Cullen, ever the diplomat’s son, was more tactful in his approach. “We are all grateful for your concern. It speaks to the spirit of this competition—what brought us all together, the Treaty of Five Kingdoms. Now is truly a monument to—”
“No one cares, Cullen. Spare us your speech,” Noelle drawled, not looking up from the papers she was reading. “Come and finish your breakfast.”
Cullen glanced between Eira, Alyss, Noelle, and everyone else. Eira had never seen him look so shocked. A snort escaped her and it was the sound of the floodgates opening for laughter. Before she knew it, Cullen and everyone else were laughing along with her as well.
Except for the draconi.
Eira couldn’t help but notice that none of their party had come up to greet her. They regarded her warily and whispered among themselves. A wicked smirk slithered across Prince Harkor’s face. Unease coursed through her at the expression, but Eira worked to ignore it. She had other things to worry about. Whatever game Harkor was playing would show itself as a concern or not in its own time.
“Did you really need to embarrass me like that?” Cullen asked Noelle as he sat.
“I didn’t embarrass you, I saved you from yourself. You’re welcome.” Noelle flipped over one of the papers. It seemed to be a collection of information—news organized underneath bolded type. Such things were becoming popular in Solaris following the introduction of the press from Meru, but they were still reserved for the wealthy. Eira scanned the writing curiously. “No one cares about your political speeches; they don’t win anyone over.”
“Don’t let my father hear you say that.”
“Your father wants so desperately for you to get in my pants I doubt he’d care what I say to you.” Noelle gave Cullen a smile that was more like a sneer.
Eira coughed into her drink, and it wasn’t just because the juice was uncomfortably thicker than she was expecting. “I’m sorry?”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m not a threat to you. Cullen isn’t my type.” Noelle gave her a look.
“I’m not—why would I? What’s your—Cullen and I aren’t—”
“Mmhmm.” Noelle rolled her eyes and returned to the paper. Cullen’s face was scarlet.
Alyss leaned forward eagerly. “And just what is your type, Noelle?”
“Why would I tell you that?”
“I know a lot about romance so maybe I could help you find the perfect person.” Alyss waggled her eyebrows.
Eira resisted pointing out that she doubted Noelle would count reading a bunch of romance novels as “knowing a lot.”
“Says the woman who has never been with a man in her life.” Noelle rolled her eyes.
“Bychoice,” Alyss insisted. “Every young man in the Tower I was interested in seemed to only care aboutone thing. And when I told them that I did not care in the slightest for it, they were turned away from me. So I’m waiting to find someone either like me, or someone who loves me so much it doesn’t matter to them.”
Noelle was intrigued enough to put down her paper. “When you say ‘like you’ and ‘cares about one thing’ you mean…”
“The ‘one thing’ is the bedroom dance between the sheets,” Alyss clarified. “All matters of the carnal nature.”
“And you don’t want such things?”
“No.”
“At all?” Noelle leaned forward, obviously fascinated. “Ever?”
“Never, not even a little.”
Eira fought a grin and slid the paper to face her as the conversation continued. She’d had a similar discussion with Alyss long ago and knew Noelle’s next question before it was asked.
“But you read so many romance novels.”
“I like romance—Iwantromance. I’m on a quest to find a great love story. But not sex. They’re not the same thing, you know. I mean, they can overlap. But it’s possible to want one and not the other. I want the romance and not all the touching bits.”
“Huh.” Noelle folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. “I suppose that makes sense.”
“Of course it does, I said it, after all.” Alyss preened.
