Tavia twirled back to a very perplexed looking Tyrell.
“YOU LOVE HER! AAAAAHHH!”Tavia danced up and down on her toes.
At once, Lia’s heart started to pound in a vain attempt to keep all the blood in her body from rushing to her cheeks. She snapped her gaze to Tyrell, he caught her glance for a moment and matched her color before looking away.
“If only you knew, my Lord!” The princess grinned at Tyrell. “She’s been in love with you since you were both knee high.”
“I have?” Lia’s words were barely audible, but Tavia caught them.
“Oh spare me, Lia,” Tavia rolled her eyes. “Every day since you could talk, you said ‘Marry Lord Tyrell princess, he’s so handsome, he’s so perfect! Prince Ian? A miserable ugly wretch beside the beautiful LLOOORRRDD TTTYYRREELLL!’”
Lia felt Tyrell’s eyes on her suddenly, but she kept her gaze on the floor.
“You couldn’t love him because he was noble,” Tavia exclaimed, marching up to Lia. “. . . but, well, a noble can love anyone he wants. SoIdecided to makehimfall in love withyouinstead.” She grinned triumphantly.
A long moment passed as the princess waited for Tyrell and Lia to recognize her brilliance. After an awkward silence, the princess seemed to realize that the only thing she was getting from her two victims were mortified stares. She straightened up for another try.
“The honorable Sir Tyrell,” she gave him a mocking bow, “needed a damsel to defend, so I made you a damsel. That’s why I dismissed you.”
“You . . . dismissed me . . . so he would love me?” Lia choked.
“Well,” Julian interjected. “She was also just a little bit angry.”
“Of course I was,” Tavia snapped. “You ruined my kiss, Lia! IN THE RAIN.”
“And don’t forget the gossip. And the harassment,” Julian reminded.
Tavia waved him off. “But I am nothing if not resourceful, Lia. I put my anger to good use for you.”
Lia had never experienced such an avalanche of emotions. She could see how Princess Tavia,being Tavia, would see such manipulation as a heroic act of kindness but . . . Well, Lia felt nothing but humiliated and used.
For a moment, she just stood there staring beat-faced at the floor. Then, without thinking, she buried her head in her hands and fled.
The last thing she heard as she raced away down the hallway was an irritated sigh from Tavia followed by, “I thought she’d be so happy.”
19. The Storm Awakens
The warm night wind sent Lia’s hair dancing around her head, but the whipping strands never touched her face. This was because her face was buried in her knees. In trying to outrun a tsunami of humiliation, she had somehow ended up escaping Salamar manor through a back door and now found herself curled into a defensive ball at the top of a cliff overlooking the sea.
She could, just barely, over the crash of the waves and the rush of the wind, hear Carmilla’s haunting song floating up from somewhere in the bay.
Although she hoped the great sea beast would remain her only companion, the soft thump of footsteps on the grass behind her indicated otherwise. Maybe if she stood very, very still, whoever it was wouldn’t notice her.
“Hello,” came Tyrell’s voice from over her shoulder.
Lia swore under her breath.
“Don’t look at me,” she squeaked, tightening still more.
“I won’t,” Tyrell answered. “I, um, just wanted to give you something.”
She heard a shuffling as he took a seat on the grass beside her and waited for her answer. She had no intention of providing one. Every time she tried opening her mouth, she froze.
“Um, how about this,” Tyrell suggested. “I will look away, and then you can take it.”
A tiny, stifled laugh, managed to break through Lia’s mortification. She nodded.
“Alright, I’m not looking,” Tyrell said.
