“Serah!”
Did someone call me?
“Serah, Serah!”
My eyes spring open, and the king’s hand on me withdraws. A beaming Lady Tilanthia swings into my line of vision to clutch my arm.
“Serah, Imustspeak with you.” She turns a pleading glance on her brother. “You don’t mind, do you?”
It’s then that I realize just how many attendees are watching us. As soon as they see I’ve noticed, however, they spin away.
Embarrassment may just swallow me whole.
I forget all that, though, as the king says, “You may borrow her, Tilly, as long as the lady is willing to continue our discussion afterward.”
My face is aflame, but the reply thrills me to my toes.
Mumbling something incoherent, I allow Lady Tilanthia to drag me aside.
“He’s here,” she squeals through her fingers.
“Who?” I barely know where I am.
“Who?” she repeats in astonishment. “Lord Lyken.”
Oh dear. A quick glance behind her shows me the king now engaged in conversation with several nobles. Was I what was keeping them away?
“Where is he?” I ask. Maybe she’ll be satisfied with a few furtive looks at him, and I can be on my way. I’m eager to get back to the king.
Soren. I’m eager to get back to Soren.
“Just outside, in the gardens.” She sinks her teeth into her lip. “Will you come with me to talk to him?”
I almost let out a groan, and I think I would if she didn’t look so desperate.
“All right,” I say, “but what excuse will I use?”
“Oh, thank you, Serah.” She seizes me in a crushing hug. “Just tell him I told you about the mourning irises. Say you want to see them.”
It’s a believable enough ruse, so I let her drag me onward toward the open doors. I throw a final glance behind me.
His eyes snap to mine like he was only waiting for me to look back.
The gardens are cool, and while I’m sure they’re beautiful, I drift through them without seeing a thing. Lady Tilanthia rattles off flower names and neighboring varieties with the same enthusiasm I often hear from Selena, who has a near identical fondness for insects. I nod and smile and wonder if my mouth will know what to do if the king comes for me again.
“Oh, Lord Lyken!”
Lady Tilanthia’s greeting jolts me back to the present. Honestly, I have to admire her tact. She walked us straight to him in the most natural, guileless way possible. Even her greeting sounded genuine.
His back is toward us. He appeared to be in the midst of studying the foliage in front of him when we “stumbled” upon him, and while he smiles first at the sight of Lady Tilanthia, he startles at my presence.
“Your Highness.” He bends in a deep bow, snapping an object in his palm closed as he does. A compact mirror, by the looks of it. His grin is sheepish when he rises. “I’m afraid you’ve caught me in a moment of vanity. I worried a bit of jute was caught in my teeth.”
I’m in good humor, and I laugh like it. “A worry we’ve all shared.”
I look to Lady Tilanthia, but she seems to have frozen. The poor thing, I wonder if this is her first infatuation.
Am I having my first as well?
