“Come on, Dey, is equality really that strange of a concept? This same thing happened in my world, and yeah, we’re still working on it, but things are getting better. Rivella could be better too if you all stopped judging people based on their magic.”
He gave me a pitying look. “Princess, what could the people of the Other Realm possibly know about creating a better world? Humans are little more than savages.”
His words hit like a slap to the face.
“I’m half-human,” I snapped, leaping to my feet, anger exploding like fireworks inside me. I knew that he felt Vitaeanswere superior to humans, but I never fully grasped the extent of his bigotry.
“I know,” he said, his calm tone fueling my rage further. “The fact that you will rise up to save us in spite of your heritage makes me truly in awe of you.”
“In spite of?” I spat out. “Maybe it’sbecause of. You ever think of that? Maybe if I was just some pompous Vitaean I wouldn’t care enough to even try to save you jerks!”
I pushed past him and stalked down the hall.
“Wait!” Dey called after me. “You need an escort to dinner. It would be unseemly for the princess to enter alone. Please, come with me and allow us to discuss this further.”
Like hell I was eating dinner with him.
I neared the end of the hall just as a door opened to my left, and a wave of cool salty air swept over me. Seconds later, Sin stepped out, looking devilishly handsome with his dark chocolate hair tied back, and his standard black tunic replaced by a deep purple one embroidered with silver around the edges.
Heavy footsteps pounded behind me so I made a split decision and chose the lesser of two evils. Grabbing Sin’s arm, I dragged him toward the staircase.
“You’re escorting me to dinner,” I said, allowing just enough pleading into my voice to not sound like I was full on begging. “Just this once, please don’t fight me.”
I honestly expected him to resist, but something in my voice halted whatever he was about to say. He glanced behind me at Dey, then took my arm and wrapped it under his.
We walked down the staircase toward the dining room in complete silence which was pretty much the best I could have hoped for from him.
A guard stopped us at the entrance to the smaller dining hall and asked Sin a question in Rivellan. Surprise momentarily sparked on the guard's face at Sin’s answer, but he turned tothe dining room and loudly announced, “Princepa Raynella au Cennux Dreisin.”
The nearly full table of courtiers all stood as we entered, and I could feel every single pair of eyes on me as Sin guided me toward the end of the table.
Breathe.
Just keep breathing.
A hundred thoughts raced through my head, none of them pleasant. Were they judging my dress? My hair? They were probably all staring at my bare arms. I half expected someone to spit on me.
I waited for Sin to say something snarky because there was no way he couldn’t feel my body tensing and my breath coming out in short bursts, but he just pulled out the chair to the right of my father’s mini throne, then pushed it back in once I was settled. He briefly hesitated, then took the empty seat beside me. My breathing only leveled out once the other courtiers sat and the low hum of chatter resumed.
The spots opposite Sin and I were already occupied with two stiff looking males that I had seen hovering around my father previously—likely his advisors—which meant the next empty seat for Dey to claim was… I suppressed a grin when I saw it was over halfway down the table.
Minutes later, Dey arrived and scanned the room until he found me. He looked crestfallen, but then his eyes shifted to Sin sitting beside me. He lifted an eyebrow, but Sin just shrugged and looked away, suddenly very occupied with his drink.
Dey’s shoulders dropped as he took the remaining empty chair. Shortly after, the guards loudly announced that the king had arrived, and my father strode confidently through the room to the head of the table. He stopped without sitting and surveyed the people gathered with a brilliant smile on his face. A smilethat wavered when he took notice of Sin beside me, but it promptly slid back into place as if nothing was amiss.
He started speaking in Rivellan, and it sounded like some sort of grand speech. I squirmed as I heard my name a few times and also caught the word ‘princepa’ more than once.
“What’s he saying?” I asked Sin. I leaned in closer to keep my voice low and immediately regretted my action as his scent threatened to pull me under like a dark tide.
“He’s saying that the Gods have cursed him with a useless daughter, but not to worry because he’s working very hard to fix the situation.”
“He is not, you ass,” I hissed out, smacking his shoulder. Apparently I had been a little too loud because my father faltered in his speech. I gave him my most beatific smile, and he continued.
“Seriously, what is he saying?” I asked again, keeping my voice controlled and my hands to myself.
Sin sighed. “Blah blah blah, searching for you forever, blah blah blah, greatest gift, blah blah blah, future of the kingdom. It’s all quite ridiculous if you ask me.”
“Why do you say that?” I didn’t entirely disagree with him, but I wouldn’t call my father’s speech ridiculous.
