A Savage Debt (The Beholden Duet #1) - Zoey Ellis

1

“He’s here!”

A rough hand curled around Ana’s elbow and tried to tug her up from her chair.

“Quick, Ana. We need to go.”

Ana blinked rapidly, readjusting to her surroundings as she pulled her mind from the world contained in the thick book on her lap. “Milly?”

Her lady-in-waiting leaned over and closed her book as a group of guards fanned out to surround her chair. “Up, princess. We must leave now.”

Ana rose slowly, a crack of anger suddenly charring the delightful calm she’d sunk into—that soothing peace that always came from visiting her library. “But, Milly, it is only just early morning, and I haven’t been here long—”

“No arguments, Ana,” Milly said briskly. Strands of her usually impeccable dark brown hair flailed around her head. “We cannot take any risks while he’s here.”

Ana frowned. “Who?”

Milly’s voice sharpened as she turned to leave. “Make haste!”

She followed Milly out of the library, and the profanity forming in her mouth almost escaped her. It hummed between her lips, promising to satisfy the annoyance churning in her chest, if she’d only let it slip past them.

But princesses did not curse. Especially not a princess like Ana.

“Who’s here?” she asked again.

Milly’s head whipped around, her eyes narrowed. “Shh!”

Ana stared at the back of her head as she hurried after her, her irritation twisting into alarm. Milly had never acted so harshly before. Yes, she was stern, diligent, and protective—she’d practically raised Ana—but this behavior, particularly in public, was out of character. Something was wrong.

As they navigated the corridors toward her bed chambers, Ana realized the atmosphere in the palace had drastically changed since this morning, and not in a way she recognized.

No one openly spoke of it, but the high society of Allandis was a grotesque web of scandal, intimidation, and indecency. Every so often, a juicy bubble of gossip burst into the open, forcing the court nobility to pretend to be both outraged and disinterested while they secretly scrabbled for every morsel of information they could get.

Ana found it amusing at times. It changed the mood of the palace and caused the courtiers, the staff, and sometimes even the guards to behave inappropriately. Watching them entertained her most of the time, and gossip broke up the monotony of her schedule. Even though she never had access to the secrets circling, she’d learned a lot about high society, and the royal court, based on the behavior she’d witnessed—things that did not find its way into her lessons.

But this felt different. The haughty ambiance that characterized the palace was laced with a tang of tense agitation. Courtiers huddled in small clusters exchanging hushed words out in the open. Servants kept their eyes down and practically ran along the corridors—something that was expressly forbidden. And armed guards had been stationed at every corner, their bodies alert and eyes watchful.

Ana said nothing more until they arrived at her bed chambers.

“Forget the bath, start with her hair and face,” Milly called as soon as they entered. Four handmaids were already inside, flitting around the room with tools in their hands that suggested to Ana she was being prepared for a court event.

“What’s happening, Milly?” Ana asked, as Milly headed to her wardrobe. “Is this to do with Father?” The king had been critically injured while out on his last hunt a month ago. That was the only time the court had been justified in acting so panicked. Milly had come to collect her then also, only she’d been more subdued. Father had, thankfully, fully recovered, but Ana wasn’t keen on any more news like that.

Milly approached her with an elaborate lavender dress while one of the handmaids unzipped her out of the one she wore. “There is to be a court assembly. The whole court and the royal houses will be in attendance. We must get you prepared quickly.”

Ana tried to question her further, but Milly was in a focused frenzy that somehow prevented her ears from working. For the next quarter of an hour, Milly and her handmaids groomed Ana more intensely than any other time she could remember, ignoring her questions in favor of discussions about clashing colors and matching jewelry.

Ana held in the steady annoyance building in her chest. Sometimes she wished she were brave enough to stomp around the palace and force everyone to listen to her, not caring if she offended anyone. She was frequently told how important she was—to her father, to her court, to the kingdom. Being an Omega automatically meant she was revered and