"Come son, I had a big celebration planned out!"

"For what, father?" The prince rolled his eyes and sighed. "You know I won't settle for just any bride."

The king threw his hands in the air, clearly frustrated. "But the last two princesses have already been hanged. At least have some fun with this one."

"You can have fun with her. She's not for me."

The prince seemed to have given a good idea and the king rubbed his hands together. "Maybe I will..."

The queen put a hand on her husband's shoulder. "I think we should have fun with the boy instead. This is his third time failing."

"What do you have in mind, milady?"

"Guards," the queen shouted down into the complex and I couldn't predict what would happen next. The huge stone walls of the room opened to reveal monsters. Ogres, trolls, mutants. "Bring out the prisoners that the boy wants. He'll have to fight for them."

I watched as a red giant stomped out carrying stone statues. He stood them beside me and I saw the faces of a man, woman, and a little girl. They looked to be in the middle of a scream.

I turned to Jongin and saw that he was shaking. I couldn't tell if it was out of fear or anger but it scared me. Jongin never shook.

"Now, you will have to prove that you're worthy of protecting your family or, as I liked to call them, traitors." The queen lifted a finger and I saw a group of ogres step forward.

"Wait darling, let me have my fun, too." The king rubbed his hands together and his lips. "My wife wants to see a blood bath but as for me, I'm more of a romantic."

"What are you blabbering about?" the queen snapped.

"I want to see what I'd look like with a young wife. I've been considering hiring them for a while."

The queen crossed her arms but didn't make any protest. However, I wasn't as tolerant of the king's idea.

"That's gross! I would never touch you in a million years! You probably can't even get down here without passing out, you old—" I was stopped short by Jongin covering my entire face with his hand. Jeez, he could've just told me to shut up.

"I wouldn't have to," the king sneered. "Your little magic boy could use his glamour to put on a show for me."

"Glamour?" I choked out.

"The miss doesn't know?" The queen laughed with such grace, it was hard to consider her evil. "Oh, how you've kept her in the dark. Good thing our son's not getting married to this dumb thing."

"I use glamour to alter what people see." Jongin recited to me in a low voice. "I can change what I look like or I can control what you see." He wouldn't look at me in the eye as he explained.

"I'm surprised you haven't used it on the girl."

Jongin's eyebrows were pressed together and he looked to be in pain. "I have."

I shouldn't have been surprised. He had been the one to tell me about his lies. "When?" I asked quietly.

He hesitated again. "I...made you think you were seeing the enemy. Those men I killed with the poison darts were your guards. So were those men who were trying to prevent you from jumping out the window."

"You..." I could barely utter out a word. "You killed them?"

He wouldn't look at me in the eye. I didn't want to be mad at him but I couldn't help it. He really was the enemy.

I shook my head in dismay.

"Enough." The king stopped us with his voice. "Are you going to listen to me, you little shapeshifter, or do you just want to die right now?"

"What does he want you to do?" I asked meekly but Jongin wouldn't reply.

"Oh, just a little kiss." The king shrugged. "Look at it this way. After all your hard work, at least I'm giving you a bit of a reward."

I heard a growl and found Jongin's fists clench at his sides. He whipped around and looked up at the balcony where the king and queen stood. He was bent low, ready to fight.

I noticed that there was blood on his leg already. Had he been using glamour to cover up his wound?

But I didn't have any time to worry as Jongin provoked the royal figures. "Send out your best men."

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