Page 14

“Your Highness, Ms. Kismet, your guests have arrived,” Lewen announced.

Wearing scowls, Karma and Falkor stomped into the dining room.

“Hey!” Kismet called out in a cheerful tone.

“Hi.” Karma squinted like she had a headache. “Why is he here?”

“You didn’t tell me she was invited,” Falkor said.

“Have a seat,” Jaryk said.

For tonight, Jaryk sat across from her at the short side of the table. Adjacent places had been set for their siblings so everybody could see each other and talk. Looking at their glowering expressions, she thought maybe she could have put one of them at the other end of the table.

Well, they’re just going to have to get along!

Yesterday and today, Kismet had attended functions with Jaryk, so there had been little chance to fill her sister in on the “new development,” that she and Jaryk had decided to make a go of their marriage.

Of Falkor, she’d seen nothing since the wedding, and she wished to get to know her brother-in-law better.

Their siblings had taken a dislike to each other, but they were all family now and would have to learn how to get along.

She shot a resigned eye roll at Jaryk. His grin of amusement morphed to affection and appreciation. Warmth suffused her, and she lowered her lashes.

Falkor plunked into the chair next to Jaryk.

Karma sidled up to her and whispered in her ear, “Somebody did the horizontal tango.”

Her face heated further, this time from embarrassment. Kismet swatted at her. “Sit down.”

She laughed and took her seat. “When I’m right, I’m right.”

“What could you possibly be right about?” Falkor snapped.

“What a boorish prig you are,” Karma shot back.

“Could we make nice for one evening, please?” Kismet said.

“He started it!”

“Regardless of who started it, stop it, both of you,” Jaryk said. “Lewen, you may serve dinner.”

The butler dished out the food and set the plates in front of them. “Shall I remain, or shall I go, Your Highness?”

“We can handle it from here, thank you.”

The butler left. They picked up their utensils and started to eat.

“How have you been doing?” Jaryk asked Karma. “Have you been adjusting to palace life?”

“Pretty much. The palace is beautiful, and I’ve continued to explore—getting lost most of the time—I miss my navigator.” She glanced at Kismet.

“Sorry.” She hunched her shoulders. “I’ve been out with Jaryk.”

“No problem. You have responsibilities now.”

“We went to a hospital wing dedication today. The administrator gave us a tour, and I learned a lot about Kaldoran medicine. They have a holistic approach.”

“I would have enjoyed seeing that.” Karma sighed.

“My apologies,” Jaryk said. “I did not think to invite you. Would you care to attend some of these events?”

“Would that be all right?”

“It would be more than all right. There are far more requests for royal representation than we can fulfill.”

“She is not a royal,” Falkor said.

“She is the sister-in-law of a royal. And technically, neither is Kismet until the king deems it so.”

“Kismet is your wife!”

“And Karma is her sister—and you are being rude,” Jaryk said. He looked at Kismet. “I will inform the office of ceremonial events you are available. Initially, you can attend functions with me and Kismet, and when you feel confident, you may get some assignments of your own.”

“Great! Thank you.” She smiled happily then smirked at Falkor.

Kismet met her husband’s gaze. His eyes danced with amusement. Her lips twitched. If mediating the warfare between their siblings was the worst they faced, life would be smooth indeed.

She’d never been happier. At his invitation, she’d vacated her bedroom and moved into his. After just putting away her new wardrobe, the servants had transferred her clothing into Jaryk’s cavernous closet. She felt guilty for the double work, but they assured her it was no big deal.

She hadn’t gotten used to the royal treatment. She didn’t know if she would ever get comfortable with servants waiting on her and doing for her—wasn’t sure she wanted to get used to it.

But that didn’t impinge upon her happiness.

The last two days and nights had been magical.

As she’d hoped, the physical intimacy had fostered a deeper emotional closeness.

She might not be a royal, but Jaryk made her feel like a princess.

He was a considerate, hot lover and an attentive, doting husband.

She loved going with him to events and appreciated how he solicited her opinion and listened intently to her.

He seemed fascinated by her life on Earth—just as his culture enthralled her.

Her life couldn’t get any better.

Unless he loved me.

She was falling hard for him. The people obviously adored and respected him, which spoke to his character. She saw him through their eyes, and she respected him all the more. He treated her well. They had similar interests. He was handsome, easy to talk to, great in the sack. Amazingly humble.

