Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-one
Jacinth
Azurill was flirting with Sania.
I don’t know why that knowledge bothered me. Maybe because he was flirting with the lady of the court that should be ruled by my family? The very court he destroyed—as if he hadn’t already done enough to it.
It bothered me too much. I shouldn’t care. Not about what he does, nor who he does it with. Just because he flirted with me didn’t mean he wasn’t flirting with everyone.
Not to mention, I was flirting with him, and I hated him with a passion. Flirting with Sania didn’t mean he actually liked her.
But everything was riding on my winning this competition. If I don’t win, Ula could die, joining my family in the afterlife—utterly failed by me. All of them. My family deserved the vengeance that burned in my heart.
Anything else paled in comparison to that.
But to accomplish that, I needed the king’s interest firmly set on me. Thinking of our upcoming date, I ran through a myriad of ideas.
We’d already been on a picnic.
Doing some noble, fancy event would bore me to tears.
He wanted to see authentic versions of us, behind the courtly masks.
He wanted to be more casual with us…
…because he was used to being in the formal situations court demanded of him.
That was it! The idea felt perfect the moment I thought of it. Putting him in an environment he wasn’t used to would make him rely on me for the night, while I showed him a side of both myself and of life that he rarely got to experience.
“Alfrikr,” I turned my head to my guard as we made our way back to my rooms for the night. “I have an idea for my date. How do I go about getting this ready?”
He smirked back at me, raising a brow, “Already?”
“Well, we have limited time here.” I huffed, making him laugh gruffly.
“Get me a list of what you need. I’ll see to it.” He promised with a nod.
“Thank you.” I nodded in return, a small smile on my lips. He hummed, looking over me critically for a moment, making my nerves rise.
“The night after your date, we will begin training you with a sword,” he suddenly announced, making my eyes go wide.
“What?” I shook my head in confusion before they narrowed at him. “Why, exactly?” I asked suspiciously.
He grunted in amusement, “In case you make it far enough to need it.”
So one of the events would involve sword fighting, likely near the end. I looked at him, intensely curious, but I knew he wouldn’t betray Azurill and reveal what it was. Instead, I smiled back at him.
“Don’t worry, I can handle a sword,” I told him confidently.
“Maybe so,” he shook his head, his purple braids swinging with the movement, “But I doubt Carnelian or your father had you trained to the level you’ll need. I’ll pick up your training from wherever you left off.”
I wanted to protest, but I was forced to admit that he was right. I’d learned on the street, so my fighting style reflected that. I didn’t fight like a noble, and that could cause some issues. Another thought occurred to me then.
“What about the other girls?” I asked him.
“What about them?” He asked in return, surprised.
“Will they be trained too?” I pushed, needing to know more to shed light on what the trial might be.
He grunted, seeming unsure about answering, before he finally sighed. “Yes, they’ll all be trained. Most will likely have the fundamentals down at least. No noble parent would leave their daughter wholly unprotected, but I have no idea what level of proficiency any of the ladies have with a blade.”
Curious. It sounded like we would all need to be at a higher level of skill for the trial. Would we be fighting each other? Someone else? Something else?
It was clear that answers wouldn’t be forthcoming right now, so when we reached my rooms, I wrote the list of what I needed for Alfrikr and saw him off for the night. Collapsing into my bed, my thoughts swirled with everything going on.
The thought of deep teal eyes going dull and lifeless haunted my sleep that night, but upon waking, the image was easy to chase away. Upon entering the breakfast hall, the other ladies, excluding Faiza, sat around the table. A seat thankfully remained next to Amatista, and I claimed it quickly.
“Good morning!” she chirped, and I returned her greeting with a smile, quickly digging into my food.
Azurill eyed me occasionally from the other end of the table, but my eyes narrowed upon realizing Sania was sitting beside him, laughing as her hand lightly swatted his arm. The smile on his face…
An elbow to my side made me grunt, turning to face Amatista incredulously.
“Stop glaring at them,” she hissed quietly. “Act like you don’t care who he’s flirting with.”
“I don’t care,” I argued mulishly.
Her raised eyebrows spelled out her disbelief quite clearly, but it wasn’t what she thought at all. It was merely proof that I needed to do better. It had nothing to do with emotions of any kind.
