Page 33 of Desperately Yours

“Bishop.” He turned back at the sound of my voice. “I suggest you consider who you would choose for a wife in case the lot falls to you. You’ll want to be prepared.”

His mouth opened slightly, then closed. He started to leave but hesitated, hand on the doorknob. “Are you planning to run away tonight, Your Highness?”

I exhaled slowly, unsure how to answer that question. “It’s up to the stars, Cousin.”

Michaela

The flame flickered as Dahlia touched the match to yet another candle’s wick.

“It looks like a cathedral in here.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Aren’t you two worried about starting a fire?” Another cloud of smoke hit my nose, earthy and pungent. I waved it away and frowned. “Are you almost done with that, Sadie?”

She raised the smoking bundle of sage overhead and waved it back and forth as though she was trying to get all the way to the rafters in my room. “You saw her. An evil spirit entered Esme’s body. Without ritual cleansing, any one of us could be next.” She pointed the smoldering sage at me. “You don’t know how to do this, so you’re practically a helpless lamb. You should bethanking me right now.”

Dahlia lit another candle on the nightstand. “And the flames frighten the Eonix away so they can’t possess your soul.” She blew out the match in her hand. “Plus, it’s pretty.”

Their superstitions got under my skin. Yes, I saw Esmerey. I couldn’t stop seeing Esmerey. Something had taken over her, yes, but I didn’t think it was an evil spirit. That bug bit her only a few minutes before she had the reaction. Why wasn’t anyone talking about that? The whole event, her sudden illness, the way she fell apart, it felt off, and yet everyone accepted it as if it was normal. This country and their irrational beliefs.

“Can’t you feel the energy changing?” Sadie spun once, smiling for the first time since she knocked on my door an hour ago. “It’s so much lighter in here.”

I wanted to disagree with her assessment. It didn’t feel much lighter, but it definitely felt ten degrees warmer with all the candles burning. As soon as they left, I planned to blow them all out and open the window. I would take windchill over burnt leaves. I needed to think. I wanted to put together everything that had happened. In my gut, I felt like this whole thing was… targeted. But who would attack Esme?

“Would you like me to set out a dress for you, Lady Michaela?” Dahlia abandoned her candles and started for the armoire. “You have your date in a couple of hours.”

The air instantly thickened with tension. Things were great with Sadie, as long as we avoided the topic of the prince we were both dating. She stalled. Smoke trailed in tendrils, rising upward with every passing silent second.

“Just the two of you?” Sadie couldn’t mask the pain in her voice. “What am I saying? There’s only two of us.” She snapped back to thinking and waved the sage again. “That will be lovely, won’t it?”

“We’re old friends.” Was I really trying to assuage my competition’s fears? “It’s not going to be romantic.”

She turned away. “Time will tell.”

Obviously, she had her own opinion.

I had so few friends in the country, I hated to lose even one. Words jammed in my throat as I tried to formulate something that would restore our friendship again. “Sadie, I—”

A knock at the chamber door cut me short. If they were coming to get me for the date, they were at least two hours early. Sighing, I apologized to Sadie and went to open the door.

“M’lady,” Bishop bowed the moment the door cracked open, “I come with a message from your belo—”

“Oh look, it’s Bishop.” I spoke loudly to drown out the rest of his sentence. Shooting him a hard stare that hopefully said: Shut up before they hear you, without any words. I opened the door wide and welcomed him inside. “Come on in, Bishop.”

“Thank you, Michaela.” He said my name like it was unnatural. “Why on earth are you talking like that? It’s not like…” He stepped over the threshold and, like the sun rising, realization dawned on him as soon as he saw Dahlia and Sadie. “Well now, it’s a regular slumber party, innit?” A crooked grin told me I didn’t want to read his thoughts. “Fancy a pillow fight, ladies? I can take the pictures for posterity’s sake.”

I cleared my throat. “You said something about a message?”

“Ah, yes.” He shook his head as if he needed to Etch A Sketch some mental picture away. With a flick of his wrist, he extended the envelope. “I bear bad news, I’m afraid. His Royal Highness won’t be able to join you tonight. The date has been cancelled.”

I stared at the envelope, disappointment sharp in my gut. “Really?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry for you.” Sadie frowned, but I sensed her relief. “I had the best time with him on our date. I really wanted that for you.”

If I opened my mouth, nothing good would come out… But honestly, did she have to twist the proverbial knife in my heart?

“I’m sure it’s in the note.” Bishop nudged my hand. “You shouldreadit.”

Suspicion pricked my instincts. Last time Fitz sent a note, there were coded instructions to meet him in the passage. Maybe he’d done it again. I hooked my finger into the gap in the seal and popped it open. Sliding the card out, I read his words.

First right and straight on until the lantern light.

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