Derrick disappeared into the shadows but I lingered behind fora moment.
He said he loved me. I should have felt triumphant, but worry shredded myfledgling happiness.
Those three little words did not give me the crown. They did not make me Duchess. They did not save Ravenwood from poverty. Was his professed love a good sign? Of course, but I would not exhale until the marriage was sealed and I was dressed inHyton Blue.
I had heard enough stories of tearful girls and angry fathers to know only one thing was certain—nothing was a guarantee onSelection Night.
I snuck back up to the Senior dormitory like a phantom, running my hands against the walls to guide my way in the darkness. I opened the dormitory door without so much as a creak and found everyone asleep. Brietta was passed out in my bed. I would not wake her after the day she had, especially since she did not have any linens on herown bed.
My eyes sleepily flitted from girl to girl, watching them sleep peacefully after the chaos I had left them in. A silent sigh escaped my lips. Being pitted against each other for the honor of being “First-selected,” or even just the stress of being chosen by the right man, had brought out the worst in all of us. I had never seen everyone so hostile to eachother—especially Annalisa.
I turned to Annalisa’s bed and listened to her soft breath. Her blonde curls were splayed on her pillow and her cheeks were marked with dried tears. I could not help but pity the only Hyton daughter without a prince. She might have been mean, but she still deserved a man who did not stepon her.
I quietly lit a candle and left the girls in peace. I crept downstairs to the sitting room to curl up on one of the plush couches. I placed a small decorative pillow under my head and hugged another one tomy chest.
In the dark, all alone, I thought onlyabout Derrick.
For once, I did not think about Derrick in terms of strategy, but instead as aman.I…liked him. I liked the sound of his voice, the feel of his hands, and the taste ofhis lips.
As soon as I imagined his lips on mine again, a seismic shift rocked my chest.
I furrowed my brow and squeezed the pillow tighter against my breast. Through the cracks in my granite heart, a tiny red ember danced, alive and flickering where everything was once cold. My belly was warm, my hands trembled, and all I could smell was oak and vanilla. I had always planned to make Derrick fall desperately in love with me, but I did not expect to feelanythingfor him.
I let out a breath and tossed the pillow to the floor before rolling over to my side. I folded my arms over my breasts and did not let my thumbs stroke the threads of the stars onmy sleeves.
Whatever the red ember was, it was not love—not when I had sworn off that weakness long ago. What danced inside me with a low burn was just the temptation Fraleigh mentioned, the dirtiness of desire Headmistress Blackiston had warned us about, and what I was taught was only the body’s response when a woman gets too close toa man.
The tiny ember continued to burn in my chest as I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head inthe darkness.
Nothing was a guarantee on SelectionNight. Nothing.
Especially since we still did not know who the fifthsuitor was.
The earliest rays of gentle dawn stretched through the tall windows of the sitting room. The day I married Derrick hadfinally arrived.
I successfully evaded matrons and guards as I crept up to the Senior dormitory. I silently pushed open the door and my stomach dropped when I met sharp ocean eyes. Annalisa sat up in her bed and faced the door with a hard scowl onher face.
“Where were you last night?”she hissed.
I bit my tongue and started spinning lies in my head before I answered. “Out in the garden. I needed to clear my head after meeting withHeadmistress Blackiston.”
Annalisa stalked out of her bed and stood in front of me with her arms crossed. “How odd. Sheneversends the guards up tothe dormitories.”
Damn it. Annalisa was mean, but she wasnot stupid.
“The guards came because the House of Hyton got involved.” A little truth would throwher off.
Annalisa reached over and brushed my hair off my neck. “Whathappened here?”
I turned from her and grabbed my silver hand mirror from the dressing table nearby. I looked at my reflection and forced every muscle in my face still. The left side of my neck was covered in red marks, some of them clear impressions of teeth. Damnyou, Derrick!
“I was stung by a bee,”I lied.
“Really? What a special bee to sting you somany times.”
“It only stung me once, Anna. I am just allergic to them, so I havea rash.”
Annalisa grabbed my jaw. She firmly held my face in her sharp fingers as she examined my neck. I did not move out of fear she would suspectme more.
