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“You’re going to need to tell me the truth about what’s going on in your head right now.” Gabby leans closer, eyes narrowing and expression stern. “That is not the face of a woman who’s counting down the days until she walks down the aisle.”
“Am I supposed to be overjoyed when I feel this overwhelmed?” I run a hand through my hair, trying to combat the breeze that keeps tugging on it. “I think this marriage might be the best thing I’ve ever done, but there’s a part of me that worries it’s going to be over before it starts.”
“Why?”
“Xander’s been avoiding me. From what I can tell, there have been some tough meetings with his council. He’s not coming to bed at night. I think he’s spending most of his time in his study in the other wing of the castle since he certainly isn’t spending time in the one in our chambers.”
Before Gabby can say anything, the hinges of the doors behind me creak and my heart leaps.
I turn, hoping to see Xander there.
Daphne gives me a sympathetic smile and steps to the side.
With a sigh, I turn to the tablet. “I have to go. More queen lessons. I’ll talk to you later, okay? And you should come out here for the wedding. There’s no way I can do this without you.”
“I’ll be there.” Gabby ends the call, leaving me feeling empty inside.
Heels click against the stone as Daphne walks over, sitting on the lounger beside me. “You’re having a hard time here, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say hard, but I thought a fake marriage was going to be a lot easier,” I say, keeping my tone low.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from endless hours of lessons, it’s that you never know who is going to be listening in on the other side of the wall.
Daphne loops her arm around my shoulders. “You have a friendship though. That’s more than some couples can say.”
“It feels like I should want more than that, though. And I just lied to my best friend. Gabby kept me going when I was at my lowest, and now I’m lying to her.”
“We do what we must.” Daphne gives me another squeeze before standing. “Come on. You’ve been working hard all week, and it’s time we had some fun.”
“Run!” Daphne takes off sprinting down the stone street, dipping between two buildings.
I follow her, chest burning as I laugh, not looking over my shoulder.
Eventually the security team will figure out we lost them two streets ago, but Daphne promised everything was going to be fine.
Now I’m wondering exactly how much trouble she’s going to get us in.
There is no way this is going to go well, especially once Xander finds out that we left, but Daphne is right. I do need a bit of fun.
I can’t remember the last time — other than moving to Katastinia — when I left all my responsibilities and let loose a little.
All I was capable of when my parents died was losing myself. Same thing when Grandma passed, too.
And now I’m running through the streets with Daphne, laughing as she skids around another corner.
She stops at a door nearly hidden in a stone wall, the light of the neon sign casting a pink glow down on her face.
“This is the place.” She knocks on the door as I lean over, hands on my knees while I try to get a deep breath in through the laughter.
The door swings open and a man the size of a wall steps into our path. He takes one look at the pretty smile Daphne flashes him before stepping to the side and letting us in.
Once we’re in the building, a pounding bass fills my head and strobe lights flash around the room.
Smoke pours out from machines onto the dance floor, weaving around the writhing bodies.
Daphne takes my hand and tugs me over to the bar. “We’re going to need four shots of tequila to get this party started.”
I pull down the hem of my short black dress. “Are you sure we’re not going to get caught?”