Chills ran down my spine at the accusation in his tone, but also at the hot breath that rushed down my neck and the declaration that he liked me.
Still, I couldn’t help the anger that rose up inside of me at his mistrust, and I peered back to look at him. “Why don’t you answer a few questions for me?”
His eyes flashed from green to yellow.
“What would make you seek an heir so badly that you would court a hundred ladies at once, when your wife has barely been gone a winter?”
His face fell into a mask of horror and I instantly regretted my words. His hands dropped from my back and he took a giant step away from me.
“My lord, I’m sorry—”
He waved me off and turned, leaving the room, and I prayed to the Maker to be swallowed up into a giant hole rather than to ever have to see him again after saying such a hurtful thing. Why did I do that?
Fear. I feared that if he liked me, it meant I might actually be in the running to be his wife, and if my mother’s warning was real… I needed to avoid that at all costs.
I sulked all the way back to my seat, where Joslyn and Kendal peered over at me intently.
“Well, what was said?” Kendal asked. “He looked hurt when he walked off.”
I shook my head, indicating I didn’t want to talk about it, and grabbed my plate. I was going to eat two more slices of cake. That way, when the king sent me home, my belly would be full.
The night began to drag on. I just wanted to go back to my room and sleep. But it seemed Regina was Hades-bent on picking me last. When she finally entered the room and waved Kendal, Joslyn, and I over, I sighed in relief. I just wanted to get this over with and fall into a chocolate-cake food-coma. I was regretting that third slice.
Standing up with the other girls, I walked on shaky legs over to the side door that Regina was waiting for us at.
She looked as tired as I felt. It must be near midnight, but it was clear there was an urgency to find the king’s next wife, so they were rushing this process along. It didn’t matter to me. After what I’d said to him, I would be lucky if he didn’t hang me in the village square.
Regina gave us three a tight smile, and then inclined her head for us to follow her.
Did the king tell her what I’d said to him? If so, I was mortified. Who spoke to royalty like that? What was wrong with me? The worst part was that I liked him. I said something horrible to someone I liked and now I felt like crap.
We followed Regina down a long hallway to another set of double doors.
I’d built up such a ball of nerves that when she pulled them open to reveal the king standing at the back of the room, I yelped a little.
All three pairs of eyes fell upon me and I swallowed hard.
“Thought I saw a spider,” I explained.
Calm down, Arwen. This is going to be totally fine.
We entered the room and I balked at the size of the crowd. There were half a dozen sniffers, a handful of Royal Guards, Dr. Elsie, and some old dude holding a leather-bound tome. They all stood at the outer edges of the walls. In the center of the room was a single icy blue crystal that sat on a small white stone pedestal. I inhaled, the smell of smoke hitting my nostrils, and then I noticed the scorch marks.
Black streaks fanned out across the white jade stone tile leading out from the crystal.
“Kendal, please step forward and touch the Revealing Stone,” Regina said, and Kendal looked at me with fear.
Going first sucked.
I gave her a supportive nod, while my mind chewed on the words. Revealing stone. Did it reveal the extent of our power? I sure as Hades hoped not. Especially not after my spell had fallen off, or whatever that washroom explosion and fever was.
The older gentleman with the leather book opened it to a particular page and then watched Kendal with a keen eye. Meanwhile, the sniffers tipped their chins up and flared their nostrils, as if waiting to get a whiff of magic.
The entire thing was creepy as all Hades. I wanted to run. I thought the sniffers coming to my village was the extent of the magical testing. This felt so much more intrusive.
Every caution my mother gave me was going off like a warning trumpet in my head.
Run. Run. Run.
As if sensing my panic, Regina stepped up behind me and I stood there frozen, nowhere to go.
Kendal’s heels clacked across the floor as she walked over to the stone and stopped before it. Looking to the king, she held out her hands. “I just touch it?”
King Valdren looked tired. “Yes. The stone will bring forth a more potent example of your power so that we can assess your ability to carry a dragon-shifting child.”