Regardless, my heart began to race, and to cover it up, I grinned again and made myself act as though nothing was amiss. “Have you known the other warriors long?”
Instead of answering, Royden walked even closer to me, and his nostrils flared almost undetectably, but since I’d gone on hyperawareness due to his odd question, I didn’t miss it.
A groove appeared between his eyes. “I’ve known many of them for full seasons.”
“How lovely.” I put distance between us and acted as though I was simply joining my lady’s attendant again.
Ahead, Betsee called cheerfully, “Just around this bend, Your Highness, and we shall be there.”
“Wonderful!” I sashayed toward her, trying as hard as I could not to waft any more of my scent toward the warrior, because truth be told, I had no idea what kind of magic Royden possessed. For all I knew, he was a fairy from Ironcrest and held scent sensory magic. In which case, it wouldn’t matter if an entire wing separated us. If any of my scent blew toward him, he would be able to detect it.
Oh stars.
Suddenly, I wished I’d taken Betsee up on her offer to bathe. But as luck would have it, it was too late to turn back now. Two large double doors waited at the end of the hall. They weren’t as extravagant as the doors leading to the ballroom last night, but they were close to it, and I had a good idea what waited behind them.
More family, more judgment, and more questions were likely to come in the next hour.
I would have to be careful not to sit too closely to anyone. I had no idea what kind of magic my extended family possessed, and if Kole’s scentdidlinger on me, it was best not to alert anyone else to that fact.
When Betsee reached the double doors, the two guards stationed at their sides opened them seamlessly, and I followed her inside. Similar to what she’d done at the first supper with my family, she immediately swept herself to the side and bowed. “May I present, Princess Primelle.”
I paused at the threshold. Seated before me in the large opulent room were my parents, Lillith, Koraline, the male who I guessed was Neb Deerwood but hadn’t been introduced to yet, three older adult males—one of whom looked identical to myfather—two older adult females, and five other adult fae that appeared younger, so I guessed they were my cousins.
“Darling, it’s so good of you to join us.” Before I could utter a sound, my mother was out of her seat and hurrying to my side. “It was quite an awful turn of events last night, so I’m afraid we weren’t able to make all of the introductions we’d hoped to, but this morning we plan to set that right.” She gestured to the empty chair beside the sofa she and my father sat on.Excellent, I wasn’t to be seated too closely to anyone.“Please, come join us.”
All eyes fell on me, and Royden went to the wall to stand stoically. His strange inhalations in the hallway fell to the back of my mind as I beheld my extended blood family.
Smile plastered to my face, I followed my mother.
When I passed Lillith, I did a quick once-over on her, and she met my gaze just as readily. She didn’t say anything, but a small smile curved her lips. Koraline instantly gave her a sharp look, but I returned the friendly greeting and asked quietly, “Are you all right?”
Lillith dipped her head. “I am. Are you?”
I nodded hastily. It was the most either of us could say before I was seated in a high wing-back chair as though I was a doll on display. Like me, all of those present were dressed in comfortable attire, nothing like the extravagant dress code of the previous night, but it didn’t appear that anyone had slept well.
Despite Lillith’s comment that she was fine, dark circles lined her eyes, and my father’s eyes drooped, as if he’d been up most of the night too and was fighting to stay awake. My mother, however, was one hundred percent nervous energy, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d had one too many cups of coffee or tea upon waking.
My mother gestured to the fae sitting at my right. “Primelle, may we present the rest of our family. On your father’s side, we have his twin brother, Arnel, and their younger brother,Leopold, Leopold’s wife, Crisillin, and their son and your cousin, Darius.”
Arnel was a near replica of my father. However, he had a small mustache, making it easy to tell them apart. Leopold, while not identical to his two older brothers, was also blond and appeared to be around four or five hundred summers old. And the female with reddish-blond hair and brown eyes, my aunt by marriage, seemed of similar age. Darius looked around my age, though, and like his parents, was also fair.
“Princess Primelle, it’s been too long.” Leopold canted his head.
My father’s twin, Arnel, smiled in a friendly manner. “The last time I saw you, you were toddling around these halls.”
Crisillin plastered on a stiff smile, and her reddish-blond hair glinted in the fairy lights. “I’m afraid we’ve never met before.” She eyed my cuff, and I wondered if she already knew it was a farce. As Nathaniel had tried to discreetly warn me the previous night, that fact had likely spread. “Darius hasn’t met you before either.”
Darius rolled his eyes and said in a nasally tone, “Of course we’ve never met her before, Mother. Since Father made you pregnant with me several summersafterPrimelle was sent away, she was never around when your forced marriage occurred.” My cousin’s comments held a ring of insolence. “The gods know that we wouldn’t even be a part of this family if Father hadn’t bred with you. He certainly didn’t marry you for love.”
My eyes widened, and Crisillin gave him a sharp look. Her smile grew even more brittle, and a blush bloomed across her cheeks.
I rolled the cuff on my wrist absentmindedly and tried to ignore the fear in her aura that was quickly giving way to irritation.
My father cleared his throat. “Darius, none of that today.”
Darius sighed. “A thousand apologies, King Russem. I shall endeavor not to speak of my father and mother’s torrid affairs in the company of family again.”
Leopold shook his head and gave his son an angry glare, but Darius’s comment and the fact that Crisillin and my uncle Leopold sat on opposite ends of the couch, not touching, did make me wonder if theirs was a happy marriage, or if their union had taken place only to avoid a royal scandal.
