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I suddenly realized why my words upset him, and I grabbed his arm. “Your father would have never made sure I was safe,” I whispered. “You made sure I was taken care of and you told me the truth when I asked. You don’t just sound like a king, August. You sound like a good king. A good…husband.”
A big band started blasting music, but we locked eyes for a lingering moment. When the curtains were pulled open, we were still staring lovingly at one another, his eyes soft with adoration. My hand clutching his arm as I reveled in the comfort he offered. We ruminated in that moment as the crowd cheered and cameras flashed.
“Perfect!” Victoria hissed. “Keep looking like you love one another, and we might get through this.”
I blushed and finally released him, feeling bashful. And as August puffed out his chest to address the crowd, I realized this farce of a marriage might be real.
I watched as a member of the royal guard stared at the target. It was the last competition of the day, and I was on the edge of my seat, watching with bated breath as the man focused.
“You’re enjoying this,” August said with a smile.
The process of pretending to have fun was easier than I had anticipated. August had curtains installed in our suite, so I was unable to see the room next door where Lord Nathan was sitting, and the crowd was eager to watch the games. During the duels, August brought me chocolate and popcorn, and I watched with a sense of excitement, gasping when a guard fell. During the archery competition, people cheered when a man hit the bullseye, but no one screamed louder than I did.
Knife-throwing, however, was the most thrilling event.
His right leg was braced in front of him as he practiced his aim, his muscles flexing as he calmed his nerves.
“Think he’ll hit it?” August asked me playfully. The crowd started cheering louder and louder, their excitement growing like a roaring crescendo.
“He has good form, but the weight of the blade makes it difficult to cross the distance. He’ll need to account for that. And he looks incredibly strong, but it’s control that will send it to the target,” I said, thinking of my years of training.
August cocked his brow. “Maybe you should compete.”
I flashed him a glance before staring back at the arena below. “I’d embarrass all the king’s men.”
The guard threw the blade and sent it spiraling through the air. I held my breath as it struck the target, just millimeters away from the center.
The crowd cheered wildly. I huffed in disappointment.
“Why do you look so disappointed? He won,” August said.
“But he didn’t hit the center.” I waved my hand toward the arena and grumbled.
“The future queen demands perfection, hmm?” he asked, though I sensed a twinge of insecurity in his playful words.
I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Only with knife-throwing. Perfection is unattainable. I only expect happiness.”
My whispered words seemed to shock my king. He nodded once, then started staring at the men below, lost in thought.
“Time for the awards. Remember what I told you. Just put the medal around their neck and smile for the cameras,” Victoria said before holding her arm out, wordlessly telling me to get off my ass and follow her into the tunnel.
“Hurry back,” August said as I stood. “And don’t go fawning over those burly men.”
I laughed. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
Victoria gathered me up and Leo followed us down the tunnels to position me to hand out the medals. It took us a while to take the metal elevator down to the ground floor, but when I entered the sand floor of the arena, everyone cheered wildly.
“Are you ready?” Leo asked.
I peered at the crowd. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
As the announcer read my title to everyone, I walked down to the awards podium with my head held high.
“We are honored to have Lady Abernathy from the prestigious House of Rose, the future queen of Aldrich, present medals to the winners of our competition.”
Boos from a few crowd members caught my attention.
I struggled to trek toward the podium, the angry yells sporadically throughout the crowd catching me off guard. “Ignore them,” Leo said.
