Dey briskly straightened his tunic. “Everything is fine, Princess. King Verren and I were just having a slight disagreement.”
I scoffed. “You call that a slight disagreement? I thought he was about to murder you.” Dey flinched. It was small, barely noticeable, but I caught it. “What was he so mad about?”
Dey gave a weak chuckle and walked toward the door. “Just court business. Nothing to concern yourself about.”
I grabbed his arm. “Dey, stop. Please tell me what’s going on? Why are you afraid of him?” I held his gaze and letting him see my desperation for answers. “Please,” I begged when he hesitated. If he was truly my friend, surely he wouldn’t lie to me.
To my disappointment, he gently removed my arm from his and said, “Everything is fine, Princess. King Verren has a lot on his shoulders with the upcoming Council. Everything will be better afterward. Trust me.” He gave my shoulders a reassuring squeeze and strode from the grand hall.
I let him go. There was no point in trying to get answers he was never going to give.
Leaning against the wall, I wondered what Dey possibly could have done to upset my father so much that he wouldn’t tell me about it. I suppose I could be reading too much into things. Maybe he made an embarrassing mistake and didn’t want to admit it to me. Maybe there was no big secret and my father was honestly just stressed about the Council.
I did know one thing for certain. If I was ever going to figure out what was going on around here, then I really needed to learn Rivellan.
I just had no clue how to do that.
When I returned to my room, I found Niahna and Kiahna waiting to help me prepare for dinner. I let the sisters go about their routine as they braided my hair and secured it at the nape of my neck. I only wrinkled my face a little as they helped me into the purple corset dress with a flared waist and loosely attached gossamer sleeves. It was a little snug through the chest, but the slight compression made it look like I actually had decent breasts for once.
I stood in front of the full length mirror, evaluating the overall look. I'd only been here a few days, but the access to multiple nutritious meals meant I was starting to lose some of my hard edges. My collar bones weren’t as sharp, and my ribs were becoming less noticeable.
I chuffed out a small laugh. I felt completely ridiculous and the dress was beyond impractical, but still… I did look good. It was like catching a glimpse of who I might have been if I had grown up here.
I turned away from the mirror, dismissing that train of thought. I hadn’t grown up here, and there was no point in wondering 'what if.' I stopped playing that game around age six when I realized all it did was allow disappointment to sink its claws into my heart. You couldn’t change the past. You could only hope for a better future.
I was much older before I realized that hope was just as much a waste of time.
A knock pulled me from my depressing thoughts, and I rushed to the door.
Dey stood on the other side, his normal plain tunic swapped for one of brilliant azure with a silver brocade. I suppressed a frown as I realized I had been hoping to find Sin there.
“Princess? Would you care to join me for dinner?” he asked sweetly, as if our earlier conversation had never happened.
With a face chiseled to perfection, golden hair, and toned body, he was the epitome of Prince Charming. And yet, all I could think about was how much disappointment I felt that it wasn’t Sin standing in my doorway. His mahogany tresses pulled back to showcase his rough face, his knowing smirk, his crooked nose that spoke of a violent past, and his ghostly green eyes.
Dey was perfect. And Sin was perfectly imperfect.
But Dey was here and Sin was not, so I took his hand and let him escort me to dinner.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he said softly as we made our way down the stairs.
“Thanks,” I said, still feeling a bit awkward in the dress. At least it was long enough to hide my chucks so I could walk comfortably. I wondered what all these courtiers would think if they knew what footwear hid beneath this fancy gown.
I stifled a grin at the thought as we entered the dining room, and I suffered through being announced once more.
Dey tried to direct me to the end of the table where I was supposed to sit by the king, but my eyes snagged on Jo seated near the middle, every chair around her empty. I felt a sympathetic twinge of pain because I’d been that lonely girl at the lunch table nobody wanted to sit with more times than I could count.
I slipped my arm from Dey’s and took a seat across from Jo before he could stop me. “Hi,” I said brightly.
Jo’s face lit up when she saw me.“Rain!”Her voice inside my head rang with excitement. “It is so good to see you again. I missed you last night.”
“Princess,” Dey said in a low, controlled voice, his hand on my arm. “Our seats are by King Verren.”
I gave him my best firm stare. “No, my seat is here tonight. By my friend. You can sit wherever you want.” Jerking my arm away, I directed my attention back to Jo.
Dey must have stood behind me shifting his weight uncomfortably for at least a minute, and I realized I had effectively left him with a difficult decision—join me here in my little rebellion or retreat to the king’s side. I had little doubt as to where Dey’s loyalty lay, but it still hurt a little as he abandoned me and took his seat at the end of the table.
“Sorry, what were we talking about?” I asked Jo, acknowledging that I had missed what she said while I was waiting for Dey to decide.
