CHAPTER TWO
“So how’s Prince Theodore?”
My best friend, Ella, hid her grin. She tucked a curly strand of hair behind her ear. “Lyra, hush.”
We sat beneath the cherry trees that lined the garden perimeter, their pink blossoms having given way to long, green leaves that glinted in the summer sun. A squirrel skittered around us and up a tree trunk.
I chuckled. “Come on. What could the two of you possibly have in common?”
Ella shrugged. “A bit of everything, I suppose. I tell him about my duties, about what I enjoy, about you…”
“About me?” I lifted a brow.
Her eyes crinkled. “Yes, about my best friend in the world. And he listens. And then he tells me about… royal things.”
“Sounds very important.”
She laughed. “Well, I’m not the most articulate about those matters.”
“What’s been on the prince’s mind lately?” I picked at the clover leaves that tickled my ankle.
“I didn’t know you were interested in politics.”
My face heated. “I’m not. I simply like knowing what’s being done for us.”
She frowned. “Why, I’m sure everything possible is being done for us, Lyra.”
I was tempted to snort at her na?veté, but I restrained myself. It wasn’t Ella’s fault she didn’t understand my distrust of the upper classes, nor was it something I wanted to pass on to her. Not when her forbidden friendship with the prince had introduced a spark in her eyes I’d never seen before.
“My Papa…” I began, my voice wavering.
Ella stilled.
“He used to make me read all these old philosophical tomes to him. About the monarchy, the class divide, that sort of thing. It seems a few of those ideas still rattle around in my mind from time to time.”
She perked up. “You ought to speak to Teddy about them!”
I snorted. “No thanks.”
“Why not?”
I shook my head in answer.
She waited.
“Thank you.” I placed a hand on her arm and met her eyes. “Truly. But I am not interested in conversing with princes. Keeping to my own is probably for the best.”
“Seems a fine way to live with blinders on.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You never used to talk like that.”
I bristled. “What do you mean?”
She hesitated. “Ever since you met David, you’ve become so cynical. I just miss the old you sometimes.”
“You always blame David.”
She remained silent. Annoyance built in my chest.
“I appreciate your concern,” I said.
“I simply think you could be more than you allow yourself to be,” she said.
You’re made for more, Lyranore.
“You’re one to talk,” I spat. “You who never share about your own troubles.”
She flinched. “I have no troubles.”
“You hide your problems by always picking apart mine.”
“That’s not…”
Anger burned with each word I spoke. “I’m courting the wrong man. I’m not developing my magic enough. I’m saying the wrong things.” My nostrils flared. “It’s exhausting trying to live up to your expectations, Ella.”
“Lyra.” The pain in her voice made the fire within me dim. I met her gaze and found regret and hurt staring back at me. My eyes fell to the bruises peeking beyond her collar, the ones she never let me ask about, although I knew they came from home.
I flexed my fingers, looking away. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
“No, it’s not.”
Ella kept quiet.
“I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you. I know you only want what’s best for me.”
“Always.”
“And I know you aren’t truly picking me apart. I’ve been too sensitive.”
She placed a hand on my arm. I shrank away from her touch.
“It’s alright. I understand.”
The trees rustled with a sudden gust of wind, chickadees swooping and twittering through the branches.
“I’ll think about what you said,” I murmured. “But we should get back to work.”
Ella nodded, her jaw set, and we got to our feet.
“Shall we tidy together today?” I asked.
She slipped her arm through mine. “Let’s.”
We strode back into the palace and lost ourselves in our duties. And perhaps it was because of the worries freshly stirred in my mind, or because fate itself had a message for me, that the premonitions I’d suppressed for so long resurfaced.