Chapter 14 #2
When I finish my run, I head to Ivan’s office. I knock on the door and hear a muffled “Come in!” The door creaks open. Ivan sits at his desk, gray hair neatly styled and gleaming in the morning light.
“What can I do for you, Your Highness?” he asks, glancing up from the report he’s reading. He gently places it on his desk and gestures for me to sit.
“No more group activities for the rest of this week,” I say, not wasting any time, “and I’d like to have dinner with Prince Marik first.”
He nods, agreeing to both requests. “I know just the place. There’s a small balcony on the second floor in the east wing. It overlooks the forest. We’ll make it work.”
I smile and thank him. “That sounds lovely. Would it be possible to do this tonight?”
“Certainly. Let’s say seven o’clock. We’ll set the meeting point at the front doors, and then William will escort you.”
“Is William the only person who works here? Can’t you give him a break now and then?” I ask with a chuckle.
“I wish he would take one. He loves to work, and he’s very happy to be serving you.”
That surprises me, but I make a note to thank him the next time I see him. “As far as the rest of the week goes, I’d like to arrange individual dates with the remaining princes. Please set Asmo for last,” I say.
“Any ideas for what you’d like to do during your dates?” he asks. I shake my head, utterly clueless, and he says, “I have some ideas. Leave it to me.”
I exhale a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Ivan.”
“Don’t mention it, Your Highness,” he says with a genuine smile.
“I will demote you if you keep it up,” I say in mock seriousness before turning for the door.
Like the first day, William stands just outside. “Alright, William. Lead me to the veranda.”
He bows, stands, and immediately heads to the right. I fall into step beside him, our footsteps echoing in the silent hallway.
“So, tell me about yourself,” I say cheerfully, trying to fill the silence so I don’t ruminate on my lingering shame from last night.
He doesn’t move his gaze, still focused on what’s in front of us. “What do you want to know, Your Highness?” His tone is professional, and it irks me.
“What do you like to do for fun?”
“Work,” he responds straight-faced.
I quirk an eyebrow and ask, “Really?”
He nods, revealing a small smile. “Work is what I love to do.”
Weeks ago, my answer would have been the same. I loved spending my days in the bookstore. I looked forward to every day, surrounded by yellowed pages full of thoughtfully crafted stories.
“Well, what is it about this that you love so much?” I ask.
He smiles at the question. “My father served before me, but he passed away when I was young. It was always my mother’s dream that I follow in his footsteps. So, I did. It makes her happy, so it makes me happy. Plus, there’s nothing better than protecting…goodness.”
“What do you mean?”
“The values of our court are what keep the kingdom…good,” he says. “And that’s worth protecting.”
“Goodness is worth protecting,” I repeat.
He nods in agreement. “Yes, Your Highness, and it’s an honor to do so.”
We turn down a corner, and I notice the black flower bouquets have been removed and replaced with bundles of white daisies. Already, my father’s death is a thing of the past. “Well, what do you do outside of work?” I ask after a few moments of silence.
A hint of pink blooms on his cheeks. “I’m actually about to propose to my girlfriend.”
A smile breaks across my face. “Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!”
“Yours, too, Your Highness.”
My mood dampens at the reminder.
Outside, Cally is seated on one of the plush outdoor chairs on the veranda, a spread of fruits and cheeses on the wooden table in front of her.
“About time you got here!” she exclaims when she sees me. “Someone dropped this off a few minutes ago, and I’ve been dying to dig in.”
“Sorry, I tried to be as quick as I could.” I walk toward her and take a seat in the chair across from her.
She sits back, propping an arm on the back of the chair. “How are you feeling?” she asks carefully.
I nod. “Better. Ivan and I came up with a plan for the week, starting with a private dinner with Prince Marik tonight,” I say, leaning back into the chair. The sun shines directly on the veranda, warming my very bones.
Her eyes almost pop out of their sockets. “So, it begins.”
I nod slowly. “Yep… It’s happening.”
The corners of her mouth twitch upwards. “I can’t believe it.” I snort. I can’t either. “How are you feeling about dinner tonight?” she asks.
I shrug. Truthfully, I would rather lay in bed and read a book than go to dinner with any of the High Princes.
“You’re talkative today,” she says with a roll of her eyes.
I inhale deeply and let loose a slow breath. “Sorry, I’m just tired and in a weird mood after last night,” I grumble.
She reaches over and places a hand on my forearm. “Sorry, cub.”
I can’t help but smile. Sorry, cub, is Cally’s father’s favorite expression. Cally is one of five kids, or cubs, as the Ursine call them. Whenever Cally complained about anything, major or minor, it was always followed by sorry, cub.
“Do you have anyone that’s in the lead right now?” she asks.
“Honestly, no. Maybe Marik, since he saved my life? I had an enlightening conversation with Koa last night.” Her eyes widen, and she gestures for me to keep going, so I do. “I mean, it wasn’t world-changing, but he warned me about watching my back.”
She stares at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue. “Well? Is that it?”
“We almost kissed,” I say nonchalantly, one corner of my mouth quirking up.
Her eyes practically burst out of her head. “Why wouldn’t you tell me that first?” She grabs the pillow from behind her and fires it at me.
