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He disappeared toward the back corner of the temple, leaving me alone. I sat on a long bench in the back and took a few deep breaths. In a few short weeks, this temple was going to be filled with fae to bless our kingdom and all of its Lords until the next eclipse like this in a millennium. I liked the idea of that. But I hated the idea of my family being here for that long in the guest accommodations being arranged just for them. They were easier to deal with at a distance.
I sat in the temple for another ten minutes before I had to head back to the palace. Arden was going to be back from work soon, and I wanted to see her. I needed to talk to her about all of this before she was blindsided by it all.
I suppressed a smile as I headed back toward Jagger’s quarters, which Arden had moved into. What was my family going to think when they met Arden? She wasn’t from a high-ranking family, which was bad enough in their eyes. But she was also far from the quiet, submissive woman they’d expect me to end up with. They weren’t prepared for her, and I was scared that she wasn’t prepared for them, either. At least I could warn her ahead of time. I’d protect her, regardless. No one was going to make her feel unwelcome.
Just before I stepped inside, my phone rang in my pocket. It was my cousin Elias, the last person I wanted to speak to. Not just now—any time. And he rarely wanted anything to do with me. We even went so far as to communicate exclusively through aides when dealing with the small territory he ruled. But putting off the call was only going to make things worse.
“Hello, Elias,” I said, leaning against the wall of the building.
“Lex.” Elias paused. “Sorry, Your Highness.”
I snorted. The words came out like they cut his throat on the way up.
“What do you need?” I asked.
“I had a question about this festival,” Elias said. “What will the accommodations be like?”
“What do you expect? A cave?” I checked my watch. “We’re having all three Royal families staying on the palace grounds. Why would we put them into anything less than the best?”
He blew out a breath. “I just wanted to make sure. I also wanted to ensure that security will be tight.”
“What’s the point of you calling and asking me about all of these basic things, Elias?” I demanded, pushing myself off the wall.
I knew why. He craved the power I had. Even though he had the title of Lord, it was mostly symbolic. All he had was this. He liked to needle me with minor issues like this, nitpicking everything to death. It was the only thing he could do to get at me, honestly. He was strong, but I was more powerful than my entire family combined. Nothing he or any other members of my family could do truly undercut me.
“I just want to make sure everything is to my liking. This event is a big deal,” he said.
“Your opinion does not matter, cousin. Everything is tomyliking. It’s all taken care of. As it always is. Goodbye, Elias.”
I hung up on him before he came back at me with more bullshit. I definitely needed to see Arden now. The most we could do was hug and cuddle, but nothing sounded better while I was in this kind of mood.
I made it up to Jagger’s quarters and let myself in.
“Kitten? You back?” I called out.
“Yeah!” Arden peered out of the door of the bathroom, her toothbrush in her mouth. She disappeared again, the water coming on, then came back. “Hey.”
“Hey.” I opened my arms for her, and she tucked herself against me. I wrapped my arms around her, inhaling her clean scent, tinged with mint. “How was your day?”
“Not bad. Chad started selling this caramelized onion quiche at Muddy Mugs, and I scarfed down a piece before I came home. Delicious, but I definitely needed to brush my teeth.” She lifted her head from my chest, her brows furrowing when she took in my expression. “Was your day okay? You don’t look okay.”
“It’s been stressful. Come over here.” I took her hand and led her to the couch. Once we were both seated, we fell into our regular position—my arm around her, her legs curled up on the couch, her body pressed against mine as much as possible. Her scent was a balm on the irritation buzzing inside of me.
“What’s going on?” Arden asked, running her hand along my stubble.
“We haven’t done the formal announcement yet, but there’s a two-week-long event before the eclipse coming up.”
“Oh, really?” She tilted her head to the side. “I didn’t know there was one coming up.”
“It’s lesser known, probably because it rarely happens. It’s going to take up a lot of your time, unfortunately.” I ran my fingers through her ponytail. “Can you take a leave of absence from work or something?”
“Yeah, I guess. I’ve worked for Chad for a long time, and he’ll make it work,” she said. “What’s going to happen at this festival?”
“The three Royal families are coming to stay for the festivities.” I let out a breath. “And our families are complicated. Especially mine.”
She frowned. “Complicated how?” I smoothed the crease from her brow with my thumb.
“Jagger and Flint have their own issues, which they can get into. I don’t want to speak for them,” I said. “But my family hates me. Or at least they’re annoyed by me.”
