Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-three
Azurill
We’d decided on this particular trial so I could see how being in a relationship with each lady could potentially go. A date was theoretically a good way to see if romance could spark between us.
I certainly never expected a spark the size of a forest fire.
Starting the night out, I had already been enraptured. I could never explain to Jacinth how grateful, and flat-out amazed, I was at what she’d accomplished.
My mother had been listless and distraught since my brother’s death, hiding from the court in a way she had never done.
Seeing her start to wake up at Jacinth’s words made me incredibly thankful I’d insisted on her coming to my wing before our date. I’d merely intended on letting Neasa meet her, since my dog could usually take the measure of people quickly, and her instincts were never wrong.
Watching as she rushed up to Jacinth joyfully, demanding that she pet her, I was relieved. It told me that, whatever Carnelian’s plans, whatever Jacinth’s place in them, she was a good Elf at heart. That didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of or involved in any schemes, however.
She could be participating under protest. She could have been threatened. Or Carnelian could have fed her lies half her life for all I knew.
But that test told me that I may be able to trust her just enough.
Once we’d left the palace, I’d been honestly delighted to find out we were going to a tavern.
I’d never had much chance to mingle among the common people as if I were one.
Having a night where I could just be me, where I could drink, laugh, and not worry about my behavior, was a weight off my shoulders that I didn’t even realize I was carrying.
Finding out that Jacinth had expected the worst of me coming into the competition left me even more conflicted, and a large part of me was unable to help feeling strangely hurt.
She hadn’t known me; it wasn’t as if she could have guessed what type of person I was, especially when Carnelian was her example of a ruler.
Still, I was relieved when she explained she’d been wrong.
But when she began talking of her parents…
my alarm bells began ringing, because her parents should be alive and well if she was truly who Carnelian said she was, this mysterious cousin we’d never seen before.
Yet she spoke of them as if they were dead.
It was all incredibly suspicious, even if I found that I didn’t want to doubt her.
And that became even more true as the night progressed.
It was impossible to deny to myself that Jacinth was my favorite of the competitors.
I would surely get to know the rest better, but she was far and away the most desirable, the easiest to talk to and laugh with.
But that ringing alarm told me something was very wrong, and I’d learned to trust that instinct.
I’d wondered if perhaps Sania should be given more attention, as we’d been able to easily flirt and talk as well, but the spark between Jacinth and me was on another level. I couldn’t even pretend that I didn’t want to dive in and explore our connection, no matter if it blew up in my face.
Which it very well might.
Kissing her had been impulsive and stupid, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself from doing it anyway.
I’d never experienced a kiss like that in my entire life, and I’d kissed a lot of women.
I’d done a lot more than that, too, and yet this single kiss had left me more affected than anything I had ever done before.
I licked my bottom lip, tasting the ghost of her own left behind. I was waiting for my brother and Balthazar to arrive, replaying the kiss on a loop in my head like the damned fool the woman seemed to make of me. I let my head fall forward into my hands, trying to think of explanations.
But the only one that made sense was that she was lying to me.
My heart ached at the thought, and I glared at the floor. I was not some schoolboy with a crush; I was the damned High King of Gemaria. One kiss was not going to be enough to make the rest of the world go away, no matter how much I might have wished it to.
So when my brother and best friend walked in and sat down, I explained exactly what happened.
“I told you!” Ruri exploded, standing up in a fury as his arms flailed around, “That woman is nothing but trouble. You should eliminate her now and kick her out of the palace as fast as possible.”
“If he does that, we’ll never discover what’s going on,” Balthazar explained to him calmly. “We need to investigate her further. I’ll send someone to Ruby Court to do some digging there.”
I nodded tiredly in agreement, and Balthazar’s ice blue eyes took me in crucially. “You like her, don’t you?”
“What?” Ruri snapped, making me sigh and throw my head back, tossing an arm over my eyes as he began to rant on all the reasons that it was a bad idea.
“I know!” I finally exploded, sitting up and glaring at him. “I’m well aware, Ruri. I’m doing my best here, okay? I’ll meet all the other ladies for their dates soon. Surely, there will be another who gets my attention.”
