The Royal Trials: Seeker

by James Tate

  These weren’t questions, they were statements. He knew that was exactly what I’d been doing, he was just… voicing it.

  I gave an unconfortable nod, refusing to meet his gaze.

  The fact that Prince Alexander had been Zan all along made no difference. I hadn’t known, therefore I’d engaged in sexual acts with a man who I’d believed was a total stranger. Worse. A prince I’d regarded with contempt for his lack of action in helping his people.

  What did that say about me?

  “Stop that,” Lee snapped, his tone sharper than I was used to from him. “Stop wallowing in guilt, like you’ve done something unforgiveable.”

  “Haven’t I?” I whispered as guilt choked at me. “I tried to implode whatever this is between us. I tried to break your heart.”

  Lee shook his head. “You didn’t choose to go to bed with a total stranger. Deep down, you knew. Maybe you didn’t know it was Zan, but you had that soul-deep connection. That crazy sexual tension and that underlying level of trust. You knew it was him. Us. Even if you hadn’t processed the information yet.”

  I pursed my lips and considered his words. Had I known? It would explain why I’d taken a dagger to my hand instead of letting “Prince Louis” die last week.

  “So you’re not mad?” I asked, a flicker of hope sparking within me once more.

  Lee’s lips twitched into a half smile. “I’m not happy that you chose him. But I understand why you did it.”

  I breathed a small sigh of relief, and a somewhat less awkward silence fell between us for a while. We just rode side by side, admiring the scenery as we passed and occassionally letting our knees brush when our horses swayed a bit close to one another.

  “Tell me something, Calla,” Lee said finally, tilting his head as he looked over at me. His blue eyes sparkled behind his black mask, and I had to close my fists to resist the urge to push it up so I could see his face.

  “Anything,” I replied with a small smile.

  “Now that you know we’re who we are, who would you choose, if you had to? If your back was against the wall and you had to pick one of us to spend the night with, who would you choose?” Suddenly his ice-blue eyes held too much weight, and I shifted in my saddle.

  I didn’t repond for far longer than what would have been considered polite, but what could I really say?

  Finally, I shook my head. “I wouldn’t–for the same reason I went to Prince Alexander’s room in the first place. I can’t pick between the three of you, so I guess in that case I would pick no one.”

  Lee didn’t reply for an equally uncomfortable amount of time. Then he nodded.

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Okay?” I repeated, with a frown. “What does that mean?”

  He shrugged. “Just that I asked a question and you answered it. I don’t totally know if I love your answer or if I hate it. So just… okay.”

  Chewing the inside of my lip, I nodded back to him.

  “Okay,” I whispered, and tried desperately to squash the gnawing guilt inside me.

  My marked shoulderblade tingled with premonition, and I had a horrible feeling that this would not be the last time this topic came up. Not by a long shot.

  8

  Some hours later, and with my thighs screaming and cursing the lack of padding in saddles, we arrived into the town of Wakefield. Although in fairness, it was only a town when compared to Lakehaven. It was still a sprawling, densely populated area.

  Lady Emma’s high pitched shriek jarred me, and I ground my teeth together to stop myself from telling her to shut the goddess-loving fuck up.

  “I take it you’d like to visit the markets, Lady Emma?” Lee asked her with just the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice.

  In Wakefield, we found a traveling market set up in the town square. It meant nothing to me, but the other ladies were all wide-eyed and gushing about the fact that it was a Schon Islands market. Presumably they sold better products than what we had in Teich.

  “Can we go, Your Highness?” Emma practically fell off her horse, she was in such a hurry to toss her reins at one of the inn servants. “Please, oh please? Last time the Schon Islands market visited North Polaria, I was away at finishing school, so I didn’t get to attend.”

  Lee shot me a confused look, but I just shrugged. I had no idea what the excitement was about, but if it was a crowded area, I could probably pick a few pockets to keep myself sharp.

