Read Online His Princess (A Royal Romance) by Abigail Graham - Free Book Online Page B

and Hades argued that she ate a single seed from a pomegranate, like this one,” I lift it in my hand, “so she was bound by the law of Hell to remain there with Hades forever. But Zeus convinced Hades to let her return for part of the year, or else Demeter would starve the world and there would be no one to worship the gods.”
    The prince nods.
    “Yes. That is the story. There is no magic in the fruit, Persephone. It’s just breakfast.”
    I eye it. “I think I’ll skip it anyway.”
    The rest of it is good . I was expecting beet-pickled eggs but these taste completely different, kind of tart, and the yolk filling is rich and spicy, so much that I have to take a drink of water after I eat them. The sausage is delicious.
    “It’s wild boar,” the prince says, watching me eat. “There is more if you like.”
    I set my fork down.
    “My friend Melissa. What have you done with her?”
    “As I said, she was taken to the hospital.”
    “She wasn’t hurt. Why did you send her to the hospital and bring me here?”
    “A little twist of your ankle will heal itself. Your friend…Melissa? Her body was not hurt but her mind is unwell. She will be treated kindly. You have my word.”
    “What about the other woman, Danielle?”
    He gives me a grim frown. “What is the expression you use? It is touch and go. The bullets missed her heart but shredded her lung and one hit her spine. She may not walk again.”
    I feel a cold ball form in my stomach.
    “Melissa needs to go home.”
    “That is not possible now.”
    “She needs to see her family.”
    “She will not leave. It is not safe. Nor will you.”
    “Can I call my parents? Please? I need them to know I’m alive.”
    “No.”
    I grip the fork hard and slam the blunt end down on the table.
    “You can’t just keep me here like this. Who do you think you are?”
    “I am the crown prince,” he says, shrugging. He looks at me like that’s adequate explanation.
    “I don’t care if you’re king shit of fuck mountain, you can’t just hold me prisoner like this. I’m an American citizen. I have rights.”
    “I can if I wish. Or I can throw you in the dungeon.”
    I stare at him.
    “Seriously? Like an actual dungeon?”
    He blinks a few times. “Yes. What do you propose that I call it?”
    “Um, jail? I don’t know. You’re not going to throw me in a dungeon.”
    “You presume to tell me what I can and cannot do?”
    I swallow, hard.
    “Yeah, I do. You can abuse your own people all you want but I’m an American. Once they know I’m here they’ll send the Marines to get me or something. That’s why you’re so afraid somebody will find out about us.”
    He stands.
    “You have a strange idea of gratitude, Persephone. I saved your life and in return, you berate me at my own table after eating my bread and salt?”
    I flinch back, blinking.
    “I, um… Okay, look, I know it’s bad manners, but I know who you are. I’ve been an aid worker in Solkovia for six months. I heard stories about your regime, my prince . I know what you do to your people.”
    “What is that?”
    “Oppress them. You throw people in prison for speaking out against you, you censor the media, you enforce curfews. Everything in the country belongs to you, nobody has any rights or any chance to live life their own way… and, Jesus Christ, you kill people. You killed people last night. I saw what you did to those men in the pass.”
    “Did you? Did you know what they were going to do to you? When I found you naked and covered in blood?”
    “That doesn’t mean you can just kill them.”
    He looks at me hard. “Why not? They broke the law.”
    “They have rights. To a trial and stuff.”
    “I gave them a trial. I heard the evidence. Was it not conclusive? Do you doubt the man I beheaded threatened you with…” He stops, as if he doesn’t want to say it.
    “Well, no, but he has a right to a jury of his peers.”
    The prince laughs. “Should I have set the other murderers up