Page 9 of The Mirror and the Curse

“I’m all right, Dad. I came back as soon as I could and took care of my horse first, the way you’ve taught me.” She pushed away far enough to gasp for air, then stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “I’m really sorry I worried you.”

Queen Jakinda hovered nearby, her expression wavering between frustration and relief. Instead of attempting an embrace, she touched Eddi’s arm and quietly said, “We’re so relieved.”

Eddi returned a polite smile. “I’m fine, really.” Since the royal wedding, Eddi and the new queen had maintained a genteel détente. Prince Zorion’s birth ten months after the wedding hadn’t helped matters much. Eddi didn’t blame her baby brother for replacing her as heir to the throne—responsibility for that lay in Bilbao’s archaic primogeniture laws—but the fact infuriated or pleased her according to turns of mood. What really rankled? If she’d known years ago that King Koldo would remarry and have a son, she could have escaped endless hours of training on how to behave as a queen and rule a country someday. Bleah.

“Did you have to make an emergency landing?” a new voice asked. Eddi turned to see King Stefano II, Fidelio’s father. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and all five of his sons bore his aquiline nose.

His wife, Queen Giulia, spoke in an undertone to Jakinda and drew her aside. Good. The two kings would be easier to handle alone.

“You might say that. White and I sort of . . . faded.” Giving a little shrug, Eddi spoke in her stage voice so that everyone around them could hear: “We’re fine now, but it is evident that White and I need additional training, and I know exactly what trainer I want to hire. He works at Faraway Castle, so I plan to take Snow White to the resort with me this summer to train for the race. I mean, how can I expect to win if we don’t get some remedial training after this disaster?”

Her father’s eyes widened, and she glimpsed a flash of irritation, but she knew he couldn’t object here in public.

“Is that allowed?” King Stefano inquired. “A guest bringing a winged horse to Faraway Castle?”

Eddi focused on him, sensing an unexpected ally. “I’ve been told it can be arranged. Guests often bring their own polo ponies.”

He nodded, pursing his lips in thought. “True.”

One glance back at her father, and Eddi remained confident. Never entirely at ease while raising his motherless daughter, King Koldo always demonstrated his affection best by supporting her ambitions. Besides, he had a reputation to uphold.

“I, uh, suppose it couldn’t hurt,” he managed. “Are you certain you want to attempt another major race after today’s fiasco?”

“There’s no way I can quit now!” Eddi exclaimed. “Look how far I’ve taken White on my own, Dad. With professional help, he’ll be unstoppable.” Her father had never allowed her, a princess, to train at his stables with his riders, so he could hardly suggest that option now.

“I’ve never heard of a flying-horse trainer at that resort,” King Stefano muttered.

Eddi needed to wrap this up before they started thinking too clearly. “He’s the best I know, and I’ll have exclusive lessons.” Eddi beamed her brightest smile on the King of Vetricia and saw his expression soften. “Now, I must clean up and dress for the awards dinner. It’s been lovely to be here with you again, Your Majesties.” She included the startled-looking queen in her effusion. “Thank you for everything.”

Turning back to her father, she flung her arms around his neck. “Thank you so much, Dad. I’ll arrange everything about the trainer, and White’s transportation too, so it won’t be any extra bother for you. I’ll make you proud, I promise.”

Although her father appeared slightly shell-shocked as she backed away, he squeezed her forearms and attempted to smile. “I’m sure you will.” The words lacked conviction, but he did try.

Even as Eddi slipped away, expertly bestowing smiles and more gush to fob off the people who attempted to waylay her, she wondered if Fidelio might want to bring Ruggero to the resort and practice with her. That would be awesome.

She wouldn’t share Kai as her trainer, however. He would be her trade secret. Well, as secret as she could manage.

Eddi made her entrance that evening in the wake of her father and Jakinda, feeling virtually invisible despite wearing heels that nearly gave her altitude sickness.

Sure, her dad was movie-star handsome and seriously oozed masculine charm, but Jakinda had obviously married him to become queen. She might pretend to be shy of the publicity that came with being royalty and reluctant to claim the limelight, but why else would a noblewoman with the exotic beauty of a high-fashion model marry a man six inches shorter and eight years older than she was? All that high-voltage attraction between them had to be an act.

Entering behind those two always felt anticlimactic. But Eddi’s mood brightened as Prince Fidelio approached, his eyes wide and appreciative. “You look . . . Wow!” he managed, which was articulate, coming from him. Fidelio could speak eloquently for three-quarters of an hour (maybe longer—Eddi had only timed him once) about gamma-knife radiosurgery, but his attempts at compliments? Pathetic.

Her prince’s incoherency notwithstanding, Eddi couldn’t help smiling. The vivid pink lace of her designer cocktail dress enhanced her ivory complexion, and its simple cut flattered her figure.

“Thank you. You look really nice too.” The tux did flatter his string-bean build. “Sorry we’re late.”

“Yeah, I’ve been watching for you.” He stepped in close.

Eddi’s shoes might make her tall enough to ride a roller coaster, but she still had to tip her head back to meet Fidelio’s gaze. “Um, Zorion was fussy, so Jakinda wouldn’t leave him even though he has two perfectly capable nurses, and Dad wanted us all to arrive together,” she babbled.

Fidelio nodded, but his rapt expression clouded. “I have bad news. I wanted to sit with you tonight, but it’s all assigned seating at the main table.” His deep voice cracked as if he were fourteen. “I mean, since I placed today, I have to sit up there for the award ceremony.”

Her heart dipped. “Oh. Well, I guess that can’t be helped.”

“But first we can circulate.” His hand traveled first toward her waist, then up near her shoulders, and finally whipped behind his own back. “Um . . .” He offered his elbow, tried to talk, cleared his throat, and tried again with better luck. “Walk with me?”

Eddi managed to repress a snort of laughter, but her eyes had to have been sparkling while she made the rounds of his visiting aunts and uncles and adult cousins. With one hand resting lightly on the prince’s sleeve, she made small talk with flawless poise, certain she was making a positive impression. When one royal cousin seemed a tad too impressed, Eddi met a tasteless innuendo with a pointed glance and eased back on the sparkle. Fidelio never noticed a thing, innocent lamb that he was.

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