My heart sped up, and it didn’t help that Derrick, who had been quiet this whole time, was staring at our linked bracelets with intense focus. The man couldfeelit, probably. And I knew Elias could sense it, too, as he sat restlessly, eyes boring through me.
Wow, what’s taking Prince Winston so long? Anyway, I didn’t have a problem standing for long periods of time, if my fast-food worker experience was of any help to me.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Samuel grunted as he got up, grabbed my wrist and pulled me down with him on his couch. He didn’t seat me on his lap but placed me right next to him. “And here I thought you’re a very decisive woman.”
“I normally am, but I have a hard time with you lot,” I huffed, pouting, crossing my legs. “The future looks grim for me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Wasn’t it obvious? “I can’t justchoose,” I huffed again, leaning back.
Our room stayed silent after that — finally — until Winston entered the fake sitting room, smiling at the guy on his fake sitting couch.
“Your Highness,” Lord bastard greeted him, standing up and bowing. “Dinner was lovely. I’ve never hadskaibefore. Truly one of a kind.”
Getting transported to this universe was a very bizarre feeling, that even over a month later, there were still words and concepts my mind had trouble automatically translating. Things werea littleoff most of the time; for example, an apple here didn’t mean exactly what an apple would be inmyworld, but it was the closest thing to an apple to what my mind knew it to be.
Askaiwas some type of fancy meat from a native domesticated animal that looked like a furry cow. Thinking harder, I would maybe equate it to Wagyu beef, but I had also never eaten a Wagyu before because it was so dang expensive.
“He’s really peppering him up, huh,” Samuel mumbled, arm on the backrest behind me. “Even I hadn’t tasted a skai before.”
“You haven’t?”
“It’s usually only served at royal weddings,” he answered. “And there haven't been any recently, and presumably for a long time.”
Because Winston wasn’t interested in any marriage until this business with the Champions and the Demon Lord was finished.
“There are other Princes though,” I smiled, remembering my society lesson with Mia.
Samuel grimaced. “They’re fourteen and ten.”
Well,to be fair to me, I didn’t know their ages. My bad. I couldn’t admit that to him though, or he’d find it weird that I didn’t know anything about the royal family. A joke, then. “So it won’t be that long, and you’d have all the skai meat you could ever want.”
He only shook his head with a roll of his eyes and sat more comfortably, hand resting on my shoulder.
I had a stark realization as I watched Winston and the guy make small talk — Samuel, a huge hunk of a man, Captain of the Army and the Champions, was doing what was equivalent toputting on the movesin my world.To me!Complete with acting nonchalantly about it, too! I would’ve laughed if I didn’t enjoy the attention too much that I scooted closer, his hand on my shoulder tightening as I rested my body against his.
If he thought I would shy away from that, he thought wrong. Physical affection was my number one weakness. I was such a complete sucker for it, so much so that some people inmyworld took advantage of it. But that was neither here nor there.
Samuel swallowed thickly as I smirked to myself. I was winning.
“Onto our main business,” Winston caught my attention again. “Do you recall why I invited you over, Lord Compton?”
Compton.Still no memories.
The bastard, now known as Lord Compton, scoffed as he relaxed in his seat. “Right. The baron’s daughter. Havenglow, was it?”
Theodore tensed in his spot right next to the invisible barrier where this room separated from the other. One step, and it would easily reveal there was only an illusion of a wall. I didn’t think Theodore cared as knives appeared in each of his hands.
He held himself back, though. Good for him.
Winston similarly held his gentle smile. “Lady Beatrix Havenglow, yes.”
“Whore of a girl,” Lord Compton continued while a few of the men stood up; Theodore lifted an arm to signal them to stop whatever they were planning to do. Personally, I wasn’t offended — the bastard didn’t know me at all. “Prince, I had a report of her walking around half-naked in front of professors. Surely that’s cause for expulsion.”
What?When the hell did that happen?
“That day a fireball hit you,” Uriel reminded me of the memory, and informed the truth to the rest of the group. “That strange event where the fire only burned through your dress.”
