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I open my mouth to speak and close it, only able to shake my head, looking from Calian to the city and back again. The strangest feeling of loss rises up in my chest, making tears prick at my eyes. “I never would have survived if I knew a place this amazing was out here. If I knew this was waiting,” I say.
“But you did,” says Calian. “And now you’re stronger for it. Perhaps strong enough to be a Princess, even.”
I laugh. Even when I’m looking at the city--the city I know isn’t marked on any maps and a city that looks so out of place in our modern world that there’s only one reasonable conclusion to draw--even then, it doesn’t seem real. “I don’t think anyone has ever said I was strong.”
“They will,” says Calian. “I can see it in you, Princess. To suffer through so much, you are strong.”
“How do you know what I’ve been through?” I ask, pushing my hair back when the cool breeze takes it across my eyes, still unable to stop stealing glances of the city that sparkles ahead like something out of a dream.
“We’ve kept tabs on you. After all, the Prince had the right to pull out of the agreement at any time. He was checking in on his investment.”
A coldness sweeps through me that has nothing to do with the air. I clutch my arms around my stomach, watching Calian carefully now. “Investment?” I ask.
Calian stares blankly for a second and then clicks his tongue. “No, no, you misunderstand, Princess. I realize the term must seem cold from your perspective. You are an investment to Prince Titus because the marriage would be deemed illegitimate if he were ever to bed another woman. He has waited for you. Twenty-six years.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I’m supposed to marry a twenty-six-year-old virgin?” I ask.
“Women would kill for the honor,” says Calian. “But there will be time for more questions later. If we’re to have you presentable by morning, we need to get you inside the city now so the team can begin their work.”
“The team?” I ask, following him as he takes my arm and leads me down the long path toward the walls.
“Yes. The Burkewood's have assigned a team of personal servants to you. They will assist with everything from your makeup, selecting your wardrobe, and even cooking your meals. You will want for nothing, Princess.”
“What if I want a shorter walk?” I ask, grinning. “We parked pretty far from the city, didn’t we?”
Calian tilts his head in assent. “The city has a strict policy on motor vehicles. None are allowed within the walls. Some of the very wealthy do have… workarounds, but the Prince wanted you to experience the city the way it was meant to be experienced, rather than whisking you to the palace through an underground tunnel on your first visit.”
“I see,” I say. It’s odd to hear of this Prince. Even though part of me is still waiting for a camera crew to jump out and tell me I’ve been pranked, it’s so strange to think that someone might have spent so long thinking about me when I had no idea. I think back to all the years I suffered through my parents, my sisters, my “friends” at school, and even my teachers. All of that for what? Because these people in this perfect palace wanted me to build character?
Trying to hold on to anger right now is like trying to grab a handful of smoke. I know it’s there, but it’s impossible to grasp when I’m walking toward a place that might be the answer to my prayers.
We arrive at a main gate where two men in high collared coats ask us to stop while they grab an engraved metal disk Calian hands them. Their coats are the same style as the men I saw in the restaurant, but like Calian’s, they don’t look as expensive. Could one of those men have been the Prince? My heartbeat quickens at the idea. It’s possible. And it would explain why they were looking at me the way they were.
I catch myself messing with my hair self-consciously. What would men like that think of me, especially if they were looking at me as a future bride? Then again, Calian said the Prince has been keeping tabs on me for a long time, part of which was likely making sure I was… to his taste? It sounds so cold and strange.
I try to pull up an image of the two men, but I can only remember the distinct impression I had that one was a fiery man of intense passion and the other was cold and calculating. If one of them was the prince, I hope with all my might that it was the dark haired prince--the one who made me think of forest sunrises.
