceedingly grumpy. He had a long leather satchel on a strap over his shoulder. Clarissa decided it was best not to ask him about it.

He shoved a picnic basket into Clarissa's arms. "Carry this and come with me."

She wondered if she should have specified to him that he was supposed to give her the flowers, not carry them like a club while glaring about as if he intended to do murder with them.

They walked across the castle with Clarissa nearly jogging to keep up with his longer strides. He pounded his fist on an unfamiliar door. Oliver answered it. Motherfucker. Clarissa's hopes wilted.

King Alexander thrust the flowers at Oliver. Oliver grabbed them to keep them from hitting his face. He held them at arms length and looked back and forth between the flowers and the king. "What is this?"

"Flowers," King Alexander snapped. "You said you liked daisies that one time."

Oliver's face went blank.

"Set them down. We're going on a picnic. I brought Clarissa, so you have to come."

"I don't have to do anything, your majesty."

King Alexander growled deep in his throat. "Clarissa. Tell him you want him to come along."

Clarissa grit her teeth. She considered throwing the basket down and telling both of them to go fuck themselves, but that wouldn't get her anything other than momentary satisfaction. "Please, Oliver. I so want you there."

Oliver's brows drew together as he watched her. "Fine. For Clarissa." He disappeared back into the room to put down the flowers while King Alexander's scowl brightened in a less murderous sort of way.

What bullshit. Oliver wasn't coming along for her anymore than she wanted him there. There had to be a way she could still twist the situation to her advantage. If Oliver kept rejecting King Alexander, then he'd need Clarissa around to keep trying to tempt Oliver back. That could be her in.

Oliver rejoined them and they headed towards the castle doors together.

"Your hair looks nice today," King Alexander said, his words overly stilted.

Oliver's expression turned incredulous. "Thank you?"

Clarissa wondered if the king had even tried to pay anyone a compliment before.

"The castle needs a new weapons master, if you were looking for a job."

Oliver stopped in his tracks. "What is this?"

King Alexander snarled. "Isn't that what you wanted? Some nonsense to fritter your time away on? If you want the weapons master job, you can have the weapons master job, I don't fucking care."

Oliver drew in a breath. "I want it."

"Then it's yours." The king stormed out the doors into the bright sunshine.

By the time they reached the grassy hilltop, Clarissa's arms were burning from carrying the picnic basket. She should've pushed it on Oliver when she had the chance. He still looked mystified.

This whole day was a disaster. She had no idea how to recover it.

King Alexander tossed the satchel he was carrying on the ground. Clarissa set down the basket and began unpacking it. Oliver finally snapped out of his fugue state and stepped in to help her. They quickly had a blanket spread out with a nice meal of apples, bread loaves, and boiled eggs.

King Alexander, in lieu of normal conversation, pestered Oliver with questions while they ate. He kept up a bizarre string of trivia about Oliver's preferences for everything from shoe style to wallpaper. Clarissa supposed this was King Alexander's interpretation of getting to know someone. It didn't seem like very good flirting to her, but Oliver seemed amused.

When they were done eating, King Alexander plucked a dandelion from the grass and placed it delicately behind Oliver's ear. Oliver laughed. King Alexander almost didn't frown.

"You still haven't answered my question," Oliver said.

King Alexander's frown came back in full force. "What question?"

"You know what question."

The king glared at the clouds as if they'd offended him with their puffiness. "It doesn't matter. Get on your knees and suck my cock."

Oliver threw the dandelion back at King Alexander and stalked away.

King Alexander turned on Clarissa in a huff. "You said that would work. Why is he still angry?"

"Maybe if you tried not immediately demanding sex?" Clarissa was getting tired of whatever petty little game they were playing. She thought of what Queen Amice had told her about being a pawn. It was becoming clear that she was being used as one, but she refused to remain one.

The king scoffed. "That isn't it. Fuck this bullshit. I know how to seduce Oliver. Go fetch him back."

Clarissa bit the inside of her cheek as she got up and dusted off the skirt of her dress. Oliver hadn't gone far. He was skipping stones on a nearby pond, throwing them with so much force that they splashed into the water instead of skipping.

"You should go back and tell the king you're leaving," Clarissa said. Her best scenario, as far as she could figure, was Oliver flouncing away and leaving the king high and dry.

"He's just so infuriating sometimes," Oliver complained. "It's like he can't stand to be even a little bit vulnerable. Did he say anything to you?"

Clarissa scrambled to think of something obnoxious. "He said you were being petty and needed to get over yourself."

Oliver swore and stormed back to the hilltop. Clarissa hurried behind him. King Alexander had opened the satchel and pulled out two wooden practice swords. He tossed one to Oliver wordlessly, and Oliver caught it.

