Page 43 of Beacon

“You’ve witnessed more than I’ve ever allowed anyone else to see. I know you can’t speak, yet I’m terrified of what you could possibly reveal…please, you must keep my secret, I beg you.”

Even if I could speak, nothing would compel me to reveal what I’d seen, especially after all the years I’d striven to protect my own heart-wrenching secrets.

I nodded my promise and her shoulders curled in fierce relief. She released a long, weary sigh. “It’s been a long time since I’ve allowed myself to grieve, yet not a single day has passed that I haven’t thought of him. So to see him again after all these years…”

She glanced towards the window, her thoughts faraway. After a moment of somber silence she swiveled in her seat to face me, the sadness in her eyes nearly eclipsed by the same determination that had led her to the mystical pool in the first place.

“I came to Bytamia to fulfill my parents’ expectations, but when I saw him again…” She took a shuddering breath. “It only confirmed what I’ve always known in my heart: I can have no one but him. And yet, here I am, forced into an arrangement with another man I do not love, all for my parents’ expectations rather than my own desires.”

The confession surprised me. I hadn’t expected the princess to share any more of her secrets. But perhaps it was because I’d already seen her at her most vulnerable that she felt compelled to alleviate the rest of the burden she bore.

She lifted her chin in firm resolve as she straightened. “I refuse to marry Prince Owen, but I cannot achieve that goal through openly defying my parents’ wishes, so the match must be called off another way…and that’s where you come in.”

My mouth fell agape, surprised not only that her desires aligned with Owen’s but at the nature of her unexpected request. Was she in earnest? By her determined gleam, I had no doubt she was. But how could I assist her in such a thing beyond what I was already doing?

She noticed the questions filling my expression. “It’s obvious you and Prince Owen have no true arrangement. My brother has also surmised as much, and I’m beginning to believe my mother suspects as well. The moment she detects the truth, all your pretending would have been for naught…leaving nothing to prevent my match with Prince Owen.” Her mouth twisted in distaste. “I can’t allow that to happen, I just…can’t.”

Did the princess expect a confession of our charade? I feared this was nothing more than a trap created for her to learn the true nature of her intended’s relationship. If she discovered the truth, would she force me to take the blame for a scheme that hadn’t even been my idea? Peasants made for excellent scapegoats, especially when they had no voice to speak for themselves.

The princess’s brows lifted upon noticing my fear, too acute to mask. “Do you suspect I’ll use this information against you? On the contrary.” She adjusted her silk skirts before leaning closer in a way that still maintained her elegant posture. “I’m going to help you.”

She wanted to helpme? As if the princess had heard my silent disbelief, she nodded.

“You and Prince Owen clearly have no experience in romance, and though I’ve noticed Prince Jaron occasionally offering his assistance, his approach seems to be to make your performance appear more convincing. The problem is that in the end, it’s still a charade, and once His Majesty or my mother realizes the truth, I’ll lose the only obstacle preventing my unwanted union with the prince.” Her nose wrinkled. “No, we must approach the matter in a more effective manner, and that is tomakeit real.”

For a long moment I could only stare in astonishment, all while frantically trying to process her words. Surely she couldn’t mean…

“Prince Owen’s plan is too limited,” she explained. “Even if he manages to do the impossible and convince my mother that his affections for you are real, the solution will only be short-term, for she’ll be compelled to make another attempt for an arrangement the moment she learns that his attachment to you has broken…but I doubt things will progress that far, for without any genuine emotion behind the prince’s actions, they’ll remain unconvincing. Only if he comes to care for you will it succeed, allowing me to free myself of the expectations between me and the prince. Considering this is the last kingdom with bachelor princes…perhaps I’ll finally be free.”

She seemed to speak these last words to herself, forcing me to play the role of silent confidante whether I wanted to or not. I was reminded of her mother’s concerns, but the princess’s clear disdain for the match eased my conscience; despite the Queen of Lyceria’s wishes, Princess Lavena wanted no part of it.

Helplessness pressed like an unrelenting weight against my chest. What she was proposing was impossible. She couldn’t truly mean to force a real arrangement between me and the prince. I cared little for political arrangements, my cooperation up until this point having been for my lighthouse and for Owen’s sake.

But I couldn’t entirely ignore the secret part of me, burrowed deep, thatwantedit to be real.

It was this hidden part of me that didn’t resist when she stood and ordered me to do the same. She slowly circled me, analyzing me with a critical air before nodding to herself.

“You’re rather pretty for a commoner, which will work in our favor. Your silence is also an advantage, for with my experience with the men of the court, most prefer a woman who says little.”

I frowned. That just showed how little the princess knew Owen; other than Father, I’d never met anyone so patient and willing to try and understand the words I couldn’t speak.

Princess Lavena pursed her lips as she circled me once more. I folded my arms and held them against myself in an attempt to shield the swell of insecurity brought by her careful scrutiny.

“I don’t think we’ll need to make many adjustments,” she said. “It’s amazing how effective even the most minor enhancements can make. Your borrowed gown is lovely but wearing one that’s a better fit will enhance your figure, not to mention you’ll need a more flattering hairstyle. Come.”

Without awaiting a response, she left the room. Defiance briefly kept me still before the secret part of me that hoped the princess’s plan would actually work compelled me to follow.

* * *

The princess’sbedroom was only a few doors down from my own. The moment we entered she wasted no time in recruiting her handmaiden to help me select a dress. After searching her entire wardrobe she procured an ocean-blue satin gown. We were closer in size than I was to the Bytamian queen or Princess Seren, whose dresses I’d been borrowing up until this point, meaning the princess’s gown was a more natural and flattering fit. Once it was on, the handmaiden twisted my hair into an elegant updo.

I scarcely recognized myself when I saw my reflection. The gown brought out the color of my sea-green eyes, and between it and my carefully arranged hair, I looked almost…elegant. The transformation was startling.

Princess Lavena studied me a moment before nodding in satisfaction. “Much better, but your improved appearance can only do so much; you must also encourage Prince Owen to help him notice you in a more romantic light, and the most effective means of doing so is by flirting. Your attempts up until this point have been admirable…but he’s always known they’re only a ruse. You must now do it in a way so that he believes it.”

My heart gave a strange lift at the thought even as nerves fluttered my stomach, but in the end my anxiety over the idea of toying with a man as kind as Owen was stronger than my selfish desires to get him to see me as more than a coconspirator. Playing dress-up was one thing; leading him on was another matter entirely, especially when the line between what was real and what was pretend was already starting to blur.

I gave my head a firm shake and she frowned. “Why are you being so uncooperative? A woman in your position could only benefit from a prince’s affections.”

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