“Showing you’re unconcerned with the other competition will be attractive, trust me.” She smirked slyly, “Men crave being desired, and it drives their own interest in a woman if they think they must chase it. They love nothing more than proving they can win your affection.”
I didn’t have much experience with men in a romantic capacity, since I didn’t think having one-night-only romps with them counted, so I’d have to take her word for it.
“He clearly has a type, though,” she muttered, observing Azurill like a science experiment. Scholars, I shook my head in amusement.
“What do you mean?” I asked her quietly.
“The two of you have many similarities.” She observed, making me go completely still. “You have a similar color palette, your noses and mouths actually…”
She trailed off, her eyebrows creasing as my heart started to race and sweat began to bead along my temples.
“What are you planning for your date?” I asked her, desperately hoping to distract her. Dammit, this was what happened when you made friends—especially with a damn scholar.
She turned back to look at me, her eyes glinting, but she allowed the subject change for now. As we began to discuss our ideas, however, Zumra and Safira stood up to leave, and as they approached where we were sitting, Zumra slowed her steps with a nasty smile.
“Lady Jacinth, wonderful showing yesterday.” Her fake graciousness made me grind my teeth in an effort not to throw my butter knife at her face.
“You as well, Lady Zumra.” I cooed right back.
“I do hope you don’t disappoint the High King with your date,” she said, faux concern practically dripping from every word. “After all, a man like him deserves something with a bit more…class than some can offer.”
I nearly laughed thinking of the date I’d planned for us. Zumra might actually faint when she finds out where I’m bringing him.
“Oh, don’t worry about me, Lady Zumra,” Azurill’s voice called from down the table, making the lady twitch and turn to him with wide eyes. “I’m quite prepared for anything you ladies offer.”
His twinkling eyes met mine, and I couldn’t help the tiny, genuine smile that snuck out. His defense of me was surprising, but appreciated. Calling out Zumra as he just did, however, was what truly made my smile inch higher.
Watching her mouth fall open in shock was incredibly satisfying. As was her brisk, flustered nod in farewell before she took off, her embarrassment following after her like a bad perfume.
Safira’s eyes met mine quickly, and I was surprised to find a conflicted look on her face. She ultimately followed her friend, but I couldn’t help wondering what she’d been considering instead.
I looked back at Azurill, our matching smiles making my cheeks flush as I forced myself to look away. Only to land directly on Sania.
Her orange eyes were narrowed on me as she looked between me and the king.
There were too many people to watch out for in this snake pit. The more I got the king’s attention, the more the other ladies paid it as well, and in a much less appealing manner.
Waiting for night to fall, I was twitchy as my maids helped get me ready. More than once, they had to chastise me to stay still before I ruined their work.
I’d allowed myself the vanity of having them do my hair and makeup, but I’d insisted on something casual. My hair would be half up, as I enjoyed wearing it when I didn’t have to hide the braided locks beneath a hood, with the shorter pieces in front left down to frame my face.
My makeup emphasized my features, outlining my wide, pink eyes and pouty lips, but they didn’t overdo it, keeping it light enough that I wouldn’t look out of place where we’d be going.
My outfit was understated as well. My long white dress had a black corset over it, and matching leather cuffs around my wrists. In addition to the simpler dress, the gray cape I’d prepared to wear over it would help keep others from noticing us.
A smile graced my face at the thought of what Azurill would make of his own outfit. I hope he enjoyed it. I couldn’t imagine him ever having worn anything like it before.
Once the maids had finished, I donned the cape and exited my rooms to find Alfrikr waiting for me with an amused smile. He looked me over, shaking his head, but the mirth on his face was too obvious to fool anyone into thinking that he disapproved.
I smiled widely back at him, “Let’s go pick up my date.”
His laugh rang out behind me, and I couldn’t help the chuckle I let out in response.
“I can’t wait to see his Majesty,” Alfrikr admitted, his amethyst eyes lit up.
“Me either.” The words slipped out without my notice, and Alfrikr’s lips pulled into a smirk.
“Oh, I’m sure.” His taunting tone was playful, but the wrenching in my gut wasn’t.
I was merely excited to see him so off balance and out of his element, surely. I wasn’t excited to see him.
Erodite, what was wrong with me?
I knew better than to fall under this spell. I wasn’t a noble lady who could titter around court after this was over. This was a one-time indulgence, and that was all.
I couldn’t get attached to any of it.