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“It’s true. I believe that we’re mated. I feel it inside me and that it will come to fruition. You must accept it, Stralia, because it is the only way for us to move on—both of us.”
My head drew back, tears filling my eyes as she answered his proclamation with a deep kiss. Dizziness swept over me, and I stumbled forward, gasping as I fumbled to escape my own eyes.
How could I have been so blind? How could I have not seen that this was happening the whole time under my nose?
I couldn’t see the dimly lit hallways in front of my face, servants passing me by as the guards remained in my stead, at a healthy distance. They had no reason to know what I had witnessed, but it was only a matter of time before someone realized that I was falling apart at the seams and came to figure out what was going on.
I had to compose myself, but how? How could I after what I’d just seen?
“Miss, are you all right?”
Maywin appeared at my side, and I stared at her blankly. She reached for my arm, and I allowed her to take it, steadying me.
Think, Zephy.
I couldn’t return to the dinner. I couldn’t look at my parents, at Cade—if he showed up at all. Maybe he would leave with Stralia right then and there. My knees shook violently.
“Miss Zephyrine! What’s wrong?!” The alarm in Maywin’s voice snapped me back to reality. I had to get out of public view.
“I don’t feel well,” I told her, breathing heavily. “I need to lie down a moment.”
Maywin’s eyes widened. “Everyone is waiting in the grand ballroom.”
“Everyone can wait a moment longer, Maywin,” I told her firmly. “They’re already waiting on the King, aren’t they?”
Maywin simply stared at me.
“Come back to my room with me.”
“As… as you wish, miss.”
She turned to Jasper, who stood nearby, waiting for my next move, and informed him that we would be along momentarily, filing me back to the temporary suite adjacent to my parents’ room for the night.
I collapsed almost immediately onto the bed, and Maywin rushed to my side with a glass of water from the bathroom. “What is it?”
I shook my head, unable to tell her or anyone else, my humiliation paramount. How could I tell her that I’d been so willfully blind to their relationship? It was too shameful to explain to anyone, even my closest confidant.
I’ve been standing in their way. Cade has always wanted to be with Stralia and has done his best to love me, but his heart truly belongs to her. This isn’t anyone’s fault but our ancestors’, who thrust this damned oath on us.
I couldn’t fault him for how he felt. My heart was broken, but the blame wasn’t his or hers. They had a long history, one that I had only disrupted with my arrival.
“What can I do?” Maywin begged me. “The King will be concerned about you, not to mention your parents.”
The mere thought of looking Cade in the face after what I had just witnessed made my stomach twist and turn in ways I couldn’t get under control.
“No!” I gasped, sitting up, another swirl of wooziness overcoming me. “You…”
I pursed my lips and shook my head. “You… you need to go and buy me some time. I can’t have anyone come searching for me, not yet.”
Maywin stared at me in utter confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“I—I just need to collect myself,” I said, thinking quickly. “It’s all too much excitement. If you can offer me half an hour or an hour, I should be fine. But you must think of something to keep anyone from looking in on me. Maywin, I’m trusting you to do this. I don’t want to embarrass myself on the night of my rehearsal dinner.”
Maywin stared at me, worry creasing her brow. “If you’re sick, I can call for a healer—”
“I’m not,” I reassured her. “It’s nerves. Maywin, I don’t often command you, but I must insist.”
Maywin visibly swallowed and nodded. “Yes,” she agreed. “I’ll do my best to see that you aren’t bothered.”