  “Well, you can’t really just wander alone,” he said, scratching the back of his neck in obvious discomfort. Zan and Ty had gone on into the inn to discuss whether there were any rooms for us, which left Lee in charge.

  Sagen shoved her way past Agatha and Hazel, then swept a rather half-assed curtsey to Lee. “We’ll all go and take our maids. A town like this? I doubt there is much to fear anyway.” The dismissive way she said it didn’t leave any room for doubt as to what she thought of small towns. Her upturned nose and downturned mouth implied she’d rather be mucking out stables than braving small-town folk.

  Lee hesitated a moment longer, his lips pursed. “Okay, but I’ll send a few guards with you too.” He nodded to the captain in charge of our escort, and the two of them discussed things quietly while my attention wandered.

  When I thought no one was looking, I carefully eased my leg over Cat’s saddle and tried to slide gracefully to the ground. “Tried” being the operative word there. My poor lower body was so unused to travelling by horseback that the second my feet touched the ground, my legs crumpled like wet paper and I found myself inches from a face full of horse manure.

  I knew I’d been seen when a pair of highly polished boots parked beside me and a rustle of skirts swept my back.

  “Real smooth, Callaluna,” Sagen hissed at me, crouching down so that she could speak quietly. “You look so comfortable down there, it’s almost like you belong in the streets.”

  Her taunt was clearly intended to be nasty, but it struck a little too close to the truth for my liking and worry twisted my gut. Even if I did come clean with the princes—which I had no intention of doing anytime soon—I doubted they would punish me all too harshly. Sagen, on the other hand... Well, who knew what the hell she was up to?

  Growling a sound of annoyance in my throat, I carefully pushed myself back to my feet and away from the dangerous pile of defecation. “Your Highness,” I cooed at her, batting my lashes to really emphasise my sarcasm. “It’s so flattering that you pay such close attention to me. Do you see me as a threat?”

  Sagen’s eyes narrowed at me in anger, but she was spared the need to respond by the arrival of her maid and Jules.

  “Did you hear? We’re allowed to wander the markets for the afternoon.” Jules was bursting with false enthusiasm, and I turned away before rolling my eyes at her. So far I’d been spared her bullshit by the fact that she didn’t have a horse of her own, but it was looking like I was stuck with her for the afternoon.

  “Hey.” Lee subtly grabbed my arm as I followed the other ladies toward the market. “Be careful, okay? I just need to sort out things here with the guys, and then we will come find you.”

  I grinned at him, meeting his blue eyes behind his black cloth mask. “Worried I will get brainwashed into becoming a frivolous airhead?” As if to punctuate my joke, one of the women ahead squealed something about silks, and Lee’s lips twitched into a smile. “Don’t worry,” I assured him. “I’m just browsing.”

  And by browsing, I meant browsing the pockets of any unsuspecting shoppers. But Lee didn’t need to know that.

  “Not what I meant, Calla,” he replied with a shake of his head. “You’re a group of well-to-do ladies with nowhere near enough security. Someone could take advantage of or rob you.”

  I needed to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling at the suggestion that someone could rob me. But I gave him a placid nod, and he seemed satisfied enough to head back into the inn with his remaining guards.

  For the next several hours, I learned th
e true meaning of torture.

  I’d only been playing the role of Lady Callaluna for a week, but I had already grown to love the incredible wardrobe I’d been given—the soft fabrics and vibrant colors, let alone the incredible, tailored fits. When I returned to my real life—if I ever did—I would seriously miss the clothes. But the whole process of buying cloth, ribbons, lace, buttons... it was driving me halfway insane. How could anyone other than a professional tailor honestly give two shits about the thread count of silk?

  The whole ordeal was made so much worse by the fact that Jules saw it as her opportunity to win me over and had been prattling on the entire time like she thought that the more she talked, the less angry I could be at her.

  Aana’s tits, was she wrong.

  Every word out of her lying mouth made me want to slap her, and by the time Ty found me I was seriously weighing the pros and cons of stabbing her.

