“What are your parents like?” Elora asks, taking a not-so-delicate gulp of tea.
I suppose I don’t have to lie to her about this at least. “I didn’t know them. They died after I was born,” I say quietly, taking a quick sip of tea. Elora’s less refined drinking makes me not as anxious about my own, though my fingers tighten around the mug when the memory of my uncle bringing tea to the tower flashes briefly in my mind.
“Oh, Rhea. I’m so sorry. My parents drive me absolutely crazy, but I don’t know what I would do without them.” We sit in amiable silence for a moment before Elora perks up in her chair. “What is your family name? You said you’re from Santor, right?”
Nox and I had discussed changing my last name in an overabundance of caution. Nothing official, just a name that I could tell anyone who asked. Since my lying skills are unrefinedand terrible, I chose one that I am already familiar with. “Yes, and it’s Selene.”
Elora quickly scribbles something on a sheet of paper attached to her leather-bound notepad before she rips it out and then stuffs it into the drawer of the desk. Leaning back in her chair, her gray eyes swirl with mischief before she blinks it away and a playful smile curls her lips.
“So, I have to ask, what’s it like dating Prince Nox? It’s been quite the gossip since he announced he’s officially courting someone. There are quite a few wallowing ladies now that he’s unavailable.” My cheeks heat at her question as I do my best to feign nonchalance with a small shrug and a bite of cookie. I may be inexperienced, but I’m not blind. I had caught both sexes ogling Nox on our few excursions out. “Oh, comeon,Rhea! You have to give me something. You are dating a prince! Your story is like a fairytale come to life!” She emphasizes her point by lifting the top book from her stack on the desk and waving it in front of my face.
I laugh and grab the book from her, pretending to read its cover as I trace my finger along its silver-embossed edges. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything!Anything. When was your first kiss? Is he a good kisser? He looks like he’d be averygood kisser,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows as she leans forward.
“He… is averygood kisser,” I answer before immediately hiding my face with the book.
Elora cackles quietly, so as not to draw another reprimand from Rayna. “I knew he would be. You can’t lookthatgood and not be. Though good looksdorun in the entire family. Have youseenthe king?” She fans her face with her hand as she looks off into the distance wistfully.
“He looks like an older version of Nox.”
When her gaze comes back to my questioning one, she smirks. “Exactly.” My laugh is loud before I cover my mouth, avoiding Rayna’s stare burning into the side of my face. “What? I like older men. Anyway, let’s talk aboutThe Assassin and The Queen.Which chapter was your favorite?”
Glad for the subject change, I share my thoughts on the latest book I had read at her recommendation. The afternoon passes quickly as we chat and clear out the cookies and tea. Talking to Elora comes easily, her bubbly personality balancing out my own quieter one. I take a look at the stack of books she pulled for me, my fingers running over the spine of the last one.
“What is this?” I ask, tapping the red leather spine with the wordsThe Mage Kingdom: Life Before The War Of Five Kingdoms.
“Thatis one of my favorite history books,” she trills. At the look on my face, she holds a placating hand out in front of her. “I know, I know. You said you don’t like history books, but this one is less about boring facts and more about personal accounts. It was written the year directly following the casting of the Spell and compares what life was like before and after the war.”
“Besides the kingdoms not being separated, was life so different then?” I ask, remembering the details in the history tome I read with Bella all those months ago.
“Yes and no. Most of the daily stuff was the same, except you might walk into a tavern and be met with mages, fae, and mortals. Especially here in Galdr. It is fascinating to read about. There are even firsthand accounts of people who had family members living with them one minute and then gone the next after the Spell was cast.”
“How did it happen?”
Elora leans forward, her elbows resting on the desk. “While notoverlycommon, therewerebeings who fell in love from different kingdoms. Their offspring would then have been bornwith only one of their parents’ magical traits. Like in my family, if you go back to right before the war, one of my ancestors married a mortal. Their child was born without mage magic of any kind. When the Spell went up, both the child and their father disappeared. Weeks later, a letter arrived to my mage ancestor from her husband. The father and child were now bound to the Mortal Kingdom. When it was revealed that mages could pass through the Spell without repercussion, she was left to choose joining them and abandoning everyone and everything she knew, or staying. She chose the former, sneaking out before the king at the time declared that mages should not do such a thing.”
I suppose I didn’t think about how the Spell could have separated families in this way. “So you have family in the Mortal Kingdom, then?” I ask.
Elora nods. “Not that I’ll ever know them.”
“Besides your parents, do you have any other family?”
She shakes her head, her fingers twirling one of the magical pens that are always spelled to work in her hand. “Nope, it’s just the three of us.” Her brow creases as a look of longing crosses her face. “I think about it sometimes. How nice it might be to find more family. How there could be a distant cousin my age somewhere in the Mortal Kingdom.”
I always assumed that I felt so alone and incomplete because I never knew my parents and never had the opportunity to be able to form any friendships. Yet Elora had those freedoms, and still, she seems as hungry for those connections as I am.
“Have you ever gone dancing at a tavern?” she asks abruptly, changing the subject. When I shake my head, her eyes widen in surprise. “Wemustgo together, then! The cider mead at my favorite tavern isdelicious, and we can dance to a live band!”
“I don’t know what cider mead is, but yes, I would like that.” My chuckle at the renewed look of shock on her face is interrupted when my magic rushes up from my abdomen asif answering to a beacon. I grip onto the dragon pendant, my brows drawing together in confusion, but a moment later, Nox rounds a bookshelf, his hands tucked into the pockets of his black trousers. His eyes meet mine, and I have to actively focus on breathing as I watch him near. Is it possible that he’s gotten more muscular? Somehow more handsome?
“You guys are adorable,” Elora whispers, causing me to break eye contact with Nox to look her way. “You should tell him to grow his hair out like his father’s.” My hand flies to my mouth as Nox reaches the desk.
“Should I be offended that the two of you are laughing right as I arrive?” he asks, bending down to kiss the top of my head.
“Not at all, Your Highness. Rhea has said nothing but good things about you,” Elora croons, giving me a quick wink before standing and sliding the stack of books towards Nox.
His eyebrow draws up as he looks at me. “Merely good? I guess I’ll have to try harder.”
