Page 52 of Destined for the Fae King

“None today,” I reply.

Maybe I’ll write tonight. Not maybe—Iwill. I need to. I have to send something home with my uncle for my mother. I could use my new pens. I glance at them on the table, my spirits lifting.

Yes, I think I’ll do just that.

Tharin nods. “I will pass this along to Prince Lysandir.”

I really need to figure out what he knows and how. And why his moods on the matter are all over the place.

“I’m sure she can do that in at luncheon in just a few minutes,” Fia remarks.

I barely hold back a sigh. If rumors are spreading, things could get really awkward really quickly, and I might be just about to walk into an epic disaster.

Chapter 20

If my stomach doesn’tsettle, I’m not going to be able to eat a bite at this luncheon. Actually, I’ll be lucky if my breakfast doesn’t end up all over the floor or in a flower pot. Adeline slides into step beside me as the guards guide us toward wherever we’ll be dining. The look in her eyes might make a lesser person wither, but I have nothing to apologize for.

One of her brows arcs up.

I give a slight shake of my head. Of course I didn’t rat her out.

Her shoulders lift in a visible sigh, and she turns more fully, mouthing a quickthank you. The other women chat quietly or marvel at the soaring stained-glass windows along one wall that send a kaleidoscope of colors dancing over us and the otherwise pale marble hall.

I really would love to know what she’s thinking, entering a competition to marry the king and then falling for a guard, one who’s suspiciously absent today.

Not that I’m one to talk.

Two double doors are pulled open at the end of the hallway. Through the women in front of me, I catch sight of a long table, high-backed chairs lining its sides. The sight makes me skip a stepand nearly halt as my heart pounds against my ribs. The urge to turn and fake an illness is strong, but Adeline slips her arm through mine and pulls me along.

“Nervous about seeinghimagain?” she whispers.

If anyone overheard her, they’d probably assume she meant the king, but I know better. So does she. I really don’t think she saw Lysandir and me kiss, but the similarity of our situations wasn’t completely lost on her.

“Of course not,” I reply.

She pats my arm as if we’re closer friends than we really are. “It’s okay. I always am, even though I want to see him.”

My brows pinch. She makes it sound like things have been going on far longer than the days we’ve been here. That can’t be, can it? Though how much do I really know about these other women? The answer leaves me feeling hollow. I’ve seen them as one thing—competition. An obstacle to be overcome so that I can make my family proud and live out my dreams of spending time in Faery. But not all of them are new to this world like I am. Some may have visited for several years. Didn’t my uncle say as much? That I might have an advantage because I was a fresh, new face? Adeline herself talked about visiting before and how her pocket watch helped her keep some sense of normalcy. Maybe she has had a thing for her guard far longer than this competition, but it still doesn’t help me understand why she’d enter—

The answer resonates through me like the deep sound of the doors closing behind us as we enter the room. What if she didn’t have a choice? What if her family forced her into entering much like mine did?

There’s no time to contemplate it further as the tittering picks up and I spy the reason why. Vasilius beams at the gaggle of us where he stands next to Queen Elaine. Light pours into theroom—or large balcony rather. Though a high roof covers our heads, the walls, save the one we entered through, are a series of open archways that let the light and warm air pour in. While the king looks pleased, the dowager’s expression is more shielded, and she leans heavily on her cane. But I don’t take the time to ponder that as I scour the room searching for another face.

I stretch on my toes, leaning side to side, and though I spy some of the king’s advisors who I did not expect to be here, I can’t see Lysandir.

“Absent?” Adeline whispers, finally releasing my arm.

The breath that had been lodged in my throat slips out in a sigh, and even I’m not sure if it’s relief or longing.

“That could be…good?” she adds.

For her, maybe. And probably for me too. At least I’ll be able to pay attention, but something about it leaves a stinging burn on my chest.

Vasilius welcomes us all, as do the others, but his smile is a little too broad, his words careful. The little bit of relief I savored evaporates as he gestures for us to take a seat at the table. We have assigned seats this time, probably to save us from the near brawl that threatens to break out as the women scramble to see who can sit closest to the king. After what Fia told me earlier, I’m not surprised when I see that Bailey is one of the ones sitting at the king’s side.

Good for her.

In fact, I’m rather glad to have a seat near Elaine and farther from the king. It makes things far less awkward after yesterday.

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