Page 51 of Royal Resistance

“You didn’t think you could do any of this, and look at you.”

I look at myself in the mirror. I don’t look like the usual Selene. My cheeks are flushed from the dancing—and also the alcohol—my hair, which Diandra piled up in a clip, seems ready to tumble around my shoulders.

I look pretty. I look like I’m having fun.

A toilet flushes and the woman comes out of the stall. She’s short and curvy and wears quite a lot of blue eyeshadow. “Who are you planning on kissing?” she asks as I move aside to give her access to the sink.

“No one here,” Diandra tells her.

“That’s a good thing, seeing as how most of these men are spoken for. Don’t let them tell you any differently.”

“I’m not here to meet any man, especially one who is spoken for,” I tell her.

She nods. “Good thing.” And then she leaves without drying her hands.

Diandra and I wait until she leaves, and then we burst into laughter. “I think you’ve been warned,” Diandra says.

“I’ve never been warned before,” I tell her.

“Add it to the list. But seriously—” She catches my arm as I turn to leave. “You should kiss him. It’ll do him good, show him that he’s being an idiot.”

“Do you really think he’s an idiot? Maybe this is just how he wants the marriage to be.”

“I know Magnus, and I seriously doubt that. Besides, my brother says he’s always looking at you. Looking at you like he likes what he sees.”

“Did he really say that?”

“I think he likes you.”

“Duncan?”

“No, Magnus! Duncan likes you, too, but not like that.”

“I like him. I like both of them—all of you. I like being queen,” I whisper, surprising myself with the admission. I’m not surprised that I like my new role, only that I’m admitting it.

“You should like it,” Diandra says with a grin. “And you should kiss your king. Now, let’s go dance.”

21

Magnus

Selene isn’t at the castle when we get back.

She’s not in bed, or in our rooms. Or even her office.

“Where is the queen?” I demand when I finally find someone to ask.

“She went into town with Ms. Laz and Mr. Benny,” the chambermaid tells me, eyes widening when I bark at her.

“She’s with Dee, so it’s fine,” Duncan says. “Why don’t we drive back in and see what they’re up to?”

The suggestion takes the edge off my anger. It’s not that I’m mad that Selene is out, but because for the last few minutes of the drive, I had been thinking of what to say to her.

How to kiss her.

I was looking forward to seeing her, and now she’s not here.

“Fine,” I say to Duncan. “Where do you think they went?”