Page 23 of The Stolen Crown

“Well,” Tobias whispered, “perhaps you won’t have everyone in the Ever falling in love with you.”

I shoved his shoulder. “I cannot help it if the king’s cousin is horrendous.”

“What did you do to the poor man?”

I shrugged. “I’m wholly befuddled, I assure you. The most I ever did was fall into a trance of that sea singer! All right, perhaps while I was bespelled, I touched Tait a bit too much.”

“Meaning?”

“Lust, Tobias!” I tossed my hands up. “Sea singers draw out lust. He is a man, he stood next to me, and lust took over.”

I did not expound that Celine Tidecaller told me sea singers also exposed the true desires of a heart.

Tobias hummed. “Doesn’t seem like a true crime. Anything else you can think of?”

“I had the audacity to ask him to dance when we returned to the Crimson Fort.” I folded my arms across my chest in a huff. “It was not as if I planned to force him. Gods, I was trying to sow peace and goodwill and other such nonsense.”

Tobias raised his thick brows. “Could his disregard be because he prefers men?”

My breath caught. “I…I don’t know.”

“I could ask him for a dance to find out.”

“Do you really need another lover?”

“I can bleeding well try.” He rolled his eyes when my lips parted. “Mira, I’m jesting. I will go ask for your sake. That way you’ll know.”

A small smile carved over my lips. I patted Tobias’s cheek. “What a true friend you are, but don’t lie, Tobias. You’re as curious as I am.”

“Only a little.” Tobias returned the drinking horn to the small table and dragged his hands through his hair, slicking it back, preparing to approach the sea fae group.

Did his thought have merit? Was Tait’s disdain for me fashioned because he did not desire a woman?

Tait seemed rather averse to folk in general.

Never had I seen Heartwalker speak sweetly to a man or woman, not really. He did not dance, did not laugh. He was a gloomy presence, always keeping watch on those he considered important.

“Here I go.” Tobias gripped my elbow, flashing a boyish smirk.

There was a bit of tension in my chest, a bit of envy, but it was better to know if my unwanted intrigue with Tait Heartwalker was misplaced. “Best of luck, you rake.”

Tobias flicked my ear and was soon buried amidst the crowd.

I hugged my middle and slunk back against the wall, silently hoping no one would speak to me while I watched my friend carve his way through the endless couples.

My father sat casually on his throne, his chin propped with the curve of his fist, a pulse of tension in his jaw as he greeted the newcomers. I snorted a laugh. He would never be the first to stop intimidating Tait. No mistake, my father found a bit of a game in unsettling Erik Bloodsinger’s cousin.

My mother was different. Soft-spoken, reserved in some ways. Still, Saga Sekundär was regal and formidable. She’d lived the longest of all the sitting royals, endured agonizing pain in her lifetime, and yet loved fiercely.

Her smile was genuine and kind. It was as though none of the sea fae men before her had lifted a blade against us during the war.

After greetings were relayed, the Ever Crew drifted through the crowd, most of the men aiming toward the long banquet tables to stock golden plates with smoked herring, honey rolls, and a few sugared berries.

I could not look away from where Tait stood frowning against the opposite wall. Tobias approached. My friend smoothed his palms down his doublet, hesitated for half a breath, then tapped Heartwalker on the shoulder.

I didn’t breathe, didn’t blink.

Tobias’s smile began wide and bright. Tait tilted his head. His arms folded over his chest as though unknowingly creating a shield around himself. With a curl to his lip, Tait shook his head. Tobias took a step back, hand to his chest, chin dipped before he faded back into the crowd.