“I don’t,” I said quietly, flicking my gaze to Arianna. She had been unusually quiet while Samian was here, which doubled the dread twisting in my gut.
“Since I will take over as acting king, I will need a consort—someone to be my queen.” He paused, his eyes tracking every move I made, every breath I took. I straightened under his perusal. “Right after we made our bargain, after Ezra barged in, you heard me mention Arianna being the new queen. Do you remember that?”
“I do,” I pushed out, keeping my face blank. My palms prickled, my magic shooting needles along my skin.
Ambrose frowned, like he knew what my power was doing, but said nothing. Instead, he continued, “I want you to swear your allegiance to her as well. I want you to swear that you will follow her orders as if they were my own.”
I hesitated, my eyes sliding to Arianna. Her sharp smile grew. “Well?” She purred, enjoying every second of the war between my heart and mind.
The thought of bowing to her made me sick. Just bowing to Ambrose was enough to make me hurl, but Arianna? I would rather jump off a cliff than accept her as queen. But Kieran and Samian—Vivi, Orin, and Ezra—they all flitted across my mind. My body felt like it was vibrating as my heart lost this battle. I held in the blistering anger that licked up my body, forcing it into a cold resolve.
Repeating the same action I made for Ambrose, I kneeled, placing my hand over my heart, though this time, I didn’t linger. I kept my movement swift before turning back to Ambrose, disregarding her completely. I could feel the disdain of her pointed glare, but I kept my focus solely on Ambrose.
“Good,” he said, ignoring the slight I made against her. “I will also ask that you keep this to yourself until we make it known to the public. The meeting with the lords will be later this afternoon. I will send Hale to fetch you. Oh, and wear your uniform.” Ambrose looked over to Arianna, flashing her a sensuous smile. “Anything else you would like to add, my love?”
Arianna smiled coyly at him, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. “No,” she said playfully. “You’re dismissed.”
I swallowed down the nausea that rose from seeing them together. How could I have been so blind to have missed the attachment they shared? Though I still didn’t believe it was love that Ambrose felt for her, not when he was so readily intimate with me.
My hands prickled again, but I dismissed it and gave Ambrose a small bow that I had seen others do before leaving his office. I let the door shut behind me and found Samian waiting in the hallway. He looked me over, his shoulders sagging in relief, seeing that I was unharmed.
“Are you okay?” His voice whispered in my mind.
“I’m fine. Ambrose just wanted me to bow to Arianna and ask her to keep her becoming queen quiet until after he announced it.” We walked silently down the hall into a larger corridor. “He wants me in the meeting later today. Is there anything I should know before I go?”
“Don’t trust anyone you meet and keep your opinions to yourself. Otherwise, you’ll be fine. I’ll gather a list of the lords and some information for you, though, so that you have it.”
I gave him a warm smile, but stopped when the corridor split into three sections. “I need to speak to Aster about something. I’ll find you after, okay?”
Samian narrowed his eyes but nodded. I could feel him watching me as I went down the furthest hallway to the right, the one that would lead straight to the medical wing.
Walking into the waiting room, I found a healer and asked for Aster’s office. Pointing me in the right direction, I followed her guidance until I reached a door with a covered window. Snorting, I knocked on the door and waited, listening to the bookcase being shuffled out of the way. Aster opened the door, her face set in a scowl that only deepened when she saw it was me waiting at the door. She raised her eyebrow, her lips thinning, as if to ask, “What do you want?”
“I—I-uh, I wanted to talk,” I stammered, feeling suddenly inadequate under the stony stare she sent my way.
Aster clucked her tongue but opened her door wide enough for me to walk through. Shutting it swiftly, she pulled the bookcase back into place while I walked about her office. A tube that glowed light green caught my attention, and I leaned over to look inside.
“Don’t touch that.” I jumped, not realizing how close Aster was behind me.
“I wasn’t going to,” I said, giving her a weak smile.
She continued to stare at me, her eyes narrowing.
“I swear I won't touch it.” My smile grew, and I placed my hand on my heart.
She scoffed and shook her head. “What did you want to talk about?” she asked, returning to her seat.
“I wanted to see if you were okay,” I murmured, my stomach tightening with nerves. After healing me from my time with Ambrose, I felt closer to her, though I’m sure her looking so much like my close friend had something to do with it as well. The similarity between her and Willow was astounding. They looked as if they could be twins.
Aster hummed, still giving me that pointed look, and I bristled. I knew she was aloof in most cases. It was even fun watching it between her and Samian. But to be on the receiving end, it felt sharp.
Finally, Aster looked to the floor, her body sagging against her chair. “I’m okay. I just—” She looked back at me, her eyes full of heartache. “I met my mate last night,” she whispered.
“Your—you met your mate?” My face twisted in confusion, and Aster breathed out a laugh.
“Have you learned about that yet?” Her voice softened, her head leaning to the side as a sad smile curved along her lips. I shook my head, and she took a deep breath. “A mate is someone whose soul is linked to your own. A fated pair, equal in all ways. It’s…an intense love like no other.”
I thought back to when she grew pale the night before, when she snapped her face toward Samian. “How do you know when someone is your mate?”
