“How … understated.” Lady Webworm—a noblewoman with sleek silver hair and grey antennae—stares, her jaw spilled open. Transformation like this isn’t in fashion, and no one seems to know where to look, so she gawks shamelessly with a hunger in her eyes I am no stranger to.
“That is the general consensus,” Holly mutters with a grimace she doesn’t botherto hide.
“And how did you come to meet the prince?” King Magnus asks, straightening his posture. In appearance, he seems a similar age to Moth—mid- to late-twenties, and while not as devastatingly handsome, he’s good-looking with violet eyes, and long red hair that he wears pulled away fromhis face.
“Oh, we just fell into each other’s lives,” I say, casually eating something that looks kind of like a sliced apple but tastes like the lovechild of a peach and strawberry. I close my eyes, hoping the sweetness of the fruit will distract me from the awkward energy building in this dining room. One of my top tips after all my years of networking events? People like this love talking about themselves.
“And you?” I beam, turning to the rest of the table as an attempt to get the attention off Moth. “I’d love to hear more about the lovely company I’m dining with thisevening.”
Lady Webworm is excited to tell us about the prosperous gemstone mines this season. She and her friends carry the entire conversation like a group recording a podcast for the first time; as much as I want to piece together what life looks like outside the castle walls, I can’t follow anything except that crystal seems to be a really big deal here.
“Real genuine crystal, unlike what the villagers are hawking at the night markets.” Lady Webworm scoffs—and god it’s hard not to roll my eyes at how pretentious she sounds.
“I have yet to have anything counterfeit reported,” Holly responds coolly. “Just because they are crafting cheaper options to adorn themselves with does not mean they are doing anything wrong.”
“Totally,” I pipe in when I know I shouldn’t. “I mean, I love costume jewelry, and the markets are honestly the cutest. Some friends and I went out shopping today, and may I just say, Your Highness, the village is lovely.” I hope the compliment will lightenthe mood.
“A lady like you deserves the finest jewels.” The vampire king—what’s his name?—says, andno thank you. Oh, absolutely not. I have enough going on without king of the vampires flirting with me. But I smile politely before stealing a glanceat Moth.
“I prefer a field offlowers—”
From across the dinner table, he catches my eye for just a moment. That’s all it takes for my heart to beat out of my chest; even in this form, I just can’t take my eyes off of him. More than that, I can’t focus on all the bends and flows of the conversation.
“Even so, you would never catch someone wearing such a thing in these grand halls…” Lady Webworm scoffs, inching closer to Moth. “Don’t you agree, myprince?”
“Considering most villagers will be present, you may wish to rethink that statement.” Moth’s deep voice rumbles through the dining room, causing everyone to glance in hisdirection.
“They will?” Queen Plume’s eyes widen for a moment before her expression goes blank.
Shit. Shit. Shit. No one toldthe queen.
“Oh yeah, I thought I mentioned that. We kind of invited the entire village,” I say, giving Queen Plume an apologetic smile. Except it feels like I might as well be flashing her a cheeky grin and saying “sorry, not sorry” by the worry creasingher brow.
“I would expect nothing less of my son.” Queen Plume exhales with the energy of a mother who just discovered their child came home with another snack in their pocket—weary, yet unsurprised. I wonder if this is the radical futureking behavior Oak and Ruby were talking about. “We will discuss further arrangements after dinner.”
“Uh, the villagers are all veryexcited.”
After that huge conversational flub, I do my best to channel my inner influencer and bullshit my way through the night. But like everyone keeps reminding me, I know so little about this world, and it’s hard to keep up. Not only that, but it’s also taking all of my power to remember what comes out of my mouth. The conversation is hazy at best, but the smiles and nods from around the table and periodic bursts of laughter are the confirmation I need that I’m keeping up alright, even if I feel more lostthan ever.
Just when I’m worried I’m making an absolute fool of myself, Queen Plume gives me a nod of approval, which is exactly what I need to keepmy focus.
Two more days,I remind myself. I just need to power through for two more days, then I can take the most epic nap of my life.
Dinner moves at a snail’s pace, and when we are excused and away from the guests, Holly’s laugh catches me by surprise. “Well, you’ve certainly given Lady Webworm a blow tothe ego.”
“Who?” I ask, unable to place which name belongs to which noble. The whole conversation feels like a puzzle that’s been tossed onthe floor.
“A cutting reminder that not all pain comes froma sword.”
“Something tells me she’llsurvive.”
“Yes, how very unfortunate for us.”
Are we ... vibing right now? Huh, well, Mom always says the best way to make friends is to have a common enemy. Is it toxic? Yes. But if it scores me a few points with Holly, maybe that’s okay. A little mean girl behavior is worth a few more points with her.
“To the parlor?” she asks, and without looking back at Moth, I followher lead.
“It is not that they cannot come. Of course we can accommodate the entire village, but we shall need more food, refreshments…” Queen Plume says. Wow, maybe Moth should have thought before adding hundreds of people to the guest list, for his poor mother’s sake. Unbothered, he sits at the piano, and if we weren’t still fighting, I’d be taken by how cute he looks hulking over the instrument in his monstrous form—but that’s something I’m obviously not paying attention to.
