Page 51 of The Mirror and the Curse

Just then, Kai appeared at the barn door and called a greeting that interrupted Eddi’s eavesdropping. Emenike, Karishma, and Chay joined him while Eddi dithered, unwilling to leave Fidelio alone with Raquel.

“You’re not takingher,are you?” With a jerk of her hand toward Eddi, Raquel spoke just short of a hiss.

“It’s a private ceremony. Family and close friends only.” Fidelio sounded frustrated. “Raquel, you really should try again to resolve things with Lady Gillian. I mean, she was your best friend all those years. By rights, you should be her maid of honor.”

Raquel sighed. “Some people hold grudges, Del. I’ve tried many times to make it up with her, but she’ll hardly even look at me. I don’t understand why you need to be at her wedding.”

“I need to be there because Raoul is my cousin. More like a big brother, really. My family is close.”

Having heard enough, Eddi followed the others. So, Fidelio would soon attend his cousin’s wedding. His invitation would surely have allowed a guest, so he might have invited his girlfriend. Raoul and Gillian had been friendly to her; they wouldn’t mind. Had he waited to invite Eddi because he’d expected Raquel to attend the wedding?

The temptation to ditch this tour and find some actual friends to hang out with was strong, but duty kept Eddi’s feet moving toward the main barn.

Even there, she melted into the background while Cog and Kai capably showed the newcomers where to find everything they might need during the coming weeks. After Fidelio and Raquel entered, Tea conversed with Raquel about something Eddi couldn’t quite overhear. Since when did the Mean Girl chat with staff members? She and Tea seemed almost chummy!

And after scarcely seeing Kai recently, watching him now answer questions and interact with her peers only intensified the ache around Eddi’s heart. He seemed more at ease in this company than she did, more at home in his own skin.

Eddi worked her way to the tack-room door, slipped into the breezeway, and headed back to the fterotá stable, greeting a few summer staffers along the way. When she peeked over his stall door, White greeted her with a sleepy nicker. “I thought you might be napping,” she told him. “Did Flurry go home?”

A sleepy affirmative drifted into her mind along with the information that Kai was approaching. Eddi’s heart skipped a beat, but she did her best to sound calm. “Okay, I’ll let you sleep.”

Quick steps on the aisle’s brick flooring brought an involuntary smile to Eddi’s face as she turned. “I never realized the charts showed the resort’s borders. How come nobody ever told me?”

“How often have you studied the maps?” Kai’s eyes and voice teased her.

“Lots of times. I just never knew what the blue sparkles meant.”

He chuckled. “Now you do. Next time, you and Prince Fidelio can give newcomers their orientation tour.”

“No, thank you. I get jittery before an audience and mix everything up. And what ‘next time’ do you mean?”

“Next summer. I expect this training gig of yours will become a regular feature. Don’t you plan to fly White in next year’s Cup?”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead.” A bottomless pit formed in her belly as she grasped his meaning. “Kai, I can’t imagine the stables without you. That one day when you were gone all day felt . . . just . . . wrong.” She finished lamely.

His gaze shifted across the stable, and he took a step toward the door. “You’ll adjust. Change is always hard at first, but then the new normal becomes routine. Life brings good changes along with the difficult ones.”

Eddi couldn’t look at him, couldn’t speak. She could see only his booted feet standing square.

Kai cleared his throat. “Take care. If you need anything, you know how to find me.” He turned away, paused, then added, “And Eddi, don’t take my car out at night again. It’s not safe.”

It was an idyllic Monday afternoon . . . or it should have been.

Eddi relaxed in her chair beneath the table’s sunshade, sipped a dewy glass of iced tea, and soaked in the beauty of the wide green sward dotted with spreading hardwood trees while Maria and Ianthe kept up a running commentary about nearby badminton and croquet games.

A fountain bubbled amid the sun-shaded tea tables, and flowering shrubs lined the garden walls. Eddi’s floral sundress and strappy heels were a bit too modern for the motif, but she wasn’t in the mood for dress-up. “Thanks, girls. I’m glad I came after all.”

“I knew you would enjoy it,” Ianthe replied with satisfaction.

“I’m surprised at how many guys showed up,” Maria commented. “Chay and Emenike are here thanks to you.”

“They both want to get to know more people—translategirls—so I suggested they try the lawn party.” Eddi smiled. “They’re both pretty good at badminton.”

Maria sighed. “That Chayton guy is dreamy.”

“Nope, Emenike is the cute one,” Ianthe shot back.

“If either of them comes around, I promised to match you up, all right?”

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