Page 35 of Under the Lion Star

For the first time in memory, her snow-white hair had no scraps of leaves or herbs clinging to it and was pulled up, showing off the length of her slim neck.

Sanna’s eyes met mine, and she smiled brightly, excitedly waving me over to where she stood. The motion caught Z’s attention, and she looked over her shoulder. The happiness that had been in her countenance shifted to confusion and then to anger. Yeah, she was mad. Rightfully so. I don’t know why I had convinced myself that I didn’t need to tell her who I was. She’d mentioned that she’d be in attendance at this function, yet I said nothing.

I moved toward my sister, trying to mask my apprehension. Zialda didn’t seem the type to cause a scene, but still, I approached cautiously, as one might a wild animal.

“Leor,” Sanna grabbed my forearm and tugged me into their conversation. “This is Zialda Helner.”

“Oh, he knows,” Z’s focus on me was so intense that I felt light-headed.

“You two know each other?” Sanna’s brows pinched inward, but her voice still carried a lilt of the sunshine I had missed.

“Well, he knows me,” Zialda narrowed her eyes. “Not sure I know him at all.”

“Z, I’m sorry,” I started but was cut off by her raised hand.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she turned on her heel and left down a dark corridor, taking her plate of food with her.

“Fuck,” I grumbled.

“So,” Sanna rocked back onto her heels. “That was strange.”

“I may have been hanging out with her for the last several weeks and kind of… didn’t mention that I’m the king.”

“Leor,” my sister sighed, running her hand over her face. “How is it that I’m the youngest, yet the only one who seems to understand the basics of social interaction.”

“It was nice to be treated normally for once,” I shrugged.

“I understand that, but weeks, Leor? There wasn’t a single moment during that time when you thought to say, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m the King of Fjorn,’ honestly…”

I stared down at the marble floors. I was twice Sanna’s age but felt miniscule under her scolding. She was right, of course.

“I like her,” Sanna said quietly, chewing on the cuticle of her thumb.

“Me, too.”

“Hey,” Atlas spoke from behind me. “I’m going to head out. You good?”

I shifted to face him, my eyes catching on Ella over his shoulder as she leaned against a pillar. Her focus was on my friend, half-lidded eyes letting me know that Atlas would be occupied for the rest of the evening.

“All good, have fun,” I turned back to Sanna. “Do you know where Zialda was heading?”

“Zialda?” Atlas stopped his movements and turned back toward Sanna and me. “Helner?”

I had known that Atlas was close to the Helners. He visited them often anytime we were granted leave. While he never mentioned any specifics of his time there, when Zialda told me who she was, I assumed she knew Atlas. Part of me had considered inviting him along when we were working at her grandmother’s house, but a selfish part of me didn’t want to share the time I spent with Z with anyone else.

“Yeah,” Sanna smirked. “Leor really pissed her off.

“She’s Z,” I explained.

“Zialda Helner is the girl you’ve been trekking around the countryside with?”

Atlas’s tone was laced with disbelief and carried an unmistakable undertone of threat. He’d never been possessive of a woman before, and my fists clenched at my sides as I considered the nature of his relationship with Zialda.

“She’s just realized that he’s the king,” Sanna chuckled, unaware of the standoff Atlas and I had found ourselves in. “She offered to take a plate of food up to Orin and Liras. I’m sure she’ll be back, and then you can begin groveling.”

“She went where?” The blood drained from my face.

“Just to take food,” Sanna continued. “I’m sure she’ll just hand it over to Liras and be on her way. I only mentioned that I felt bad that Orin couldn’t attend.”

---