The Soulless Slipper: A Retelling of Persephone and Cinderella (The Fairmyth Chronicles Book 1) by Abigail Manning

Author:Abigail Manning [Manning, Abigail]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2023-03-16T00:00:00+00:00

chapter twenty-three

Priscilla’s shock was more powerful than any of the blows Mortalia had ever delivered to her. The man she’d saved, the stranger who had confirmed her divinity, and even made the effort to contact her weeks later—he wasn’t the prince. This was the prince, and apparently, the man who had sent her a chariot full of gifts and gowns. A thousand questions scattered through her brain like a broken pearl necklace.

If the divine one from Mortalia isn’t the prince, then who is he? And why is the real prince doting on me like I’m his love from another life?

It took her a moment to realize she was hyperventilating, but fortunately, the prince appeared too wrapped up in gawking at her shoes to notice her instability. She steadied her breaths, struggling only a little bit with the tension of the corset constricting her lungs. Once she collected her thoughts, she cleared her throat to draw the prince’s peculiar staring from her slippers to her puzzled eyes.

“Prince Aaron...” The name felt wrong on her tongue, no longer suiting the face of the man who owned it. “Thank you kindly for your gifts, and for including me in your celebration, but I must ask... W-why, ahem, why did you invite me here? Or how did you know who I was, at all?”

Her eyes darted nervously around the room, watching as the women flared out their fans to whisper behind. She had expected to be confronted by her stranger, not an actual stranger. She no longer had any clue on how to navigate him or his personality.

I haven’t said anything offensive, have I?

The prince’s smile softened, his gaze once again taking her in like a delectable treat rather than a person. “Oh, my dearest love...”

He once again grabbed her hand. Her skin tingled under his touch, and not in a pleasant way. Did he just call me love?

“I’ve been watching you for months. Every day my sun strokes your beautiful skin, and every day I have longed to stroke it myself.” He brushed his thumb against the back of her hand, and it took every fiber in her body not to rip her hand away.

“Y-you’ve been watching me?”

She fought the urge to grimace, but the nausea creeping up in her throat was almost unbearable. The discomfort she felt before had now doubled into full-on panic. This man had just outright admitted to spying on her for months. And now he was calling her love? Suddenly she missed the tender affections of Damaris and her stepsisters.

“Of course, my dear,” the prince confirmed, not even an ounce of remorse in his perfect smile. “But I can tell you all the details in due time. As for now, I believe I promised you my first dance?”

He tightened his grip on her hand, pulling her in closer before even waiting for her permission.

“Uh—” Priscilla’s attempts at refusing were silenced by a sharp note of a violin, starting up the entire orchestra with a fast-paced waltz of some sort.

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