Her Majesty formally invites you to attend dinner this evening. If you and your pet decide not to make an appearance, the Queen will assume that you’re both eager to spend the rest of your liaison in the dungeons.
Sincerely,
Your Queen”
SignedYour Queen, notMother. The messenger read the letter verbatim, balking at the end. I curled my lip, holding back a snarl… I wanted to kill her for the way she treated her son. But to my surprise, Galen waslaughing. “The woman has a flare for the dramatic, I’ll give her that.” I didn’t find it quite as funny.
So much for keeping our relationship a secret.
twenty-four
After we’d both freshened up, Galen came to my room, sun-kissed from our day at the beach. He dazzled in a suit that matched the color of his eyes, while I wore a champagne gown that hugged my curves, spilling around my feet like liquid gold. If he was the sun, then I was a garden that bloomed beneath his glow.Together, we were a force of nature.
Galen immediately closed the space between us, kissing my collar bone as he slipped off the thin strap holding my dress up. “I’m not going to make it through dinner,” he purred, running his hands down the exposed skin of my back.
I stepped back so I could give him my best attempt at bedroom eyes. My voice shook slightly as I asked, “Will you make love to me tonight?”
After spending such a perfect day with him, I’d decided I was ready. I wanted him to be my first, even if our two worlds ultimately tore us apart.
“Are you sure?” he asked, delicately kissing me where he’d bitten me yesterday, making me forget how to speak. I wobbled, grabbing onto him to steady myself. “Come sit down.” He led me to the bed. “No expectations. I’ll spend the night and we’ll just see where the evening leads.” His words sent a warm caress down my spine.
“I like the sound of that.” I smiled, leaning my head on his shoulder, before releasing a heavy sigh and scowling. “So… dinneris going to be interesting. Any chance your mother will let me keep my head?”
Galen chuckled, cupping my cheeks as he kissed my nose. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t touch a single hair.”
I smiled weakly. “Will you be alright if Rafael is there? After yesterday…”
A low sound rumbled from his throat—the guttural growl of a lion. “I doubt he’ll show his face so soon, but if he does, I’ll do my best to play nice. I’ve had my fill of entertaining the guests with my family drama.”
“Will Arnold be there?”
“Arnold is in time-out for the foreseeable future, if I have any say,” he said with a flash of temper.
“And Isla?” I couldn’t look him in the eyes.
“I’ll talk to her. But tonight, she doesn’t know about us. And it’s important I keep up impressions—for now. I made a mistake the other week, announcing I’d dance with you at the festival. I was just so sick of being told what to do, who to love...” He gazed into my eyes and I broke the contact. I wasn’t ready for words of love. “They’ll lose their minds if I fight them on this. I don’t want the Elders to punish you for my actions.” He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Do you trust that she means nothing to me?”
I nodded, feeling deflated after being so high in the clouds moments ago. “You’re okay… lying to her?”
“I don’t want tolieto her, but it’s preferable to Arnold’s wrath. Once you can access your gift, you’ll be untouchable. We just have to wait until then.” I knew what he said was meant to comfort me, but instead it reminded me of all the reasons we’d avoided getting involved in the first place.
I’d been trying to ignore the fact that Galen and I currently had drastically different opinions when it came to opening a portal. He expected me to create a permanent doorway between the worlds, while I planned toleave himand take his brothers, along with the humans that supplied his world with magic.
Eventually, the plan would include him.It had to. Otherwise, we’d be on opposite sides of a war. The mere thought of it made me nauseous. It wasn’t his fault he’d been left in the dark. Soon, when the time was right, I’d tell him the truth. Until then, guilt would burn a hole through my gut.
I cleared my throat. “Speaking of mygift… there is something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about. I want to visit the Oracle in the mountains. I believe she might be the missing piece to the puzzle.”
Galen rubbed his temples and gave an exasperated sigh. “The Oracle? Marigold, she’s mad. She might claim your first born for all we know.It’s not worth the risk. We can keep researching. Maybe the Elders know something. They did cross over from Erador, after all.”
Claws that I didn’t know I had, dug in. “Your people aredesperate,Galen. I’ve heard stories of farmers that aren’t able to feed their village, mothers that aren’t able to carry their children to term. Every minute wasted is more blood on our hands.” The words tasted like ash in my mouth, knowing that I couldn’t help most of them until we broke the curse.
“You don’t think I know that? I spend most of my waking hours dedicated to serving them, however I can, at any cost.”
I’d offended him. It would’ve been wise to back down, but instead all of my pent-up rage began spilling out. “And what of the humans being kidnapped? How are youservingthem? And where exactly does the royal family get their blood? Since humans aren’t even allowed in your home.” As the words tumbled out of me, it became clear to both of us that I’d been saving the hard-hittingquestions for a rainy day. It was a cloudless evening, but the storm had arrived.
He straightened his back and gave me a hard stare. “Most of the royal supply that we drink day-to-day is stored in cellars beneath the castle. We trade with humans all over the continent in exchange for blood. It’s like any other kind of trade, just much more valuable than food, wine, or spices. It’smagic—humans haveourmagic. The majority of them live comfortable lives selling something to us that once was ours. Do you think we keep them in the dungeons and drain them at our leisure? That I have something to do with the humans being kidnapped? Do you think so little of me?” Flames flickered behind narrowed eyes.
I backed away from him as my magic surged in response, even as I stamped it down. He wasnotmy enemy.What was I doing?
