Page 16 of A Storm in Every Heart (Enchanted Legacies #2)

“This is the perfect opportunity to gain more insight. They’re our closest neighbor, and now that the curse is lifted and people are traveling to Vernallis again, don’t you think we should know what kind of relationship Hydratta wants to have with us?”

“I agree,” Alix says, surprising me.

“You do?”

“Yes, but you’re talking about being our emissary, not their queen. There’s no reason you need to marry the king for us to have a cordial diplomatic relationship.”

“I know that. I’m not planning to. Just because I agree to visit doesn’t mean we’re really getting engaged.”

She cracks a smile. “Are you sure? Because we don’t have the best history with fake engagements.”

I wave her off. “What happened to you was unusual, because of the timeline of the curse and because Thorne had already met Isabelle, but royal matches don’t usually work like that.

Usually there’s an official meeting with one royal household hosting the other for several days, or maybe up to a week.

There are dinners and balls and lots of opportunities to get to know each other without any obligation of commitment. ”

“You sound very sure.”

“I am. When I was sixteen, Daemon and I both traveled with Prince Thorne’s entourage to meet one of the princesses of Hydratta. That was when I…” I clear my throat. “I mean, that was when Daemon and Kastian first became friends.”

She nods, seemingly unaware of my verbal misstep. “That’s when you met King Magnus?”

I nod. I wish more than anything that I could elaborate on that meeting. I want to warn Alix about Magnus, but I can’t. I can’t talk about anything that went on back then, no matter how much I wish otherwise.

Alix’s brow furrows. “If he only met you once as a teenager, isn’t that strange that he wants to marry you? It’s giving creepy age-gap romance.”

“Not really. I can see why you’d think that, but age is sort of relative for us. It would be odd if he’d been a close acquaintance when I was a child, but if Fae spent time worrying about large age gaps, we’d never have survived as a species.”

“I guess that makes sense,” she says, still looking dubious.

“I’ll admit that it’s a little odd because King Magnus has a daughter my age.”

She wrinkles her nose in disgust. “Do you know her?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” I scowl, thinking of the last time I saw Lyra. “But it doesn’t really matter because I’m not actually planning to marry him.”

I would rather die.

“Right,” she says briskly. “So for this diplomatic engagement summit, would we all have to travel with you?”

I press my lips together, thinking. “Normally yes, but I don’t think that can happen. You and Daemon can’t go right now. Both because the court is still so new and because if Hydratta doesn’t have friendship in mind it would be dangerous to have both of you there at once.”

“That’s what Daemon said too. He said he’d normally send Kastian with you.”

“No!” I say too quickly. “Anyone but Kastian.”

Alix looks startled. “Calm down, we know you don’t get along. Anyway, Kastian can’t very well waltz into the court of Hydratta as if nothing happened.”

I swallow thickly. “Of course he can’t.”

“We thought perhaps Jett could go with you? He’d be helpful at gathering information, and he’s a good fighter if something were to go wrong, but not in an obvious way. If we sent you with Fox, it would send the message to Hydratta that we’re expecting you to be attacked.”

I smile. “You’re getting good at navigating court politics.”

“I try. I’ve been going back and forth between reading business management books and watching Game of Thrones when I go home to visit my mom and Nana.”

“What’s that?”

She waves me off. “Never mind. So, are you alright with Jett tagging along?”

“Of course…” I bite my lip. “I’m surprised you’re not telling me it would be safer to stay here.”

She shrugs. “I mean, it would be safer…but even if I thought you’d listen to me, that’s not what I’d say. I don’t doubt you can take care of yourself.”

“Thank you.” I smile, a tiny bubble of excitement forming in my chest. I appreciate her faith in me, and although I’m nervous, I’m mostly excited at the prospect of doing something important.

“You have to be the one to tell Beatrix, though.” Alix presses her lips together, holding back a laugh.

The excited bubble in my chest pops. “What? No…”

She grins. “Don’t think you’re going to pawn that pleasure off on me. She’s your surrogate mother, you tell her.”

My nose wrinkles with disgust—more at the word “mother” than anything else, but I’ve never told anyone why that word might bother me. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

“Will you come with me?” I ask.

Alix grins. “Not a chance. I already saw my mother today. I’ve sat through enough disappointed parental lectures. This one is all on you. At least Beatrix means well with her concern, I think my mother just likes being miserable.”

