“Okay, next question,” Nolan said, interrupting. “Who is better in bed, Rafe or Jordan?”
His green eyes were alight with mirth, but beneath that, I could genuinely tell he wanted to know.
Two sets of eyes, other than his, were locked on me, and I fought against the nervous smile that wanted to cross my face. “I’m definitely not answering that,” I finally said. “I agreed to play with Jordan, not you.”
Nolan turned pleading eyes on the New American heir, but only got an annoyed glare in return.
“Okay, so what is your favorite memory?” Jordan said, bringing us back on track.
I had to stop and sift through all my memories. “Outside of events at the academy,” I finally said, “It was when my sensei gifted me my wakizashi blade. I had been working for months to prove myself worthy of the weapon, and at times, I never thought I’d make it.”
I could remember the moment with a startling clarity. My emotions had been so strong, so bitingly strong, that I doubted I’d ever forget.
My greatest achievement.
“You wield it like the old masters,” Rafe said. “It’s right to be proud of that achievement.”
One more compliment from him and I’d probably die of shock. Or possibly jump him right here on the plane.
Thankfully Jordan asked me more questions, most of them easy to answer.
My favorite drink: Water or grape juice.
My favorite food: Fruit Loops. The one treat I got growing up, and one of the few cereals to survive the Monarch War.
What I wanted to be when I graduated Arbon: Sports therapist.
Then a few harder ones…
My worst fear: Small, dark spaces. Rafe knew the reason why, but no one else did yet. They didn’t push me, but I knew they wanted to know. Thankfully, like true friends, they let me be.
And finally, the one that had been breaking my heart for most of my life: Where did I see myself in ten years?
It was the age-old question, the one asked to try and give someone goals and something to strive for. Or years to dread.
“I—” I cleared my throat. “I used to think about that question, and… honestly, for a long time, I just hoped to still be alive. And sometimes, in my darkest moments… I hoped I wouldn’t be.”
Fuck, that had slipped out when it shouldn’t have. It was too late to take it back now, so I hurried on, pushing through the tense silence.
“Now, I’m just hoping to be happy. Content. Maybe have a little money and my own place. Working in some job I don’t completely hate.”
Simple dreams, but I was a simple girl.
“Not fucking married to Alex,” Mattie piped up, lifting her mask. I wasn’t sure if she’d been sleeping or just pretending to, but either way, I was glad for her breaking up the tension-filled moment.
“And especially that,” I said, shaking my head.
“Never gonna happen,” Jordan growled, and I had to admit, it was nice to see that fire. He might have a gentle side, but I knew there was a will of steel beneath it. When it came out to play… yeah, I liked that a lot.
“Please take your seats, we will be landing in approximately eight minutes.”
The pilot’s voice filled the cabin, but since none of us were out of our seats, we didn’t move. The flight so far had been smooth; I’d almost forgotten I was even on a plane.
As we descended, I closed my eyes, composing myself as best I could. I was about to meet the most powerful royals in the world. And I was wearing jeans and a pretty knit sweater. I had hardly any makeup, hair down in long, unruly curls, and zero knowledge of etiquette. Oh, and a fresh bruise on my face. Fantastic.
Arbon had not prepared me for this because the royals were not treated that way at the school. I mean, some of the staff bowed and addressed them with formal titles, but for the most part, they were just like any other student.
It wouldn’t be the same here, and my mind was blanking on what I should do. Did I bow? Curtsy? Wait for them to address me first before I said anything?
