I peered down at my feet, pretending to be a shy, awe-stricken girl who humbly accepted such kind words from the King of Pericius.
“Have dinner with me tonight,” he said. “Alone. I’d love nothing more than your company under the moonlight. Whileyour male companions are a delight, I’m interested in learning more about you.” His face grew serious. “Only you.”
He was bold, that much was certain. But I smiled again, fluttering my lashes. “I would be honored.”
We’d just continued our stroll when a guard rushed into the garden, his sword clanging at his hip, and lowered his head in deference to Cornelius. “There is an urgent matter that requires your attention, Your Highness.”
Cornelius’s smile slipped as he dismissed the guard, but when he met my eye again, it had been fixed in place once more.
“Then it is done. I look forward to it, Rummy. You’ll have to excuse me for cutting our morning walk so short. Perhaps we’ll have another chance in the future.”
I let my lips curl up slowly. “I would like that very much. I’ll see you this evening.”
With that, he turned on his heel and stormed away, following the guards out of the courtyard.
Urgent matter. What could be so urgent to a king who appeared to want nothing more than to spend his free time flirting with a useless fae from Scarlata?
Did I really want to have dinner alone with him? No, but if it allowed me to get closer to him, to discover his secrets, then it’s what I would do.
See? I wasn’t entirely useless, after all.
I wandered the garden by myself for the next few minutes. I’d never been much of a nature lover, but this place had the potential to change my mind. The beautiful flowers were only the start. Toward the edge of the garden, massive trellises were woven with thick, green vines that must have taken years to grow. The whole garden had to have taken decades to develop. I was no expert, but from the look of it, every plant had been placed with intent and curated with care.
I was so enthralled by the nature of the garden, I didn’t hear the footsteps approaching behind me.
“Early riser?” Xavier asked. “You surprise me again and again.”
I jumped at the voice, but when his identity registered, the anxiety drained out of me. “It’s more of a late night than an early morning.”
Xavier looked annoyingly refreshed. He clearly hadn’t stayed up all night thinking about the starving children in the streets the way I did.
He stepped forward, pretending to admire the same plants I’d been looking at.
“Jessiah told me what you saw,” he said, his voice lowered. “Are you sure an evening alone with him is a good idea?”
I shrugged. “How bad could it be? He’s just a man, Xavier. He has his secrets, obviously, but he just wants my company. We’ll be fine.”
“Good luck telling Jessiah that.”
That got my hackles up. “I don’t think it’s any of Jessiah’s business.”
With a scoff, he shook his head. “You two are ridiculous.”
“He doesn’t need to approve of my every action, Xavier.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “He might be your commander of the army, but he sure as all hells has no say in my life.”
Xavier stiffened, but he didn’t argue. Probably because he knew I was right.
As a soldier, Xavier actually had to listen to Jessiah.
Me? I was solely in control of myself.
We were here to get information, weren’t we?
And if the charming king wanted to invite me to a romantic dinner, then I’d enjoy getting dressed up again and I’d go.
By the grace of the goddess above, I actually got a little sleep that afternoon. Though I still slipped in and out of dreams for hours, tossing and turning on the massive bed until the sun finally went down.
It was then that I scraped myself out of the silken sheets, drew myself a bath, and got to work on my mess of blonde hair.
