Page 20 of Fit for a Prince (Fit For A Crown #1)

Chapter twenty

M ara was still alive the next day. Thank the heavens.

She helped me get ready, completely unaware of the nail-biting fear that had gripped me all night long.

Beckham was well too. He prepared another cup of tea for me, and I drank it slowly, allowing the healing magic to seep deep into my bones and repair the damage Lochlan’s heavy boot had inflicted.

Both he and Mara had been in my life for such a short window, yet I was already indebted to them both.

All the more reason to survive. If I died, what would be left for them? What would become of the remaining Ivalonians if they had no one left to defend them?

Unless that mysterious Guardian had something up their sleeve.

Beckham delivered a letter from the king with my breakfast. The king’s royal seal shocked me at first, but seeing both my servants alive and unharmed gave me the courage to tear the letter open.

Tread carefully.

That was all it said, but those two words gave me enough of an appetite to try a few bites of breakfast. The king must have heard about my visit with Cedric, but he couldn’t complain about him giving me attention when his duties were still completed on time.

I swallowed my porridge in thick gulps, trying to relax with the knowledge that I’d protected Mara. The papers on Cedric’s desk had been imprinted in my mind, sealing the words Project Vault into my every thought.

They may have slaughtered Ivalon’s royals and burned its castle, but it was still far from conquered.

Septimus was still searching for his prize, and it would seem that a guardian still stood in his way.

It was as if my kingdom had never fallen at all and I’d been placed on the front lines.

If only we could join our forces and stop losing so many of our warriors.

After breakfast, I moved back to my desk to pull out my notes. Beckham found me a fresh quill since I’d already burned through my first taking detailed notes on Lochlan, but now I had enough information on Cedric to calculate my odds of success with him .

I made a list of his attributes, assigning each of them a numerical score based on their importance for my particular needs.

His kindness scored high, but it was only useful if it could surpass his logical thinking, which also scored particularly high.

He scored low on political advantages since he was the youngest son, but high on his political knowledge.

Seeing him handle the trade issues yesterday proved that he was well-versed in protecting the kingdom’s assets and handling difficult consumers.

He was good with people, good with numbers, and good at keeping secrets. But he wasn’t next in line for the throne.

Plus, there was that incident where he had visited Ivalon.

I tapped the end of the quill to my chin, tickling my nose on accident and nearly drawing out a sneeze. Mara looked up at the noise, then moved closer to inspect my work.

“Oh! Are you taking more notes on the princes?” she asked as she glanced over my shoulder. “My, that’s a lot of numbers. What do they mean?”

“They mean that Prince Cedric is the safest option,” I said pointedly as I added the attribute of peacemaker to his list. “But not an ideal one. He offers me little outside of security.”

And even being the “safest” didn’t guarantee I’d be safe .

“That seems a bit harsh,” Mara said with a pout. “He’s still a handsome prince who will keep you alive. Is that not an excellent match already?”

It was, but it wasn’t enough. Not if I wanted to save more than myself.

“I’m keeping my options open,” I decided to say. “I still haven’t spent much time with Prince Atlas, plus there’s also the slim chance that Lochlan will come around. A very slim chance, but not a non-existent one.”

“You would actually consider Prince Lochlan over Prince Cedric?” Mara frowned. “Do I need to remind you that Prince Lochlan tried to break every bone in your body? Prince Cedric hasn’t been exceptionally warm to you, but he has still extended more kindness to you than his brothers.”

That was true, he did possess genuine kindness...but that was what made him an even worse choice.

I looked at the high score I’d given him in that area, underlining it once with my quill.

Kindness led to weakness, and I was weak against kindness.

Here I was passing up an opportunity to save my life because I was too weak to let those who were kind to me go without a protector.

Marrying Cedric meant saving myself; marrying one of his brothers meant saving us all .

“Prince Cedric has been nice.” I set my quill down, my gaze shifting to my ring. “But the nice ones are so much harder to lose. I’ve lost enough to know better than to open myself up to that pain again.”

A hush fell over the room, and even Beckham paused his chores to touch at his neck. Mara nodded softly, my explanation finally sinking into her.

“I understand. It’s difficult to love again after loss,” she said quietly, her fingers fidgeting like she was struggling with an invisible knot. “Was...was Damon nice?”

I curled my fingers around the ring, feeling the magic pulse like a miniature heartbeat left behind by a dead man.

“He wasn’t.” I uncurled my fingers, my dark glare reflecting back at me in the polished stone. “That’s what King Leopold loved most about him.”

In the king’s eyes, being a good prince had never meant being nice.

Knock, knock.

I was grateful that Mara didn’t get a chance to ask more questions. Talking about Damon wouldn’t bring him back, and speaking about my past always left me a bit on edge.

Mara pulled open the door and I could see the stout steward who despised me peek inside. “Yes? ”

“Lady Diaspro’s presence has been requested at today’s deployment meeting,” he said tartly. “By His Highness Prince Lochlan.”

“Lochlan?” I sprang out of my seat and approached the door, meeting the steward’s distasteful glare. “What in the heavens is he inviting me for?”

“ Prince Lochlan,” he corrected with a lash of his tongue, spraying spit at poor Mara. “It would seem all the princes are expected to spend time with you in some manner. Whether by choice or not.”

I see . I supposed Atlas’s promise to get me out of my suite more often had been pushed on all of the princes. That would certainly explain why Cedric had requested a visit yesterday, but I had expected more fight from Lochlan.

“She’ll be there,” Mara said with another curtsey. “We’ll await her escort.”

“Good,” the steward said with a sneer, then slammed the door shut.

As soon as he was gone, Mara wiped the droplets of spit off her face with her apron, then spun around and crossed her arms at me. “Are you mad? You’re not allowed to address the steward directly when I’m here!”

“I’m not the mad one.” I folded my arms, mirroring her pose. “You just agreed to let me attend a meeting with Lochlan. Weren’t you just reminding me about how he tried to sever my head from my shoulders?”

“It’s only a deployment meeting,” Mara said.

“You won’t be allowed to speak anyway. In fact, I’m surprised they’re even letting a lady attend.

If Prince Lochlan is being forced to spend time with you, he probably picked this meeting so you two won’t even have the opportunity to speak.

It looks to me like he’s just trying to get it over with. ”

I thought back to the notes on Cedric’s desk—Project Vault and the mysterious Guardian who had the king’s crown in a twist. A deployment meeting...could it be for a deployment of 200 soldiers?

“He’s not trying to get out of talking with me,” I said, my fists curling as I imagined how preferable another duel would be to this. “He’s trying to punish me. He wants me to hear all about how they’re tearing Ivalon apart.”