“Because it would’ve caused a scene.”
She stepped forward. “We were already in a scene.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “You’re infuriating.”
“I’ve been told that’s part of my charm.”
“By whom? Your coven?”
“Bold words from a man whose idea of socializing is glowering from across a ballroom.”
I wanted to laugh. Instead, I exhaled a long, frayed breath. “You’ve made my life extraordinarily complicated.”
“Good. You made mine unbearable six years ago. We’re even.”
“Even? You’ve upended my court, challenged my advisors, and now this spectacle?—”
“And you’ve imprisoned me in a loveless marriage in a castle full of people who dislike me. I’d say I’m still owed a few more spectacles.”
“I never said I didn’t—” I stopped myself. “The marriage was necessary.”
“Necessary doesn’t mean it has to be miserable.” Her voice softened. “But apparently that’s your specialty.”
We stared at each other, the silence thick with unspoken things.
She sighed, the fight draining from her shoulders. “Fine. If you’re going to glower at me all evening, I’ll leave and you can glower alone.” Turning, she strode down the hall.
“Cyrene.”
She paused, not turning back.
I didn’t know what I meant to say. Should I ask her to stay or tell her to stop making me feel alive again? Because that was the problem. She was messing up the control I’d worked very hard to establish.
“You’ll attend dinner tonight,” I said.
“Why?”
“Because if you don’t, the court will think you’ve fled in shame. You want to win them? Smile and act like you planned it.”
Turning, she studied me, trying to read whether I was mocking her, which I wasn’t. “And what will you be doing while I’m smiling?”
“Attempting to look less bewitched.”
Her lips curved upward. “Don’t try too hard. We need them to believe it, remember?”
“I doubt that will be a problem.”
“Was that almost a compliment?” She placed a hand over her heart in mock surprise. “Be careful, Your Majesty. People might think you’re warming to me.”
I just stared at her.
Finally, she nodded. “Fine. I’ll go. But you’re sitting next to me.”
“I always will.”
“This time, try not to look like you’d rather be anywhere else.”
And then she was gone, disappearing into the side corridor with a swirl of skirts and the faint scent of citrus.
