“You’re talkative today,” she says with a roll of her eyes.
I inhale deeply and let loose a slow breath. “Sorry, I’m just tired and in a weird mood after last night,” I grumble.
She reaches over and places a hand on my forearm. “Sorry, cub.”
I can’t help but smile.Sorry, cub, is Cally’s father’s favorite expression. Cally is one of five kids, or cubs, as the Ursine call them. Whenever Cally complained about anything, major or minor, it was always followed bysorry, cub.
“Do you have anyone that’s in the lead right now?” she asks.
“Honestly, no. Maybe Marik, since he saved my life? I had an enlightening conversation with Koa last night.” Her eyes widen, and she gestures for me to keep going, so I do. “I mean, it wasn’t world-changing, but he warned me about watching my back.”
She stares at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue. “Well? Is that it?”
“We almost kissed,” I say nonchalantly, one corner of my mouth quirking up.
Her eyes practically burst out of her head. “Why wouldn’t you tell me that first?” She grabs the pillow from behind her and fires it at me.
I catch it and set it on my lap, the half-smile now a full grin. I’ve always been able to count on Cally to make me laugh, even when I’m in a bad mood.
“He’s beautiful,” she says. “I heard that he’s dated around a bit, though.”
“I can see that. What else have you heard about him? Or the rest of the princes? Anything I should know?”
“Actually,” she says, holding a finger up in the air before pausing to pop a grape in her mouth, “I did read something about August and Etta the other day in theTribune.”
I roll my eyes at the mention of the gossip column that calls itself a newspaper.
She clocks my eye roll and fires a grape at me, hitting me square in the forehead. “Don’t make fun. Their information is usually spot-on.” The grape pings off my forehead and bounces to the floor, rolling underneath her chair.
“What did you read?” I say with a sigh.
She grins excitedly at the question. “There were rumors a few months ago that he was going to be chosen as her future husband, but neither court had made a statement confirming or denying that rumor. If they were seeing each other, they kept it unofficial.”
She pauses, popping another grape in her mouth. She tries to talk while still eating, but I level a glare at her. She finally swallows and says, “However, someone from Etta’s circle has insinuated that they were seeing each other.”
Interesting. “What else did you hear?”
“Not much. I overheard two females gossiping in the bookstore the other day, and all they could talk about was how August is courting you now,” she says.
She grabs a thin cracker from the table and spreads a thick layer of creamy cheese on the top. I’m silent for a minute as I reflect on everything Cally has shared.
“August hasn’t seemed sad at all,” I finally say.
She raises an eyebrow, then layers more cheese onto the cracker. “That’s odd, especially if those rumors are true.”
“When was this? Do you know how long they were dating?”
She tilts her head up, eyes glued to the sky in concentration. “The paper said their relationship lasted for a few months, but it ended, like, six months ago.”
I settle back into my seat, head swirling at the new information. “Nowtwoprinces were potentially involved with her.”
Cally’s jaw drops, mouth full of cheese and crackers. She shuts it quickly, swallows, and says, “Wait, what? Who else are you talking about?”
“Oh, I never told you. You have to promise you won’t tell anyone, though,” I say, looking at her with a sober expression.
She rolls her eyes. “Of course, I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“I mean it, Cally. This does not leave this conversation.”