"You really want to do this right now?" Oliver asked.
King Alexander grinned. The sight sent ice through Clarissa's veins. "Two out of three, or three out of five?"

"How many times do you want to lose?"

"Three out of five, it is." King Alexander stood up and stretched. "Over there looks flat enough."

They stood across from each other, the practice swords held loosely in their hands. Clarissa watched in fascination. She'd seen tournaments before, and of course she knew that King Alexander always won. He was the best sword fighter in the kingdom.

King Alexander struck first, and Clarissa expected that to be the end of it. If he'd been keeping Oliver out of the tournaments for fear he'd get hurt, than Clarissa expected Oliver couldn't be very good.

She was wrong. Oliver barely seemed to exert effort as he knocked the blow aside. "You're a little rusty," he taunted.

King Alexander swung again, but Oliver had already moved out of the space he was swinging through and slid past the king with a fluid motion. His practice sword was at the king's throat. Clarissa blinked. How on earth?

"That's one," Oliver said.

"Don't act so cocky. I'm not done with you yet." King Alexander slowly and deliberately rubbed the tip of his sword against Oliver's. Oliver flushed slightly. King Alexander struck quickly, banking on surprise, but Oliver was still faster. He got out of the way and behind the king before Clarissa could track what was happening.

He snaked an arm across the king's chest and pressed his sword against his throat. "Two."

King Alexander seized Oliver's arm, dragged it to his mouth and licked his wrist. Oliver gasped. King Alexander tried to yank him forward, but Oliver pulled his arm out of the king's grasp and dance away. There was no mistaking the tent in his trousers, however.

"Distracted, Oliver?" King Alexander said.

Oliver swung and the king parried it. For a moment Clarissa thought he'd made a mistake. Then he caught the king's sword on his and knocked it to the side, then stepped inside King Alexander's guard and hit him across the chest. "Three."

King Alexander didn't look even a little disgruntled about having lost. He dropped his sword, grabbed Oliver by the hair and kissed him roughly. Oliver moaned and melted into him. King Alexander tore at the fastenings of Oliver's clothes, sending buttons flying. Oliver gasped as King Alexander threw him to the ground and climbed on top of him.

"Clarissa," King Alexander said. "Grab the oil so I can fuck your husband's ass."

"No," Oliver said, but it didn't sound even a little bit convincing.

King Alexander rubbed Oliver's cock through his trousers and Oliver's hips thrust helplessly. "I'm going to have you one way or another, but I'll be nice. I'll let you ride me. Now take off the rest of your clothes."

Oliver complied, stripping himself naked. Clarissa found the oil and considered throwing it at Oliver's head. She hated that he'd given the king what he wanted so easily. King Alexander had been right. Oliver was a slut and he'd spread his legs for the king with little more than a snap of the king's royal fingers.

King Alexander took the oil from Clarissa and slicked his fingers with it. He shoved Oliver on his back and plunged his fingers into Oliver's tight hole. Oliver moaned and arched his back as the king added another finger.

"You're so tight," King Alexander said. "Maybe I should go a few days without fucking you more often."

Oliver panted and writhed on the ground as the king roughly opened him up.

Clarissa sat down watching them and crossed her arms. She would not feel jealous that the king wanted Oliver instead of her. King Alexander pulled out his cock and Clarissa couldn't help but notice that he was having no trouble getting an erection now.

He settled back on his elbows and gestured to his cock. "Ride it."

Oliver scrambled up and straddled King Alexander. He guided the king's cock into his hole. Once it was in he began to bounce on it, his strong thighs giving him the control he needed to ram himself up and down.

King Alexander had claimed that Oliver moaned like a whore when he rode his cock, but that wasn't right. Clarissa had been given the opportunity to watch whores, and their moans were wildly over the top, but largely fake sounding. The noises Oliver made were guttural and desperate.

"Fuck- yes- oh." Oliver babbled as he fucked himself into a frenzy on the king's cock.

King Alexander grabbed his hips and slowed down his frantic movements. "Say my name, Oliver."

Oliver moaned and shook his head. "Your majesty."

King Alexander's hands dug in hard, stopping him in place.

Oliver let out a desperate noise. "Alexander."

King Alexander growled. "You really think I can't fuck it out of you?" He shoved Oliver hard. Oliver hit his back on the ground and the king followed behind him, pushing Oliver's legs up over his shoulders. King Alexander slammed his cock back in hard. Oliver let out a scream as the king rutted him.

"Alex!" Oliver orgasmed, his cum splashing up onto his chest. King Alexander thrust into him a few more times before shuddering and pulling back out, leaving Oliver's asshole dripping cum.

Oliver panted as he caught his breath. King Alexander sat back on his haunches, looking satisfied for the first time since Clarissa had returned.

