Page 58 of Ruling the Green

“She has acclimated very well to her new role,” Jet explained. “If you’ll excuse me, my father is trying to get my attention.”

Grimwood nodded, but I could see the way he watched me as we moved away. Like he suspected something. But he would have no proof of anything if I played my part and kept my mouth shut.

“I see she has found the jewels,” Cass said as we approached, his gaze on my crown.

“I brought it out for her. I figured we wanted a united front at this sort of event.”

Cass nodded. “Forward thinking. Yes. That is what we want. We are a strong family unit now. And hopefully that belly will round out and everyone will know the next generation is on its way.”

I felt my cheeks warm.

I didn’t need Jet to explain that to me. All creatures, even the ones around my lake, bred, reproduced, and birthed. I’d even seen many creatures come into this world. I knew what Cass meant when he said he wanted my belly to round. And how it would do that—at least… the basics of it.

And there was the king, making suggestions about what his son and I were doing in private.

“These things take time,” Jet said, shrugging. “But it will happen.”

“Good. Make sure it does. Increase your chances,” he added with a smirk that made my cheeks go even hotter. “What did her father have to say?”

“Not much. He inquired about how she was settling in.”

The king seemed calmer than when I’d seen him last. Focused. In control. I hoped for Jet’s sake that it continued throughout the whole evening.

I was led throughout the hall and dining room while Jet spoke to various men and women.

It was nice not to need to speak. I got to just stand there and observe. And what I saw was a side of Jet I hadn’t gotten a chance to before: the politician, the prince, the future king. He was calm, confident, and at times, very charming. He seemed to remember every small detail about these people’s lives, making each of them feel important to him. Which, I imagined, was exactly his plan. He was trying to create allies, forge relationships that would get him support if or when Cass fell.

“Stay here for one minute,” Jet said, nodding toward a group of men. “I need to speak to them, and they won’t talk around you.”

I gave him a nod, pretending it didn’t bother me even as my belly did flip-flops. What if someone came to speak to me? Would they think I was rude for not responding? Or had the news already spread that I didn’t speak? I’d prefer that.

“You look like you need a drink,” a voice said as a body moved in at my side.

Then there he was.

Tove.

Cass’s advisor. Or if what Jet and our guards said was right, the man who pulled the puppet strings on the mad king.

He was surprisingly attractive for such a morally grey man—more strongly built than the average fae. But those eyes of his—they felt like they could see everything. Like they could potentially see through me.

I took the glass from his hand but caught a quick shake of Nira’s head in my line of vision and chose just to hold it, not sip.

Unbothered, Tove watched my profile long enough for me to want to squirm. But I forced myself to stay still. Well-bred and raised women almost certainly didn’t shift around nervously. Even less so, a princess.

“I hear you are mute,” he said, allowing the pressure on my lungs to loosen slightly. “That feels quite convenient.” I felt a sharp pain in my arm, enough to make me suck in a breath, but I managed to keep any sounds in as I realized he’d pinched my arm. Hard. When my head whipped over, staring at him, his lips just twitched. “Hm. Interesting.”

I just stared at him.

The longer I did, the more I saw his cockiness slip. Like he couldn’t quite figure me out. Was I challenging him? Was I simply upset with him?

“Now, I wonder. Are you just mute? Or are you simple-minded too? What’s going on in that head, I wonder?”

Mostly that I wished I had that nifty little knife Nira kept in her boot so I could poke him with it and see how he liked being assaulted for no reason.

“I can’t decide if you are simply another female pawn in a man’s chess game… or if you are Grimwood’s spy. An awful thing to do to a daughter, no doubt, sending her into the arms of a cruel prince to endure… whatever a woman must just to feed information back to her father. But men have done much more wicked things, don’t you think? Especially a man who might want a crown and kingdom for himself.”

“Tove,” Jet said, his tone deceptively light even as I looked over and saw the tension around his eyes. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now that my wife doesn’t speak. Were you just looking for someone to listen to you speak?”