“How often have you actually been interested in a woman like this?” Balthazar countered, raising a brow at me. I glared back at him. Sometimes, having my best friend as the head of my guard was a complete pain in the ass.
“Never,” Alwyn said smugly as he walked in the door.
His short, sapphire hair looked so much like my mother’s coloring.
My distant cousin, Alwyn, was thankfully not related to the lord of Sapphire, the son of a minor Earl who happened to be blood to my mother’s own house.
Which meant there were no women in the competition related to any of my friends, thankfully. It made things much easier.
I directed my glare straight at him as he sat down beside Balthazar and asked, “What’s this I hear? Are you actually enamored with one of the competitors?”
The amusement in his voice was clear, and he raised a blue brow at me as I ground my teeth.
“I don’t know that I can trust her.” I finally said, slumping slightly in my chair. “I can’t be with someone I can’t trust.”
“Hmm.” He hummed, tapping a finger on his chin. “Then maybe you need to show her she can trust you?”
“What do you mean?” Ruri asked him, offended on my behalf. “Who wouldn’t trust Az? He’s the High King, for Veritx’s sake! Not to mention the Lord of Diamond, with the need for truth in his blood! There’s no one she should trust more.”
“You’re young, Ruri,” I sighed deeply, shaking my head slightly, “And perhaps too sheltered between the palace and the academy,” I told him, thinking of my date with Jacinth among the people of Theiapolis.
“No one trusts another just because of their position. In fact, it’s often the opposite.
She came here expecting me to be a monster who cared nothing for the people I rule. ”
Ruri looked even more outraged, but Alwyn spoke up before he could begin ranting once more.
“Exactly.” Alwyn smirked in triumph as he leaned back in his seat, “You need to show her that you’re trustworthy, and then she’ll likely open up to you. Right now, you’re still little more than strangers. You need to show her who you really are.”
I thought over his advice, before thinking back to how she spoke of her parents, of what was implied by that. Maybe it wasn’t just a slip, maybe…
“You know, Wyn,” I said with a growing smile, “You might have a point.”
I tried my best to push Jacinth from my mind while attending the rest of my dates.
My first date after Jacinth was going to be with Ophira.
The Onyx competitor was often quiet, and I was hoping to learn more about her during this trial.
Her date idea was a brunch, which I hated to think of as boring, but her conversational skills weren’t really up to the task.
It was an agonizing affair, all told, and looking across the table at her, I forced myself to contemplate what it would be like to marry her.
She was beautiful, of course, with her golden hair and dark skin creating a stunning combination.
I could easily see myself taking her to bed had there been any spark of chemistry between us.
Instead, all I saw were years of strained, silent meals stretching out before me.
The next date was with the Amythest competitor, Amatista, whom I’d noticed had befriended Jacinth during the last trial.
She took me to a museum in the city to explore the history of Gemaria, but she spent the entire time teasing me about Jacinth, with seemingly no interest in discussing herself at all.
I was starting to get desperate for a distraction.
Thankfully, Safira was next, and she had a surprisingly great date idea.
“I thought stargazing would make for a nice date,” she said shyly, smiling up at me. I smiled back, and together we made our way to the blanket she’d prepared. There were snacks and wine available, and I actually found myself breathing a sigh of relief.
Safira giggled, looking down at her wine before looking back at me. “I’m sure this competition must be a lot for you.”
I turned to face her with a smile, “It can be at times, but this is a nice break.”
She blushed, giving her pale skin a rosy hue, “I’m happy to hear that.”
We watched the stars for a bit, and I found myself enjoying this silence more than the last. I was starting to think maybe Safira wasn’t as bad as I thought, but then she spoke up again. “Sapphire was very proud when your mother became queen during the last competition.”
I looked over at her with my brows creased in confusion, “I’m sure they were.”
“They would be even more honored if your queen also came from Sapphire.” She swallowed hard, looking a bit nervous before she continued, “I’m sure your mother would appreciate it as well, especially with everything that’s happened.
I would be a good wife for you. You already have sapphire blood in your veins, and together, we could be a good match. ”