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“I wish you would stay and see this through.” She shook her head, sadly.
I risked one last glance at Lina and Lark, still twirling in each other’s arms and locked in some kind of serious conversation.I know that if there is one thing in the world I’m not capable of, it’s seeing another moment of this.
“It’s really better if I go.” With that, I gave her a short, respectful bow, and walked out of the room with as much dignity as I could muster.
It was better this way.
53
Lina
Lark spun me in a slow circle as we kept pace with the other dancers on the floor. I was still reeling from what Edrich said. It didn’t explain why he had left that morning, but at least I knew why he hadn’t come back.
“I can see that when I asked if there was anything between you two, perhaps the answer was more complicated,” he whispered, once I was facing him again.
I smiled up at him sadly.
“I’m sorry. Would you believe me if I told you that I didn’t exactly know either? Not until last night, at least.”
Lark chuckled under his breath and looked over at Aster and Edrich on the dance floor.
“I haven’t known you long, but for some reason, I don’t find that difficult to believe, at all.”
“You’re not… upset, then?” I hedged, afraid of what turning him down might make his family think of me.
The song ended, and we stopped moving. Lark held my hands and looked me in the eye with a sincerity that was almost overwhelming.
“Not at all. Not ever, Lina. I meant what I said about your arrival. I think it would do the kingdom a lot of good for us to work together. But I would never make you stay. I would never ask you to sacrifice your happiness for a people you have only just met, and there are more ways to show an alliance than marriage.” He pressed a gentle kiss to my knuckles and dipped his head. “I cannot speak for everyone, but as far as I am concerned, you are Ixia and this is your home, too. You don’t need to be married to me to have a place in our family.”
Tears stung my eyes at his kind words, and I gave him a small curtsy.
“Thank you,” I told him sincerely, as I raised up on my tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. “Truly, thank you. I do still want to be a part of your family. I want to be your friend. But I gave my heart away a long time ago, and even if nothing comes of it, I wouldn’t have felt right pretending otherwise.”
He smiled and nodded.
“Do you know who you’ll choose?” I asked.
“I have a fairly good idea… but I’m not sure it will be easy to get to her.” He laughed and pointed behind me.
I turned around and was abruptly faced with a myriad of fairy women flocking toward the prince, shooting daggers at me with their sparkling eyes.
They were stunning, each in their own unique way.
But also, terrifying…
A few flashed hints of ruby under their skin as they looked me up and down, their irritation evident at my closeness to the man they were trying to woo.
I tried not to cringe as I took in others who displayed deep shades of purple skin as they stared at Lark. Knowing what triggered that color in me and knowing how they’d all been trained to control that better, it was easy to see that they were practically inviting the prince to strip them naked right here in the ballroom.
Gross.
Aster had been right. It was overwhelming to look at all of their emotions this way. My thoughts must’ve drawn her closer, because the next face I made out in the crowd was hers. She was looking back and forth between me and the door with a sadness in her eyes where I was now used to seeing mischief.
I made my way over to her and my heart immediately sank.
“Where’s Edrich?” I asked, glancing around the room for him.
Her brows furrowed.
