My sister gives a long sigh and drags a string to mark her place in her book. Her hair, a smidge darker than mine, is braided into a crown on top of her head. “You know, he’d still kiss you, even with shit in your hair.”
“Eleanor!” I snarl.
She rolls her bright gold eyes and shoves her bristle brush into our mother’s hands.
Eleanor is not like the twins at all. She’s calculating. Well, as calculating as a child of her age can be. If she could live in her books, she would. I suppose we have that in common. Though her preferred topics have always been a tad…questionable.
I peek a look at the title of her current read:The Decaying Process of Small Mammals.
My mother gives a sigh, bringing me back to the present moment. She brushes a section of my hair behind a pointed ear. “One day you’ll understand, Nori.”
Eleanor makes a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. “I’d rather be eaten by the Wyvern Tree and digested in its bark for the next thousand years.”
And right now, I’m inclined to agree. Because the carriage rumbles to a stop and voices rise outside. We’re here. We’re at Soltide Keep.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
It’s been a year. What if he’s forgotten me? He wasn’t at the Autumn Equinox Festival or the Winter Solstice or the Spring Equinox, even though he promised he would be.
But hewillbe here.
I need to know if he’s been consumed with memories of last summer like I have.
What happened between the kisses on the shore, where I’d given Dayton everything, and he swore he’d keep it safe? Was it all a play, just a game to him?
I can’t believe that. Dayton may be a performer in the arena, but he couldn’t have pretended the emotion in his eyes. So, what happened?
The door opens and the footman gestures for us to exit.
I heave in a breath and run a hand through my hair, distantly hearing my mothertskabout ruining all her hard work. But it’slike my ears are stuffed with leaves, and all I can comprehend is the pounding of my heart.
The heat of Summer hits me like a wave as I stumble onto the sandstone street. Mother must have been keeping the carriage cool with her magic the whole time.
Here in the Summer Realm, I feel stifled. The blue sky is bright with white clouds, and ocean waves crash on the horizon. Officials line the streets. Before us lies glistening Soltide Keep.
Princess Sabine, long blond hair swinging loose, stands between her pair of chosen partners, Cenarius and Ovidius. High Prince Damocles is positioned next to his parents, skin bronzed and gleaming. Though he technically lives in Castletree, word has it he spends a great deal of time residing in Hadria, especially during times of celebration. Decimus stands at his side, back straight and chin held high.
I scan the line again. My mother pushes me into a bow as she greets the Summer royals, but I can’t concentrate on anything. My heart aches.
He’s not here.
Day isn’t here.
15
Dayton
Warm air hits my face as my horse, Felix, gallops along the mountain hills. His easy canter knocks small pebbles down the cliffside and into the turbulent ocean below. It’s still hot, despite it being nighttime.
“Ahh.” I inhale a deep breath and stretch my aching arms. Justus gave me the training of a lifetime tonight.
Reckless, emotional idiot.All things he’d shouted at me earlier. But all I’d done was smile and laugh back. “I think what you’re trying to describe, Master, is courage.”
That had earned me a lap up the mountain carrying two goats on my shoulders and an hour of splitting firewood.
I can’t blame him; I know he put pressure on me today because of the Solstice Games tomorrow. He’d never admit it, but he’s worried.
He doesn’t have to be.
