Page 15 of Fey Empire

But maybe this marriage won’t be so terrible.

Chapter six

This is a nice pencil. When it runs out, I’ll ask for the same brand. Actually, I’m going to need a new sketchbook soon. So, I should ask for more pencils at the same time. Running out is awful. Not being able to draw makes me feel itchy.

But that’s a problem for the future. Right now I have this lovely pencil, and there are several pages left in my sketchbook. The natural light from the large window is good, and it is comfy here, curled up on this settee.

Fey robes are heaps more comfortable than what Mother dresses me in. I like them. And since I’ve been dressed in them every day since I was presented to court, I guess I’m wearing them forever now.

The pencil flows over the thick paper. It’s hard not to hum contentedly, but Mother is sitting across from me.

I cast her a quick glance. She is doing something on her phone. Whatever it is, it has kept her quiet and nearly motionless for the last hour.

One day, I’d like to discover what it is about phones that keeps people so engrossed. Maybe Prince Selwyn will give me one?

I bite back my sigh. It has been three days since I was presented and Prince Llywelyn committed a publicmurder. I’m starting to wonder if I will ever see Selwyn again. He said he didn’t want me wandering around court while all this drama is unfolding. But maybe I’m just an inconvenience, and it is a good excuse to keep me out of the way.

I twist my head and look up at the late spring sky through the thick pane of glass. Three days of being confined to these rooms is starting to wear on me.

I turn back to my drawing. A picture of the double doors that lead to the throne room. It is coming along nicely. I just need to work on the shading.

Behind the real-life version of these doors, right now, Prince Llywelyn’s trial is taking place.

I’ll be finding out soon enough if my confinement really is temporary.

My waist tingles with an echo of Selwyn’s touch. He put his arm around me. There was danger, and the very first thing he did was come to me and put his arm around me.

I thought that was a good sign.

But maybe he was merely protecting his property because having it damaged would make him look bad.

Suddenly, the door flies open and Lord Dunavon runs in.

“Prince Llywelyn was found guilty of a dishonourable killing! They opened a portal and banished him right there in the throne room!”

Mother jumps to her feet. “What are the implications for us? Can we turn it to our advantage?”

She walks over to the table. Lord Dunavon joins her. They begin a fast-paced discussion. Plotting, planning, scheming.

I tune it out and concentrate on my drawing. To think that I was foolish enough to believe that the fey invading Earth would mean Mother would stop all her manoeuvring. I should have known it was only just the beginning.

The door opens again, this time far more sedately, and Prince Selwyn strides in.

I scramble to my feet and drop into a curtsy. Mother and Lord Dunavon bow. Then Mother grabs Dunavon’s arm and pulls him towards the door.

“I’ll send a servant with some tea, Your Highness.”

Her green eyes fix on me with a very pointed look. She shuts the door behind her. I swallow. What did that look mean? Does she want me to seduce him? Surely she knows that I still don’t have a clue about how to do such a thing.

Nervously, I turn to face Selwyn, but he is looking over my shoulder, at the settee I was just sitting on.

He strides over to it and picks up my discarded sketchbook. I swallow uncomfortably. It is so unpleasant when people look at my drawings. Mother hasn’t done it for an age. She seems to now trust that I won’t draw pornography or anything inappropriate.

“This is good,” says Selwyn as he inspects my drawing.

My heart flutters. That’s awfully nice of him to say. He has no need to give me compliments.

He flicks back through my sketchbook while I twist my hands and sweat. Suddenly he stops and freezes on a page. His eyebrows lift.