AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her brown eyes locked with mine, confident for the first time. “When the prince calls, Your Highness, a loyal subject answers.”
Duty. My hand fell away from her face as disappointment burned in my chest.
It wasn’t the most romantic answer, but it merely meant I had some work ahead of me. Cautiously, I took her fingers to lift her knuckles to my lips. Pressing a kiss there, I whispered, “Then I suppose I should try harder to help you see the upside to this predicament we’re in.”
She didn’t pull away. I eased closer. Her body tensed, but she dropped her gaze to my mouth and sucked in a short breath. It wasn’t exactly permission. Why did it feel like she was still debating my worth? I found myself searching her face, trying to understand this sphinx of a woman.
And then… she leaned closer. Our lips brushed once, then twice. Tingles ran up my spine as she returned the affection, perhaps even more fervent in her intention than I was. I didn’t expect such passion from one so small and timid, and yet on instinct, I felt as though I’d only caught a glimpse of the real woman beneath it all. I broke the kiss early, all too aware of the camera lenses trained on us. As her eyes fluttered open, I saw her silent request not to talk about what had happened. Michaela had mentioned Sadie’s lost love, and I couldn’t imagine the turmoil our kiss might have caused. Better to let her process it in her own time. “Tell me about home.” I leaned back, giving her some space. “I haven’t visited Eshein Province often enough.”
“No one does. We’re often separate from the rest of the country,” she answered wistfully. “But we make our own culture. Our own celebrations.” Considering the Christmas Eve Ball was less than a week away, I found myself intrigued. “Like what? Tell me.”
“Well, for instance, while you have the Christmas Eve Ball here in the capital,” her face brightened as she thought of past memories, “we have a festival in Eshein, complete with performers, a maypole, and food. Everyone comes, not just the nobles.”
Like a dagger twisting in my heart, I felt for a moment how the royal celebration at the capital looked from the outside. For years, I’d assumed, rather naively, that it didn’t matter. It’d always been done this way, and no one was ever hurt by it. But as I listened to her speak of children laughing and playing, fire eaters dazzling the townspeople, and the general thrill of the event, I couldn’t help my own jealousy. Everyone was together. One province, one people. That was what I wanted. If she knew how to find that kind of unity, I’d be a fool not to ask for her help.
“Sadie,” I hoped she didn’t mind that I wanted to use her informal name, “if I wanted to make some changes to the ball, would you help me?”
“Changes?” She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“For instance, what if it wasn’t nobles who were invited, or at least, not only nobles.” I felt excitement rise in my chest, knowing my words would be recorded. Mother would have to censor the film if she planned to make me take it back. “What if all of Nolcovia were invited?”
“To the palace?”
I grinned. “Why not?”
Michaela
“If you step on my toes again, I’m going to abandon this whole project, you understand?” Bishop’s tone had reached new levels of exasperation. “Chin up, Lady Coco. The more you look at your feet, the worse you’ll perform.”
“This is only the waltz. How on earth am I going to do all the other dances you mentioned? The Flitterquake and the Nazzle Reel?” Worry did nothing to help me remember the count. I stepped on his foot again and Bishop yelped.
“Blimey, woman! You’re tiny, but you have the stomp of an elephant.” He released my waist and stalked toward the window, where his phone played music.
“I’m not trying to.” I groaned. “Are the other dances any easier?”
“It’s monkey see, monkey do. Not quite the how-to version like your American Cupid’s Shuffle, but if you watch the others, you’ll pick them up.” He silenced the music and waved me off. “My feet will be flat if we try more today. Maybe another time.”
Our chemistry from the past had faded in light of his frustration. Bishop took dancing way too seriously and I was not a quick study. It seemed my lack of skill and rhythm eroded all his attraction. In other words, not being able to dance was a dealbreaker for him.
I was still skeptical over his plan to make me into a real Nolcovian lady of court anyway. What good would it do? I could walk, dance, speak, and act just right, but underneath it all, I was a poor American girl from a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. But Bishop persisted anyway.
Which begged the question, why? What did he have to gain from this arrangement?
“We’ll try something new.” His palm rubbed over his mouth as if he could wipe away the disappointment over my failure. Not likely. “We have ritual pledges. You need to know them, if for nothing else than to identify one when you see it.”
That sparked something in my memory. “Is that the devotion brain thing Sadie did for Fitz?”
He shot me a look as if to convey all the annoyance he felt for my blundering of the name. “It’s called,” he inhaled slowly through his teeth, “Devotion of the Mind. You pledge your thoughts to someone else.”
“Seems a bit much.” I shook my head. “How on earth can you promise that? I mean, my thoughts are like squirrels on a sugar high.”
“Yes,” he cocked an eyebrow, “it shows.” Clearing his throat, he tried to explain further. “It merely means that the pledger is promising to keep the person at the front of their thoughts at all times. In ancient times, it was a sign used to grant permission to begin courting.”
“Oh.” My stomach sank as I connected the dots. Sadie had not only made the promise, but she’d tapped into something deeply cultural to Fitz.
And they were alone together.
All day. In a castle.
