“I understand,” he said, voice shallow. It was entirely understandable for her to be upset given the way she had suffered and Yvette’s unfortunate, though undeniable, role in it.
“You said that she did everything out of love, were you talking about Victor, her love for him?”
Florian nodded.
“Who could love such a despicable person?” Keira asked, as though trying to work out the answer to her very question.
He sighed. “Someone who is desperate to be loved by anyone, I suspect.”
Keira’s expression turned thoughtful before she spoke again. “And what is it you see in her?”
Her question caught him off guard, the answer not quite so plain. As a rule, Florian was not easily made speechless, but it took time before he had formed his answer. “The first time I saw her, I couldn’t look away. She’s beautiful, of course, but… There was something inside her that called to me, that I wanted to understand… and once I came to know her, I wanted to protecther, but not-” Florian ran a hand through his hair. “Not just to protect her, but to comfort her, to be the reason she felt safe, and happy.” He searched himself for more, feeling as though he were missing the mark somehow, no matter how hard he tried to explain.
“She’s different, isn’t she?” Keira offered finally. “Different from Knox, or me, or anyone else you’ve been with.”
Florian shuffled in his seat. “When you first met Caspian, did you know?”
“Know what? That I was going to fall in love with him?” Keira asked, taken aback.
“That he was different.”
She shook her head. “No, not at all. I mean, I was young and so was he. I hadn’t had any partners to compare him to. We weren’t children, but- No, it took time. It grew slowly. If anything, it snuck up on me.” Her green eyes studied his features as he took in her words.
Florian nodded. Yvette had not snuck her way into his life. She had erupted. A single moment of cataclysmic fate had run through him the second he learned her name. She had altered him somehow, in ways he still could not fully understand.
“Don’t tell me you think you love her.”
“Love her,” Florian repeated, leaning back in his chair. “No, I couldn’t. I hardly know her. But I want to… She is… different.”
Keira nodded, not quite in understanding, but in acceptance at least. “I’ll play nicely then, shall I?” Her lips twisted into a smile.
He returned it, flashing his teeth.
“Are you two milkmaids done yapping?” Lilith called from outside.
Keira rolled her eyes as Florian shook his head, suppressing a laugh. “I’ll let her in, shall I?”
She agreed, setting her attention back on the gowns.
Lilith strode in like a general into a war room. “Okay, so I was thinking,in the hall,” she added spitefully, “and I think we should narrow down to a color and pick from there.”
Keira nodded as if this was a sound tactical decision.
“So?” Lilith prompted her.
“Well… not red,” Keira began.
“Right,” she agreed at once. “Good call.” She collected the few red gowns and set them aside.
“I could wear blue,” Keira suggested, though dispassionately. “It’s the color of Northall and all. The people might like that.”
“But it’s notyourcolor,” Florian added.
“He’s right,” Lilith chimed in. “Blue is out- and Yellow. Fate knows that no one in the realms looks good in yellow.” Her eyes lit up suddenly as she dug out a dress with a full tulle skirt. “Oh! What about pink!”
Keira studied it uncertainly.
“Lil’, no,” Florian said. “It’s obvious.” They both looked at him with raised brows, waiting. “You should go with green, to match your eyes.”
