Chapter 6
Six
Daphne
“Time to wake up, my hungover Princess.”
I groaned at the voice outside my door.
Sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains. Everyone in the castle was expected to wake with the sun, so blackout curtains were practically illegal. It didn’t matter that my flight hadn’t landed until three this morning.
I’d spent the rest of the flight watching The Vampire Diaries while Cory paid more attention to his phone than the show.
Another knock pounded through my skull.
“Coming!” I grumbled, throwing off the comforter.
I dragged myself toward the door, shielding my eyes from the obnoxious amount of sunlight. Salty air blew through the open window.
I swung open the door, and Elodie threw herself at me in a hug that nearly knocked me over.
“Daphne!” she squealed. “I’ve missed you!”
I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her back.
Elodie had been my first lady since our teens. She was also my best friend and the biggest pain in my ass.
She wrinkled her nose while taking in my wrinkled clothes.
I rolled my eyes at her. “Hey, you keep judging me like that, and I’ll find something wrong with your outfit too.”
Elodie ran a hand down her blue dress with the Caliran flag stitched across the bodice.
Calirans didn’t do casual fashion. They wore structured uniforms, tailored clothing, or formalwear.
Sweatpants? Out of the damn question.
“You wear that outfit to breakfast, and the king will kick you out,” she commented.
I tugged at the hem of my skirt. “These are yesterday’s clothes.”
She cracked a smile. “That doesn’t make it better.”
“I was exhausted when we landed. Sleep ranked higher on my priority list than changing clothes.”
She leaned in and sniffed me.
I shoved her away playfully. “Excuse you! I don’t smell!”
She laughed before changing the subject. “How was the flight with Cory?”
I headed for my suitcase. “Boring.”
“I was hoping you two would hook up.”
“You hoped wrong.”
Half the castle had money riding on Cory marrying either Vittoria or me.
Elodie was Team Daphne.
Not because she cared about my love life. She just wanted my ass back in Calira after Saint Vale.
She flopped onto my bed while I unzipped my suitcase. “You ready to ditch that annoying, uptight university and move home to your castle?”
“Not yet.” I dragged out a stack of clothes.
“Yet?” She squealed while falling back on the bed and kicking her feet. “Does that mean …?”
“I don’t know,” I said around a sigh.
Right now, I wanted nothing more than to drop out of Saint Vale. Technically, Brooks couldn’t select me if I wasn’t a student. But running wouldn’t save me.
Once a Son marked you as a potential Fawn, you couldn’t just disappear. They’d drag you back.
Elodie checked her watch and shot to her feet. “Twenty minutes until breakfast. Get your butt in the shower. I need to help Vittoria get dressed, and then I’ll come back. You’d better not be in bed when I do.”
She slipped out of the room before I could argue. She was also my cousin, Vittoria’s, first lady.
After showering, I returned to my room and combed through the dresses in my armoire. The antique had belonged to my great-great-grandmother, who’d hand-painted the now-faded blue waves on the doors.
At Saint Vale, I only had to deal with a dress code during class. Here? All fucking day. And only royal colors—blue, gold, or green.
When Elodie returned, she helped me into the corseted dress, cinching the laces tight enough to crush my ribs.
Just as we finished, my phone rang, and I walked stiffly toward the nightstand. My ribs always needed a few days to adjust to the damn corset.
When I grabbed my phone, a photo of my mom and me on the beach filled the screen.
“Hello?” I yawned into the speaker.
“Good morning,” she chirped. “Please be on time for breakfast, honey.”
“I’ll be there.”
“On time.”
“Yes, Mom. On time.”
“Make sure to wear appropriate attire.”
“Already wearing the torture device.”
“Good.”
I hooked a finger beneath the corset and tried to create enough room to breathe.
Back in the States, my wardrobe was ninety percent pink and none of it tried to suffocate me.
“See you soon!” Mom blew kisses into the phone before hanging up.
The second our call ended, my unread texts filled the screen.
Blair: I hope your flight went well!
Adelina: MISSING YOU ALREADY!
Seraphina: Still drooling over the ocean water and convincing my father that yours truly will be in attendance at the next Tide Ball. I need to find a hot guy to have some fling with. xoxo
I snorted, picturing Seraphina here with her army of Mafia bodyguards.
Poor girl barely traveled outside the States. Cristian Marchetti treated international travel like every country not in his control was waiting to kidnap his daughter. Italy got a pass because the Marchettis practically owned half the security there.
