Page 11 of Knotted By the Triad

ZURI

The doors had barely closed behind them when they opened again. I looked up, expecting one of the three men to have returned. Instead, a woman hurried inside, lifting the hem of her deep blue dress as she crossed the room.

She had smooth umber-brown skin, a slender face with high cheekbones, and dark eyes beneath gently arched brows. Her black hair was parted down the middle and gathered into a long, thick braid that hung over one shoulder.

"Princess," she whispered. “It’s me.”

I knew exactly who she was. Allie. Zuri's personal maid and the most loyal person she'd had in CiCi's book. Even after everyone else turned against Zuri, Allie stayed. Right now, she looked sick with worry. Allie rushed to the bed and pressed the back of her hand against my forehead.

"How do you feel?" she asked, voice low.

"Like somebody drugged me,” I rasped, throat dry.

Lowering her hand, she mumbled, "What kind of father does this to his eldest daughter?"

The kind that doesn’t care about anyone but himself.

She reached for the pitcher beside the bed and poured me a cup of water. I took it gratefully. My hand was steadier than it had been earlier, although my arms still felt heavier than normal.

But at least that intense feeling of arousal from moments ago was dissipating now that the alphas were no longer in the room with me. I was still in need of a hot shower, you know, because of the slick. Ugh!

"Drink slowly," she instructed.

I did. The cool water helped with the dryness in my mouth and throat. When I finished, Allie took the cup from me, then reached for the pins in my hair. I lowered my head, letting her take this mess off my head.

Whatever this monstrosity was, it had my neck aching. I think CiCi had described it as a wedding crown or something. I hated it.

"Help me sit up,” I told Allie.

"You should rest."

"I don’t have time to rest," I insisted.

I needed to start plotting how I was going to survive in this book. Allie hesitated, then slid an arm behind me. A dizzy spell came over me. I closed my eyes and waited for the spinning to stop.

Allie propped the pillows up behind me, then helped me lie back against them. In this position, I could see the room better. I tamped down a wave of panic that threatened to overtake me. I was really in CiCi’s book. Allie went back to removing the pins from my hair.

"What happened before my father gave me the drug?" I asked, trying to recall all of today’s details. "I remember arguing with him. Everything after that is hazy."

"You argued because he wouldn't allow you to speak to the princes before the ceremony."

I frowned. Had that happened in the book? I couldn’t remember.

"You wanted to tell them what Lady Daveah had done yourself," Allie continued. "You said you wouldn't stand before them pretending nothing had happened. They were expecting your sister. You thought they deserved to know why you had been sent in her place."

"And my father didn't agree."

"He forbade it."

That sounded like Orion. Allie placed another pin on the table.

"You told him you would still honor the marriage if the princes agreed to accept you. You only wanted them to know the truth first."

Oh, yeah. I’d forgotten that part. At the start of the book, Zuri had actually been a good person. She hadn’t wanted to trick the princes into marrying her. That had been her father’s plan.

"That's why he drugged me," I whispered. “Because I refused to get into the wedding sedan. I’d wanted to meet with the princes first to explain the situation.”

"Yes.” Allie nodded. "You didn’t refuse the marriage. You just wanted to talk to the princes first. But your father was afraid they would get upset when they learned of the sister swap and take the matter before their cousin, well, Prince Kai’s cousin, the King. If they refused you and reported that Lady Daveah had abandoned the marriage ordered by His Majesty, the Bane family would have been held responsible."