Page 26

He came to a stop beside me, scanning the placement of guards we’d spent the past couple of hours organizing. The familiar clink and chime from his kingdom’s coins played from where he fiddled with them in his pocket.

“I think we’re done for the morning," Seb said.

Before I could agree, Sebastian swiped the pawns that represented soldiers off the map and rolled it up. His defensiveness and mistrust of Marco soured the room, and I knew Marco wasn’t oblivious. Though, he didn’t give a single indication of being ruffled by it.

I suspected he was, but showing signs that Commander Druller got under his skin would be flinching in this game of chicken they seemed so desperate to play. Marco wouldn’t lose the high ground he always seemed to hold. Seb made an obviously quick exit, not even addressing the Prince of Duski on his way out.

Marco gave a mocking salute, lowering his voice an octave or two, and frowning as he dismissed my commander by saying, “General.” His posture remained lax, a calculated formula to heighten the disrespect.

To my commander’s credit, he didn’t stop or indulge the provocation. The room may have heated a degree from the simmering rage of his annoyance, but he didn’t take the bait, leaving us without starting a squabble. I nudged Marco’s ribs with my elbow. “Do you have to try and get under his skin every time?”

“He wants to be my friend, he just doesn’t know it yet.” No falter in his air of arrogance with that wicked smile.

I chuckled, shaking my head.

“So, tomorrow’s the big day.” He pivoted, leaning against the desk, hands still casually sunk into his fashionable pants pockets.

“The first of many over the next weeks, I’m afraid.” All leading up to the actual big day. The one where I would enthrone a queen and begin a life of relational formalities.

Questions would constantly be directed my way of how the new queen was, how we were fairing as a couple. People would be showering her with compliments to gain my favor. Even when she wouldn’t be around, she would always be present. Essentially a ghostly appendage, fixed to my being.

An added weight to the already long list of burdens placed on my shoulder.

Marco seemed to decipher my thoughts, as if my looming dread tainted the air. “You know there’s the opportunity to have a little bit of fun in the process, right?”

“I’m not going to bed any of the applicants for Queen of Highcrest,” I said sharply.

Raising his hands out of his pockets, holding them up in submission, he whined, “Woah, woah, I never said that.”

The look I shot him from under my brow relayed the message that we both had known it was.

He laughed, dropping his hands, knowing the jig was up. “All I’m saying is, you should try to squeeze every last moment of enjoyment you can. I’m sure not all of these bachelorettes will be dullards. Don’t force yourself to be shackled to the most polite or demure of the crowd at these events. You have a lifetime to do that after you pick one. I’m sure Ricks will be keeping a running tally of all the ladies who use the silverware properly, and curtsy the best, all the proclivities of a queen.”

I clapped my hand on his shoulder, giving him an agreeable smile. A sinking sensation in my gut told me that’d be fruitless. He may not understand, but the matter of picking the right representative for the kingdom shouldn’t be left to my staff. I wasn’t the type to let others make those decisions.

The responsibility did fall upon me, and I would take it seriously. As if the weight became palpable, and fighting against gravity became tiring, I could no longer maintain a casual smile.

Putting my enjoyment first was a foreign concept. Recalling a time I’d even felt something other than the seriousness of my role…

My mind drifted to the breeze of the ocean, and soft swaying grasses lining the bank. Sparkly, defiant eyes staring back at me as she took my hand, and we’d come to an understanding.

“What’s going on, what’s happening there?” Marco’s finger circled the air, pointing right at my mouth, which I now realized had curved slightly to the side.

Schooling my features and clearing my throat, I replied, “What? No, nothing.”

He tilted his chin upward, staring me down from the barrel of his nose. “Whatever made that happen, that’s what you should be filling your time with. If it had to do with the future Queen of Highcrest, follow that thread.”

The absurdity rushed out of me in a husky laugh. He couldn’t know how impossible that was.

12

Nora

Hairpins, curlers, scraps of lace, and all manner of prim and prissy items laid scattered in disarray from the chaos. Melody and Kenzie had been chirping with delight all morning while they dedicated hours to preparation.

“What if he’ll look for someone wearing blue, the kingdom color of blue?” Kenzie frantically questioned while removing yet another curler and tossing it on the floor.

“Or what if he’s sick of blue all the time, and another color will stand out to him more?” Melody chimed in, matching her sister's level of overthinking.