Since I was running late, I quickly hearted their messages instead of replying. I tossed my phone on the bed and sat down to slip on my blue kitten heels. Before leaving, I checked myself in the mirror.
Not too bad for someone running on three hours of sleep.
My dress hugged my waist, its sleeves falling off my shoulders. Tiny jewel stones glittered the bodice. Every royal outfit required at least one jewel stone.
Elodie followed me toward the door, but my phone vibrated as I passed it. I paused to check it, expecting another text from one of the girls. As I read the text, any appetite I had vanished.
Brooks: I like seeing you in green, Princess.
I turned to look at the window, expecting Brooks to come crawling through it, and jumped when another text came through.
Brooks: BTW, your tiara is a little crooked.
I yelped, my free hand flying to my tiara to check it.
It was. I quickly fixed it.
Brooks: See you soon, my future Fawn.
I spent the entire walk to breakfast looking over my shoulder.
How did Brooks know I was wearing green?
That my tiara was crooked?
He couldn’t be here in Calira.
President Byron would never allow it. No American official had stepped foot in Calira since the assassination attempt.
I passed Romanesque windows overlooking the sea and framed portraits of my long-dead ancestors. The ceilings stretched stories above me.
When we reached the dining chamber, Elodie bowed before turning to leave. I cringed. She only did that in public because she’d lose her job if she didn’t. I’d banned her from bowing to me in private years ago.
Elodie was my friend before anything else. Friends didn’t bow to each other.
My grandfather sat at the head of the table. His broad frame dwarfed his high-backed chair. He didn’t stand to greet me. He never did with anyone.
All eyes were on me as I walked toward him and bowed. Only he and my grandmother received bows from the rest of the family.
His mostly gray beard shifted with the rare smile he saved for his family. “Daphne. It’s nice to have you back in your home.”
“Glad to be here.” I smiled back.
Jewel stones covered the gold crown on his head. Its tips were so sharp that I’d once watched him stab a man with it after sentencing him to death for treason.
That was the first—and last—time he’d ever sentenced someone to death. He banned capital punishment after that.
Crown stabbing aside, he was a king who genuinely cared about his people. There was a reason Calira constantly landed on those best-places-to-live lists.
Mom rushed toward me from her chair beside Grandpa. Our dresses were nearly the same shade of green.
“My beautiful girl.” She kissed my cheek before pulling me into a tight hug.
Since she was no longer allowed in the States, this was the first time we’d seen each other in months. I stayed in her arms for another second before moving on to my grandmother. Her black hair was cut into a sharp Sharon Osbourne bob.
She kissed both my cheeks and sat back down.
“You’re seated beside Cory.” Grandfather nodded down the table.
I followed his stare to the empty chair between my mom and Cory.
Cory straightened in his chair and grinned up at me. I walked around the table, my heels clinking against the marble. Cory jumped up, bowed, then pulled out my chair.
I managed not to roll my eyes when he looked over at my grandfather, as if checking to make sure he’d witnessed his Prince Charming routine.
Prime Minister Bellamonte lifted his pointy chin and gave me a hint of a smile.
As I draped the napkin across my lap, Cory leaned in closer to whisper, “It’s nice to see you back at this table, Princess.”
My corset suddenly felt tighter. I hated how he stole my grandfather’s words and made them feel less sentimental.
“I walked through Lacona Village this morning and overheard people talking about your return,” he went on. “They like having their princess back and can’t wait for you to live here after graduation.”
The servers walking in with our breakfast saved me from having to answer him.
Right on cue, my grandfather started speaking. He controlled the conversation through breakfast, per usual.
I sliced the same strawberry into smaller and smaller pieces while Vittoria and Aunt Oriana stared me down.
Vittoria was two years older than me. We’d always gotten along, but we’d never been close. I blamed her mother for that. Aunt Oriana turned everything between us into a competition.
Who dresses better. Who behaves better. Who will make a better princess.
Mom being the next in line for the throne only made it worse. If I moved back to Calira, I’d push Oriana even farther down the line of succession.
Not that I wanted the throne. I’d happily sit on the sidelines with margaritas, Netflix, and enough sage to cleanse the entire castle while someone else handled ruling a whole-ass kingdom.
Hell, I could barely decide what I wanted for lunch most days. No way should any sane person put the fate of a country in my hands.
I tuned out most of breakfast until my grandfather finally brought up the Tide Ball.
The Tide Ball celebrated Calira’s independence every year, and it was my favorite royal event.
“Since she’s the future of Calira, Princess Marjorie will deliver a speech,” my grandfather announced.