I hastened to cover my tracks. “I merely meant we had chosen each other.”
Her eyes dampened with sorrow. “Of course.”
She hadn’t brought up the Phantom once during this tournament, and she didn’t bring him up again now. I found it odd. Had she forgotten about him completely? Gods, I hoped so. I wanted her to love me, not him. He was a part of me I wished to hide from her forever.
But mating didn’t work that way. There weren’t supposed to be secrets between spouses. Especially not ones this big. But what other choice did I have?
Emma took a breath. “Right now… I want us to be more than friends, and see where it goes. Is that okay with you?”
Sadness stirred within my chest. We had made a commitment, yes, but she didn’t need to follow through with anything more than what the royal engagement demanded of her. She didn’t have to kiss me, or sleep with me, or evenlove meto rule as queen. At this point, we just had to work together.
If I truly wanted Emma, I was going to have to pursue her, and win over her heart. Just like a wolf on the hunt, I became excited by the challenge.
“That’s perfectly fine,” I said. “I for one am excited to see where this goes.”
A soft smile came across her lips. “Me, too, Ethan. Me too.”
I loved it when she said my name. It sounded like a song. I was being flowery, but so many emotions were coursing through me. It was like trying to hold back floodgates when all I wanted to do was let the doors open and have the water rush over me.
But if Emma wanted to start with a small glass… I’d stand back willingly and savor every drop.
The celebration tent was huge. It was more than a hundred feet long, and packed with guests. Lord Lucien and Lady Magdalina greeted us at the entrance. When we arrived, hundreds of Arcanea broke into loud cheers and claps. The tent was alight with warmth, decorations, and the smells of a gourmet feast.
Our court was waiting for us at the end of the tent. They sat at a long table covered with food and ale. Stefan was already half-drunk, and was composing awful ballads that he’d made up on the spot about me and Emma’s victory. Theo was pointedly attempting to ignore him. Delmare and Odette sent both of us feisty, pointed looks as we drew near, giggling like small girls.
Delmare smirked as we inched past. “You two need any condoms? I’ve got a box.” She snickered.
“Only if you and Stefan are done using them,” Emma said back fairly.
Delmare flushed pink. I’m pretty sure she’d have given us the finger if we weren’t surrounded by diplomats. Stefan was so buzzed he didn’t notice.
Emma and I took seats at the middle of the table. I noticed two members were missing as I counted heads. “Where’s Alexei?” I asked.
“He’s sick, unfortunately. Kiara’s tending to him,” Delmare said. “Emotions around the Contest were too high. He couldn’t handle it. But he and Kiara send you their congratulations.”
“We’ll have to celebrate together later!” Odette peeped. “All of us!”
I didn’t comment. I was sure Alexei was sick, but I had a feeling Kiara held back on coming for another reason. She probably didn’t think we deserved to win.
As the feast began, I noticed Lady Korva eyeing Emma and I with pure, undisguised hatred. It was clear how much she despised us for stealing the crown away from her son. If there was an assassination attempt, I’d pick her to be the first suspect.
“So how does this thing work?” Emma asked. “We won the Contest, so what next?”
“There’s a five month period after the King’s Contest has ended, for the Circle to give trials of competence to the newly elected king and queen,” I told her. “We’ll be coronated at the end of next semester.”
“You mean we have to go through more tests?” Emma turned green.
“They’re not hard. Mostly questions of intelligence and political matters. They merely want to ensure they’re not putting an idiot on the throne,” I told her. “The tests won’t be difficult to pass.”
Emma didn’t look convinced. It was then that a shadow fell over our table. It was Elijah. A heated darkness had come over his expression, smoldering with contempt. He was so jealous it was laughable. Glee flooded my veins as I observed his pouting exterior. He was such a child. The scar that I’d given him during the duel was slowly healing, but it’d be permanent.
“Congratulations,” he seethed. “You won the crown.”
“It was a good fight,” I said. “You should be proud of how you placed.”
Elijah rolled his eyes and made a disgusted noise. He couldn’t stand to be bothered with common decency. Second place wasn’t good enough for him.
Elijah’s beady eyes landed on Emma. His lip curled. “That was quite the performance. Seems you aren’t a helpless whelp after all.”
