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“Fine.” She turned away from him, and walked over to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. While she tried not to, she couldn’t help but hear the faint beat of wings as he left her balcony and flew back to his people.
When he returned, and she had no doubt he would, he’d have some major explaining to do.
Eight
She was still mad at Drey. She’d tried not to be, he probably was telling the truth about having to sort things out. But maybe he should have thought about that before letting her kiss him. She felt like a fool. And no one made her feel like a fool.
Wow, that sounded conceited. Even to herself.
And it wasn’t even quite what she meant. She just didn’t like feeling the way she was right now. Like her kiss had chased a man away. And not just any man, but one who was quite possibly her mate. It was seeming more and more likely with each moment that passed.
Aledwen sighed, and turned back to the book on elvish politics she was trying to read. She was conscious that her meeting with the ambassador from House Paige was coming up, and she didn’t want to seem completely clueless when he showed up.
While she was aware of the customs and Houses of his people, she wasn’t aware of the actual politics. Apparently, the way other political systems work wasn’t important enough to be a part of her education. She added it to the list of things she’d change when she was Queen.
It was probably time to start a list of things she wouldn’t change. It’d probably be shorter.
“Princess?” A vaguely familiar voice drew her attention to the door.
“Yes?” she asked, looking up and not being surprised to discover the
elf she was expecting standing in the doorway.
“I was wondering if you were ready for our meeting.” While on the surface, he seemed calm and collected, some kind of vibe he was giving off had her convinced he was nervous. Maybe there was something in the treaty that the fae wouldn’t like.
“Of course, why don’t you take a seat?” She gestured towards the chair on the other side of her table, and closed the book she was reading firmly, sliding it to the side.
“Thank you.”
He moved into the room and pulled out the chair so he could sit on it. He’d come with surprisingly little on him. Just a few sheets of parchment and a pen. It made her feel a little less under prepared. But only a little.
“That’s very dry reading you’ve got,” he said, nodding towards the book. It surprised her. She didn’t think he’d comment on it at all. Or that he’d be the one to open the meeting. Which was possibly unfair of her. She didn’t know him well enough to make judgments like that about him.
“I couldn’t very well come to a meeting unprepared,” she replied, surprised when he returned the smile she gave him. Despite herself, she found herself warming to him a little bit.
“I know how you feel. There’s nothing like being taken totally by surprise.”
“And yet, I suspect that’s exactly what you’re going to be doing within the next half hour,” she joked.
“I’ll try not to.”
Weirdly, she actually believed him. “Aledwen,” she said, holding out her hand.
“Not Princess?”
She shook her head. “I’d rather not, no.”
“Fane, then.” He took her hand in his, and something like magic felt like it was battering against her skin, causing a confused expression to flit across her face before she righted it again.
“Good to meet you properly, Fane.”
“You mean without your mother?” he asked with a fakely innocent look on his face. Aledwen’s jaw dropped. “Sorry, that was out of line,” he added hastily when he noticed her expression.
“It’s okay, I just didn’t expect you to be so blunt about it. Doesn’t make it untrue though.” She hated thinking her mother had created such an impression. And that this was the legacy she’d be inheriting.
“She’s a formidable woman.”
“Yes,” Aledwen admitted, not saying any more as she wanted to shut the conversation down. Without being rude, naturally.