  “How did I know I’d find you here?” he murmured in my ear, standing close enough behind me that his cloak brushed my arms, and I grinned.

  “Lucky guess?” I teased, placing down the beautifully made knife I’d been handling.

  The ladies were at the next stall over, which sold ridiculously over-the-top hats decorated with silk flowers. I’d lagged at the back of the group, and when their attention was firmly on the ugly hats, I’d made my way back to the weaponry stall to check out the blades.

  “These are nice,” Ty commented, reaching past me to pick up the knife I’d just put down. It was a gorgeously crafted dagger, simple in its design with none of the precious stones inlaid into the handle that a lot of the other options had. It was part of a set, and having just handled it, I knew they were perfectly balanced for throwing.

  I nodded, my body unconsciously swaying back into Ty so that my back rested against his chest. He was like a damn magnet.

  “Isenmedin steel,” I commented, sighing as I ran my fingertips over the blades resting on velvet. I could never afford weapons made in Isenmedin and refused to steal them. Call me superstitious, but I firmly believed Gewalt, god of war, would somehow punish me for that offense.

  Ty hummed his agreement under his breath, and his other hand stole around my waist, pulling me in tighter to his body. My breath caught, and my gaze darted around to check if anyone was watching us. They weren’t, still being some yards away cooing over hats, but it was still risky as all shit.

  “Ty,” I murmured, not wanting the stall owner to pay attention to us. He was busy in an animated discussion with a pair of our guards and hadn’t given me a second glance the whole time I’d been here, but I didn’t want him to now. “Someone could see...”

  “See what?” he asked, his voice low and his lips close to my ear. “See me flirting with a woman who could well become my wife in a few weeks? There are no rules against it.”

  His words made me suck in a sharp breath, even as butterflies erupted in a torrent of flight within me. I could be his wife in a few weeks? The reality of my situation sort of slapped me in the face, and I tensed.

  “I think we both know I won’t be winning these stupid games,” I whispered back, tilting my head slightly toward him. “Your father and Taipanus have already tried to poison me once, and if you all keep showing me favoritism, then I’ll need to worry about getting my throat slit by one of the ladies in my sleep.”

  Ty huffed a sound of annoyance, but he knew I was right. “You should have come to me the other night, Lo. Then I could openly show affection and not have anyone think twice about it.”

  I smothered a laugh at the fact that jealousy was clouding his judgement. Surely the entire kingdom didn’t know which prince I’d stayed the night with? I mean, servants gossip but not that fast. “I shouldn’t have gone to any of the princes that night, not when I was already falling for someone else. It was a desperate move, trying to end things like that.”

  Ty’s hand tightened on my stomach, holding me firmly against him. “Falling for some...one else?”

  Clenching my teeth, I let out a shaking breath. “Or three.”

  There was a long, tense silence between us, but his grip on me didn’t falter.

  “Please don’t ask me to choose,” I whispered so quietly that I could hardly hear myself. “Not yet.”

  The words escaped me before I even knew what I was saying. Was it arrogant of me to subconsciously assume I would even have the chance to choose? Considering how fast bodies were falling, I’d be lucky to make it to the Golden Ball at the end of the third trial at all.

  Ty didn’t respond, but instead he stepped away from me. I shivered at the sudden lack of his body warmth. “Excuse me, sir?” He waved a hand at the stall owner, and I frowned up at him in confusion. What the hell was he doing?

  “Your Highness,” the older man greeted him with a small bow. “I apologize; I was so caught up in my conversation I didn’t even see you here. How may I be of assistance?”

  “These blades,” Ty said, tapping the ones I’d been admiring. “I’d like to purchase them.”

  The man glanced down at the blades in question, and his smile faltered somewhat. “Ah, yes. That’s a lovely set I picked up on my travels through Isenmedin last year. But it’s maybe a little lightweight for a man of your stature? Can I interest you in something more like this?”

