Chapter 15 #2
Nayana nodded at my uncle, then drilled her eyes into me and gave me a brief grin that held a surprisingly cruel edge. “Then feel free to decide, princeling. This time, I’ll go with your decree as well.”
I glowered at her. Concluding from her demeanor and the way she kept her lips frozen in that infuriating smirk, she’d heard a lot more of Antas’ and my earlier conversation, at least considering the way she’d enjoyed avoiding giving me her own conclusion. Oh, she’d get that back, and soon.
“Fine.” Another sigh left my lips. “Antas, forward my decision to the others. We’re departing for Galanta in four days, following Galrach’s summons. But we’ll stay alert and be prepared to leave Alaiann at any time.”
Antas withdrew from our suite, and once the door had closed, I turned to Dion. “So, princeling, you haven’t considered including my opinions in your decision-making?”
“You were hardly in a good enough condition most of the time.”
“Or did you assume I’d simply accept what you decided?”
“Come on, you can’t blame me for that. You always followed us in the past few months without giving your approval.”
“Yes, but I agreed to be a member of your travel group and ride with you people through Ivreia. Last time I checked, Galanta was not a part of this world.”
“This is splitting hairs now, isn’t it?”
“No. This is called setting boundaries. You aren’t good with those, but if you want this partnership and friendship to work out, you have to include me in the big decisions.
Aren’t we a team, according to your own words?
And maybe sharing what goes on in that pretty head of yours would help you sometimes. ”
“You think I’m pretty?”
“Ugh. That’s not the point here.”
I was fully aware that one discussion like this wouldn’t change Dion’s ways.
He wasn’t used to revealing his thoughts, and to be honest, I strongly assumed that his mind was a terrifying place to visit, but he needed to learn to open up if this partnership—if we were supposed to work out.
Hopefully, Immaru would grant me enough patience while I tried to support him in altering his behavior.
That we were born as two different species didn’t help either.
Also, who was I kidding? He was a prince, and I was a commoner, another major feature that set us apart. And that wasn’t even considering how many more winters he’d seen, even if Dion was the prime example that age wasn’t necessarily a guarantee for maturity.
Our conversation and my pondering were interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by a stranger dressed in royal livery entering our suite. My throat tightened, and I fought hard to swallow down the lump forming in there.
“Your Royal Highness Crown Prince Dionadair, Miss Ortha, would you kindly allow me to escort you to your audience with Queen Anneria?”
My heartbeat sped up and beat like a drum once more. During the discussion with Dion, I’d been able to forget the upcoming meeting with my queen, but the arrival of her herald tore my peace apart.
“Deep breaths, Nayana. Then take my arm.” Dion’s purr was a mere whisper passing the shell of my ear, and I noticed that I’d missed how he’d gotten up or approached me.
For once, I followed his order without question. My lungs expanded and constricted every time I filled them with air as I got up and took the arm he offered. “Thanks.”
“Anytime, Nayana, anytime.”
Following the herald, I realized I couldn’t even tell how long I’d already stayed in the castle or how many days I’d flitted in and out of consciousness in the period after Dion had carried me out from Perran Feroy’s dungeon.
Meaning, this was the first time that I’d exited the suite, and the anxiety clenching my stomach like a vise wasn’t only a result of being nervous about meeting royalty—after all, the male on my arm was a prince himself, as I reminded myself time and time again—but also because of leaving the safe bubble I’d recovered in.
“Is there anything I have to heed for this meeting?”
“Stop worrying.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“You aren’t familiar with every protocol, so what? The queen doesn’t want to mingle with you to test your impeccable court manners, but because she desires a conversation.”
“Still, she’s a queen.”
Dion shot me a dark glare accompanied by an amused chuckle, and his thoughts were basically screaming at me. “So?”
“A queen—my queen—is a big difference from a foreign princeling who hid his status for months. That one doesn’t deserve any special treatment, and I’d stab him if he tried to implement anything.”
The usual muscle ticked in Dion’s cheek as I used my favorite nickname for him. He was surprisingly touchy about the moniker I’d chosen, which made me grin. After all, he’d dubbed me after a poisonous flower and used that term for months. Served him right to suffer as well.
“Simply be yourself, but maybe hide this newfound violent streak against royalty, and everything will be fine. I’ll let you know if something is about to go sideways.” Apart from the twitching muscle, Dion remained surprisingly calm, and I wondered about the overall change in his behavior.
Just weeks ago, he would most likely have crowded me into the nearest hard surface to dominate the cheekiness right out of me.
Maybe the surroundings were influencing him?
That people in power were well aware of who he was, even though he wore his human Glamour?
Or had he finally gotten his temper under control?
Ha, wishful thinking.
After his last comment, we stayed silent as we traversed through the maze of corridors, but our small conversation had distracted me at least a little, and I was slightly more relaxed.
It was hard to explain, but even though he was an infuriating, lying bastard, Dion always managed to ground and soothe me.
Another thing I refused to analyze more closely.
The herald came to a stop in front of a set of beautiful, high double doors made from light wood embellished with floral carvings. Before I could observe the design more closely, he opened the entryway and disappeared into the room. I was about to follow him, but Dion tugged me back.
“We have to wait until we’re asked inside.”
“See, that’s something you should have told me when I asked if there was something important to regard.”
“Why?”
“So I don’t make a fool of myself.”
“You won’t, because I’m here to keep an eye on you.”
Our whispered conversation was cut short when the herald’s voice rang out loud enough for us to hear clearly.
“Her Royal Majesty Queen Anneria of Ivreia will receive you now, Your Royal Highness Crown Prince Dionadair Dorchadas Coroin De’An Scriosta of Galanta and Miss Nayana Garnet Ortha of Credenta. ”