That’s what the text message must’ve been about. “It’s abysmal,” I told her with a sigh. “I can’t find a thing worthy of her love.”
“Hm.” Miroslava mused with a knowing eye. “Come with me.”
She led me to a beautiful room in the mansion. Inside were dozens of glass cases, containing jewels that had been passed down through the Slasky family for generations.
Miroslava took a key out of her pocket, and opened the case. She brought out a white gold ring in a small black box. A six carat stone sapphire with rounded edges was suspended on the ring’s middle, surrounded by pear-shaped diamonds. Smaller diamonds decorated the outside of the ring all the way around. The large sapphire was similar to the one in Emma’s sword.
“This was my mother’s ring. The ring of Queen Regina, the bride of King Benevir.” Miroslava pressed the box into my hand. “Emma deserves a ring fitting of a queen. I wish for her to have it.”
A shiver crept over my body, leaving me still. I was all but certain Stefan and his family had planned this, and had been merely waiting for the right moment.
I couldn’t say yes. Besides being a priceless family heirloom, this ring was worth tens of thousands, and by all means, was a part of history in the royal families of Malovia. It was more than I deserved.
“I cannot accept this gift. Something like this should stay in the family,” I insisted.
“Youareour family, Ethan. You know that Jonathan and I consider you a son,” Miroslava said kindly. “Besides… I think we both know what Stefan is planning, and this ring hardly suits Irena’s tastes. Yet it will look splendid on your mate’s hand. I am sure of it.”
“But—”
“To refuse again would be to insult me.” Miroslava enclosed my fingers over the box. “Take it, Ethan.”
A warm glow spread over my body, and I said, “Thank you. This means more to me than you’ll ever know.”
“You can thank me by making Emma a happy bride,” Miroslava said, before her voice dropped sadly. “The gods know she needs a little happiness in her life.”
When I returned to the dining room with the little black box in my hand, everyone crowded around me. The girlsoohedwhen I opened the box, and Theo and Alexei’s eyes widened.
“Gee! That’s a huge ring!” Odette gasped, putting a few fingers over her mouth.
“How do you expect her to raise her hand with that thing? It’s enormous!” Delmare burst.
“It’s just right,” Kiara insisted. “Emma will love it.”
Stefan wiggled his eyebrows. “It’s impeccable, am I right?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He didn’t need to show off.
The consensus was that the ring was perfect. I thanked Miroslava again, and we headed back to the university. When we entered the Rec Room, I saw that Arthur was back, cuddled up on one of the couches with Vara.
I decided not to waste any time. We didn’t need her family’s approval, but it was nice to have it. If we were joining families, I wanted to be sure our relationship was welcome. I thought about asking her mother for Emma’s hand, but Evonna was a… complicated individual. Arthur seemed like a much better choice.
“Can you girls find Emma and distract her for a second? I need to speak with Arthur,” I told them.
Delmare rolled her eyes. “Really,Ethan? Way to stick it to the patriarchy.”
“We’ll do it,” Kiara said enthusiastically. “Come on, girls.”
They bustled off. I approached Arthur and said, “Hey. Do you have a moment?”
“Uh… sure?” He untangled himself from Vara, and followed me into an abandoned hallway.
I ducked around the corner, to make sure Emma wasn’t anywhere nearby, before I said, “You know I adore your sister. She is, admittedly, the love of my life. And I think it’s time that we take the next step in our relationship. Do you approve?”
“Are you asking me if you can have my blessing to marry Emma?” He grinned.
“In a way,” I admitted. “And between you and me, I’d prefer if we kept this quiet, because we both know how Emma would react if she found out.”
“She’d say I was selling her off to you like a cow.” Arthur’s lips twitched.
