Minerva was hopeless. She watched the window with frustration. The light coming from the outside formed a soft halo around her, making her golden hair seemed to glow even more. She couldn't breathe properly but she wanted to hold back her tears as much as possible. It didn't matter if she would die tomorrow. It didn't matter if she would be dethroned as well. For a solid minute of gazing outside, she wanted to hope when everything was now becoming hopeless.
"I'm so sorry for this, your Highness," his voice made her colder. She wasn't alone in her room. "But you let me do this. But I will try my best to help you about this mess. You're a queen, for Atlantean sake! How could you betray your own people? How can you forget about who you are?"
It was Adolfo.
But not. He was wrong. She didn't forget. She only remembered his brother, the only family that was left to her. Was being a queen meant that she had to abandon her real family?
She didn't speak a word. She looked at her reflection on a huge mirror. Her eyes said it all. Her lips sealed. Her blue dress embroidered with silver lining was still as elegant like it always was. And the jewel on her neck, made her weaker literally. It was the same kind of piece that they put on Ayden's neck as well. To control her Atlantean powers, they did the same thing to her.
"Are you listening to me?" he asked. Standing at the door, his handsome features plastered with no emotion at all, that it made her body shiver. She never thought of him like this. Selfish. Jealous. And serious. Not even a single moment that she thought of Adolfo imprisoning her in her room.
For the second time, she didn't make any response. She was still mad and frustrated at the same time. All she ever had in mind was escaping her room, jumping off the walls, and saving the two men who meant the world to her.
"Are you mad because of that freak?" If she was not mistaken, Adolfo was talking about Edmund. Minerva just looked at her only to show him how irritated she was.
"Look," he almost whispered. He was only standing a few feet away from her. But her gaze sharpened on his face. She saw how he frowned but she didn't care. "I didn't mean this to happen," he continued, "That stupid human was in Atlantean territory. You know our law. Any non-Atlantean creature who will step inside our lane would automatically be punished. In order to maintain our secrecy, he will die along with the truth that we still exist."
What would she do now?
She had a problem with Ayden. And then Edmund. She'd swear that her mind wanted to explode for too much thinkings.
"Let him go." Finally, she broke this silent connection. "He doesn't know about our rules… about us," she lied. If Adolfo would found out the truth that she knew Edmund too well, another big problem would occur.
She had to convince him.
"It's not yours to decide, my queen. Your reputation is unstable now." He smiled wickedly while he started walking towards her. "How about a deal, my lady?"
"A deal? And what's that?"
"The deal is just simple. You can choose whoever you like to survive for tomorrow's execution. Either you'll help your worthless brother." He smiled even more. "Or choose that human who's willing to take risk just to see you again."
Minerva froze at his words. So he knew already. His face was actually turning like Kinos' expression. Hard to believe, but Adolfo's real nature was starting to come out from his shell.
She could feel his rage and pain, yet he was trying to be as gentle as he could. His handsome features meant nothing to her either. If there was one thing that Ayden told him before, it was a warning that she should not trust anyone.
Now she knew why.
She narrowed her eyes. "More like a devil's deal to me."
She watched as his eyes glistened before laughing bitterly. "When you fall in love, you can do things that you've never done before. You put yourself in hell and make a sweet negotiation with the devil just to make sure that you can experience heaven. Even if you don't want to, you begin to blackmail the one you love just to have that person in your life. There are creatures who know how to love purely, but I am not one of them, Minerva."
Fear crawled all over her body. "What do you mean by that? You can't have me, Adolfo! You're not even a king yet! You bastard! Don't you ever blackmail me!"
"I just did, my queen." His smile faded before he turned around and headed for the door. He paused for a second and heaved a sigh. "You're mine, Minerva. And no one will ever take you away from me. I give you too much time and freedom, yet you screwed everything. Get ready. Two hours from now, you will be my lovely bride."