I would sooner die than willingly become a traitor. The king and the general forced my hand on this matter.

The conference hall is more a resort than anything else. I can see the ocean out the back windows, and between us and it lounge chairs and umbrellas line the sand.

Waiters carrying delicate silver trays move throughout the room, offering hors d’oeuvres to guests. It’s strange to not see them descending upon the food like their very lives depend on it. That’s the kind of reaction I’m used to in the WUN.

A man steps into my line of sight, bowing low to the king before taking my hand and kissing it. “Your Majesties, it’s an honor.”

The hairs at the nape of my neck rise at that voice. I sat in on a lot of calls my father had with that smooth baritone. I snatch my hand away as he straightens.

Luca Estes wears middle age well. His salt and pepper hair is trimmed close to his head, as is his goatee, and he sports the same lean build that many active military members do.

His dark eyes glitter as he takes me in. “It’s been too long since we last spoke.”

My skin crawls, and I stop my hand from groping towards my holster.

“I saw the peace talks,” he continues, “apologies for not joining. I hadn’t realized until then just how much you’ve grown up, Serenity,” he says, his accent barely there.

He rests a hand on my shoulder and turns to the king. “I’ve known your wife since she was a child.”

That is stretching the truth quite a bit. He’s known my father since I was a child; he’s only known me since I began to train for my role as emissary.

I flash Luca a dark look. “Yes, we’re practically family.”

You sellout.

My father had all sorts of advice for dealing with political figures you didn’t like. I was never very good at following any of it, and now, married to my archenemy and facing down another, I’m having a hard time controlling my emotions.

Montes studies Estes, his mask firmly in place. “I hadn’t realized how close you and my wife were.”

Tread carefully.

Montes’s subtle threat sends a thrill through me. I find I don’t mind them when they’re lobbed at other bad men.

Estes turns to me, a smile plastered on his face. I can see just a touch of panic in the corners of his eyes. We’re all having two conversations at the moment—one spoken, the other implied. He’s only now realizing how treacherous knowing the traitor queen can be.

“Yes,” he pats Montes’s shoulder; the fatherly gesture is made all the more ridiculous by the fact that he has to reach up to do so, “well, congratulations on stealing Serenity’s heart.”

“He didn’t steal my heart, Luca,” I interject. “He just stole me.”

That temporarily silences the corrupt politician.

“She’s kidding,” Montes says, giving me a look.

I raise an eyebrow. He knows I’m not going to muzzle my mouth.

Estes barks out a laugh. The whole thing is wooden and awkward, because the three of us know just how wicked both men are, and it’s not something you’re supposed to bring up.

So naturally, I’m going to bring it up.

“All those conversations, Serenity,” Estes continues, “and I had no idea how quick tongued you were.”

“She can do many things with that tongue of hers,” Montes says.

That’s it.

I’m reaching for my gun when the king grabs my wrist.

“Let me the fuck go,” I hiss.

“She hasn’t had her coffee yet,” Montes explains calmly.

I’m seeing red.

“Apologies, you both must be hungry.” Luca waves down a waiter.

“Whatever you give me is ending up on your shirt,” I say while Estes is distracted.

Montes leans into my ear. “You keep this up and we won’t make it through the first hour of meetings before I have you pressed up against one of these walls.”

I think he’s threatening me until I see the heat in his eyes. It’s still a warning, but this one’s of a wholly different nature.

His arousal only pisses me off more, as does my response to it. He told me once that I’d be good at angry sex. I think he’s right.

“This is all just a game to you, isn’t it?” I say.

“Of course.” His face is only inches from mine. “But you already knew that.”

I straighten and speak low enough so that only he hears. “One day you’re going to underestimate the wrong person, and then your pretty empire is going to come crashing down.”

“I’M STILL DEBATING shooting you,” I say an hour later.

“I know,” Montes says next to me. “My pants have been tight all morning because of it.”

“You are a sick, sick man.”

We’re back to greeting people, just like we had at our wedding. The line of men and women eager to meet the king winds through the room and out one of the exits. This is not how I imagined changing the world—giving the privileged my time in a few empty lines of greetings.

“Perhaps I should just pull down your pants,” I say after the next round of guests leave our side.

That gets Montes’s attention.

“That way it’ll be easier to bend you over and let everyone here kiss your ass.”

King Lazuli stares at me for several seconds, then he lets loose a deep laugh, the sound carrying throughout the room.

He reels me in for a kiss. “Life is infinitely more interesting with you in it.”

It takes another hour to meet with everyone, and then we’re being shuffled down the hall to a conference room.

The entire time at least two cameras stay trained on us. They hover like flies, orbiting us, drawing in as close as they dare, then backing off before I get a chance to break their lenses. I’ve come close.

“They’re fascinated with you,” the king says as we walk. His silken voice raises my gooseflesh. “They’ve always been.”

I give a cameraman a hard look, and he quickly retreats.

Montes is right, but he’s also wrong. They’re not fascinated with me so much as they are our relationship. I’m the blood-soaked soldier that defended the WUN, and he’s the bloodthirsty king that captured my land. We’re enemies that became lovers. Two terrible people that rule the world together.

Montes’s hand skims down my back, and it’s a far more intimate gesture than it has any right to be. He’s undressing me with his fingers and his eyes, and even after all we’ve seen and done together, I still feel like a bug caught in a spider’s web.