“I’d happily trade,” I grumble. “I hate being fussed over.” It feels too similar to pity, which is a reaction I’d do almost anything to avoid.

“Think of it as your first official diplomatic negotiation.”

I groan. “I’d honestly rather go to war.”

Alix laughs. “Yeah, it seems like that’s how everyone in Game of Thrones feels too.”

I t’s nearly 10:00 p.m. when I head downstairs to look for Beatrix. A large part of me hopes she’s already asleep…at least this way, I can say I tried to find her.

I make my way down the creaky wooden stairs, each step echoing softly in the empty house, and shoulder open the heavy door leading to the dining room.

The dining room is enveloped in darkness, with shadows growing more pronounced in the corners.

The sole source of light is the full moon, which shines through the large windows and casts a glow on the polished oak dining table.

My vision gradually adjusts, allowing the shapes of the furniture to emerge.

Suddenly, something stirs in the shadows, causing my heart to jump into my throat.

“Gods fucking dammit!” I exclaim, jumping backwards. “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” Kastian replies, not sounding very sorry at all.

He’s sitting alone at the far end of the long dining table, his broad-shouldered silhouette just visible by the light of the moon.

He’s holding a large goblet, gently swirling the liquid inside it.

On the table in front of him sits an unlit candle, its wax dripped and hardened around the base as if it extinguished some time ago.

I storm across the room to the hutch where I know there are matches, grumbling under my breath. “I don’t know why you’d want to sit in the damn dark. What are you even doing here?”

Kastian shifts in his seat. “I should be asking you that.”

I stop short. “Excuse me? I’m not the one drinking alone in the dark.”

He chuckles bitterly. “Do you really want to start trying to tell me what I can and can’t do, Princess?”

“Fine, you’re right.” I turn my nose up, dismissing him. “I don’t really care what you do, I was just looking for Beatrix.”

The door to the kitchen is on the opposite side of the room, directly across from the door to the entrance hall. I square my shoulders and stomp past Kastian, refusing to look at him. I brush past him, but his large hand whips out and closes around my wrist, halting me in my tracks.

“Let go,” I hiss.

“What are you doing?” he demands, making no move to drop my arm.

I narrow my eyes. “I just told you, I’m looking for Beatrix. I?—”

I take an involuntary step back as Kastian gets abruptly to his feet, his chair clattering against the stone floor. Still holding my wrist tightly between us, he towers over me, close enough now that I can see every detail of his handsome face in the dark.

“I mean, what the fuck are you doing, Odessa? How can you even consider this?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I try to yank my wrist from his grasp, but he won’t let go.

His lip tips up in a contemptuous sneer. “Don’t play dumb, it’s not attractive.”

“As if I care if you find me attractive. Let me go!”

Kastian makes an angry noise in the back of his throat. “I don’t understand why you would ever agree to go to Hydratta. I know you’re not this na?ve.”

I suck in a sharp breath, startled both by the anger in his voice and his sudden proximity. I haven’t heard Kastian angry in years—not since before he went to Dyaspora—and a tiny, evil part of me likes it.

I like unravelling his careful self-control…I always have.

“Were you even listening to the emissary earlier?” I ask, jutting my chin out and meeting his gaze head-on. “They’re offering us way too much with no explanation. Someone needs to go find out why. We need information about Hydratta, and this is the best?—”

“It doesn’t have to be you,” he growls, cutting me off. “You’re not a fighter. You’re not even as strong as the average Fae.”

“Why should that matter?” I demand hotly, finally yanking my arm from his grip to punctuate my point. “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. And regardless, it’s not really any of your business.”

“Of course it’s my business.”

“Oh, please,” I scoff. “You don’t care about?—”

“He killed my entire fucking family!” Kastian shouts in my face, all pretense of calm crumbling in a single instance.

Quick as a blink, my temper flares, matching his rage blow for blow. “I know!” I scream back. “That’s the entire fucking point!”

I’m sure the entire house can already hear the echoes of us shouting at each other, but I can’t bring myself to care as Kastian takes another aggressive step toward me. Instinctively, I back up, nearly tripping over the upturned chair. I stop when my spine is mere inches away from hitting the wall.

His lips pull back from his teeth in a snarl. “So you want to marry the male who destroyed my entire life? I don’t know what I ever did to make you hate me so much.”

The words are simple, but they hit me like a physical blow.

He really doesn’t know— and isn’t that the entire point?

“Your arrogance is staggering,” I hiss. “Not everything is about you, Your Majesty .”