  The stall owner unsheathed an impressive-looking long sword, which was studded all around the handle with jewels. It looked like it weighed a ton and cost twice that.

  “It’s lovely,” Ty commented, giving the man a polite but brittle smile. “But I would like these knives.”

  The man looked baffled for a moment but quickly covered his confusion and named a price that almost made my eyes fall out of my head. No wonder I’d never owned my own Isenmedin blades before. They cost more than Jules earned in a whole year of whoring.

  Ty didn’t seem fazed, though, and quickly counted the heavy gold coins into the man’s greedy palm before accepting his purchase and steering me away from the stall.

  “You’d better not have just bought those for me,” I muttered when I finally recovered from price shock. I wasn’t dense enough to think he was buying lightweight throwing daggers for himself.

  He shrugged and gave me a sly grin. “And if I was?”

  “I would refuse. The price you paid for those could have fed an entire family for half a year. Or more.” I paused near the next stall over from the hat one, where all the ladies were finalizing their purchases while Jules was bending over backward trying to make friends with the other maids.

  Ty glanced down at me, but I couldn’t make out his expression thanks to that damn mask. “I know. It will probably feed his family for the next six months.”

  This made me pause, realizing he was right. Just because it was a purchase in exchange for goods didn’t mean the seller was any less deserving of money. Who was I to say that the woman selling flowers on the corner with a threadbare shawl was any more in need than the man Ty had just paid?

  “Who taught you how to fight, Lo?” he asked me, changing the subject.

  I cocked my head to the side as I looked up at him. I didn’t want to keep lying to them. It was starting to make me feel like a genuinely shitty person, given the risk Zan took in revealing himself. Still, my past had made me more than cautious when it came to revealing secrets, so I kept my answer vague.

  “The man who raised me.” I settled on a half truth. “He thought girls should know how to defend themselves.” Which was technically true. Or, rather, Master Bloodeye thought everyone needed a skill. Whether it be fucking or fighting or just plain conning, we all needed to be useful in his world.

  Ty narrowed his green eyes at me. “Well, I did buy these for you. You know I did.” He handed me the fabric bag containing the gorgeous pieces of steel. “Because if I can’t physically protect you every second of the day, then at least I know you can protect yourself. Besides, now I can live vicariously through those knives and pretend to be inside your clothes.”

  I la
ughed but accepted his gift. How could I not when he phrased it like that?

  “Your Highness,” a guard interrupted us, sketching a quick bow, “Prince Alexander requested you return to the inn. The Wakefield mayor just got back to town and wants to greet you personally.”

  “Thank you,” Ty responded to the man with a tight smile and nod. “Probably wants to discuss taxes.” He turned a sharp glare at me. “Stay safe, stay with the group, yes?”

  “Don’t worry about me,” I responded, hugging the bag containing my new blades to my chest. “I’m fully armed now.”

  Something flashed in his eyes, and he leaned in close, as though he were placing a friendly kiss on my cheek. “Thanks, Lo. Now I’m picturing you wearing nothing but weapons, and I’m going to be hard all through this damn polite meeting.” He whispered it in my ear, then pulled away to follow the guard as I chuckled.

  I watched him as he walked away. Or to be totally honest, I watched his ass. Damn, he had a fine body. There was a lot to be said for the military training in Teich.

  Smiling to myself, I peeked in the bag and admired my new blades. It was easily the most romantic gift anyone had ever given me, but that thought was ruined by the shiver of intuition that rolled through me.

  I was going to need these knives. Soon.

  9

  “Hey Ry,” Jules said, startling me as I watched a young woman juggle fire-lit batons in time to the lively drum music which played nearby. “Where have you been? I was looking for you.”

  Stifling a sigh, I glared at her. Ty had left me a while ago, and I’d been trailing along behind the group of ladies while they browsed the stalls. “No, Jules, you were getting cozy with the other maids. Just cut the bullshit when no one is around to hear it, okay?”