Chapter 18
Fawn smoothed the white, lightweight fabric of the dress Lilith had given her. It draped across her chest, cinched at the waist with interwoven ropes, and the long, flowing skirt brushed the floor. It looked silly with her boots, but Dean promised they’d buy sandals soon.
“What are their names again?” she asked him as they neared the dining hall.
“Violet, Ares, and Griff.” Dean nodded to the guard opening the dining hall door. “Ares and Griff are guards escorting Violet on a trip around Eden.”
The room wasn’t as large as she expected it to be.
It must be the royals’ private dining room where they hosted intimate dinners with friends and family.
She scanned the table quickly, unable to tell who was who from the doorway.
It hadn’t occurred to her until then that Dean’s parents might be there.
Fawn grabbed Dean’s arm and pulled him back into the hallway out of sight. “Are your parents here?” She tried to peek around the door without being obvious. Her anxiety spiked at the thought of meeting the cruel king. What would he say about a half-human being queen?
“Hey.” Dean’s hand started to cup the side of her neck but stopped and moved to her jaw. “They’re not here. They left for the Desert Kingdom days ago. The Desert King killed his father, and they are attending his funeral.”
Fawn paled. “Why did he kill his father?”
Dean pressed his lips into a hard line. “The former king was rumored to be cruel, especially to women. No one knows exactly what happened, but I expect the man deserved it. He and my father had been close, so my parents insisted on paying their respects.”
“Who else is here?” Without his parents in attendance, her nerves ebbed, but not completely.
He traced a soothing line along her jaw, steadying her. “As far as I know, Braddock, Monroe, and the guests from the Tropical Kingdom.”
Fawn blew out a long breath. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”
Dean leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “I’ll be right beside you the entire time.”
Fawn’s breath hitched. Did that count as their first kiss? Would he pull away if she yanked him back down and kissed him again?
He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her into the room. The table held ten to twelve seats at most, and the room—like the rest of the palace—dripped with opulence and gold.
Dean led her to the head of the table next to Naomi and pulled out a chair for her to take a seat. Naomi reached over and touched the fabric of Fawn’s dress. “I like this.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” Fawn whispered back. “I went looking for you earlier.”
Before her friend could answer, Dean turned to the prettiest woman Fawn had ever seen in her life. The woman’s tan skin and long, dark auburn hair complemented her light eyes perfectly. She wore a dress similar to Fawn’s, paired with jewelry of stones and shells.
“Violet,” Dean said a little too loud, drawing everyone’s attention.
Fawn kept her gaze on her mate and waited to follow his lead.
She didn’t know the royal etiquette. Did she introduce herself first or did she wait to be spoken to?
The only royal dinner she’d been to in the Mountain Kingdom was after the coronation, and it wasn’t an intimate affair.
“I would like you to meet my mate, Fawn.”
The pretty woman froze and glanced at the man sitting across from her. He had warm russet skin, shoulder length black hair, and lean muscles. His eyes slid to the other end of the table. Cali .
Gods, why is she still here? After that morning, Fawn thought she’d leave.
Cali looked pissed, her eyes willing Fawn to die on the spot.
The silence felt endless, but only a few seconds passed before Violet smiled brightly at Fawn.
“Hi!” She pointed to the two men sitting across from her.
“That’s Griff.” The man she’d shared a look with earlier tipped his head.
“And that’s Ares. We’re from the Tropical Kingdom. ” The other man did the same.
The girl’s sweetness seemed genuine, and Fawn matched her smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve always wanted to see the Tropical Kingdom. I’ve heard it’s beautiful.”
Violet lifted her hand and tilted it side to side. “It is if you don’t mind feeling like someone wrapped a wet cloth around you the second you step outside.”
“And insects,” Ares added. “They’re everywhere.”
Violet shushed the man. “Don’t listen to him. They’re not that bad.”
Dean sat beside Fawn, resting a comforting hand above her knee. The contact calmed her even more and she covered his hand with her own in thanks.
“I see you found a dress,” Braddock said from a few chairs down.
“The material looks soft,” Monroe added. “Where did you get it?”
