Dark Castle (The Dazzling Court Book 1) Read online

  Her words didn't soothe me, instead making me panic even more. Was it really such a big deal that I wasn't a virgin anymore? I was twenty years old, and I didn't want to be shamed for my choices. Especially when Olivier had a hand in my deflowering... and some other body parts, too.

  The door of the room opened and we both glanced as Freya walked down the hallway with a smug smirk on her face and a spring in her step.

  "Fuck," I muttered to myself just as Fleur called out my name.

  "Don't worry," Zara said again. "You'll be fine. Chin up!"

  I got up on shaky feet just as she cleared her throat at the sound of footsteps.

  I turned around and came face-to-face with the Queen, who wore a triumphant smile that somehow still managed to be disdainful.

  I curtsied like we'd been told to do in her presence, feeling my heart hammering in my chest.

  "Girls," the Queen said, walking right up to the room I was supposed to go in and giving me an impatient look. "Well, Miss Jonathan? Stop dilly-dallying and come forward."

  I paled at the sight of her, fearing the worst.

  "Was she in the room with you?" I whispered to Zara, and my friend shook her head, looking just as horrified as I was.

  “Amber!” the Queen called out again, and I left my friend standing there, following the imposing woman into the bright white room.

  The lights blinded me as the door shut behind us.

  In the room, there were just three of us.

  The Queen, me and a woman wearing white scrubs.

  God, it’s true! I thought, panicking right away. They’re going to do the test now, and with the Queen present, no less. How am I going to get out of this one?

  “Please strip down to your undergarments,” the nurse instructed in a cool, impassive voice.

  At least she wasn’t prejudiced against me. But the Queen was.

  I looked around the room for a screen, but there was nothing. And while the nurse turned around to give me some privacy, the Queen’s eyes were right on me.

  “Well?” she barked at me. “Stop wasting everybody’s time, girl. We have better things to do than wait around for you.”

  My mouth set in a thin line and I fought back the remark lingering on my lips.

  What gave her the right to be present for this?

  I had a feeling Olivier had no idea about any of this. And he would not be happy when I told him.

  I looked the Queen right in the eyes as I pulled down my pleated skirt and unbuttoned the white silk blouse I was wearing. She didn’t look away, though her cheeks colored in an angry beetroot red when I defied her.

  I stripped down to my black lace lingerie set and the stockings I was wearing, held up by a garter belt. Then, I crossed my hands in front of my body, staring at the older woman in front of me and willing her to say something.

  From her disapproving look, I could almost tell exactly what she was thinking.

  My lingerie didn’t exactly scream ‘virgin bride’.

  She was angry, I could tell, but she decided not to say anything, keeping her composure while she turned to face the nurse.

  “Well, get on with it,” she barked at the woman. “I don’t have all day.”

  “Of course, Your Majesty,” the woman hurried to say, offering her an awkward smile. “If you could just wait here while I do the exam.”

  “Wait?” the Queen argued. “I specifically requested to be present during this girl’s examination.”

  I shifted while the woman glanced at me.

  Then, she leaned in closer to the Queen, muttering, “I just think it might be uncomfortable for the girl, Your Majesty.”

  “Do I look like I give a damn?” the Queen hissed. “God, it’s impossible to find good help these days. Get on with it, woman.”

  The nurse shot me an apologetic look before motioning for us to follow her into the other room.

  This one was white too, but what frightened me more was the large seat with stirrups in front of it.

  Surely, this was all a sick joke.

  They didn’t expect me to get into that thing while the Queen was watching my every move… right?

  “If you please, Miss Jonathan,” the nurse said awkwardly, motioning to the seat.

  I glanced between her and the Queen, my heart hammering.

  When neither of them moved an inch, just staring at me, I realized I didn’t have a choice. Either I went through with this or I risked making the Queen angry. And I wasn’t about to let her belittle me for feeling uncomfortable.

  I put my most confident face on as I removed my panties and climbed onto the seat. The Queen glared at me with disgust in her eyes, but I defied her by staring right back.

