“Why do you all have such a low opinion of Tristan? What has he done to deserve that?” I gesture wildly at Mabon and Dyfri. “He is your brother. You should have more faith in him.”
The sea of guilty faces should be satisfying, but it’s not. These assholes should never have doubted Tristan in the first place. They’ve met him. They know him. They should know he is an infuriating jerk, but he is not that bad. There are plenty of worse people in the world.
“What has he ever done to you to earn your suspicion?” I seethe at them.
They are his family. They are supposed to have his back. They should understand that he had to punish me and there were worse things he could have done. It is not his fault I fell apart a little.
I was an asshole to Jamie, and Tristan was scared of Rhydian’s reaction. That doesn’t make him a terrible person. He regretted it afterwards. He stayed away when I wanted him to. He came and helped me when I neededhim. He apologised. He took me to see a vessel so things could be explained to me. Prince Tristan Y Mabinogi is not a bad person.
“You’re right,” says Jamie softly. “Tristan is lovely. A terrible flirt, but lovely.”
He places his hand on my arm. I think the gesture is supposed to be placating, but being touched is so unfamiliar it is making my skin crawl. It is an effort not to snatch my arm away. Clearly I’m growing as a person, because I’m managing it.
“However, he is also fey and they are often cruel.” Jamie glances over at Mabon and Dyfri. “Sorry, guys.”
The fey don’t look the least bit offended. Being called cruel is probably a compliment to them or something. An attribute to strive towards.
I suck in a breath. Okay, Jamie is agreeing with me. Tristan’s brothers at least have the decency to look ashamed. So it seems their horrible opinions about Tristan aren’t all that deeply embedded. It could even be the exact opposite and what happened was so against Tristan’s normal character that it alarmed them. Hence all this intervention bullshit.
“Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. He’s fine. We are all fine. So how about we drop this and never speak of it again?” I say firmly.
“Deal?” says Mabon brightly.
“Deal,” I say with a roll of my eyes.
Jamie gasps in horror and whacks my arm. “What are you doing! Never, ever make a deal with a fey!”
What the hell? Surely making a deal isn’t that easy? That was merely a harmless turn of phrase, wasn’t it? I slowly track my gaze around everyone in the room. Oops. Clearlynot. Fuck, I’m pretty sure I’ve said ‘deal’ casually to Tristan a couple of times. I didn’t think anything of it. Not like the first, very memorable deal we made, but I’m not going to think about that right now or I’ll turn even redder than Jamie.
“Mabon, rescind the deal,” Jamie says sternly.
Mabon pouts. “It is a harmless one.”
“Mabon.”
The purple-haired fey sighs dramatically. “I rescind the deal.”
I swallow. I don’t feel any different. Not that I felt anything in the first place. But everyone else looks relieved. Well, Mabon looks a little sulky, so I guess something really did happen.
Oh my stars. What deals have I made with Tristan? I can’t even remember. It just shows that I really don’t know what I am doing. I don’t understand this vessel stuff. Or this fey stuff. I’m out of my depth and I’m drowning.
Perhaps I should really work on cultivating Jamie’s friendship. And Luci’s. Since I have so much to learn.
I bite back my groan. That all sounds like hard work, and learning shit is difficult. I was terrible at school and I doubt this is going to be any better.
As my uninvited guests give their farewells and get up from the table, it is hard to fight this wave of despondency that is washing over me.
But I do know one thing. There is something I have learnt, and what I told them is true.
Tristan is not all bad.
Chapter twenty-one
I’m going to a ball. Me. Ollie Evans. It doesn’t make any sense. Any moment now, I’m going to wake up in a hospital bed and discover that all of this has been nothing more than a coma dream.
My chest tightens painfully. Could Tristan really just be a figment of my imagination? What an awful thought. I can’t bear it. Someone that vibrant has to be real.
I suck in a breath. I need to pull myself together. Of course he is real. The fey are real. Buckingham Palace is real. I really am going to a ball. It is all fine.
