AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Princess Seraphina. How lovely for you to host such a gathering now that your brother has returned.”
We parted and looked at a small gaggle of palace folk who’d approached us. “The pleasure is mine.”
“Oh, yes, I’m sure. But where is Prince Nikolai? We thought he would be in attendance.”
Seraphina and I exchanged looks, knowing the subtext here. They didn’t care if it was the princess’s tea, they just wanted their chance to schmooze with the prince.
How boring.
“I am,” a low, familiar voice said.
Of course, Kai entered then, going straight to his sister, kissing each of her cheeks, then pulling her into a hug. I watched, pleased as he talked up Seraphina to the small crowd that’d gathered, lavishing her with praise and going on a bit about how happy he was to see her.
Hah, that’d show them.
It was pretty entertaining to watch one of the nobles try to pull Kai away from his sister, or steer the conversation to something else, only for Kai to center it right back on his sister. Goodness if Seraphina wasn’t glowing under the attention.
Would it be impossible to see if we could get her out of the palace when we left? I thought she’d truly flourish if she got away from the toxic environment.
Kai would’ve kept on doing it, but eventually Seraphina excused herself, letting her brother mingle on his own. His gaze landed on me once, and the longing there left me breathless, but I clamped down on my pheromone response as best I could. Even making eye contact with my mate made me clench my thighs.
“Oh goodness, he’s always been a ham,” Seraphina said, sitting back down beside me. I was happy her mood seemed completely changed. It was amazing what the genuine love of a family member could do for someone. “I wish I got on with people like he did.”
“He is charming,” I said flatly, but far too much fondness leaked into my voice.
“He is.” She took my hands again, all grins and giggles until her face went pale, then a burning, vibrant red.
Confused at yet another emotional shift, I looked over my shoulder to try to guess what she was staring at. The answer became pretty apparent when I spotted Aodin approaching us with his usual dashing expression.
Oh.
Did Seraphina have a little crush?
“Healer Everton, Your Highness,” he said, bowing once he reached us. “It’s lovely to see the both of you. Thank you, Princess Seraphina, for hosting such a pleasant little get together.”
I waited for Seraphina to say something, but she just nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line while she remained silent, her cheeks still a flaming red.
Well, it looked like Seraphina might have had a crush but still felt that social awkwardness.
Life could be so cruel sometimes.
“Thank you again for extending an invitation to me.”
“O-o-of course,” she said, voice so breathy it sounded like she was fighting not to vomit.
Poor girl. It was like watching a convoy wreck yet I couldn’t look away.
“It’s good to see you,” I said finally to save the poor girl. “Hopefully, politics haven’t become too burdensome.”
“Eh, they are much the same. But now, if you don’t mind me, I did spy a rather impressive collection of wine set out, and I do love Camdarian wine. With your blessing, I’d like to indulge until I forget just how big the pile of paperwork waiting on my desk is.”
“Uh-huh,” Seraphina squeaked, eloquent as ever. Yikes, the girl had it bad.
The fae left as the princess took her first full breath since he arrived. “I didn’t know you were familiar with Aodin. He’s sohandsome.”
“He’s all right,” I said with a shrug. “If you’re keen on him, you could just walk up and talk to him. He loves a random conversation.”
“Oh n-no, I couldn’t do that,” she said quickly. “We haven’t had an introduction.”
