Chapter 17

During the next official banquet, I stopped just inside the entrance of the dining room. The girl who had shoved Elva that first day was sitting in my seat beside Nicholas.

Julian, sitting nearest the door, rested his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm. He grinned at me with a toothy smile, much the way a cat would look at a mouse it had planned to eat. Eventually. After playing with it, of course.

“My brother Nicholas personally invited Kirsten to take that seat,” he said. “It makes sense, I guess. We are supposed to get to know all the girls here, and he’s already well-acquainted with you.”

Some of the girls around us perked up at that bit of gossip.

“Be truthful,” I said, hoping he’d notice the emphasis and keep secrets instead.

He only beamed wider. “Want to know where Kirsten was sitting? That’s your spot now.”

He knew I did, but he still waited for me to say it. He really loved these games of his.

“Yes, please.”

He motioned to the empty seat straight across from him. The one right beside the queen’s chair.

Fortunately, as the King gave his speech later, he mentioned the Luna would not be present for today’s event. I immediately exhaled in relief. The girls near me did as well, though less obviously.

“She’s so regal and beautiful,” one whispered to another. “I feel like a toad being in the same room as her.”

When the King finished and was seated, the girls’ gossip began in earnest. None of them seemed to mind that Julian was in earshot. In fact, Julian himself seemed to encourage it, occasionally partaking.

I tuned it out for the most part, not truly caring about Prince Joyce’s shoe size or the best time to catch Mark alone to ask him about Nicholas.

I tuned right back in, however, when I heard the girl beside me say, “I can’t believe Kirsten is the first one to receive an invitation.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You lucked out sitting next to a prince right away,” the girl said to me. “Typically, you would have to wait for an invitation. So far, none of the other princes have extended any. Just Prince Nicholas, and only for Kirsten.”

“Would you like an invitation?” Julian asked her. When she sucked in an excited breath, he leaned forward and said, “I invite you to sit right where you are sitting.”

She exhaled, disappointed. When a few of the other girls laughed, she did too, though I wondered if she meant it.

I frowned at Julian, disapproving. He shouldn’t lead girls on like that. He caught my eye and shrugged, totally indifferent.

“What do you think Kirsten did to earn that favor?” the girl directly beside Julian asked. She looked relieved now, having been nervous a moment ago, at the height of Julian’s joke.

“I can tell you,” Julian said. His chin was in his palm again, and his eyes were on me. “Kirsten made him a gift.”

The other girls gasped. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

I frowned a little. Kirsten had also made something for Nicholas?

I hadn’t thought her to be that considerate. Perhaps… I had misjudged her?

No, anyone who would shove a child was worthy of distain.

After the awkward dinner, when I met with Susie in the hallway, I learned I had not misjudged her.

“Kirsten is a bully,” Susie said. “Whenever she needed something, she made me wave down the servants.” She laced her fingers together. “It was much nicer sitting next to you.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, hooking my arm around one of hers. Together we walked toward the bedrooms.

The girls had spread out by now, some already headed to their rooms, others going into the common areas to lounge, not yet ready for bed.

I was eager to get back to my room and check on Elva.

“It’s not your fault,” Susie said. “Prince Nicholas extended the invitation to her.”

Yes, and the other girls seemed to feel nothing but resentment toward her for it.

“Julian said Kirsten made him a gift,” I said. “I wonder what it was.”

“A heartfelt one, I assure you,” said a voice from beside us. I jumped. Susie half-hid behind me. But it was only Mark, Nicholas’s beta. “The prince asked me to check on Elva.”

I accepted his explanation and we continued walking.

“Somehow Miss Kirsten learned of one of the prince’s old wounds and made a personal gift for him,” Mark explained. “The prince found the gesture warm and thoughtful. He was very appreciative.”

There was something in the way Mark explained it, voice monotone almost, like he didn’t think the same as his prince.

“Is there reason to doubt her sincerity?” I asked.

“No,” Mark said straight away. After a moment, he added, “But the prince’s discomfort isn’t obvious. I hadn’t taken her to be so observant.”

Then he glanced at me and blushed. “I shouldn’t have said that. It’s unfitting of my position to talk disparagingly about any of our candidates.”

“I heard nothing disparaging,” I assured him.

“Neither did I,” Susie agreed.

He seemed grateful, but he said nothing more.

The next day, an archery lesson was given by the princes. We were separated into three groups, with one of the three princes leading each group.

I was grouped with Nicholas. After an hour, he hadn’t looked at me, much less at the target where I’d been hitting my marks. None of the other girls in the group seemed confident which way to even fire, if they held the bow correctly at all.

Some of their efforts were so poor that I wondered if they were performing a show, pretending to be bad just to get the prince’s attention.

Still, it hurt more than I cared to admit that I didn’t receive so much as an approving nod from Nicholas. And I was starting to get bored.

“Piper,” Julian said from the next group over.

His group had been laughing the entire time. Only a few of the girls had even attempted to shoot a target, and even then, only when Nathan had looked over, a stern scowl on his face.

Julian waved me closer. “Shoot with me.”

“A challenge?” I asked. “What will I win?”

His grin was wide and eager. “What do you want?”

The girls of his group swooned. One fanned herself.

I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

Abandoning Nicholas’s group, I joined with Julian’s. We had our challenge.

Julian hit the bullseye. He would. The princes were well-trained in archery.

I went next, firing my arrow. It hit the target directly beside Julian’s.

“Guess this means we tied,” he said.

His easy attitude and the girls’ overall joy made the afternoon pass quicker. In a way, it reminded me of the more fun days at the Royal Academy. How many times had Nicholas and I goofed off like this? Completing challenges and trading kisses.

A sense of nostalgia pulled at me, and I turned to look at Nicholas.

He was instructing Kirsten, his arms around her, guiding her into a proper stance.

My heart twisted a little, until I noticed he was wearing the wrist guard I’d given him.

So he had accepted the gift after all?

As he stepped back from Kirsten, she brushed her fingers over the handcrafted gift.

My group quieted down a moment, likely waiting for Julian to tell another joke. It was long enough for me to hear Nicholas’s next words.

He lifted his right wrist, gesturing to the wrist guard. “Thank you again, Kirsten, for such a useful gift.”

I dropped my bow.

He was thanking Kirsten for the gift I had made for him.

Kirsten batted her eyelashes. “Anything for you, Prince Nicholas.”

She was accepting his thanks, despite knowing she hadn’t made it!

Why would she do that?