Page 100 of Blooms of Darkness

“And?” I pressed, tilting my head, not at all buying my savvy and fierce friend didn't have an ulterior motive.

“AndI’ve watched my best friend hold a competition for her hand, so why not create some competition for myself.” She grinned, almost evilly while tossing me a wink.

I looped my arm through hers, laughing all the way back to my chambers.

A quick thirty minutes later, I finished bathing and Kalliah swiftly braided my hair for my date with Hale. A knock on the door was the only warning before Ian entered, barely able to contain his laughter.

“What’s gotten into you?” I asked.

“Oh, Kalliah, you have done it now.” Ian collapsed onto a chair in the sitting area, leaning over the arm with a devious smile on his face. “Leif was beside himself when you left. I walked back with him to the kitchen to grab an apple, and he was muttering to himself. I didn’t even have time to tease him about anything before he picked up a sack of flour to bring inside.”

Ian snorted, unable to control himself. “Who should come around the corner at that exact moment with a stack of the cleanest pile of our Queen’s laundered gowns?”

My jaw dropped, eyes alight from the story. “Please tell me it was Lucinda.” The royal laundress was notorious for wreaking havoc on everyone in the palace at the slightest inconvenience.

Ian inclined his head. “As you can imagine, Lucinda was none too pleased when Leif collided into her with the sack of flour. I’m not sure who had it worse! Lucinda covered in flouralong with her laundry, or Leif fumbling over the old Fae’s clothes, trying to brush it off of her.” Tears were streaming down his face from laughing so much.

I tried so hard to keep my giggling to a minimum, but I couldn’t help myself. Kalliah quickly pulled my head back into position as she finished the braid, rather roughly.

“Serves him right. Maybe if he got his head out of the clouds, he would see what is in front of him!”

“Oh, Kalliah,” I started to say when she gave methatlook through the mirror. “His head wasn’t in the clouds, it was wrapped aroundyou.”

She glared at Ian next, scolding us. “Neither of you will ruin this for me. I will be with Dimitri for the Festival of Blessings whether you like it or not. I expect these wishes to be honored!”

Ian and I shared a glance, and in unison replied, “As you wish.” Ian even rose and bowed.

Kalliah couldn’t contain her own giggle any longer. It felt sonormalto be with them, laughing. To have this moment of levity with my best friends at a time where there was so much unknown.

“I would have paid to see Lucinda’s face, covered in flour.” Kalliah snickered as we settled. “Since we’ve had plenty of fun at my expense, how about you, Captain? Do you have your date, or shall I say ‘dates,’ for this year's Festival?”

“Yes, Ian. What fair maiden do you have in your grasp this year? Hopefully not that dreadful barmaid from two Festivals ago.” I snorted.

“Or two dates like last year,” Kalliah chimed in. “The drama of trying to keep them from knowing about the other was exhausting.”

His face turned serious. “I’m a contender, Lana, need I remind you. I have no date for this year's Festival because you are my date.”

“Oh,” I replied solemnly, “I assumed with all the gaggles of women who were falling at your feet, you would have asked one of them by now.”

“You're unbelievable.” His movements were rigid as he stood again, the joy draining from the room.

“I’m just saying, Ian. Don’t let these silly marriage trials stop you from having a good time. You aren’t technically my personal guard this year, and since the general is being light with your Captain duties while you are in the marriage trials, it seems like an opportunity for you to be free. An opportunity to not be wasted on saving yourself for something we know would just be an arrangement of convenience.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? This is not just some temporary arrangement for me. I am taking this competition seriously. I can't have you ending up with the likes of Casimir.”

I studied him for a moment, desperate to bring back the normalcy of our friendship. This was too much. The strain of everything demanded too much of him, of me, of our relationship. I hated the trials all over again.

“Next year, my friend, I hope you have the most joyous Festival, filled with all of the eligible maidens across the land.”

Assuming he wasn't King. Did I want Ian to win? The thought of Kade immediately popped into my mind, and I swallowed the lump in my throat as I realized my feelings for him were growing. If they continued, perhaps Ian wouldn’t need to keep up his absurd charade to win. Especially if Kade became a contender who could win and not be a miserable bastard.

The thought terrified me.

We all stared at each other a moment longer in awkward silence, before Ian coughed and headed back toward the door. “Hale and Ruppert will be by the front entrance in twenty minutes. I already scouted out the location earlier today, but Ruppert will be there just in case.”

“Thank you, Ian,” I said. Regardless of being stripped from the role of my personal guard for the trials, he hadn’t let it deter him from maintaining those duties throughout the entirety of the competition.

What Hale had planned, I did not know, but with only a few minutes to spare, I had to shake any sense of unease and pull myself together. Out of all the dates I had to endure this round, I was the least worried about my time with Hale.

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