I pushed to a stand, the chair squeaking on the floor. “Perfectly, my prince. Once again, you’ve reminded me of what I am—a slave to the court and to you. I won’t forget again.” With that, I gave him my back and stormed from the room.
CHAPTER 14
The next week passed in a haze of healing fields, training with my tutor, and one Trial date. I was so angry with Prince Norivun following the council meeting that I avoided him as often as possible. It helped that the return of his princely duties kept him occupied. And since it only took him minutes to mistphase me to the fields each morning, our encounters were brief.
The times he’d tried to see me in the evenings had been easy to avoid if I kept myself plastered to Cailis, and at the one Trial dinner since the meeting, I made a point to seat myself by Meegana so Prince Norivun couldn’t snag the chair my date wasn’t occupying. Even though the crown prince had watched me the entire night, he’d been forced to sit farther down the table, which made ignoring him entirely feasible.
Consequently, when the night of the third Trial dinner arrived, it’d been over a week since I’d spent more than a few minutes in the crown prince’s company. That should have made me happy, smug even, but every time I saw him, something deep inside me ached despite my resolve.
It was entirely insane, and I reminded myself of the promise I’d made to my sister, that I would never fall for the prince or allow him to charm me again.
Don’t forget your promise, Ilara.
“This color looks positively divine on you.” Lord Waterline’s comment snapped me back to the present. My third suitor leaned closer to me, then trailed a finger down my arm.
“Um, thank you.” I pulled away as he inched closer despite my dismissiveness.
“And you smell . . .” He inhaled deeply. “Mouthwatering.”
I snatched my wine goblet off the table and took a long drink.
Lord Waterline was turning out to be quite annoying, but at least he wasn’t as bad as Lord Arcane Woodsbury, the male I’d had my second date with. I shuddered just thinking about him and was glad the Trial only forced one date with each suitor because Lord Woodsbury, the third son of the Isalee Territory archon, had made my skin crawl, and not because he was interested in me. He’d spent the better part of the evening watching one of the young serving girls. She’d still been in the midst of maturing. Wing buds had sprouted through her shirt, but she couldn’t have been more than fourteen winters. Despite that, Lord Woodsbury had watched her avidly, his interest rabid and uncouth considering she was still a child.
Shivering, I shoved that repulsive memory away.
At least Lord Waterline didn’t give off that vibe. Still, I found it hard to listen to him as he droned on about his family’s wealth in their estate vaults. I ended up plucking at the seam on my dress for lack of anything better to do.
Tonight, I wore a gown of deep red even though I wasn’t from Osaravee. Its neckline was square, not as daring as the previous dresses Daiseeum had chosen for me, but it was very fitted, which meant my cleavage swelled. Now, I was wishing I’d worn a tent, as the lord’s gaze fixed on my breasts repeatedly.
“Did I mention earlier that after my father secured our third estate in Harrivee, he decided to embellish each building with silver-tipped spires? One pure-silver spire is posted on every corner of every building. That silver was, of course, mined in one of our mines. We have several, you know.”
“Of course, you do.” I finished my wine and signaled the serving staff for another. There wasn’t enough alcohol in the realm for me to keep up my partially interested charade.
“But enough of my family’s substantial wealth. Tell me more about you, Lady Seary. You must come from an esteemed bloodline yourself.” His gaze dipped to my cleavage for the millionth time. “One built such as you must herald from timeless beauties.”
Somehow, I managed to keep from burning his eyeballs to dust. “Are you always this charming with females you’ve just met, Lord Waterline?”
He grinned as he cupped his face in his palm. “You think I’m charming? That’s delightful to hear.”
I rolled my eyes, unable to stop it. Lord Waterline was as conceited as Vorl. On top of that, he was so pompous about his family’s wealth and estate ownership that I was surprised he didn’t carry a mirror around everywhere just so he could continually look at himself while reaffirming his oversized ego.
“Your dress certainly has a lot of buttons.” The noble’s finger trailed along my shoulder to the first button at the nape of my neck. He flicked it, as though hoping to undo it. He leaned closer, his hot breath wafting against my skin. “If you need help unbuttoning this later, I would be more than happy to oblige.”
I flinched away just as a huge push of heightened magic wafted through the air. I knew without looking who it came from.
On the opposite end of the table, the crown prince wore a ferocious snarl, and it was directed entirely at Lord Waterline. Prince Norivun had been looking as though he was seconds away from murder all night.
Not everyone was wishing the night was over, however. A soft laugh came from Meegana as she and Nuwin conversed. At least one of us was having a good time.
“Tell me, Lord Waterline,” I said and angled in my seat so his hand was forced to drop. “Have you read any good books lately? I just finished the most amazing story, courtesy of the castle library, called Of Fae and Might. It was a compelling story about a princess from thousands of winters ago who rebelled against a force from an alien realm who’d come to conquer ours. It had romance, adventure, and the most epic battle scenes. A true delight. Have you read it?”
The young lord’s gaze fixed on my cleavage once more. When my nostrils flared, and a pulse of magic rumbled in my belly, he looked up.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I asked if you’d read Of Fae and Might?”
“Read? Oh no, I don’t read. Reading is too boring for me. Too tedious, don’t you agree?”
I picked up my fresh glass of wine that a servant had delivered. “Considering I asked you if you’d read a book I just finished, no, I don’t agree.” I took another sip and wondered how much longer this evening was going to be. If the day came when a forced marriage to Lord Waterline was upon me, I just might adopt a few tips from the heroine in Of Fae and Might and shave his balls off.
Lord Waterline again trailed a finger up my arm, and I was two seconds away from enacting Lady Furyful’s wrath when a squeak of a chair came from the end of the table.
Prince Norivun stood, his wings extending. “I think that’s enough of this dinner, don’t all of you agree? Perhaps we should all rise and mingle for a bit.”
Nuwin snorted, glancing between me and the crown prince as Lady Endalaver plastered herself to Norivun’s side.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” she purred. “Shall we go out on the balcony?”
My stomach tightened when she tilted her lips up. Of course, tonight he’d been paired with her, but despite feeling Georgyanna’s oily manipulation affinity in the air, I had yet to see the Winter Court heir so much as give her anything other than a fleeting smile or disinterested nod.