Page 93 of A Wayward Movement

“You, too,” he said, his voice quiet.

Alina left the tavern, not able to face a conversation with the owner when Xavier was in the next room.

She, Benji, and Lilah shared a quiet meal that night, the contrast between their simple fare and the luxury they’d enjoyed at the castle sitting like an invisible fourth presence in their midst.

After they’d eaten, Benji went to collect water while Lilah and Alina cleared up from the meal. Feeling her friend’s eyes on her, Alina summoned a smile.

“There’s no need to look so concerned, Lilah,” she said. “I’m not suffering from any affliction I know of.”

“Aren’t you?” Lilah took the dishes from Alina’s hands, depositing them by the empty basin, then turning back to her friend. “You don’t need to pretend with me, you know.”

Alina sighed. “I’m not trying to be false. Obviously things aren’t quite normal, and there’s a lot on my mind. But I can’t even put words to it in my head, let alone out loud.”

“Do names count as words?” Lilah challenged. “Because if so, I think you can put at least one word to it.”

Alina didn’t protest. What was the point? Lilah wasn’t an idiot.

“I saw the prince at the baker’s this morning,” Lilah said. “Mrs. Pincer sent me to get her some bread. He also didn’t seem quite…normal. Somber and depressed would be a better description.”

“Zoe must not have been working there this morning, then,” Alina said, trying for humor.

Lilah wasn’t having any of it. “That’s not fair, Alina,” she said. “I think you wrong him when you talk about him like an incurable flirt.”

Alina stared at her. “He is an incurable flirt,” she said. “He flirts constantly.”

“With you,” Lilah agreed. “But with other girls?”

“Yes,” Alina said emphatically, picturing the scene the day before they’d left the castle.

“Well, I suppose you know best,” Lilah said, not sounding as though she believed her own words. “But I don’t think I’ve once seen him flirt with anyone other than you. When we were at the castle, I saw a lot of girls try to flirt with him. But I never saw him respond with anything close to the line.”

Alina didn’t want to talk about the incident she’d just been thinking of, so she chose something safer. “You weren’t there the first night they were in town. Zoe was serving their table, and the way he carried on to her lived up to his reputation in full.”

“But that was before he’d seen you, right?” Lilah said matter-of-factly. “Did he keep doing that after?”

Alina frowned, never having considered it according to that timeline. She remembered the serving girl at the inn in Alton, and all the others who’d tried and failed to catch the prince’s attention in that town. Lilah’s words were uncomfortably reminiscent of Xavier’s defense when she’d painted him as a flirt because of the things he’d said to her when they were younger.

To you, he’d said, hurt in his eyes. Not to every skirt that swished past me.

Benji returned with the water at that moment, rescuing Alina from the conversation. She helped him to fill the basin, then place the half-full pail under the table. In spite of his claims that he was fine, he looked so dejected that her heart went out to him. Was Lilah right that Xavier was steadier than she gave him credit for? Should she take more seriously his offer to help Benji?

“Benji,” she said, folding her arms as he repositioned the pail. “What exactly did that guild representative say to you?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Benji said gruffly.

She frowned, exchanging a glance with Lilah. The other girl also didn’t look satisfied.

“Benji,” Lilah said sternly, “it will be much better for you to just tell us.”

“No, it won’t,” he contradicted. “It’s best to just leave it alone.”

“But you were so optimistic after you took the test,” Alina insisted. “Why would that guild member come in person just to tell you that you didn’t get in?”

“He came to check my eligibility, and he found me not to be eligible,” Benji said. “Please can we drop it now?”

“No, we can’t.” Lilah was staring at him. “Do you mean you scored well enough, but you weren’t sufficiently high-bred?” Her sweet features were as close to outraged as Alina had ever seen them. “Why have a scholarship if it’s only available to the privileged anyway?”

“It wasn’t that,” Benji sighed. “It was…other things.”