Page 49 of A Wayward Movement

“How close?” Lilah pressed. “Were you courting?”

Alina couldn’t meet her eye. “We were too young for courting, Lilah. But there was a mutual affection. And yes, attraction. We didn’t make a show of it to other people, though.” Her lips twisted. “Meeting for secret rendezvous seemed very exciting at the time, which tells you just how young and foolish we both were. He taught me all kinds of tricks for slipping away, and we spent hours escaping responsibilities together. It was always easy, being with him. I never had to pretend, or explain. He just understood me. And I always felt like when we were alone, he wasn’t a prince. He was just Xavier. It was like he shed this weight, and his relief was so contagious, the freedom went to both our heads.”

She looked up at last. Seeing the sympathy on her friend’s face, she summoned a smile.

“It was all very innocent, of course. Prince Xavier was young, too, and was just starting to develop the charm for which he’s become famous. I suppose I was his training ground, and the force of it certainly swept me off my feet back then. But he didn’t cross any lines. Our friendship was genuine, and so was the affection behind the overblown things he said to me.”

“So what happened?”

“My father announced that we were moving across the country. It was a sudden decision, one which he never explained to me. Truthfully, I still hadn’t really forgiven him for it at the time he died.” Her gaze grew fuzzy again. “I regret that now.”

“And what…you never saw Prince Xavier again?” Lilah asked.

“Not until he showed up at the tavern here,” Alina said ruefully. “Where I served him in my patched old gown, hiding my face behind my hair like a fool because my pride was stung.”

“Oh Alina, that must have been so hard.” Lilah was full of sympathy, too kind-hearted to feel any resentment, either for the privilege Alina had once enjoyed or the fact that she’d kept her past from her friend.

“It was a shock,” Alina acknowledged. “But once I got past that, it’s actually been fine.”

“Was he happy to see you?” Lilah asked.

“I…don’t know.” Alina rolled her shoulders uncomfortably. “He’s certainly making a show of trying to dazzle me with his charm. But every now and then I get a glimpse of more complicated feelings underneath.” Her smile was pained. “We didn’t part well all those years ago. He was very upset when I told him we were moving imminently. He thought I should fight harder to stay. He couldn’t comprehend why I was just giving up, and I didn’t know how to make him understand that I had no control. That what he was asking of me was both impossible and absurd.”

Lilah said nothing, perceptive enough to recognize that Alina’s mind was far away, traveling to a place she usually tried not to revisit.

“What is it?” Xavier’s brow furrowed as he searched her face. “What’s wrong, Alina? Is this about what that gangly Lady Joanna said about you yesterday? I’ll plant a basilisk in her dressing room so she’s too sick to come to tomorrow’s luncheon. Problem solved.”

Alina shook her head, unable to laugh at his joke this time. “I won’t be at tomorrow’s luncheon,” she said hollowly.

“Why not?”

“We’re…we’re leaving.”

“Leaving?” Xavier repeated. “Leaving where?”

“Leaving here,” Alina said, her voice catching a little. “We’re moving, Xavier. We’re going to live on the other side of the kingdom, south of the forest, and Father says he doesn’t even intend to return for visits.”

“What?” Xavier demanded. “That’s ridiculous. Of course you’re not leaving. Your family’s business is here.”

“Not anymore.” Alina shook her head. “He said his interests have moved to the west. We’re leaving tomorrow. He told me to say goodbye to my friends today because I might never see them again.”

A look came over Xavier’s face that made Alina’s skin crawl. It took her a moment to realize why. She’d never seen him show fear before, and she hated it.

“Fight him,” said Xavier. “You can’t just leave and never come back, Alina. I won’t let you. You shouldn’t let you!”

“I’ve tried!” she said helplessly. “I argued with him all day yesterday. I didn’t come to the solstice dinner at the castle because he locked me in my room for insolence after I screamed at him that he couldn’t do this. I cried myself to sleep. He won’t listen to anything I say. He’s determined.”

Xavier’s hands flew up, seizing her shoulders. “Leave your family, then,” he said.

“I can’t leave my family,” she protested, frustrated.

“Yes, you can. Stay with me. You can live in the castle. I’ll protect you. I’ll never let him make you cry again.”

“Xavier.” She wanted nothing more than to cry again, this time in the hope that he would put his arms around her. It was a sensation she’d been imagining for some time. But it wasn’t the moment to fall apart. “You know that’s ridiculous. No one would let me do that. Not my parents, not yours. In what role would I stay in the castle? As a chambermaid?”

“How about as my betrothed?”

“Xavier!” His name was more gasp than word.