"You'll pack up your things and move back into the royal suite," King Alexander said.

Clarissa sighed. If Oliver had ever had a backbone, she supposed it had been fucked out of him.

Oliver licked his lips as he watched the king. "No."

King Alexander rolled his eyes. "You're mine, Oliver. You'll do what I say."

"No, I won't. You haven't even-"

"You're just a fuck toy!" King Alexander shouted. "Does that answer your question?"

Oliver flinched. Clarissa couldn't believe that he genuinely looked hurt. Obviously that was what the king would say. His pride wouldn't let him do any different. Clarissa saw her wedge and seized it.

"Of course you'll have to deal with that whore you replaced Oliver with when he comes back," Clarissa said.

King Alexander drew in a breath. She could almost see the gears turning in his head. He wouldn't have it in him to deny what she'd said. That would involve admitting to a level of caring that he'd prefer to keep locked away.

"I'll throw him out, of course. I don't have any use for multiple whores." King Alexander righted his clothing and got up. "Pack up your things and be back by sunset." He strode away back towards the palace.

Clarissa resisted the urge to clap her hands in glee. Oliver looked like he was near tears.

Clarissa sat beside him as he pulled his clothes on so she could pitch her voice low. "You owe me. You made me a wedding vow. I'm ready to leave."

Oliver snapped up to look at her. "What?"

"Meet me at the Lucky Cat Inn in Rustbourne. We'll need to leave before the king knows what's happening." Rustbourne was just outside the kingdom, close enough that a two day journey would get him there. It would do.

"But-"

"You promised. And you heard what the king said. He doesn't care about you."

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut. "Fine."

"Get dressed and go. I'll make sure the king is distracted."

Clarissa dallied in Oliver's former room as she waited for sundown. She wanted to make sure Oliver had the biggest head start she could manage in order to make sure her plan would work. She packed away anything that could easily be thrown and gathered everything she wanted to take with her in a bag. There wasn't much. Clarissa had never been prone to being sentimental.

Shortly after sundown, there was a sharp rap on the door. Clarissa answered it, smiling coyly. "Looking for someone?"

King Alexander's eyes narrowed as he took her in. "Where's Oliver?"

"Why don't you come in, take a seat?" Clarissa opened the door wide and gestured to the table and chairs. She had the necessary documents arranged neatly on the table along with a quill and ink. She had copies stashed in her bag as well, just in case the king tore up the ones she'd laid out in a fit. His temper, she'd learned, was annoying, but she could work around it.

King Alexander stayed in the doorway and crossed his arms.

Clarissa shrugged. "Suit yourself." She settled into a chair. "If you ever want to see Oliver again, these are my terms." She tapped the papers in front of her. "I want a divorce and half the crown jewels." The jewels would be worth more than the equivalent amount of gold she'd be able to carry, and they'd be easy to sell.

King Alexander laughed. "Are you out of your mind? You think you can hold Oliver hostage? You? Where is he?"

"I sent him away," Clarissa said. "I'm the only one that knows where. You won't find him without me."

"This is absurd." King Alexander moved toward her slowly. "There are other ways of making you talk."

"Ah. Threats. Yes, I expected as much. Of course, there's no telling if what I say under torture would be correct or not. It'll waste time you can't afford to lose." Clarissa flicked idly at a non-existent spot on her sleeve. "For all you know, I've sent him somewhere dangerous. What if it takes days to break me, and then several more to go on a wild goose chase? He might be dead by then."

King Alexander seized the front of her dress and hauled her to her feet. "If you've hurt him, you'll wish you were dead."

Clarissa held his glare, refusing to back down. She couldn't let the slightest shiver of nerves show, or the game would be up. "Take my deal, and you can go fetch him back safe and sound. Refuse it, and who know what might happen?"

The king dropped her back in her chair. Her ass landing on the hard seat hurt, but she kept her expression neutral.

"I'll give you your divorce. Nothing else."

"I need money to start my new life." She sure as hell wasn't staying in the kingdom. She was done with her father, the king, Oliver, and even the queen. Fuck all of them.

"A bag full of gold."

It was a good offer, but it would be heavy. She'd have to travel fast to make sure she was well out of the kingdom before anyone could search for her. "I want the jewels."

"A third."

Clarissa wanted to laugh at the absurdity of his bargaining. If she pushed hard enough, he'd hand over the full set. He could growl all he wanted, but he'd shown his hand and he was going to pay for it. Still, it might do to let him think he'd gotten away with something to ensure he wouldn't be sending any assassins out after her. "A third, and I send back the location once I'm past the city gates."

"That's-"

"I'll have no use of it once I'm out, and I have every reason to believe you'll kill if given the slightest chance. This is the best deal you'll get. Will you take it?"