  If she wanted to do this the hard way, I was more than happy to oblige. I would make it as uncomfortable for her as possible.

  Her eyes wandered over my body, and I could tell she didn’t approve of that, either.

  Her scandalized gaze swept over my shaved pussy, and I could tell how disgusted she was that I hadn’t let my hair grow over my vulnerable parts.

  She muttered something under her breath before coming to stand beside me. I realized she’d stare at me through the whole procedure and try to make it as difficult as possible for me.

  The woman was horrible, and I vowed to get her back for all the stuff she’d done to me.

  The nurse set to work, and I winced when I felt the coolness of the tools she was using. I braced myself for what I knew was coming, and sure enough, moments later, she put her specimens aside and cleared her throat.

  “Well?” the Queen barked. “What are the results?”

  The nurse blushed and motioned for me to get dressed. I pulled my panties on and glared at the older woman beside me. She was really making this difficult, and I had no doubt she’d make a big deal of the big reveal.

  “She did not pass,” the nurse muttered, and the Queen laughed out loud.

  “I knew it,” she hissed. “I knew it.”

  She walked right up to me, jamming her pointer finger between my ribs.

  “You filthy little girl,” she hissed. “I knew you were lying all along. I knew you were nothing but a commoner!”

  “I may be a commoner,” I replied. “But it seems to me I have more manners than the Queen herself.”

  The nurse gasped, and the Queen sucked in air as she stared at me.

  “You infidel,” she murmured. “You’ll be punished for this, even though you’re not in the competition anymore. Obviously.”

  I flushed as I walked up to her, barely reaching to her shoulders but feeling taller from the adrenaline rushing through my veins.

  “Obviously?” I repeated. “And how are you going to explain that to Olivier?”

  “Don’t say his name,” she roared at me.

  So easy to provoke.

  Almost too easy.

  “You’re not pure, girl. You’re out of here. Olivier wouldn’t want a woman another man has touched.”

  “Oh, no?” I asked, with a sweet smile playing on my lips. “I’m sure he wouldn’t, Your Majesty.”

  “So you understand,” she went on, triumphant. “You must be gone by the evening.”

  “Except your son was the very one who did this,” I purred as if she hadn’t said a word. “He’s the one who took my virginity. The one who fucked me.”

  She flinched at my crude choice of words, the color draining from her cheeks.

  “That’s not t-true,” she argued, but her voice wasn’t as certain as it had been before, and she glanced at the nurse as if the other woman would back her up.

  But she busied herself with the equipment instead, blushing as she ignored our conversation. The Queen turned back to me, her face furious and twisted in rage.

  “You’re a liar, Amber Jonathan. Who would confirm your story? No one.”

  “No?” I asked. “There is someone who could. Actually, a whole room of people, since your precious son fucked me in front of an audience.”

&n
bsp; She paled even further, and I gave her a sweet smile as I left the room. She followed in my steps and watched me put on my clothes, stewing in her own anger.

  “They’re all liars,” she said as I finished getting dressed. “They’d all lie for you!”

  “Then ask the person you trust the most,” I suggested. “Your son.”

  She winced as if I’d hit her.

  “You traitorous girl,” she muttered. “You liar. You… you slut!”

  “Call me whatever names you want,” I purred. “The truth will remain. Now, I’ll be on my way. I trust you don’t need me for anything else?”

  “No,” the nurse cut in, giving me a wide smile. I almost got the feeling she was proud of me for defying the tyrant Queen. “You can leave.”

  “Such a whore,” the Queen spat out when I opened the door. “Don’t think your filthy ways won’t catch up with you, Amber Jonathan.”

  “Oh, I know they will,” I replied with a wide grin. “And they’re precisely why I’ll be the last one standing.”

  With those words, I sauntered off.

  8

  Amber

  Two days without any challenges followed, and I was grateful for them, using the time off to let off some steam with the other girls.

  After the exam, I was so angry I could’ve slapped the Queen if she dared show her face in front of me again.

