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I turned away moodily, not wanting to hear that suggestion. “Stop calling me little. I haven’t been smaller than you since I was twelve.”
Allera chuckled even as she hugged me from behind, soaking my shirt with her silent tears. “I know how difficult this is for you.”
Dammit. Her tears were what undid me. Agony roared through my chest. Covering her hand with mine, I lifted my face toward the ceiling and squeezed my eyes closed.
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“But you’ll stay away, right?” Letting go of me so she could force me around to face her, she sent me a fond smile. “Tell me you’ll trust me to get the information you want. It’s in the best interest for all of us that you do nothing.”
My jaw hardened, but after a moment, I turned away and nodded. “I’ll stand aside,” I said. “For now.”
“Thank you.” Allera rose onto her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “I won’t let you down, I promise. Besides.” She flashed me a mischievous grin. “This will help me keep my mind off the fact I’m going to be marrying someone who isn’t Jazon soon.”
I nodded, always a little saddened when I heard his name aloud. Jazon might’ve been her one true love, but he’d been my best friend. It had ripped us both apart when we’d lost him. Which was one of the reasons why I’d never been able to tell her the full truth about his death. I couldn’t lose her too.
Watching Allera walk to the door, I waited until she opened it before I said her name.
She glanced back with lifted eyebrows.
“I wasn’t paying attention during the introduction,” I admitted. “Did she… I mean, did anyone announce what her name was?”
Allera smiled. “Yes. The queen’s name is Yasmin. And her sister is Lady Vienne.”
“Vienne,” I whispered as Allera left, shutting the door behind her. My heart thudded hard against my rib cage.
My one true love was called Vienne.
Chapter 4
Vienne
“Oh, Vienne.” Princess Nicolette draped herself across the empty seat next to me and sighed wistfully. “Don’t you think Prince Urban is the dreamiest, most handsome man you’ve ever seen?” Tucking her hands beneath her cheek, she batted her lashes my way. “I certainly do.”
I furrowed my brow. Personally, I’d been thinking I was going to lose my mind if my back didn’t stop aching. I hadn’t been able to get comfortable in the last three weeks, no matter whether I was standing, sitting, or lying. So, yeah… No. Thinking about the attractiveness of princes from foreign lands hadn’t even registered with me.
“Hmm,” I answered, frowning when I messed up a stitch on the booties I was sewing and had to undo it. I shifted in my chair, relieving an ache in my spine only for my side to cramp. Drat. There had to be some comfortable way to arrange myself.
Nicolette was still waiting for an answer, so I distractedly said, “Yes, well… He didn’t seem disfigured from what I could tell.”
“Disfigured?” Nicolette screeched, sitting upright to gawk incredulously. It didn’t seem fair that no matter how she moved in her chair, she looked as comfortable as a baby kitten nestled in a bed of soft blankets. I kind of wanted to hate her for that.
“Why, he was beautiful. Simply breathtaking. You must not have gotten a good look at him.”
I trapped my tongue between my teeth, concentrating as I redid the stitches I’d just undone. “You’re probably right. You did get much closer than I did.”
Nicolette nodded, seemingly appeased, and fell back into her chair with ease. Lucky brat. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man more handsome than he. He was just so dashing and…and manly. Maybe when I’m of age, he and I can marry.” She reached for my arm and squeezed warmly. “You’d be my bridal attendant, of course.”
With a soft chuckle, I nodded. “That sounds delightful, Princess. I’d be honored.”
I’m not quite certain why she’d taken a liking to me. Yasmin was her true sister-in-law; I was merely a cousin-in-law. You’d think Nicolette would trail the queen around all day. But whenever Brentley—who was Nicolette’s first choice of companions—wasn’t available, the young princess seemed to prefer my company. I had to admit, it was flattering. But I always wondered, why me? I wasn’t anything special.
Or maybe it was because I wasn’t a big talker, which gave her leave to blurt whatever was on her mind… Which she did often. In random spurts. It was quite amusing. I typically loved listening to her, when I wasn’t in pain.
Or possibly, she appreciated the fact that I never corrected her. Yasmin was forever trying to persuade the princess to act with more decorum. She’d suggested to Caulder more than once that Nicolette be sent away to a boarding school where she could be tutored to be a true lady.
I winced, trying to forget the school my sister and I had attended as children. As dutiful then as I was now, I’d never been one to misbehave, yet I still couldn’t count the amount of times I’d gotten into trouble for standing wrong, or sitting wrong, or freaking breathing wrong. Once, I’d been woken in the middle of the night and beaten for sleeping wrong. True story.
Putting Nicolette in an academy like that would kill the most spirited, lovely part of her. The very idea made something deep inside me steam with anger. So I was pleased that my brother-in-law kept resisting Yasmin’s suggestions, and the king let Nicolette stay at the castle with us and be herself.
