“I will see you at dinner,” Aislinn said to Grant and me, then walked out of the room with Alastar.
I looked at Grant, feeling the tense awkwardness of the situation. He offered nothing in return. “Follow me.”
His tone stung. It wasn’t the sweet, caring Grant I had come to adore, but a very cold no-nonsense Grant. I stared at him, looking for an explanation, but the minute our eyes met, he turned away. “Kylie, please don’t do that,” he said quietly enough for only me to hear.
“Do what?” I asked, honestly confused as to what I’d done.
“This is hard enough,” he said the words quickly and quietly and proceeded to the doorway.
I followed, unsure of what to do or say. He swung open a large door and we both stepped out. In the distance, I saw a tall boy with blondish hair wearing slacks and an untucked, white button-down shirt with the sleeves pushed up, giving him a look somewhere between casual and dressy. Grant walked down several large steps while I trailed behind. We walked down a path surrounded by perfectly trimmed hedges and I envisioned walking through a maze, like a labyrinth, but then noticed multiple routes leading to various gardens.
I found relief knowing I wouldn’t get lost in there if I wanted to run, which a part of me wanted to do right then. Every ounce of my sanity demanded I recognize the abnormality of the situation. I was a teenage girl not a faery, and I should be going on movie dates, not marrying a prince.
The young man spun around. His face lit up at the sight of Grant. “Grant, you made it back safe and sound. I heard you and Conor had some troubles along the way.” He reached out his hand to shake Grant’s and pulled him into a guy version of a hug.
Grant’s mouth tugged up. “Nothing we couldn’t handle.” His tone edged with cockiness.
“You sure about that?” Liam’s tone turned playful. “It wasn’t like the time with those–”
Grant cut him off. “This again,” he said with a laugh. “You are never going to let me forget that, are you?”
I stood there awed by Grant’s lightheartedness. He always seemed so serious, but these two clearly had a good friendship. He seemed even more at ease with Liam than Conor, an unexpected discovery.
Liam chuckled and patted his back. “It’s okay. We all make mistakes. So I’ve heard.”
I had begun to think Grant had forgotten about me as I waited for an introduction, when Liam noticed me standing behind Grant. The prince met my eyes briefly and in just that split second, Cara’s words rang true. Not only was he extremely handsome, but he had the kindest eyes. If I had to guess, based on first impressions, Liam was just as beautiful on the inside as the outside.
His cheeks reddened and he quit laughing. His demeanor changed and he looked at Grant for an introduction. Liam appeared nothing like his father. He was shy.
Grant, apparently remembering I stood behind him, stiffened again. The bromance ended, and he shifted back to business. “Liam, this is Kyla.”
My eyes flashed to Grant. So, I was Kyla again?
I stuck out my hand for Liam to shake. “You can call me Kylie.”
Grant stiffened, but I didn’t know why. Maybe he realized he’d introduced me more formally with my given name or maybe he didn’t want Liam to know me as Kylie. Who knew?
Liam shook my hand and I noticed, although his hand was warm, no sparks flew through me. My skin didn’t tingle, and no electricity reverberated through me. This made me even more curious why it was so strong when I touched Grant.
“Hi.”
I bit my lip, and looked to Grant for some sort of guidance. His eyes were on my mouth, and I could have sworn I saw anger flash in them.
He turned to Liam and masked all emotion, “Well, I’m going to find Conor. I will give you two a chance to talk.”
My eyes widened, and I stared at him. He couldn’t be planning on just leaving me here with a stranger. I glanced at Liam and almost laughed because he wore an identical expression. I looked at Grant again, hoping he would change his mind. He spun on his heels, met my eyes for a quick second and walked off.
I looked at Liam. He seemed trying to figure out what to do or say and seemed almost as shocked as we watched Grant’s departing figure.
“Would you like to take a walk?” Liam seemed nervous. “The gardens are in bloom. They are a sight to see.”
“Sure,” I replied lamely.