  But I kept my feelings to myself, knowing that if I expressed my hatred for the older woman to anyone, I could be called out for treason.

  I needed to keep my secrets my own. I wasn’t sure who I could trust in the castle, so for now, I didn’t speak of my true feelings to anyone.

  Even when Zara and Safiya prodded me for more information, I kept a stoic smile on my face and warded off their remarks by saying the Queen was a respectable woman who knew what she was doing.

  “You can’t believe that!” Zara exclaimed as we were walking in the castle gardens.

  Her expression was one of disbelief and she was intent on explaining to me just how much the Queen had wronged me.

  I merely listened with a serene smile on my face.

  Keep your secrets to yourself, I reminded myself, over and over again. You never know who will prove to be a snake.

  “Let’s talk about something else,” I finally said, tired of the conversation going in circles.

  Safiya, who was walking with us, rewarded me with a grin, and I could tell she was getting sick of Zara’s insistence, too.

  “Safiya, you seem to know so much about this place. Did you read up on it before you came here?”

  She nodded, the fire in her eyes returning. She’d regaled us with tales of Luxuria the whole time we’d been chatting, and I marveled at her knowledge of the castle and the country itself.

  “I have a little confession,” she admitted, smiling slyly. “I have an ulterior motive for coming here.”

  “Safiya!” Zara exclaimed with shock. “You can’t be serious. Isn’t the Prince reason enough to be here?”

  “Of course he is,” Safiya responded, giving me a conspiratorial smile. “But there’s so much more to discover in Luxuria than just finding out the color of the Prince’s sheets.”

  The three of us giggled as we kept walking in the exquisite gardens.

  They were truly the pride of the castle, with rich, lush winter greens accompanying us on the walk through the maze. It had tall hedges, rose bushes with brilliant blooms guiding our way.

  Safiya had told us one secret already – that we had to follow the white roses to find our way to the center of the maze. The red roses marked every wrong turn that would lead us away from the center.

  It was quite cold outside, and we’d all bundled up in our warmest clothes.

  I wore a scarlet red Stella McCartney dress over sheer black stockings, black leather boots by Chloe, and a black cape trimmed with faux fur I’d gotten from Rose, a custom-tailored piece. The other girls wore real furs, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that, I loved animals too much.

  Zara bundled up in her brown rabbit, while Safiya pulled her white wool coat adorned with silver fox tighter around her chest.

  “Tell us more,” Zara said, her breath fogging in the air. “I want to know everything!”

  “You didn’t do any research yourself?” Safiya raised her eyebrows, a playful smile on her lips. “Don’t worry, girls, I’m more than happy to impart my wisdom.”

  “Go on then,” I urged her. “Tell us more.”

  “I’ve told you most of the history, right?” Safiya asked, and the two of us nodded eagerly. “Prince Olivier’s father, King Sebastian, ruled with a firm fist. He wasn’t a kind ruler, but he was fair. The country flourished under his rule. He amassed riches to conquer every other kingdom in Europe. He was wealthy, he made all the right decisions, and he took care of his family. There was only one mystery that was never solved before he died…”

  “What was it?” Zara rushed to ask, her eyes burning bright with curiosity. “You can’t stop now, Safiya!”

  Our friend’s eyes sparkled. She knew she’d hooked us, and even I was eager to find out more, cursing myself for not doing more research on the royal family.

  “The King had a bastard son,” Safiya went on, eliciting a gasp from Zara.

  “Bruno, right?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  Secrets, secrets, secrets will be the end of me, I thought to myself as both girls turned to face me with matching curious expressions.

  “You know about him?” Safiya asked. “I thought it was a secret… for a while, I even thought it was an urban myth!”

  “He picked m-me up from the a-airport,” I stuttered. “He didn’t pick you girls up?”

  “No,” Safiya shook her head, and Zara mirrored her reaction. “I really didn’t think he was real. I thought it was all tales, that he was made-up. I haven’t seen him in the castle. Have you, Amber?”

