Fitz’s expression hardened and he stepped between us. “I know that sounded like a question. It wasn’t.” He grabbed Maximus’ hand and dragged him back out of the room.
Trey watched them go in confusion. “Have you and Maximus met before?”
“No,” I said.
Delilah’s eyes widened and she clapped a hand to her mouth. “Oh shit. Does he—” she cut herself off, her fingers digging into her own skin in an effort not to spill my secrets.
I shook my head sharply. No, he didn’t remember. Not everything, at least. If he remembered, he wouldn’t have needed to ask my name. He probably also wouldn’t have allowed Fitz to drag him away. Maximus always instinctively disliked me, and I suspected his hostility stemmed from that.
I sighed and put my head in my hands, covering my eyes. If Angelica also recognized me, I was resetting time, whether Delilah liked it or not. Just another plan that didn’t work out. I could start over with … what was it now? Plan E? Or were we all the way to F?
The door opened again, and Angelica breezed through it. “I know I’ve made the journey a hundred times before, but I hate it every time. Oh, my favorite tea! Thank you, Fitz, this is just what I need.” She noticed me halfway through pouring a cup. “I didn’t realize anyone else would be joining us.” She set the cup down and gathered her skirts for a low courtesy. “I’m Princess Angelica Calamitous.”
“Wilde,” I said, searching her face for confusion, recognition, any excuse to try again. All I found was open curiosity of meeting a new person.
The sound of the door closing made me jump. Fitz leaned against it and offered the room a tired smile. “Now that everyone’s here, we can start the meeting.”
Chapter Sixteen: Trey
An Hour Later
Fitz’s Private Residence
Stuck in a Meeting That Had Probably Already Happened
No one said anything new, yet these were conversations I’d never had before. I cradled my head in one hand and rubbed my temples in small circles. “Does anyone else have a headache?”
The argument of marriage versus quest—which seemed redundant, didn’t we all prefer a quest?—fizzled out as the others looked at me. Wilde’s quiet, black gaze was the heaviest. He hadn’t said a word during the whole meeting to sway anyone one way or another.
“Are you alright, Trey?” Delilah asked, scooting her chair closer to me. Itscreechedalong the floor and my head pulsed in response. “You usually love a good argument.”
“I don’t see the point of any of this, since we’ll never get anywhere anyway.”
The others exchanged concerned looks. “What do you mean?” Fitz asked.
“Don’t you feel like you’ve done this before? And where has it gotten us? Waking up at the beginning again and again, the book flipped back to the first chapter by some reader who refuses to reach the end.”
Delilahgasped and I looked at her sharply, wanting to pry the answers out of her. She quickly looked away, first at Wilde, then she stared purposefully at the picked over tea service.
“What is it?” I demanded.
“Nothing!” she squeaked.
“It’s something, you little rat—”
“How dare you compare me to a rodent—”
“—or you wouldn’t look so guilty.”
She’d turned around in her chair completely, presenting everyone in the room with her back. “I am not guilty. Just … concerned. About your head. Maybe the headache is making your brain all fuzzy and stupid.”
“It’s not the headache,” I snapped, shoving up from my chair. “It’s something magical andwrong, and you know what it is, don’t you?” I reached for her, intending to yank her around so she’d have to look me in the eye if she wanted to lie. I needed to find out what she knew—
“Why even bother considering marriage?” Angelica demanded. She bit down delicately on a cookie, then carefully wiped a stray crumb from her lips. “We’re all related in some way or another, and I willnotmarry my cousin.” A deep shudder shook her body, and she quickly picked up her cup to drown her revulsion with tea.
I stared at her in shock. Hadn’t she said that already? An hour ago, at least. I shifted forward in my chair and—when did I sit down?
Delilah was supposed to say something next, but she was facing toward the door, her body tense like she was ready to bolt. After a few seconds, her shoulders eased. She glanced at Wilde and mouthed something I couldn’t decipher.
