Mated To The Cruel Prince
Chapter 113: Play Games With Her, Not Valerie

Chapter 113: Play Games With Her, Not Valerie

The look Aldric gave Islinda made her wish she had not opened her mouth to speak in the first place. He stared at her as if she was stupid and it made anger rouse inside of her. She didn’t lack common sense, rather she was getting used to the way things were being run around here.

"Kill you?" His raucous laughter filled the dining hall and it was quite an effort for Aurelia and the others to keep a straight face throughout the whole ordeal.

"What’s funny?" Islinda asked, lips drawn into a thin line. Her nails were digging into the skin of her laps and it took her everything to hold back the tears that stung her eyes. His mocking laughter really hurt her feelings.

He roared once more with laughter,

"It’s just hilarious that you think that a fae would go through the trouble of planting blackthorn on your path when all any Fae could do is simply snap their finger and not even your ashes would be found. So why go through the stress of getting such a rare and highly-priced plant for you? You flatter yourself Islinda when you’re merely an insignificant mortal."

Islinda’s lips trembled and her fingers dug into her lap so hard that she broke the skin and drew blood. Aldric’s caustic words did not just cut through her, they burned her - even though it was the bitter truth.

She must have thought too highly of herself all because Valerie liked her, but he’s dumped her already and now worth nothing. Islinda bet Valerie had no regret. After all, Fae’s were immortal, what’s a few years of mortal life to compare to it? She could see where Aldric get his life assurance and confidence. Even at that, he had no right to insult her this way.

"Although...." Aldric’s laughter came to a sudden end, his expression serious, "You did draw attention to yourself last night and I’m sure the passionate Fae Queen would want to erase any stumbling block to her son’s way to the throne of Astaria, and that includes you."

"W-what?" Islinda whispered, lowering the spoon onto the stomach as her stomach churned and coiled with tension. She had lost her appetite and even the tantalizing fried chicken which was her favorite didn’t seem to appeal to her anymore.

"No..." She shook her head in confusion, "You just told me that I’m an insignificant mortal and yet the queen would want to kill me?" She pointed to her chest, blood rushing to get her ears. Not that Islinda hasn’t seen this coming, but getting a confirmation from Aldric was another thing.

Aldric leaned back against his seat smugly, "It seems you don’t understand the gravity of what Valerie did by having a romantic relationship with you, a mere human. He -"

"I already know that. No, I have meditated...." Islinda trailed off as something registered in her head and she gave him an accusing look, "You!"

"Me what?" He shrugged, looking at her curiosity.

"Y-you... you are the one they attacked yesternight. I was merely unfortunate to be in the carriage with you -"

"You were rather fortunate," He winked at her, "I saved your life, remember?"

Islinda said, flustered, "You only saved me because I was useful to you."

"Of course, you know that very well," Adric admitted shamelessly, leaving her completely dumbfounded.

What in the world has she gotten herself into? She was dealing with a mad Fae and it was rather taxing.

"However, that’s not the point here," Aldric waved it off, a strange excitement in his eyes, "The thing is guessing who tried to kill me."

Islinda rolled her eyes, "Who wouldn’t try to kill you? You’re a nuisance, Aldric, in case no one ever told you that."

"Just guess!" He snapped at her and she almost jumped out of her seat.

Islinda sucked in a sharp breath realizing he was serious about the guessing game. What a lunatic! Although Islinda had to admit, she was intrigued. So far she had met two categories of Faeries - the ones who hated yet feared Aldric and the ones who hated and weren’t ashamed to show it to his face. Who would be bold enough to attack Aldric without fear of retaliation from the mad Fae..... Dang.

"The Fae Queen." She said aloud.

So far, she was the only one who did not fake her animosity towards Aldric and wanted him out of the picture so Valerie could easily ascend the throne.

"A close answer," Aldric said, looking at her with admiration.

"She’s not the one?" Islinda frowned, having been hundred percent sure that she got the answer.

"No, she’s not."

How are you so sure she’s not the one?"

"Trust me, I am very familiar with the Fae Queen’s tactics," He chuckled.

Although Aldric spoke cockily, his face clouded over, and Islinda could have sworn she saw the ghost of what he had been through in the Queen’s hands before he blinked, and the emotion was gone just like that.

He grinned instead, "Fine, let me give you a little hint then."

Aldric leaned towards her and to be honest, the eager anticipation in his eyes filled her with dread. Why did it feel like she was not going to like this?

"So the thing is, who did you think would benefit mostly from my death and wants the throne so much?" He asked, staring at her face with blazing intensity.

Islinda bit down on her lower lip, muttering, "Who do I think wants the throne so much....?"

Her expression shifted as the blood drained from her face. No way. It was impossible. Valerie would never do that.

"From the look on your face, I can safely guess that you figured it out."

No!

Raw anger tore through Islinda and the next she knew, she had jostled from her seat and grabbed him on the tunic with both hands, tugging him forward so their eyes were on the same level.

Her hands trembled greatly but she held on tight, warning him through gritted teeth, the veins on her face bulging,

"You can play enough games with me but don’t you ever dare to attempt to ruin my image of him. Valerie is not a monster like you!"

Valerie would never do that! Not when she was in that carriage!

She almost died....