Liam motioned for me to follow. With hesitation, he made small talk about various plants and flowers. As he slowly warmed, I began to relax a bit myself. He was nice and not imposing. Being a lover of plants and flowers, I found myself asking questions about the things we saw. He even said a few things that made me laugh. I knew why Cara said he was desirable. Good looks and nice didn’t happen together too often.
“This is one of my favorite parts of the garden.” Liam pointed to a path and guided me through. It opened up into a clearing with a small white gazebo surrounded by flowers. The moment I saw them, my heart ached. They were like the ones Grant had given me on my birthday.
I knelt. “These are especially beautiful. What are they? I’m not familiar with them.”
He knelt beside me, plucking a flower. “Faery Primrose.” He smiled and handed it to me. Faery Primrose, of course Grant would give me faery primrose. “Would you like to sit?” He stood and gestured to the gazebo.
As I got to my feet, I nodded and followed. We sat and instantly it grew awkward again. Without the small talk, I had no idea what we should do.
“So you like Grant?”
My head shot up, and I looked at Liam. “What?”
“He’s a nice guy, don’t you think? I’m glad they sent him to find you. Some of those others can be real idiots some times.”
I exhaled. “Oh yes. Grant is very nice.”
“He’s a good guy too. I knew you would be safe with him and Conor. My father wanted to send some of his guards to get you but I convinced him, which doesn’t happen too often, it should be someone closer to your own age. I think Grant was a good choice, especially since he is one of the few people I trust.”
Shame set in. I couldn’t help but wonder had it been someone else how things would have gone. If I wouldn’t have met Grant, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with him. Then again, I may not have come with anyone else. I trusted Grant. If I felt this guilty, he must feel awful. They were good friends and kissing me that night had to weigh on him. Even if it didn’t mean anything to him, it still crossed all sorts of lines.
“How long have you and Grant known each other?” I asked trying to figure out exactly how deep this friendship went.
“Several years.” He smiled as he seemed to remember something. “Grant was only fifteen when he joined the guards. The earliest anyone can join is sixteen, but he had lots of guard friends so they helped him out and lied about his age. Once in, though, I don’t think they knew exactly what to do with him. He looked nothing like he does now.”
Liam chuckled. “He was kind of small back then. I already had guards to protect me, but I didn’t have anyone my own age around. I think they figured it’d be good for me, so they assigned him to me. At first, he was honestly more of a companion, but they trained him, and well, as you can see, he’s definitely guard material now. You know, I was actually taller than him when we first met.”
I smiled. “That’s a great story.” And it was. These two had a lot of history.
Liam grew quiet and I tried to think of some way to change the subject. I nervously bit my bottom lip. The silence quickly became awkward. He stood and walked around a bit before finally settling against the gazebo railing. He leaned against it and looked at me.
“I know this is probably crazy of me to even bring up. Honestly, I would rather not, but I feel like I have to say it. Especially now that I have met you in person.”
I panicked, imagining him formally proposing right then and there. “If it makes you uncomfortable you don’t have to talk about it,” I quickly offered.
“I know, but I
think you should hear it from me yourself.” My heart slammed against my chest. “I just wanted you to know I didn’t have a hand in any of this. I mean, I’m not saying there is anything wrong with it, or you, you’re beautiful, anyone would want to marry you, I want to marry you.” He rambled and his face grew crimson. “But our parents planned this. Not me. I just want you to know. I am not a manipulator like my father. He’s made choices for me my entire life. Sometimes they are in my benefit, but usually they are in his, and unlike him, I would never take away someone’s free will. I’ve been nervous about meeting you, but now that I have, I am relieved. I just don’t want you to think I forced you into this.” He stopped and abruptly spun around.
I fiddled with my fingers in my lap, trying to digest what he just said. His situation evoked sympathy. I couldn’t imagine having a life where decisions were never my own to make. This one was bad enough, but all of them? I walked over to Liam and leaned against the railing beside him.