  I thought back to my time in Luxuria and realized I hadn’t seen Bruno either, not since that first day at the airport. I shook my head.

  “What does he look like?” Zara rushed to ask. “I wonder if he’s as handsome as Prince Olivier.”

  “He is,” I admitted reluctantly. “Though they look very different… I guess Olivier must look more like his father, I don’t see the family resemblance with the Queen.”

  The girls showered me with questions and I laughed, doing my best to answer them all. Now, I was questioning Bruno’s presence at the airport.

  Why had he only picked me up, but not the other girls? Was I special in some way? Or was he just scoping things out for his brother?

  I realized with a start Olivier had never mentioned his brother to me. Perhaps there was animosity between them?

  I vowed to get to the bottom of it soon.

  I remembered Bruno clearly now, the dark hair, the piercing gray eyes.

  Where had I seen those eyes before? They felt so familiar when I thought of them.

  He was handsome, there was no doubt about it. But there was an air about him I didn’t trust completely, something to suggest he was perhaps more sinister than he let on.

  “Safiya, tell us more about what you know,” I finally said when they’d exhausted my knowledge of the royal bastard. “Who is Bruno’s mother?”

  “Well, her name was Evalina,” she confided in us. “Apparently, she was part of King Sebastian’s own selection, but stayed on after he picked the Queen as a maid.”

  “Sounds so mysterious,” Zara muttered. “We need to find out more, girls.”

  “What does it matter?” I shrugged. “We’re here for Olivier, right?”

  “Right,” Zara nodded, her eyes glittering with mischief. “Though I have a feeling Bruno might be the perfect consolation prize.”

  We all laughed out loud.

  “Have you girls dated before?” I asked, my heart thumping in my chest as I got the question out.

  They turned to face me, and I rushed to add, “Obviously, nothing serious… But surely
you’ve had other men courting you?”

  “I suppose,” Safiya said with a devilish smile. “Though I can’t say I was interested. I had other things on my mind…”

  “Like what?” Zara asked, but she shrugged, giving us a mysterious smile.

  I made a mental note of it for later before turning to face my other new friend.

  “What about you, Zara?” I asked.

  “Well…” she gave me a glance filled with worry. “There was someone… Someone my parents really wanted me to marry. But when the invitation came, I wasn’t grateful for it.”

  “You didn’t want to marry the other boy?” Safiya asked.

  “Boy?” Zara let out a bitter laugh. “He wasn’t a boy. He was twenty years my senior… And no, I didn’t want to marry him. It would’ve been an arranged marriage though, as is our custom, and I couldn’t have done much to fight it. And if I don’t win here… I’ll have to go back home, and probably marry him, anyway.”

  “That’s awful,” I muttered, squeezing her trembling hand. “I had no idea, Zara. I’m so sorry.”

  She shrugged, the happy-go-lucky smile that was her signature returning to her face as she brightly retorted, “I’ll figure it out. I always do.”

  I gave her an encouraging smile, my heart aching for her.

  What else was I supposed to do?

  In the end, we would still be each other’s competition. We all wanted Olivier, but only one of us would stay in Luxuria and become his bride.

  “What about you, Safiya?” I asked next. “Ever been in a relationship?”

  “I have,” she replied, giving me a mysterious smile.

  “Anyone for Olivier to be jealous of?” Zara waggled her brows, and all three of us giggled. “Was he from Egypt too?”

  “She,” Safiya replied with a grin, making Zara’s mouth gape open.

  “Are you for real?” she asked. “You dated a woman?”

  “Yes,” Safiya shrugged. “I went to an all-girls’ school. It was my little form of rebellion.”

  “You just got about ten times cooler in Zara’s eyes,” I told her, making both laugh.

  “I can’t believe it,” Zara gushed. “Why did you break up?”

  “She lived on the other side of the world,” Safiya shrugged. “And our families didn’t approve, obviously. But enough about that. And don’t mention it to the others. You guys can keep a secret, right?”