Chapter 19 #2
“Oh, yes.” The exclamation came from one of Lady Liesl’s friends, accompanied by a dramatic shudder. “Such frightful stories we’ve heard. I lost sleep worrying about you being in danger, Your Highness.”
“What?” Lady Liesl’s laugh was as musical as water falling into a fountain. “Prince Xavier is the strongest in the whole kingdom, and the deadliest with a blade. What could be a danger to him?”
“You flatter me,” Xavier said, once again painfully aware of Alina witnessing the exchange.
“There’s no need to flatter, Your Highness.” Lady Liesl’s eyes flitted over his form, before she dropped into a brief curtsy. “I’m sure I’ll see you very soon.”
The parting words were said coquettishly. As she walked straight between Xavier and Alina—just as if the other girl wasn’t there—she swayed her hips in such a way that her skirts swished against Xavier, wrapping his legs momentarily in fabric.
The other girls followed, their passage forcing Alina to step back so as to avoid being bumped. Xavier stood still for a moment too long, not wanting to see Alina’s expression this time.
“Strongest in the kingdom, and deadliest with a blade.”
Alina repeated the words softly, making Xavier fight a wince. He was searching for an appropriate way to refute the flattery when Alina spoke again.
“Good thing she doesn’t know about the basilisk.”
Xavier’s eyes flew to hers at last, narrowing in outrage. But he couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice. “You little wretch.”
“There’s a story there,” Miriam interjected, moving closer to Alina. She studied the other girl. “You look familiar to me. Do I know you?”
“It’s possible, Your Highness,” Alina said. “I lived in the capital until I was fourteen. My father often did business with the crown, and we spent time in the castle. You were very young, but we did cross paths.”
Miriam squinted in an effort of memory, before her features suddenly cleared. “I think I do remember you. You were the friend who always seemed to be with Xavier when he got in trouble.”
Alina gave a pained laugh. “Not the best way to be remembered, is it?”
“Very accurate, though,” Xavier cut in. “If not for her influence, I would have been a saint. She was the one always leading me into mischief.”
Alina was clearly about to protest this blatant lie, but Miriam stepped in first.
“Don’t worry, Alina, I know him well. If you’d prefer, I can remember you as the prettier one.”
“Prettier one?” Alina repeated in bemusement. “Prettier than whom? Xavier?”
Miriam’s keen glance told Xavier that she’d caught Alina’s failure to use his title. But she didn’t comment.
“No, that’s something none of us mere humans can aspire to. I meant prettier than the other girls your age. I told Xavier once that I thought a girl was pretty, and he scoffed and said she wasn’t as pretty as Alina. It stuck with me.”
“All right, Mim,” Xavier said in a voice of long-suffering. “Enough reminiscences from you.”
“You’re right,” Miriam agreed. With a gracious gesture, she invited Alina to walk with her. “It’s your turn. I’d love to hear absolutely every detail about that basilisk you mentioned.”
Xavier gave the expected brotherly complaint, but his thoughts weren’t really on Miriam’s teasing.
His eyes caught on Alina’s, and he knew that like him, she was remembering details that neither of them were likely to share.
His memory of the hours where he’d been under the influence of the basilisk attack were a little fuzzy, but he had an unsettling memory of telling her he’d been a shell of himself when she left him.
Not for a moment did he worry that she would betray him to his sister. She was incapable of being so cruel.
The thought tugged dully at his heart as he watched her walk away with Miriam. For so long, he’d told himself that Alina was heartless and cruel for the way she’d treated him when she left. Some part of him had always known it was a lie, but when had he stopped pretending to believe it?
Xavier didn’t see Alina or the twins again until the following day.
At his request, there was no court dinner to mark his return.
He preferred a quieter meal away from scrutiny, but he was disappointed when only his family, Captain Mitchell, and Blair were present.
He’d assumed the travelers would all be invited, but of course he should have realized that neither Alina nor her friends had standing that would prompt the king and queen to invite them to an intimate meal.
Apparently they’d had food taken to them in their rooms.
He contributed only sporadically to the conversation, allowing Captain Mitchell to take the primary role in describing the events of their absence.
When it came to describing the refinement site, it was Blair who took over, speaking with great enthusiasm about the advancements he’d seen implemented.
Xavier had to jump in quickly when Blair seemed to be heading toward apologies for not preventing the prince becoming lost in the desert.
That part not everyone present needed to know about.
“It all sounds exhausting,” the queen said when there was an opening.
“I trust you’ll find the perpetrators, Captain Mitchell.
For myself, I’m glad to have Xavier home again.
” She laid a hand on the table, displaying a startling number of rings, none of which could be considered to match.
“You’ll attend the luncheon I’ve planned tomorrow, of course, Xavier. ”
“You know nothing would delight me more, Mother,” Xavier said smoothly. “But I imagine we’ll be discussing the investigation all day.”
“No,” King Madoc cut in. “We’ll meet first thing, certainly, but you can spare an hour or two to oblige your mother. Your presence has been missed here.”
“Particularly by certain aggressive admirers,” Miriam murmured.
It wasn’t as though Xavier needed the warning. He had a very good idea of what to expect.
“All right,” he told the queen. “I’d like you to invite Alina, Lilah, and Benji, Mother.”
“Are those the three young people the housekeeper was asking about?” Queen Caroline asked absently. “Who are they exactly, Xavier? She seemed perplexed about what rooms to house them in, and I was quite unable to enlighten her.”
“I hope she put them somewhere comfortable,” Xavier said, frowning.
“Every guest room in our castle is comfortable,” his mother told him with a hint of offense. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“They’re residents of the town where we set up operations,” Xavier said. “The team hired Alina as a local guide of sorts, and the others are a brother and sister who room with her.”