Chapter 23 #2
“My best friend, Cally, convinced me. She’s also Ursine.”
He nods his head appreciatively. “Good friend to have, then,” he says with a wink.
I chuckle. “Yes, she is.”
The sweet smell of roses wafts toward Barrett and me as we approach the rose garden. Like Etta, this might be one of my favorite spots on the grounds. Birds flit between various feeders throughout the garden, soft tweets filling the air.
He looks around, his eyes lighting as he does. “This is gorgeous.”
I smile. “Isn’t it? Holly brought me here one of my first days, and I fell in love with it. I can’t wait to bring a book out here once everything settles down.”
“You mean when you’re no longer being courted by five different males and can live a bit more of a normal life?” he asks me, eyebrows raised.
I snort. “Something like that.”
“Tell me about your old life, before this,” he says.
I walk to a rose bush, clipping a light pink rose from a stem and placing it in the basket.
“What do you want to know?” I ask, glancing at him.
“Were you happy?” He walks ahead, studying a bundle of blooming white peonies.
I consider the question for a moment. “Yes, I was. Mostly, anyway.” I had my issues, and still do, but I was mostly happy.
He turns to me, a bundle of peonies in his hand. “And now?”
I hold the basket out to him. He gently sets the bundle of white flowers inside, right next to the pale pink roses I selected. “Hmm…” I say, thinking out loud. “Yes.”
He cocks his head, a smirk on his face. “That didn’t sound too convincing.”
I hesitate, mulling over my words carefully. “Yes, I am. I…I struggle with some things, mentally, and I’ve had a hard time adjusting, if I’m being totally honest. But I am adjusting. I’m getting there.”
“Well, good,” he says, then stares off, seeming to struggle with what to say next.
“Everything okay?” I ask him.
“I need to tell you something,” he says, looking at me with a grimace.
“What’s up?” I ask, my magic flaring, ready for signs of deception. I reach for a bundle of white hydrangeas, then grab the pair of shears from the basket and bend down to pluck them.
“I’m not interested in marrying you.”
My hand freezes in its place, and I turn to look at him. Surely, I heard him wrong.
He hurriedly adds, “It’s not you. It’s me.”
I guess I didn’t hear him wrong. I smile hesitantly and ask, “Are you joking? I can’t tell.” I’m not sensing any deception, so he must be telling the truth.
“No. Sorry, that was a bad line,” he says, running his hand through his hair, several pieces coming loose from his bun as he does. “I’m not joking. It really is me. I’m…I’m not interested in marrying any female, regardless of the honor…” He trails off, staring at me expectantly.
OH.
“You’re gay?”
He nods solemnly. My jaw instinctively drops, and I slam it shut as quickly as I can.
“Barrett, I had no idea. I wouldn’t have asked you to participate if I had known.”
“I know that. My family wanted me to pursue you.” He pauses and takes a deep breath. “They have no idea. I’m not actually out.”
“Does anyone else know?” I ask.
“Yes. August and Koa are the only ones who know right now.”
The significance of this moment doesn’t escape me. My heart warms that Barrett felt comfortable enough to share this news with me.
“Why tell me?”
He smiles and says, “They encouraged me to. They knew I wasn’t going to try to win you over. My plan was to fly under the radar and bore you to death on all our dates. But after your dates with them, they told me to tell you.”
“Wow,” I say, blinking. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting this. Thank you for trusting me with your secret. It’s safe with me, I promise. I appreciate you telling me before we began any sort of a relationship.”
He steps forward and wraps me in a hug. I squeeze his massive torso before letting go and stepping away. “I actually have a secret of my own,” I admit.
He glances at me, eyes widening. “Well?”
“I didn’t want to come on this date with you.”
“What? Why not?”
I laugh. “I’m starting to get feelings for everyone. It’s already going to be hard enough. I didn’t want to add a fifth person to my list of potential husbands.”
“Well, this certainly worked out, didn’t it?”
I chuckle. “Yeah, I guess it did.”
I turn back to the hydrangea bush and pluck the bundle that I had been eyeing. “How does the royal kingdom treat gay people?” I ask, struggling to pluck it while holding the basket. He takes the basket from my hand, and I use my free hand to grab the plucked stem and toss it into the basket.
“It’s not discussed. There’s never been a publicly gay prince before.
The royal kingdom is about as traditional as it gets, though.
I mean, you come from two incredibly powerful magical lines, but you’re not powerful enough to rule on your own because you’re a female?
You’re about to be able to choose your own husband for the first time in our history.
We’re so behind. Imagine how the people would react to me wanting to marry another male. ”
He’s right. “I’m sorry, Barrett,” I say quietly.
He shrugs. “I’ve accepted it. I hope that things will change, but if they don’t, what am I gonna do about it?”
He has a point there. “What about your family? Would they be accepting of it?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah. My family’s great, and they’ll be fine with it when I finally tell them. I was going to, but then this courting process was announced, and they were so excited at the possibility of me marrying you. I couldn’t do it. I’m going to have to when I get back home, though.”
“Or not. You don’t have to do anything. If you want to tell them, you can. If not, don’t. Is there anything I can do to help you? From the High Queen’s perspective?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think so. It’s not illegal for me to be gay, so there’s nothing to change. At least, not anything you can do.”
“Well, if you ever find someone, you’ll have my support as High Queen.”
He blinks. “Now, that might help.”
“Just let me know. I’m happy to help.” I motion for the basket, and he hands it to me.
