I ignore her jab. Not because I can’t come up with a snappy reply, but because what I need to tell her is far more important.
If she doesn’t hear it from me, she’ll be even more upset than if she hears it from someone else.
And shewillhear it from someone else. Word spreads like wildfire in the Night Court.
“Victoria…” I start, taking a deep breath in preparation to drop the bombshell. “Aerix requested to have me over for dinner tonight.”
Her face pales, her fingers clenching the edge of the book she’s holding so tightly that I half expect it to tear.
“What did you say?” she says, as if I’ll tell her something different if she asks again.
“Aerix requested for me to come over for dinner tonight.” I can barely meet her eyes, but I force myself to do it, anyway. “I didn’t request this. I’m as surprised as you are.”
“No.” She shakes her head, as if she refuses to believe it. “You’re lying. He always has dinner with me. Always. Ever since I first got here.”
“Victoria—”
“What did you do?” She slams the book down on the table and stands. “What kind of game are you playing?”
“I’m not playing any game,” I say, standing strong. “I told you—I didn’t ask for this. I didn’twantit.”
Sophia rises and reaches for Victoria’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “It’s going to be okay,” she tells her, although from the way she glances back and forth between me and Victoria, I doubt she believes it.
“It’snotokay.” Victoria pulls her hand out of Sophia’s, her eyes filling with tears. “If he stops wanting me, if he gets tired of me…”
“He won’t,” I tell her, but since we both know I can’t know that, I add, “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry won’t help me when he decides I’m too old. Too boring.” She lets out a hollow, bitter laugh. “When he sends me to the barns.”
“I can talk to him,” I say quickly, desperate to fix this. “I’ll tell him…”
I trail off, because whatcanI tell him? How can I make him want Victoria instead of me? How can I make him stop looking at me like I’m something he wants to claim?
He’s so fixated on me that trying to convince him to spend more time with her will just make things worse.
“Tell him what?” she challenges me.
I wrack my mind for something—anything.
“That’s what I thought,” she says, and she spins around to stomp to her room, Sophia giving me a sad smile before she follows at Victoria’s heels.
