Spellbound After Midnight (Ever Dark, Ever Deadly Book 1) by Jenna Collett

Author:Jenna Collett [Collett, Jenna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-02T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Panic and pressure built simultaneously as the water closed over my head. My gown tangled around my legs, a restrictive weight, dragging me to the bottom even as I tried to stay calm. The water was only a few feet deep. I just needed to get my bearings.

The prince fisted the fabric of my gown to pull me back up, but when his hold shifted and his fingers dug deep into my forearms, my relief gave way to the realization he was holding me under. I struggled to shake him off, using the bottom for leverage. Lungs on fire, I choked in a mouthful of water—then, suddenly, my head breached the surface, and my next breath was all air.

He dragged me over the fountain ledge to land like a wet bundle in the grass, where I coughed, gulping in air. Leaning over me, the prince tugged soaked strands of hair out of my face.

“Tessa! My God, are you all right? You startled me, and I thought…” His voice faded. “I don’t know what I thought, I just reacted. You fought me when I tried to pull you up.”

I shivered as the night air pressed against my wet skin, the shudder wracking my entire body. It had happened so fast. Was he trying to help? A watery cough was finally followed by a clean breath, and I lifted my head to see the worry in his wide, frantic eyes. I must have been confused, susceptible to the vision I’d had of Ella’s final moments.

“I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “After what happened here with Ella…” His throat worked, and he cursed.

My gaze dropped to his left arm, the sleeve rolled up past his elbow. “What were you doing out here? I saw you searching for something in the water.”

Prince Marcus exhaled, and his eyes closed. “I was leaning over the fountain, my reflection staring back at me, and then, Ella’s face was there beneath the water, the way she looked after they found her body. It spooked me, and I knocked my wineglass into the water. I should have left it, but I was trying to fish it out when you approached.” He winced, the moonlight highlighting the movement of his jaw. “What happened to Ella was my fault. I should have been there. I was supposed to be.” His voice cracked.

“What do you mean?”

“Shortly before midnight, I switched costumes with a servant. I never danced with her. It’s all a lie. My alibi, all of it.” He slumped in the grass, defeat etched across his face. “I never wanted any of this. The ball was my father’s idea. He’s demanding I marry and said if I don’t find someone on my own, he’ll pick someone for me. Do you know what that’s like? To have no control over your life?”

Water dripped from the ends of my hair, skating down my arms. “I do know.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve had enough of his ultimatums.”

“Where did you go?”

“Back to my rooms.

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