“I’m sorry about this,” I said sincerely.
He laughed. “You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault. I should say I’m sorry for not standing up to my father. I felt like this wasn’t the right thing to do. We could offer you safety from The Rite or anyone for that matter, without forcing you into marriage, and he knows that. I don’t know what it is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is an ulterior motive.”
“Thanks for being honest. It shows you are a good person, and even if you didn’t have the courage to stand up to your father, it took a lot of courage to tell me.”
Liam faced me. “Not only are you beautiful, you are kind. I think I got lucky. If you hadn’t come along I would be stuck marrying Brighid, and that girl is ruthless. She doesn’t care about me, only about getting her way to the top as quickly as possible.”
“I almost hate to ask but what happened to her?”
“She was banished for one year.”
“From the castle?”
“No, from Tír na nÓg. To the human world.”
“But one year over there is what, like a month or two here?”
“Yes, which I know seems like a short punishment, but for her, she will suffer out there for an entire year.”
“I guess that’s true. I hope a year is long enough for her to stop hating me,” I said without humor.
“Don’t worry about it. You saved me from her. I owe you one,” he joked back.
My mouth twitched, and I shot him a glance. “Can I get that in writing?”
He laughed. “No problem.” Just then we heard someone clear their throat.
We both turned to see Grant standing just outside the gazebo. I noticed he had cleaned up. He now wore dark pants and a fitted shirt with some sort of insignia on the left side of his chest. His crystal blue eyes focused intently on me. I became very aware of my proximity to Liam. Too little too late. I knew what it probably looked like, and judging by the expression on Grant’s face, it did.
“Sorry to disturb you, but they asked me to find you for dinner.” He looked only at Liam and refused to make eye contact with me.
I glanced at Liam who smiled, clearly oblivious to anything else.
“You didn’t disturb anything. Thanks for coming to find us.” Still smiling, Liam looked at me. “Can we talk more after dinner?”
“Sure.” My throat burned, and I wanted to cry.
Just seeing Grant had my heart racing. I wanted so badly to be with him, and even though Liam was sweet and handsome, my feelings rested with Grant, who right now couldn’t even look at me. We stepped back onto the path, the three of us making our way back inside, Grant on one side, Liam on the other, and me–stuck right in the middle.
Chapter 19
Faery dinners were an interesting event. They reminded me of a medieval castle with a mystical quality to it. Their drinks were poured from glass carafes into large goblets, but whatever they were drinking sparkled like liquid gold. It was thick and not translucent like champagne. Cara told me it was ambrosia wine. She also mentioned that I should probably avoid drinking it if I wanted to remember the night.
On the plus side, honey seemed incorporated into almost every dish. Honey glazed meats, honey baked apples, honey-berry punch, honey crisp and even a honey wine, which I was given the okay to drink but passed on anyway. My fascination with honey now made sense. The tables were also spread with what seemed like an endless supply of fresh fruits.
Almost as soon as we arrived at the dining hall, Grant disappeared on some errand. Liam directed me where to sit and excused himself to find his father, leaving me alone. Unsure of the expectations placed on me, finding Cara already sitting at the table relieved me considerably. I slid into the crescent-shaped bench seat circling the table. If not for the plush, fabric covered seat or ornately carved wood, I would have felt as if I sat at a local diner.
I admired the tapestries, noting the variety of colors and designs. I craned my neck for a better view of one in particular. It had an image with trees and people gathered around something. I squinted to make it out. Was that King Alastar? Huh, interesting.
My gaze drifted to the marble statutes along the walls. I wasn’t sure if they were replicas of real people or just artwork. My gaze stopped abruptly on one. You’ve got to be kidding me. I was pretty confident I stared at the head of the king immortalized in marble. But then I noticed the mirrors. Why bother with tapestries and statues when you can just stare at the real thing?