Fawn glanced down at the dress, thinking it looked like everyone else’s. They must be trying to ease the obvious tension between her and Cali. “Thank you. Lilith gave it to me.”
“Is it from the Human Kingdom?” Cali questioned from the other end of the table, her voice deceptively sweet. “You’re half-human, aren’t you? You grew up there, didn’t you? I’ve heard your foliage is dull.” The woman sitting next to her shrank in her chair, glancing at Cali warily.
Everyone fell silent. It was obvious she sought to embarrass Fawn, but being half human was nothing to be ashamed of. She had hidden her ears most of her life to avoid being taken advantage of, but she had never been ashamed.
Fawn straightened her shoulders and kept her voice polite. “I am. I liked growing up there, but I do love the bright colors in the fae lands.”
“Her kingdom is the Garden Kingdom,” Dean cut in, his words as smooth and calm as his outward demeanor, but Fawn felt his fury. “She is your queen.”
Violet nibbled on her lip, looking between both ends of the table, Ares and Griff tucked into their food, and Monroe shot a smug smile at Cali. His obvious defense of Fawn endeared her to him more. She’d ask Dean if he could join them tomorrow in the village to get to know him better.
“Oh, did you already marry?” the woman next to Cali asked innocently. She sounded genuinely curious, but her question settled uncomfortably over the group.
The tension in the room thickened to unbearable. Dean’s facade held firm as he gave the two women a boyish smile. “Not yet, but I don’t need a ceremony to call her my wife.”
Violet visibly swooned, Griff choked on his food, and Monroe preened as if Dean had been talking about him personally. Cali’s friend looked remorseful for bringing it up, and Cali’s eyes watered. Fawn would feel bad for the king’s ex-fiancé if she hadn’t tried to humiliate her.
Where is our food? If she had food, she wouldn’t have to make small talk. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to conversate with the others, but she feared Cali would find a way to take shots at anything she had to say.
On cue, two plates were set in front of Dean and her, and she nearly slumped with relief. The steak on her plate looked delicious, and she immediately dug in, sawing off a piece and shoving it into her mouth like a starving dog.
Dean scowled at her. “You should have told me you were this hungry. I would have had food brought to the room earlier.”
Fawn swallowed a bite and scooped a dollop of potatoes. “We were unpacking and it slipped my mind.”
He sighed. “I should have thought to feed you. It won’t happen again.”
They managed to survive the rest of dinner with polite conversation—excluding Cali and the woman beside her, who were lost in their own whispered conversation.
Fawn liked Violet and her two guards. They were traveling all over Eden for Violet to study the different fashions in each kingdom, and her enthusiasm made Fawn wish she cared about something half that much.
She thought back to Dean asking her about hobbies, and it struck her how half-lived her life had been.
She pushed the morose thoughts away, and by the end of dinner, Fawn felt excited about her future.
Dean had asked Lilith how long he had to keep Cali around, and she’d said he would know when the time came.
How? Right now, he wanted to exile her from the entire kingdom.
He understood her hurt to an extent, but she knew returning with Fawn was a possibility, not to mention, he hurt Cali, not Fawn.
Fawn was an innocent bystander who was blindsided too.
Emi, Cali’s sister, didn’t have Lilith’s protection, and he had half a mind to banish her on principle. She was a nice girl, but if he took away Cali’s confidant, maybe she would leave on her own.
Emi’s innocent question had brought to his attention that there may be those who wouldn’t view Fawn as their queen until they married, and he needed to rectify that sooner rather than later.
“Stand here with Cassandra while I speak with that woman over there,” he told his mate and pointed at the royal seamstress who made the warrior’s fighting leathers.
After telling the seamstress what he needed, she assured him she would have it done before morning and delivered to his rooms as soon as possible. He thanked her and returned to Fawn.
“What would you like to do?” he asked her. He wanted nothing more than to take her to their rooms and get to know her better, but her escape earlier proved she needed an outing.
“I don’t know what there is to do here.” She shrugged. “You pick.”
He tried to think of something she’d enjoy. “Would you like to see the horses?”
