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“If I die, everything will be made easier for my brother. A pity he can’t kill me outright, isn’t it? Any direct attack on me would lift my curse and return my throne to me.”
“The Empress offered you the deal first.”
“Yes, I know. And I refused. What an idiot I was, huh? To choose my brother’s life and happiness over the riches she offered. But he didn’t have such concerns. He accepted the riddle and happily let her put the curse on me, freeing the throne for himself.”
“But she—”
“She must be happy, too, having such a stupid pawn in her hands. A Fae as selfish as she is. They’d make a great couple. Though I doubt she has any such plans.”
“Majesty…” Idrug bows. “I will convey your concerns to your brother. I am sure he will be very interested to know what is weighing on your mind.”
“Fuck. Go away.”
“Sire. About the healer—”
“Fuck you!”
“I see. I will tell your brother that you’re not interested in a healer.” With another bow, he hurries away, his hunched figure vanishing among the trees.
I rub a hand over my face.
Then I jump back into the lake and swim faster than I have in days, racing away from my own humiliation, as if distance will lessen it.
Pathetic. It’s damn pathetic that I’m talking to my brother’s spy. I’ve stooped so low… because it’s lonely here. Fucking damn lonely and my own mind is bad company.
When Idrug’s presence becomes a relief, that means that my hopes have hit rock bottom.
Nobody wants to save me in this world or the other. The one girl who made me smile said she’s never coming back, and I believe her.
6
SELINA
Prince Iason is seated in the Portraits Parlor together with his family.
Fingering the—now polished—pendant at my neck, I watch from behind the door as the maids pass with sweet tea and cheese scones. It’s an informal visit and he’s only here with his sister and his father. He hasn’t asked for an audience with the King and the Queen.
He’s here on private business.
He’s here for me.
“Ready?” my mother says, taking my arm. “Here we go.”
“Ready,” I whisper, though I’m not.
Since my mind was all over the place last night after my return from the haunted woods and definitely not on today’s reunion—a situation that hasn’t improved today, my thoughts stuck on that clearing and the lake, on the handsome merman—I grabbed the pink gown that Lily had talked about, put on matching slippers and had my hair braided and pinned like a garland around my head.
The hem of my gown brushes the floor when I curtsy in front of the seated family, my gaze firmly fixed on the thick carpet. My cheeks don’t feel hot. My eyes do, for reasons I can’t fully explain not even to myself.
“You don’t really like him but you think he’s a good catch. You don’t want to kiss him and you’re worried that you liked kissing me way too much.”
What am I doing? What am I doing here? My breathing is too fast. My heart is racing. I can’t do this. I shouldn’t do this.
“Welcome back to Kyrene,” my mother says and I realize I’ve stayed in my curtsy too long. “You remember of course my dear daughter Selina.”
“Oh, she is so charming,” Iason’s sister says, but the look she shoots me as I straighten is a little narrow. “My brother thinks so, too, right, Iason?”
“Yes. Of course.” There he is, sitting so straight in his chair, hands flat on his knees, blond hair combed back. His frock is a somber black, his shirt a crisp white. No flourishes, no extravagance. A prudent prince, a serious young aristocrat, his face clean and pleasing, his smile tight. “How are you, princess Selina?”
