Page 41 of Souls of Steel
When she reached us, she bowed so lowly her long blonde hair almost brushed the ground. “Prince Brendan, how are you?” she asked.
“I am well, thank you, Lady Welton. And how have you been? I hope your condition has improved since our last meeting.”
The words were perfectly polite, and yet, I couldn’t help but note a dose of latent hostility. It reminded me a little bit of the way August and Pollux had behaved toward me when I’d first arrived.
It was unkind and selfish, but I was relieved at his reaction. This woman rubbed me the wrong way, and I wanted her gone.
Lady Welton didn’t seem put out by Brendan’s response. “It has, thank you,” she answered with a graceful smile. “I briefly visited Terra and it seemed to help. Terrans might be uncivilized, but they are helpful from time to time.”
Uncivilized? Stupid bitch. If we hadn’t been in public, I’d have done something she’d have regretted far more than I would. But we weren’t, so I couldn’t teach her a lesson the old-fashioned way.
That didn’t mean I’d just let the matter go, not when it was obvious she’d meant the words as a slight to me. “From time to time?” I repeated. “And here I thought Tartarus Base relies on imports from Earth for products that aren’t completely artificial. How silly of me to think that’s important.”
Lady Welton turned toward me and shot me a visibly disgusted look. “I’m sorry? And you are?”
She knew exactly who I was, but I introduced myself anyway. “Selene Renard, tamer of the Grand Chimera Unit. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“Indeed. I am Lady Penelope Welton, Prince Brendan’s fiancée.”
Her words shouldn’t have hit me as hard as they did. I was well aware of how the rules of succession worked. As a prince of the royal family of Chimera, Brendan automatically had to take a wife. It stood to reason that he was engaged to a woman who suited him far more than I ever could.
Still, it hurt and I would’ve recoiled had August and Pollux not been there to support me and hide my lapse. Pollux wrapped an arm around my waist and kept me from moving, while August shot the woman a smile filled with venom. “Ex-fiancée,” he corrected her. “It’s not appropriate to lie. How unladylike of you.”
“Stay out of this, Flight Lieutenant Cavallero,” she snapped. “It’s none of your business.”
“On the contrary,” Knox drawled, “everything that concerns Brendan is our business. You, on the other hand, shouldn’t have approached him at all.”
It was probably true since her guards were beginning to look uncomfortable. But Penelope wasn’t willing to give up so easily. She glowered at Knox with such hatred I half-expected her to start emanating tachyons. “Don’t say another word, you, you—”
“Penelope, do you really want to have this conversation here?” Brendan cut her off. “You do yourself no favors.”
Penelope turned toward Brendan once again. “And where would you want us to go? You’ve been ignoring my calls and avoiding me. We had an agreement.”
“No, our families had an agreement. I didn’t think it was a good idea, and contrary to popular belief, I do get a say in who my wife is going to be. Now please. The tournament is about to begin and I don’t have time for your childish nonsense.”
“But Brendan…”
“It’sPrinceBrendan to you. I’m sorry, Lady Welton, but I’ll never be more than that.”
“And she is?” Penelope screeched. “This filthy Terran…”
Something rebellious rose up in my chest and I realized I should’ve never felt inadequate compared to her. What did she have that was so special anyway? Good breeding? So what? My mother was the High Priestess of Gaia. And even if that hadn’t been the case, blood wasn’t the only thing that mattered. A person’s worth wasn’t in his or her genetic background. “This filthy Terran is the chosen of the Sphinx,” I shot back. “I’m sure you have a lot of qualities, Lady Welton, but they’re just not what Brendan is looking for. Please understand that and don’t humiliate yourself further.”
Frustrated tears burned at the corner of Penelope’s eyes. She’d have likely said something more, but she didn’t get the chance.
“If you’ll excuse us now, Lady Welton, the tournament is about to begin,” Brendan said. “We have to make the final preparations.”
She pressed her lips together in a thin line, but must’ve realized there was nothing more she could accomplish today. “Yes, of course. Good luck, Prince Brendan. Good luck, Flight Lieutenant Alexander, Flight Lieutenant Donadieu, Flight Lieutenant Cavallero.”
She ignored me, but I’d expected that. How could she not, when I had what she wanted—Brendan’s attention?
Without another word, Brendan turned away and headed toward the entrance to the stadium. As we all followed him into the depths of the building, he let out a disgruntled sigh. “That was unpleasant. What a way to start the tournament. I’m sorry about her, Selene.”
“It’s no problem, Brendan,” I replied. “I’m used to things like that.”
“That doesn’t make it right,” Knox growled. “That bitch just can’t seem to accept reality, no matter how many times you tell herno.”
“I guess it’s my father’s fault for still encouraging it, even when I made it clear I’m not interested.” Brendan grimaced. “I should’ve known this would happen, but I got distracted.”
