Free The Celestial Kiss by Belle Celine Page B

afraid it’s up to him to disclose the nature of your future.”
    My eyes narrowed with suspicion.  He wouldn’t tell me what I wanted?  Fine.  “I’ll play this game, whatever it is, and I will win.”
    The king gave me an undeniable smile.  “I don’t doubt you will.”
                 
    I suffered through dinner and dessert in the same manner, and when my misery was over, Janna led me back to my room.  But instead of dropping me off, she opened the door and followed me in, perching herself on the edge of the bed while I resumed my seat at the window.  I couldn’t help but watch her. Something about the look in her eye, the way she sat there as if she’d been here millions of times before, had me intrigued.  “Delilah,” She said suddenly, looking up at me.  “She’s the one who spilled that goblet on you at dinner.”  I didn’t know why she was bothering to tell me this, as if Delilah had been anything more than a thorn in my side after my recent experience.  But Janna wasn’t done.  “She’s a bit…malicious.  And she’s always had a thing for James.  I can’t say she is evil incarnate, but if she were on fire I’d try to put it out with lighter fluid.”  She grimaced at her own words.  “That was cruel.  Delilah is actually the one who took care of you when James first brought you here.  The blood was a test, to prove whether we could trust you.  I’m sure she hoped you would fail and that’s why she took it upon herself to spill it everywhere.  The joke is on her, though, because you passed with flying colors.”  Janna smiled then, as if that should excite me.
    I clenched my jaw together, still too angry to speak without potentially screaming.  And screaming would be counterproductive.  Janna seemed to realize I wasn’t going to offer her anything in return, and so she turned and let herself out of the room.
    They were worried about testing me and trying to find out if I could be trusted, but they didn’t seem to realize they’d given me no reason to trust them.  Sure, they didn’t poison the food, but the way the pain in my shoulder pulsed through my veins and echoed in my temples now that I was alone with it, I almost wished they had.
    I collapsed face down on the bed and drifted to sleep in the next minute, too exhausted to even notice that I’d never heard the sound of that lock scraping closed.

Chapter Six
    When I woke up after just a few hours of sleep, it was of my own accord, my body restless with sleep, the same feelings coiled tightly within me like a snake waiting to strike.  I considered the pale purple walls, a false advertisement of comfort, and my anger only grew.  With it grew my need to escape before they drove me mad with their attempts at shoving their brand of normalcy down my throat.
    I could break the glass of that window right now and jump, but when I looked out at the ground below me, my chest seized with the realization that I was higher up then I’d initially thought.  A blur of colorful flowers and thick thorns glared up at me; The trees in the distance looked like nothing more than splotches of paint in an impressionist work.  Stepping back, I took a deep breath.  Heights had never really agreed with me.
    There was not much that I could do, short of bursting through the window and potentially plunging to my death.  It wasn’t the worst option, but there was still a fire within me, still hope that I could escape these people and their mysterious plan for me.   My eyes fell upon the door; it was a long shot, but maybe I could summon just enough rage to break through the wood or wrench the handle off.  Never had I had great occasion to test myself, and even I didn’t know the limits of my strength.  It was silly, perhaps, but what did I stand to gain by sitting cross-legged on the bed and dreaming of my revenge?
    I thought of James’ teeth sinking into my skin, the fear, the helplessness I’d felt at his hand—and