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“Maybe I don’t, but I know the Summer king’s hunger for power stretched all the way here. We don’t want to be proxies. We want sovereign rulers.”
“She is a sovereign.”
“We both know that’s not true, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“Nevertheless, I am still here, and unless she agrees to marry your grandson, when they emerge, he will answer for taking her.”
31
CHLOE
The entire time I walked toward Kostya, whose grandma said he’s accepting of my apparently obvious feelings for the commander, I could feel D’Artaron walking behind me, his presence a reminder that I am safe and cared for, but that he withdrew his soldiers and plans to return without telling me about it anyway. The betrayal burns like the heat of a thousand suns.
I always knew he would eventually return to his station, but I believed, probably as every female before me believed, that he would fall for me. I believed I would be the one the commander would court. Since I’ve heard stories of other females believing such nonsense when it comes to him, I know my hopes were as stupid as theirs.
It’s just that there’s something terribly attractive about the challenge of having a male no other female can have. I admit some of it is vanity, but a lot of it is love. I’m crazy about D’Artaron, and when I heard he was leaving, I took Lady Dofonso’s offer and allowed Kostya to whisk me away so we could spend time together.
Near a beautiful lake with a clear view of the Spring palace and the kites that children are releasing in the skies, I stand with Kostya. He faces me, a serious but gentle look on his face.
He’s not here to court me. He’s here to propose marriage to me, even though he’s aware of my feelings for D’Artaron. He’s ready to love me and care for me, even if I love another male. Lady Dofonso explained it is a marriage of convenience and one I should welcome for the protection of the independence of our court.
Kostya carries magic that selectively neutralizes any other magic around him. This is an incredible power to have, and I’m the only person outside his family to know about it. His grandmother trusted me with this secret, which they’ve killed many others to protect. I know because she told me, and because it is a subtle threat, one I wasn’t supposed to pick up on.
But the commander has taught me many things, one of which is the ways aristocrats speak their threats. One never knows when they’re threatening you at all.
I rub my arms.
Kostya shrugs off his jacket and places it over my shoulders.
“Thank you.”
He’s attentive and polite and handsome, with chestnut hair and hazel-green eyes. Beautiful features. Broad shoulders. A kind smile and pleasant demeanor. He really would make a fine king.
“My queen,” he says as he drops to one knee. “I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. I think about you all the time. Allow me to make you happy. I humbly ask for your hand in marriage.”
32
D’ARTARON
The guests are stirring, noticing that the queen is missing for longer than is appropriate. Some council members have made their way to the guards to ask where the queen has gone. Nobody answers because I instructed them not to. The truth is, nobody knows where she is.
When the guests start protesting, some even taking their leave, I intervene and announce that dinner may start and that the queen will join them when she’s good and ready. Rumors of Kostya servicing the queen have spread like bees in a wildflower meadow and make me wish I’d ended him instead of just sabotaging his attempts to court her.
If I harm an innocent male, a gentle male, by any account, I am no better than the Unseelie king who, in a fit of rage, destroyed both Unseelie courts and who has lived in seclusion for more decades than not.
I have trained too hard for far too long to lose my marbles now. Besides, the male is an unworthy opponent, and I’m not the kind of person who can kick puppies.
Still, I approach madness as I stand alone in the darkness provided by the lush trees blocking the light of the moon. The portal the couple went through remains hidden, and there’s nothing to do but wait as she spends her night with another male.
Jealousy claws at my heart, ripping a path down my gut.
Is this her way of getting back at me before I leave for the Summer Court? Already finding shelter in another male’s arms. That’s if she cared about me at all. She did, didn’t she? Perhaps she never did, and yet again, I was wrong about a female. Wouldn’t be the first time. I’ve misjudged females’ interest in me before. It’s one of the reasons my celibacy protected me all these years, and now that I’ve finally lowered my guard, the female I wished to spend time with, even if it’s a single night, appears uninterested.
I ought to just leave.
And yet I can’t. “Fuck,” I say to no one. I can’t leave because I must know she’s well. I must see her take a seat at the table. I must… I must know if she is mine as much as I am hers. A female who is truly mine, who loves me unconditionally, would not marry another.
Claudette announces that dancers will start the entertainment, even though they’re all supposed to wait for the queen. Claudette’s husband is engaging the guests, so at least I’m feeling better about the people who manage Chloe’s court. They’re capable and will protect her.