Multiple mirrors lined each wall. I glanced up. And apparently the ceiling. Maybe Alastar wasn’t the only faery around here who enjoyed seeing themselves everywhere. As I looked into the reflective glass, it also occurred to me no one could get away with much. So many mirrors offered no privacy. Someone was bound to see. Which led me to notice how many eyes watched me.
“Everyone is staring at me,” I whispered to Cara. The attention made me uneasy.
“Don’t worry about any of them. It’s just curiosity. There’s been a lot of talk about you, but just ignore it. It’s beneath you now.” She smiled pleasantly as if somehow I should brush it off with a haughty air, but that just wasn’t me.
I tried my hardest to avoid the stares. When the king was announced, everyone stood, so I followed suit. King Alastar strode in escorting my mother and followed by Liam. Alastar sat at a long table filled with people, and my mother at his right. As soon as he sat down, a plate of food appeared in front of me as servers bustled about assuring everyone was taken care of.
Liam said a few words to his father, then with a respectful nod he walked away and headed to my table. His boyish charm made me want to giggle. Here I was, the one completely out of place, yet he looked nervous.
“Kylie.” He bowed slightly, and I stood.
I was unsure of how to greet him. After all, we had just been hanging out together, but with so many people watching I figured there was some formality to this. He kissed my hand and gestured for me to return to my seat. He slid into the bench seat, angling himself across from me. A slight pink flush rose to his cheeks. I had a feeling this attention bothered him, too. His obvious nervousness calmed my own.
He glanced at my untouched plate of food. “Is there anything else I can have them bring out for you?”
He looked at me expectantly, and I had the feeling if I were to request a triple cheeseburger with extra pickles it would appear before me with a snap of his fingers.
“No, I’m fine. Actually, everything looks delicious.”
“Good.” He paused, and his eyebrows joined. “You may want to avoid the ambrosia wine, until you have a chance to get used to it, anyway.”
I laughed. “Cara already made that same suggestion.”
“Good, I’m glad she is watching out for you.” Liam smiled at me, turning his gaze to Cara. “Did she also help you pick out your outfit tonight? She has an incredible eye for that sort of thing.” He smiled at her, and she brightened at the compliment.
“Yes, she did actually, and I agree she did an ama
zing job.”
Cara still stared at Liam even when he pulled his eyes away from hers and back to me.
“Well, if there is anything else you find yourself needing be sure to let us know.”
“I will. Thanks.”
“Grant,” Liam called over my shoulder. “There you are. I started to think you were going to miss dinner.” He motioned for Grant to join us.
My heart pounded and as he neared, electricity invaded my body like a tantalizing visitor. He approached the table. He still seemed stiff, and it made me feel dejected. I missed my Grant. The sweet, caring guy who actually smiled once in a while. I gazed up at him and he avoided looking at me. Liam moved over urging Grant to sit. He reluctantly joined us forcing him to finally acknowledge me.
“Cara.” He greeted her with a quick smile.
He shifted to me. “Kyla.” He looked annoyed and uncomfortable but when our stares locked, fire burned through me. His gaze softened and slowly the wall came down.
“Yes, he will be joining us shortly.” Grant focused on Liam who apparently had been talking the whole time.
“Great.” Liam replied. “I haven’t seen Conor since you guys got back.”
He continued making conversation with Grant and I went back to picking at my grapes. I could feel Cara staring at me. I looked at her confused expression. Her gaze went from Grant to me.
Oh no. She had picked up on my feelings for Grant, too, just as Brighid had. I panicked. Would she sell me out? She had every reason to tell Liam, having no loyalty to me. I bit my lip nervously as she appeared to connect the dots. I steeled myself for whatever she might say or do. Then, to my surprise, compassion shadowed her gaze. She gave me an understanding smile and patted my knee. Now I was the one confused.
“Hey.” Conor arrived at our table and left me no opportunity to question Cara.
“Conor. I haven’t seen much of you since you got back.” Liam wore a genuine smile, once again confirming my belief he was a nice guy.
“I know, I’m sorry. I’ve had stuff to take care of.”
Gossamer Page 19