Riding was his favorite pastime. He’d never had time in his younger years outside of riding lessons, but in his adulthood, he found it relaxing. She said she didn’t ride, but he hoped to convince her otherwise. “Would you like Naomi to join us?”
She beamed at him. “I’d like that very much.”
Fawn and Naomi stared open-mouthed at the horses in the Garden Kingdom stables. “Did you breed them with monsters?” Naomi asked.
Fawn agreed. The fae shire horses in the Mountain Kingdom were large, but these were massive, even by fae standards. “I think their tail alone could kill someone with one swipe.”
Dean patted the solid black horse on the side of its neck.
“The magic in our lands is stronger than most, and our fae animals are bigger.” Every fae land had a mixture of animals from both the fae lands and from the human lands.
The latter wandered over before the gods returned to erect the barrier protecting the humans and have managed to stay alive.
Her father never told her the Garden Kingdom had more magic than the others and were it not for the beasts in front of her, she wouldn’t believe it.
Naomi tried to reach the horse’s back and failed. “Have you ever broken a bone falling off?”
Dean had no issue scratching the stud at the base of his mane. “I’m offended you think I’ve fallen off.” The king stood well over six feet, and his wide wingspan allowed him to reach the top. The horse’s head dropped and tilted, and Fawn grinned. Ivy liked that spot too.
“I’m still learning to ride,” Naomi told him. “Is there an instructor here to continue my lessons?”
A handsome man with cool dark-brown skin and long black braids tied at his nape approached from one of the stalls. “I’d be happy to teach her, if it’s alright with you, Your Highness.”
The man had a kind smile and Fawn liked him instantly. Some people gave off an aura that drew others in, and he had it. “I think that’s an excellent idea,” Dean agreed. “Naomi, Fawn, this is Jeremiah. He owns a ranch of his own and provides the palace with horses, like your grandparents.”
Jeremiah stuck out his hand for each girl, and they introduced themselves. He turned his charming smile on Fawn. “Your grandparents own a ranch?”
She nodded. “In the Mountain Kingdom.”
“Do you two live in town? I’d be happy to collect you both and take you riding at my ranch. I can have you riding in no time,” he said to Naomi.
Dean moved closer to Fawn. “Fawn is my mate , and Naomi is her close friend. They live in the palace.”
Jeremiah couldn’t hide his surprise, and he bowed to Fawn. “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
Dean stepped even closer, and Fawn side eyed him. “I appreciate the offer. I don’t ride, but Naomi has been trying to learn recently.”
Jeremiah scratched his jaw. “You grew up on a ranch and don’t ride?”
Fawn shook her head. “I like being around them, but riding isn’t for me.”
Naomi remained suspiciously quiet, and Fawn noted the blush spreading across her cheeks. Her friend liked Jeremiah. “I don’t want to take away from your lessons,” Fawn replied. “Naomi, you don’t mind going alone do you?”
Naomi’s eyes widened and she smoothed her dress. “No. That sounds fun.”
Jeremiah and Naomi discussed times to meet the following day, and Dean whispered in Fawn’s ear, “Are you playing matchmaker?”
His mate shrugged. “She likes him and he’s nice. If they happen to hit it off, so be it.”
He ran his fingers through her hair and down her back, sending a sensual chill across her skin. “Is there anything I can do to convince you to ride with me?”
She met his searching gaze. “I don’t like being high up.”
“Even if I swear not to let you fall?” Did he enjoy riding or was he trying to help her overcome her fear?
“Do you ride often?” she queried, praying he said no.
To her dismay, his mouth tilted into a crooked smile. “Almost every day. I guess you could say it’s a hobby of mine.”
Oh hell, I’ll have to ride with him. If he refused to let her out of his sight, he’d skip his daily ride to make her happy. Overcoming her fear would take time, but for him she would try. It might help if she wore a blindfold and didn’t see the ground from high up. She gulped. “Okay.”
His brows shot up. “Darling, I can feel your apprehension. If it bothers you that much, we won’t do it.”
“I want to,” she fibbed. She didn’t want to ride, but she wanted to make him as happy as he made her.
He dipped down and kissed her lightly for the second time that day and a thousand butterflies took flight in her stomach.