He just hadn’t uttered the three little words. Of course, she hadn’t said them either, but she couldn’t until she knew he felt the same way. Fondness and respect weren’t the same as love.

I must be patient. Be there with him and for him and keep on keeping on.

And knock his socks off at the ball. She had her dress all picked out. The queen had offered the use of her hairdresser, so Kismet would be having her hair done by an expert. She wanted to be an irresistible vision.

“I’m looking forward to the ball,” Karma said, as if she’d tapped into Kismet’s wavelength.

“ You are?” Falkor said.

“Uh-huh. The queen sent me a formal invitation,” she replied smugly.

He looked like he’d swallowed something down the wrong pipe.

Jaryk held up his hand. “Whatever you’re going to say—don’t. The queen graciously included her, and we’re thrilled to have her attend.”

After choosing her gown, Kismet had given her twin her choice from the remainder. They wore the same size—if they often differed in fashion sense.

“You have a much better wardrobe to shop from now,” Karma had said. “I never liked any of your other clothes.”

“Don’t ruin it, okay?” Kismet had said.

She prayed their siblings would behave themselves at the ball and wouldn’t cause a scene.

Jaryk had regaled her with tales of his brother’s shenanigans.

His description of Falkor as impulsive and hotheaded could be applied to her sister, too.

And her sister had never been one to roll with the punches—or let a slight pass without retort.

“Why don’t we take our dessert into the library?” Jaryk suggested as dinner wound down. “There’s a new hologram game requiring four players I’ve been wanting to try.”

“You have video games?” Karma looked interested.

“Holographic characters. We each pick one.”

“Great idea!” Kismet seconded the motion. If their siblings were engaged in an activity, they’d be less likely to fight—unless the game involved fighting, in which case Karma’s character and Falkor’s would try to kill each other.

They stood up, and Falkor said, “Jaryk, could I have a private word with you?”

“We’ll meet you in the library. I’ll bring the desserts!” Kismet took the tray from the serving cart, and she and her sister left for the library.

* * * *

Jaryk eyed his brother. “If this is about Karma…”

“It’s not. People have been asking me about your marriage, so word has gotten out. Have you told Charday yet?”

“Yesterday.” Jaryk nodded. “It went well.”

“It did?”

In between yesterday’s public events, Jaryk had sought out Charday.

He’d dreaded it, but he owed it to her to tell her face-to-face the relationship was permanently over.

He’d debated whether to tell Kismet about Charday but decided the past must remain in the past. The past relationship had no bearing on their marriage, and he wished to avoid giving his new wife any doubts about his commitment.

In truth, he was ashamed he’d married her just so he could marry somebody else.

“Remarkably well,” Jaryk said.

Falkor cocked his head and frowned. “What did you say?”

“That I had gotten married, and I was happy with my new wife. I told Charday that while I had affection and respect for her, we weren’t compatible in the long run, that our personalities would not mesh well.” It surprised him he’d ever believed Charday would be a suitable wife.

“And she said…”

“She understood, and she’d begun having doubts about our suitability herself as well as the burden of responsibility of marriage to a royal.”

“That doesn’t sound like Charday.”

“I admit, I was surprised by how well she took the news, but we hadn’t seen each other in a couple of months, anyway. Absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. I guess her interest in me cooled as mine did for her.”

Falkor crossed his arms. “If you say so. You know her better than I do.” Then he flashed a smug smile. “Marriage seems to be working out, huh? I guess my idea to sign you up for Cosmic Mates was a good one.”

“ One good idea is not much of a track record. But yes, marriage to Kismet has worked out better than I could have imagined.” Contentment brought a smile to his face.

He’d gone from counting the days until he could be free to envisioning a long, happy future.

“Mother likes her a lot. Father is the only holdout now.”

“I don’t think Father would like anybody he didn’t have a hand in picking. He won’t give up easily.”

“Neither will I.” Kismet was the wife he wanted.

“What about Alia?”

“She knows the engagement is off.” The queen had confirmed Alia and her family had been notified. He hadn’t contacted her personally because he hardly knew the woman. Their engagement had been a cut-and-dried political merger, not a love match or even a friendship.

“Will she be at the ball?”

“I highly doubt it.” He couldn’t imagine she would attend.

“She might be curious to see who you threw her over for.”

