King Maximus nodded slowly. “It is viable, though the fire in Vandil’s Witch Market put a damper on things. A number of people are upset at the extra funds I allowed the witches for reconstruction. They believe I’m favoring them.”
I frowned. “But their entire market got burned down. A rioter did it out of spite.”
“Logic gets lost in riots,” King Maximus said dryly. “The future princess running to put out the fire herself only added to the favoritism narrative.”
I shrank into my seat. Everything I did during the fire was for selfish reasons, but I never thought it would harm the royal image.
“Perhaps it did. But Narcissa showed the witches of Vandil the importance of leadership,” Bennett said. “They’ll be more likely to cooperate with future laws that restrain their business. They are deeply grateful for what she did, Father.”
I looked at him in surprise. Bennett responded with the slightest smile, hazel eyes glimmering.
King Maximus grunted.
***
BENNETT WALKED ME BACKto my room. The hallway was lit with the torches mounted along the walls, bathing the glossy marble floor in a warm glow. Our shadows danced in the flickering firelight.
“Thank you for coming to my defense,” I said tugging on my hair ribbon. It loosened in my hands. I twisted it between my fingers like I used to as a child. “But King Maximus is right. I was impulsive.”
“No,” Bennett said. “You did a noble thing. Father can be...Father.”
I frowned at the floor, studying the veins of cobalt and gold in the tiles as we passed. It felt wrong, being praised. Lord Frederick’s words came to mind. Intention was the soul of an action. Intention determined character. Mine were far from noble.
Bennett didn’t know that. Nobody knew that except me.
I was so lost in thought I didn’t realize Bennett had stopped. “Your room is here, is it not?” he called out, voice echoing. I turned, flustered to see him rather far away. I trotted back, smoothing my features.
Something must have shown on my face.
He dipped his head to catch my eye. “Is there something wrong?”
Why was he being so kind to me all of the sudden? I couldn’t stand the sincerity in his gaze, not when I knew it wouldn’t last.
I steeled myself. “I was not noble.”
Bennett laughed. “I am certain dousing a devastating fire is on the list of virtuous acts.”
I ignored his smile and faced my door instead, keeping my voice level. “I had an ulterior motive. We both saw my mother’s letter before it happened. It was not your fault I ran off and hurt myself. It was mine.”
“Narcissa—”
“What did you think of me then?” I finally voiced the question that had been haunting me. “Did you hate me?”
Bennett blinked, caught off guard.
“Did you think I was part of some scheme with her? That I was back to my old ways?” I twisted my ribbon harder. “I never communicated with her during the tour. Not once. Back in Delibera I only visited to make sure she was still there, but nobody would have believed me.”
Bennett took the end of my ribbon, unfurling it from my grasp. I watched as he smoothed the wrinkles out of the emerald silk and wound it into a neat spool around his fingers.
“Narcissa.” He said my name so softly, as if it was devoid of harsh syllables. “I never hated you.”
“I...”
He tucked my hair ribbon into his waistcoat pocket, right over his heart. I couldn’t seem to find the right response.
“You are not to blame. I know you are not like your mother.”
Bennett didn’t know what I was capable of. He didn’t know the things I had done willingly for Mother. He was only infatuated with my recent acts of heroism.I anchored myself with those facts, refusing to be drawn in by his hazel eyes.