“Do you already have a partner?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No, but what about you? How are you feeling about everyone? August and Koa said their dates with you were great.”
“Oh yeah? What else did they say?” I ask, unable to stop the smile that spreads across my face.
“They would never kiss and tell. They’re gentlemen.”
“But they told you we kissed?” I ask, arching one eyebrow.
“No, I was just fishing. That was too easy.”
I laugh and give him a playful shove. “Well, I’m glad they said they had a good time. I did, too.” I smile, but then my face falls and I groan. “Someone’s bound to get hurt, Barrett. I hate this.”
“We knew what we were signing up for. Everyone knew the risk.”
They might have signed up for this, but I didn’t. I can’t help but worry how badly my own heart will break at the end of this.
“I think it’s certainly possible, but I just don’t know what information that gives us,” Luca says, rubbing his face with his hands. He looks exhausted. Rare stubble lines his jaw, and puffy bags sit beneath his eyes. Ivan doesn’t look much better.
Ironically, last night was the best I’ve slept since I’ve gotten here. My date with Barrett left me feeling lighter at the relief of not having to add yet another relationship to my already complicated mess of relationships.
I popped out of bed this morning, dashed outside for a run, and was bright-eyed and ready for my morning meeting with the Herd. In fact, I was the first one inside the meeting room this morning, shocking a sleepy Ivan.
We’ve been discussing the potential connection of the witches, cambions, and the royal family all morning. Luca has been grilling me all morning, pressing me for details of the potential witch and the attack on Marik. I don’t mention what he told me about Asmo’s history of practicing dark magic.
“We’re missing something,” Luca mutters.
“Have there been any other updates on the investigation?” I ask him.
He shakes his head. The witch is the only lead we have right now, and it’s a terrible one.
Nobody’s been able to find the female I spoke to in the greenhouse.
Ivan and Luca think it’s almost guaranteed that she is a witch.
Even though they’ve increased the number of guards present and patrolling the grounds, they’ve also been patrolling the grounds constantly, looking for anything that they may have missed.
If there was a witch here, she’s long gone.
“Why would a witch want the royal family dead?” I ask.
Ivan rubs his jaw and says, “I don’t know.
My obvious hypothesis is that they’re no longer satisfied just ruling Adenahall, and they wanted the family out of the way so they could take over our kingdom next.
They probably had no idea that Silas had another daughter and that the kingdom would be left without a High King or Queen for some time, leaving us vulnerable. ”
Luca says, “Something isn’t sitting right with me regarding the attack on you and Marik the other night, Mae.” I tilt my head, and he continues, “Why only three? Whoever invited the witch here, whomever the witch is working with—”
Elle holds a hand up, cutting him off. “Hang on. We have no idea if someone invited the witch onto the grounds. That’s how we’re assuming the witch was able to get in, but we have no idea.”
“I just can’t figure it out,” Luca groans. He stands and begins pacing the length of the room.
“We should also consider that it could have been just really great luck that the witch decided to be there when she was,” Elle says, watching Luca.
“It can’t be that easy,” he says, not glancing up from the floor.
I speak up. “What’s in the greenhouse? Is there something in there that maybe she was looking for? It’s possible she was there for a reason, and I came along at the right time. Maybe I caught her off guard, so that’s why she didn’t attack.”
“Good question…” Holly says, trailing off in thought. “I think it’s just herbs and vegetables, though. I can’t possibly think of what she could be looking for in there. Unless she’s working on a spell that requires something that can only be found in our garden?”
“I still think it’s weird that the witch only summoned three cambions,” Luca says again.
“Why?” Elle asks, exasperated. She’s been watching him pace back and forth since he stood up.
He glances up from the floor, looking directly at her.
“Think about it. Whoever this witch is, she’s working with someone who’s here,” he says, pointing downward with one finger.
“She must know that there are five powerful princes here who would protect Mae. It doesn’t take much to overwhelm a single cambion.
If she had summoned, say, ten or more, they may have overwhelmed a single prince.
But there are five princes here. It’s like the intention behind the attack wasn’t to attack at all but instead to scare. ”
“She attacked in the middle of the night. Maybe she thought everyone would be asleep, making Mae an easy target,” Elle counters.
“True,” he acquiesces. “It’s just a stupid plan, though. It fell apart too easily. If Asmo hadn’t found her, Koa or Ivan would have soon.”
“What if that’s all the witch could summon?” Holly asks. “What if she’s a witchling, and she’s weak?”
Ivan tilts his head as if he finds the theory credible. “That could be.”
“If that’s the case, we still need to be careful. Witchlings are still powerful,” Luca says.
“But the witch I talked to was old,” I say.
Ivan shakes his head and says, “Witches can change their appearances. She likely heard you coming and glamoured herself to appear harmless.”
“Mae, you need to be very careful with the princes. It may be one of them working with the witch,” Luca says.
“Is nobody concerned that Prince Marik, one of the most powerful in the kingdom, was taken down by three cambions?” Elle asks, looking around the circle before settling on me.
I shake my head at the implication. “No, I don’t think that’s possible. I’ve been very careful around all the princes and casting for signs of deception. I haven’t picked up on anything.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s not happening, remember?” Elle says beside me. “They could be highly skilled at lying or know how to get around having to tell a lie.”
The thought sends chills down my spine. If it is any of the princes, they’re doing an amazing job at making me fall for them while keeping me blind to their lies.
The thought is terrifying.
I could marry my demise without even knowing it.