I catch it and set it on my lap, the half-smile now a full grin. I’ve always been able to count on Cally to make me laugh, even when I’m in a bad mood.
“He’s beautiful,” she says. “I heard that he’s dated around a bit, though.”
“I can see that. What else have you heard about him? Or the rest of the princes? Anything I should know?”
“Actually,” she says, holding a finger up in the air before pausing to pop a grape in her mouth, “I did read something about August and Etta the other day in the Tribune.”
I roll my eyes at the mention of the gossip column that calls itself a newspaper.
She clocks my eye roll and fires a grape at me, hitting me square in the forehead. “Don’t make fun. Their information is usually spot-on.” The grape pings off my forehead and bounces to the floor, rolling underneath her chair.
“What did you read?” I say with a sigh.
She grins excitedly at the question. “There were rumors a few months ago that he was going to be chosen as her future husband, but neither court had made a statement confirming or denying that rumor. If they were seeing each other, they kept it unofficial.”
She pauses, popping another grape in her mouth. She tries to talk while still eating, but I level a glare at her. She finally swallows and says, “However, someone from Etta’s circle has insinuated that they were seeing each other.”
Interesting. “What else did you hear?”
“Not much. I overheard two females gossiping in the bookstore the other day, and all they could talk about was how August is courting you now,” she says.
She grabs a thin cracker from the table and spreads a thick layer of creamy cheese on the top. I’m silent for a minute as I reflect on everything Cally has shared.
“August hasn’t seemed sad at all,” I finally say.
She raises an eyebrow, then layers more cheese onto the cracker. “That’s odd, especially if those rumors are true.”
“When was this? Do you know how long they were dating?”
She tilts her head up, eyes glued to the sky in concentration. “The paper said their relationship lasted for a few months, but it ended, like, six months ago.”
I settle back into my seat, head swirling at the new information. “Now two princes were potentially involved with her.”
Cally’s jaw drops, mouth full of cheese and crackers. She shuts it quickly, swallows, and says, “Wait, what? Who else are you talking about?”
“Oh, I never told you. You have to promise you won’t tell anyone, though,” I say, looking at her with a sober expression.
She rolls her eyes. “Of course, I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“I mean it, Cally. This does not leave this conversation.”
She throws her hands up. “I promise. Now, tell me!”
Satisfied, I say, “The investigators on the case have reason to believe that the murderer was close to someone in the family. Holly told me there were rumors that Etta had recently begun seeing someone, which I’m now realizing must be August. For some reason, I’ve been thinking that it was Marik this whole time. ”
“Marik? Why?” she asks.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I didn’t have much to go on. He seemed sad at the funeral reception and like he knew her well. Plus, Asmo said they were friends.”
“That doesn’t mean they were dating,” she rebuts.
“I know that. Limited information here, remember?”
She sits back in her chair, twiddling a lock of her thick hair.
“Hm…Marik and Asmo keep pretty low-key profiles, so it’s unlikely that Marik would have made it known to the kingdom even if he had started seeing Etta.
My guess is that she and August were still hooking up or something and that he was her secret boyfriend.
Wait a second. Do you think that whoever Etta was seeing was also her murderer? ”
I nod tersely, then add, “I’m serious. If you share this with anyone, I’ll kill you.”
She gives me an exasperated look. “I won’t. But why would you think that?” she asks me.
“Because you have a big—”
“About Etta’s murderer,” she says, throwing another grape at me.
I catch it this time and throw it right back, a smile on my face. “Honestly, it was just a theory. Just me grasping at straws. We’re assuming whoever did it was close to the family, so I assumed it was someone that Etta had invited over without really knowing. That’s all I’ve got.”
“That’s kind of a shitty theory, no offense.”
“I know. I told you I was grasping at straws,” I say, popping a plump berry into my mouth before changing the topic. “Hey, have you heard of a fairytale about a deer queen?”
She stares at me. “Are you joking?”
“Why do I always get that response? No, I’m not joking,” I say, exasperated.
“Yes, it’s like the fairytale that we were all told as kids.”
I beckon her to elaborate. “What do you know about it?”
“It’s the origin story of our entire species.
The Fae Queen found this stag in the forest. It turns out he was one of the long-lost Fae Kings, but he had been cursed to live as a deer.
The queen tried to reverse his curse, but in doing so, she ended up transferring some of the curse to herself, creating the first Fae-woodland hybrid, granting her both Fae and elemental magic.
Then, she turned four of her friends into different hybrids and created the different Houses. ”
“That’s pretty much what I’ve heard. Do you know anything about the prophecy?” I ask.
She gives me a dubious look. “Some people believe it’s also a prophecy and that the queen’s ‘true daughter’ will one day ascend to the throne and bring in great change to the kingdom,” she says.
“You don’t believe that?”
“I mean, I guess it could be. My parents don’t believe it is, so I was raised believing that it’s just a children’s tale. I think if the story were true, her daughter would have found her way to the throne a long time ago.”
I nod in agreement.
But internally, I can’t help but wonder if maybe something else has happened.
What if her daughter had been hidden from the throne?