“Dang,” Nix said when the room opened up in front of us. The decorators had outdone themselves. It looked like the gardens were brought inside. Walls, ceiling, everything but the floor was covered in greenery and florals, all white and shades of purple and pink. There were gold chandeliers and candelabras and tall centerpieces on the tables, and staff dressed in white serving fizzy drinks in delicate flutes. The place settings were white with pale-pink stripes and thin gold trim, just like a play set I had as a kid. Ayo had coordinated the entire thing, going so far as to track down a special variety of pink roses that the Court of Lambana’s master florist had bred to bloom with white polka dots. It definitely made up for all those formal dances I’d missed out on in the midst of constant moves. If only my mom could have been in the room, it would’ve been perfect.
One of the gloved footmen at the door announced our arrival. “The crown princess of Biringan and her guests, Sir Lucas Invierno and Phoenix Xing.” To avoid the chances of anyone from Jade Mountain discovering Nix was in Biringan, Nix agreed to be announced but demanded she wear a “disguise”—which meant wraparound shades. I didn’t think it would truly hide her, but there was very little chance anyone from Jade Mountain was in attendance.
It was all very impressive, and I was more than honored, not to mention extremely lucky to be standing in the ballroom at all. Except.
As soon as the string quartet had finished playing their first song, Lucas could tell I had something on my mind. To his credit, he didn’t let on until we were alone. Nix said she wanted to go grab some sweets, and as soon as she’d walked away, he turned to me and said, “Out with it.”
“What do you mean?”
“What’s wrong? I can tell you’re upset about something. But trying to hide it. And doing an awful job, by the way.”
I didn’t respond immediately. I looked over his shoulder to the landscape outside. “Lucky to have such beautiful weather for this special evening,” I said.
Lucas huffed. “Nice try.” Then he got serious: “Look, by the time you’re crowned tomorrow, nothing will matter. You’ll have the entire power of Biringan at your fingertips. Fortunada won’t be able to touch you.”
Tomorrow. It’s tomorrow.At that point, it wouldn’t even matter, because there would be much bigger problems in Biringan. “No,” I said quickly. “I mean, it’s not that. Not completely.” Even if the witch wasn’t an issue, I was still the problem.
“All right,” he said. “Then what else...”
“Well, it’s sort of that. Just not directly.”
He waited for me to say more.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I almost said it. The actual truth. But the words wouldn’t come out. “It’s Amador,” I blurted out of nowhere, even surprising myself a bit. The thought went straight from my mind to my mouth before I had an opportunity to censor it.
“Ah,” he said, nodding and glancing out the window. “I should have known.” He looked down and then back at me. “I told you, she’s nothing to me.”
I had only said her name because I couldn’t bear to confess my real secret. But now that I had mentioned her, I couldn’t help but notice her presence. Amador was across the room; as a lady of the realm, she had to be invited. She was standing with the othercourtiers from Sigbin. She looked spectacular, wearing a tight-fitting gown made of silver scales.
“She told me you guys were betrothed as children. Why would she do that?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “No idea. I told you I thought you were joking.”
“What if she knows something you don’t?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Impossible. Stop worrying about it. Like I said, if there was some kind of arrangement, why would Elias let me court you, anyway?”
Because he wanted me to keep you close, in case you were a traitor,I thought, but didn’t say. Elias was wrong to doubt him, though. Lucas could only be himself, and I had seen his heart. He could never betray me.
Nix returned then, saving me from the awkwardness. “Want one?” She held out a chocolate truffle.
I shook my head.
“Did I interrupt something?” She looked at Lucas and then back at me. “Are we fighting?”
“No,” we both said together. But Lucas was right. Something was bothering and had been bothering me for weeks. I needed to tell them; they were my friends. My witnesses. My allies. I needed them.
“You guys, I’m a fraud.”
“Of course you’re not!” Nix said. “You’re just nervous.”
I shook my head. “No, you don’t understand.”
They both stared at me. It didn’t matter anymore. They would know within the next twenty-four hours regardless. “Let’s go over there,” I said, motioning to a quiet corner away from the guests gathered around the sparkling fountains.
We huddled there, and Lucas said again, “Out with it.”
“Yeah, before someone starts eavesdropping. My dad used to say, ‘If you want someone to hear you, then whisper,’ ” Nix said.
