CH 5 - Lily
1524 Words
LILY POV
Samuel drove like he had something to prove.
One hand on the wheel, elbow resting against the window, fingers loose, relaxed, arrogant. The other hand tapped absently against his thigh as the Lamborghini slid over the snow-covered road like it had somewhere important to be and no intention of apologizing for it.
The problem was that the road was iced over, visibility was crap, and we were one bad curve away from kissing a tree.
“You know,” I said, gripping the door handle a little tighter than I meant to, “snow plus speed plus one hand on the wheel usually ends with people dying.”
Samuel glanced at me, amused. Not worried. Not offended. Just entertained.
“Relax, Princess,” he said easily. “I’ve got it covered.”
“That’s what every i***t says right before they crash.”
He grinned. “And yet, we’re still alive.”
“For now.”
He laughed, actually laughed, and the sound irritated me almost as much as it disarmed me. He leaned forward slightly, adjusting the car’s trajectory with a smooth movement that suggested he really did know what he was doing.
“I grew up driving on ice,” he said. “Northern border . Snow six months a year. If I couldn’t handle this, my father would’ve disowned me.”
“That explains the recklessness.”
“That explains the confidence.”
I rolled my eyes but loosened my grip on the handle just a bit. The car slowed as the road narrowed, trees closing in around us, branches heavy with snow. It was quiet out here. No palace guards. No gawking courtiers. No whispers hiding behind polite smiles.
I hadn’t expected that.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Somewhere you won’t hate,” he replied. “Hopefully.”
“Bold claim.”
“I’m a bold man.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard about the Grints.”
“Oh?” He arched a brow. “And what have you heard?”
I considered lying. Decided against it. “Power-hungry. Ruthless. Loyal to the throne only when it benefits them.”
Samuel smiled, slow and sharp. “Sounds like most fae noble families.”
“True.”
The car turned onto a narrow path barely visible beneath the snow. My stomach tightened again.
“Samuel,” I warned.
“Trust me.”
I didn’t.
But I didn’t tell him to stop either.
We parked near what looked like an abandoned hunting lodge tucked into the trees. Stone walls, dark wood, smoke curling lazily from a chimney. It wasn’t ostentatious. It wasn’t royal. It wasn’t even particularly fae.
It felt… normal.
Samuel stepped out first, walked around, and opened my door like it was the most natural thing in the world. No audience. No performance.
That surprised me more than the car.
Inside, the lodge was warm. Fire crackling. Wooden table. Two chairs. A small kitchen that smelled like fresh bread and herbs. No servants. No guards hovering nearby.
Just us.
“I didn’t think you’d want a crowd,” he said, shrugging out of his coat. “Figured you get enough of that already.”
I watched him carefully. “You figured that… how?”
He met my gaze, unbothered. “You dress like someone who hates being watched.”
Fair.
We sat at the table while he poured wine into simple glasses. No crystal. No gold filigree. Just glass.
“So,” I said, folding my arms, “this is the part where I’m supposed to be charmed?”
He leaned back in his chair, studying me. “Are you?”
“I’m suspicious.”
“Good,” he said. “Means you’re paying attention.”
That made me pause.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked bluntly. “And don’t give me some polished court answer.”
Samuel didn’t flinch. If anything, he seemed pleased by the challenge.
“You want the honest version?”
“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”
He took a sip of wine, eyes never leaving mine. “Because my family needs the throne.”
There it was.
Straightforward. Ugly. Political.
I felt something tighten in my chest. “So I’m a stepping stone.”
“Yes.”
I appreciated the honesty. I hated it too.
“But,” he continued, “that’s not the whole reason.”
I waited.
“My brother Seth wants power for power’s sake,” Samuel said. “My father wants it because he’s terrified of losing influence. I want it because this court is rotten, and pretending otherwise is how fae kingdoms collapse.”
“You think marrying me fixes that?”
“I think aligning with you changes things,” he replied. “You’re not like them.”
I snorted. “You don’t know me.”
“I know enough,” he said calmly. “You don’t play their games. You don’t pretend. And you don’t enjoy the throne.”
“That’s not a qualification. That’s a liability.”
“Only if you’re afraid of change.”
I leaned back, studying him now. “And what about you? Are you afraid of it?”
His smile turned crooked. “Terrified.”
That earned him a point.
Silence stretched between us, not uncomfortable, just… thoughtful. The fire popped softly.
“Why agree to this marriage?” I asked quietly. “You could’ve said no.”
“Could you?”
I didn’t answer.
He nodded, like that was answer enough.
“I don’t plan to cage you,” he said. “I’m not interested in owning a wife who resents me. That ends badly for everyone.”
“And what do you want instead?”
He hesitated. Just a fraction of a second.
“A partner,” he said. “Or at least… an ally who doesn’t lie to me.”
I stared at him. “You realize my mother would skin you alive if she heard you talk like that.”
“Yes,” he said dryly. “Which is why I didn’t say it to her.”
I laughed before I could stop myself.
Samuel’s eyes flicked to my mouth, then back to my eyes. Not predatory. Not possessive. Assessing.
“That was real,” he said.
“What?”
“The laugh.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
“I won’t.”
We ate in relative quiet after that. The food was good. Simple. Thoughtful. He’d cooked it himself, which annoyed me because I hadn’t expected to be impressed.
I didn’t want to like him.
But I didn’t dislike him either.
Which was worse.
“So,” I said eventually, setting my fork down, “what happens if I turn out to be… disappointing?”
He smirked. “Then we’ll be equally matched.”
“And if I shift?”
His gaze sharpened. “Into a wolf?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t care.”
That startled me. “You should.”
“Why?”
“Because the court will,” I snapped. “Because my mother will. Because it will ruin everything you just said you want.”
“Then maybe everything deserves to be ruined.”
I stared at him, searching for mockery, manipulation, anything.
I didn’t find it.
“You’re either very brave,” I said slowly, “or very stupid.”
“Probably both.”
I exhaled, rubbing my temple. “I don’t trust this.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
“And yet you brought me here. Alone. No witnesses.”
He leaned forward, forearms resting on the table. “Because if you’re going to decide whether to trust me, it shouldn’t be under your mother’s chandelier.”
That… made sense.
I hated that it did.
“Don’t misunderstand,” I said. “I didn’t choose this marriage.”
“I know.”
“I agreed because I had no other option.”
“I know that too.”
“And I won’t play the obedient bride.”
His smile was sharp. “Good. I’d be bored.”
I studied him for a long moment, then nodded once. “All right.”
“All right?”
“All right,” I repeated. “We keep talking. We don’t lie. And if I decide this is a mistake—”
“You walk away,” he finished. “No chase.”
I held his gaze. “You swear?”
“On my name,” he said. “And unlike my brother, I take that seriously.”
Outside, the wind howled softly through the trees.
Something inside me shifted—not trust, not attraction exactly, but a crack in the wall I’d built.
That scared me more than anything.
Because if Samuel Grint wasn’t the villain I’d expected…
Then the real danger might be elsewhere.
And for the first time since my mother announced my engagement, I wondered if the man she’d chosen for me might not be my enemy after all.
That didn’t mean I was safe.
It just meant the game was more complicated than I’d thought.
- Writer
