Page 48 of Fate of the Sun King

Her coffers were empty. They all knew it, though she had been careful to downplay the direness of her circumstances.

“Call it an investment,” she said. “Once the Sleepness has been cured, you’ll all be granted new land and titles befitting the glory you’ve brought on Heart with your generosity.”

She held her breath as they all looked at one another, eyes meeting across the table. Several of them started talking at once, and her shoulders sagged as she fielded their questions and objections, willing herself not to cry. If her father were alive, he’d know what to do. But he’d died and left her alone with all this.

After what felt like a hundred years, the room again fell silent.

“I’m in,” said the first noble, and Amara could barely believe her eyes as she witnessed several more heads nodding in agreement. She wanted to jump up and shout for joy, but she kept her composure, standing up and raising her glass as more and more acquiesced until everyone around the table grumbled their reluctant assent.

“To Heart and our glorious future!” she said with a huge grin.

That’s when the man sitting at the end of the table dropped forward, his face landing in his soup. Everyone jumped, just as the man across from him also flopped over, his face crashing onto his plate.

Amara watched in horror, her mouth open in a soundless scream, as one by one, they all began to fall along each edge of the table like lemmings tumbling off the side of a cliff.

Her wine slipped from her fingers, exploding at her feet in a spray of glass and blood-red liquid.

And that’s when she screamed.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

LOR

HEART SETTLEMENTS: PRESENT DAY

After dinner is brought up, I settle next to the fire with Rhiannon as she regales me with tales of her childhood with Serce. Stories of them causing mischief and Serce’s bouts of independence and rebellion against her mother. I absorb it all like caked sand doused with drops of water. Or at least I’m trying to. My attention keeps diverting to Nadir, who’s sitting in the middle of the room talking to a female High Fae that’s shamelessly flirting with him.

What’s worse is he seems to be flirting back. From the corner of my eye, I watch as she touches his arm and then leaves it there. Like she’s claiming him, and how dare she? I definitely try not to notice how Nadir leans in and says something in a low voice that makes her laugh. He’s not supposed to make her laugh.

He’s the high-strung, broody Aurora Prince—he’s not supposed to be making anyone laugh.

Rhiannon’s soothing voice pierces the veil of my irate thoughts.

“Oh! And the time we stole an ancient faerie relic from the king’s collection—it was said anyone who held it would gain the power to see the future. We got into so much trouble!” She’s laughing, and I start laughing, though it sounds forced, and I feel terrible for ignoring her when she’s giving me her time. I shift in my seat, attempting to turn my back to Nadir. It doesn’t really work, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

“Tell me about it,” I say to Rhiannon, focusing back on her. Rhiannon continues talking as she works away at her knitting, her gaze periodically flicking up. It seems like this is cathartic for her, too, as she reminisces about the past with such fondness. As I continue listening, I try to picture my grandmother and Rhiannon, young and carefree, enjoying their lives.

The sky has grown dark outside, filling with stars, and it must be getting late. I wonder how Tristan and Mael are faring on their horses.

Once again, I’m distracted by Nadir, who’s still chatting with the same woman, and am I imagining that she’s moved even closer? He isn’t deterring her advances, and I grind my teeth. I remind myself that I was the one who told him it was over between us. That I wanted friendship and nothing more. I have no right to be angry. And yet, I’m pissed.

I focus on Rhiannon, trying to block him out. He’s not important. He’s no one. My magic tugs under my skin, pointing in his direction, reminding me that I can try to keep telling myself that, but I’m fooling no one.

A few minutes later, I notice Nadir approaching. Rhiannon stops talking, and he tips his head her way. “Thank you so much, Rhiannon. I’m sure Lor appreciates all this very much.”

I’m really not a fan of him speaking for me. I don’t acknowledge it, because he doesn’t know it yet, but I’m giving him the silent treatment right now.

“Lor, I’m going to take care of a few things. I’ll return in an hour and walk you back to the inn. Okay?”

I don’t answer him, annoyed in a way I don’t have a right to be. A few things to take care of? What, like taking that woman somewhere private and fucking her against a wall? That image twists a sharp pain in my chest, and I bury it away, piling it with a heap of indigestion.

“Lor?”

“Sure,” I say, conceding to single syllables purely out of necessity.

“Don’t leave here without me,” he says, giving me a look that suggests I’m going to be in for a world of trouble if I disobey his command.

“Fine.”