“I didn’t throw her over. I never agreed to marry her in the first place. And I don’t think she was keen on me either.”

“Kismet knows about Alia, right?”

“Yes.”

“What about Charday?”

“Charday is a woman in my past. I saw no reason to talk about a former lover with my wife. Speaking of which, I’ve left her alone too long. Let’s join the women.”

Falkor pulled a face.

“What is your problem with the sister?” Jaryk asked.

“She goes out of her way to annoy me.”

“And you haven’t been doing the same to her?”

“I’ve been my normal charming self.”

“You’d have to develop some charm first.”

Falkor palmed his chest. “You wound me, Brother.”

“You should be nicer to her. She’s family.”

“Is that an order, Your Highness?” He arched a brow.

As future king, Jaryk outranked his younger brother, but he’d never used his position to order him around. “A suggestion. You could take her to some of your charitable events and appearances.”

“I’d sooner stab myself in the heart.”

“You want to know what I think?”

“No, but you’re going to tell me anyway.”

“You protest too much. Your problem isn’t that she bugs you, but that she won’t give you the time of day. Probably you did try to charm her; you failed, and now your inflated ego is wounded.”

“I think you need to become a whole lot wiser before you become king.” Falkor stalked off.

Jaryk followed him into the library and loaded the game into the console. Falkor flopped into an armchair.

“Everything okay?” Kismet whispered after he joined her on a settee.

“Fine.”

“Falkor doesn’t look happy.”

“I told him to be nicer to your sister.” He glanced at Karma seated on an adjacent settee. It suddenly struck him as odd that the two sisters weren’t seated together. “Everything okay between you two?”

“She gave me an earful on Falkor’s faults. I finally told her I didn’t want to hear any more. She’s sulking.”

So was Falkor. “Maybe this game will help. My brother is very competitive. The game involves teams. You and me against the two of them.”

“Maybe they’ll unite against a common opponent?”

“That’s the hope,” he said.

* * * *

“Thank the Gods of Kaldor they’re gone!” Jaryk exclaimed after their guests had left, and they retired to their bedchamber.

Kismet giggled. “Tell me again why we invited both of them to dinner at the same time?” Their siblings had bickered throughout the entire game—yet still managed to win.

“We must have been crazy,” he replied, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. She hugged his neck, and he roved his hands down her backside as he inched them to the bed. “You feel good. You smell good.”

“You, too.” She kissed him, tugging at the fastening of his dinner jacket. “What did Falkor want to talk to you about when he pulled you aside after dinner?”

He’d been hoping she wouldn’t ask, but since she had, he needed to tell her the truth. “There is a woman I had a relationship with. Falkor wondered if she was aware I’d gotten married.”

“Someone other than Alia?”

“Yes. She needed to be informed I’d gotten married before the news came out publicly.”

“Wait…you were seeing her while you were engaged to Alia?” Kismet pulled away.

“The engagement hadn’t been formalized, and it was being arranged by the king and queen without my consent.”

“Why didn’t you marry this other woman?”

Hekkel! The conversation had veered into the direction he’d feared it would go.

He raked a hand through his hair. He’d come to realize he hadn’t loved Charday.

He’d lusted for her. He’d been fond of her, but if he was going to be ugly-honest, his father’s disapproval had enhanced her appeal.

My act of rebellion. I guess I’m not any different from Falkor.

“I’m a royal. It would have required the king’s permission, and he refused to give it.”

“But we got married through Cosmic Mates.”

“A loophole.”

“So, you would have married her instead of me if you could have? This was never about Alia, was it?”

“What matters is I married you. You’re the one I want. The one I’m falling in love with. I’m not interested in Alia or Charday. I don’t want anyone but you.”

“How can I believe that? You lied to me.”

“It’s the truth. Nobody matters to me but you.

“Now—maybe.” Her face froze. He could see another damning epiphany sweeping over her. “You said Falkor pulled you aside to find out if this—this—Charday—knew you’d gotten married. You admitted she needed to know you were no longer available . Does she now know?”

“Yes.”

“When did she find out?”

“Yesterday,” he said.

“So, when you excused yourself to take care of some boring business in between our events, you left me to go see her ?”

“To tell her we were done, and I’d gotten married.”

“You lied to me!”

“Kismet, please—it’s you I love and want.”

“Don’t you dare use that word with me!” She spun around and charged into her former bedroom. The door sealed behind her.