Page 42 of Desperately Yours

I nodded and kissed him quickly. “It can’t come fast enough.”

With a squeeze to my hand, he relinquished my care to Kabir. I quickly brushed aside my worries as late-night paranoia. Tomorrow things would be clear.

Fitz was right.

Tomorrow everything would change.

Michaela

It was no wonder that I slept in well past eleven. We were out late and I didn’t make it back to my room until nearly 3 a.m. I had a faint memory of Dahlia trying to wake me around eight, but I had a terrible feeling that I threw a pillow at her. It was an old habit of mine. I used to keep an arsenal of soft objects on the side of my bed so that when Mom tried to wake me up on a Saturday morning for chores, I was ready.

But I really didn’t mean to lob it at my lady’s maid. At least, not once I was thinking rationally. When she came in around noon to bring me lunch, I deserved the dirty glare she sent me.

“You must be ready for the ball by six sharp.” She set the tray of food down on the side table with an irreverent thud, rattlingall the dishes at the same time. “They’ll announce you and Lady Sadira on live feeds and then Prince Leonidas will enter after you.” Her lips pressed together. “I’ll have you know, I’m rather put out over this whole ordeal.”

I cocked an eyebrow, not following her line of thinking. “What ordeal?”

“This.” She waved a finger in front of me as if I was the offending object. “You.”

Geez. It was only a pillow. I accidentally threw one of my boots at Mom in my sleepy haze and she got over it faster than this.

Sighing, Dahlia crossed her arms over her chest. “This wasn’t supposed to happen this way. The odds were not in your favor.” Her discontent deepened. “Neither one of you and now you have me in a tizzy trying to decide who to cheer for.”

“Oh.” It clicked into place. Gripping the blankets, I peeled them back and put my feet to the floor. “You’re upset that it came down to me and Sadie?”

“Lady Sadira,” she corrected. “And yes! After all, I am your lady’s maid. Ihaveto root for you. But Sadira, she’s my kinsmen.” Her shoulders slumped. “You see the problem, don’t you?” She shook her head and started for the armoire. “Do you know what you’re wearing tonight? I will air it for you. We both know you won’t be chosen, you simply can’t be, but if you look unfinished on the show, it will reflect badly on me.”

“Um… the blue gown, with the pale chiffon overlay.”

I stood next to my bed, unsure of what to say next. She’d dropped a few truth bombs that had left me off kilter and I wasn’t sure where to start. Though, truth be told, the vindictive part of me wanted to let her know that not onlycouldI be chosen, but I would be chosen and was technically engaged to the prince already. But I couldn’t say that, not yet. I settled on the next best line of questioning.

“Did you say Sadie—” I caught myself, “Lady Sadira is your kinsmen? Does that mean family? I didn’t know you were related.”

“Oh, not related, not really.” She pushed through the dresses that still hung on the rack. “I mean, probably in ancient years, but not a close relation.” The fabric rustled as she pulled the periwinkle ball gown from the armoire. “But we’re both from Eshein Province, and that makes us kinsmen. Well, kinswomen. I never much understood why they didn’t make room for inclusive language in that sense. Why not make it possible for—”

“You’re from Eshein?” My interruption earned me another glare. “Sorry, I just didn’t know.”

“Well,” she frowned, “it’s not something I broadcast on the regular. Surely, you’ve seen how some look down on the province.”

Understatement. The king’s interview had focused on Sadie’s perceivedlackalmost exclusively. If there was an ‘other side of the tracks’ neighborhood in Nolcovia, it was the Eshein Province.

“I was only curious. I haven’t met too many here at the palace who are from your province.” I turned and made myself busy with finding my gloves and other accessories so she wouldn’t feel attacked. Maybe if I didn’t look as interested, she might keep talking.

“There aren’t that many.” Behind me, the fabric of my gown rustled as she worked with the layers, fluffing and airing them out. “Lady Sadira, of course, a couple of the house maids, Renalte and Collara, and then, of course, Kabir, the prince’s personal bodyguard.”

I stiffened. “Kabir is from Eshein?” I turned to watch her work, unsure of why my mind had hitched on that thought.

“Born there, at least as I understand it.” She continued to work with the dress, oblivious to my deepening curiosity. “Mostguards come from Princeborough or Urdania Provinces, since they’re close to the capital, but Kabir apparently was a standout from the start.”

Why did that get my heart racing? With all the unrest in the kingdom, Eshein had shown hardly any threats through the competition. Corswald was the first to attempt to assassinate. Aclusian Province, the richest in the kingdom, appeared to want civil war or to overthrow the monarchy, but the only problem I actually had with Eshein was that my competition had been born there. Was this all about jealousy?

But Sadie had mentioned that her people felt separated from the rest of the country. They had their own traditions and festivals, their own way of doing things. While an overt attack would be expected, having someone in place close to the royal family, someone they trusted more than anyone, the strike would come without warning. A thought rolled into my mind like a distant storm, full of rumbling and apprehension.

“Tell me, Dahlia,” I pretended to sort through my available jewelry, “what do you know about the queen?”

“What do you mean?” She frowned at the dress as if something had displeased her, but still didn’t seem to sense my suspicions. “Her birthday? Her favorite color? Are you trying to gather favor? Because frankly, I fear that ship has sunk.”

I pressed my lips together and considered my words. “I think you’re probably right. Maybe I’m looking for any last-minute points I can grab.” I set my charm bracelet to the side with my gloves and waited for her to become busy again. “I suppose I am still trying to understand Nolcovia. The idea of provinces interests me.” I paused again, sneaking glances at her to be sure she wasn’t too suspicious. “At home, you can tell where someone is from, which state anyway, by their accent usually, but I haven’t noticed many differences here. At least, not obvious ones.”

---