Page 87 of Enchanted Kingdom
He left. And as the creepy silent door shut behind him, I realized that I wasalonewith the king. Immune to his magic but not his cruelty.
CHAPTER26
Agame of cards had never felt so ominous. The king was taking something I genuinely loved and scaring the hell out of me with it. He knew it. I knew it. And I hated him a little more for whatever power play this was.
We were playing bingle, the same exact game I had taught the women. We were two hands in, and after somewhat letting the king win the first round, I decided there was no need to let him win. If the king was going to make me play with him for some stupid reason, then he shouldn’t expect to win.
A server came in and poured liquid into two silver goblets before delivering them to our table.
“Cider?” the king asked. “Any time the fall weather sets in, I just really crave a good cup of cider.”
I smiled, knowing I would not be drinking a thing that he gave me. “Yes, that’d be nice, Your Grace.”
The king drew a card. “How are you liking your stay at the castle, Jorah from Nerede?”
I thought about my answer for a second. “It has not been at all what I thought it would be like.”
His eyebrows pulled together as he discarded. “How so?”
I decided he was not going to get anything other than admiration for Keir out of this for the next however-long I had to stall. I drew a card as my turn, quickly discarding after. “Prince Keiran is not at all what I thought he would be like.”
“Ah,” the king stated.
“He is as handsome, if not more so, in person,” I amended with a quick smile.
The king snorted. “Yes, well they got that from their mother, you know.”
I was sure the king could be considered attractive. Or would’ve been many years ago. It was his personal countenance that was ugly, the way he had a resting sneer, not his face itself.
“But it is more than that,” I added.
“Go on,” the king said as he discarded with his turn.
I took a turn. “He is intelligent. And loyal to your family. He is kind to the women. He is...” Of course I couldn’t say everything the king was not. “I just believe he will be a great king someday. Should he be, of course.”
The king looked at me a second and took a drink of his cider. “Spoken like you’ve fallen in love.”
My eyes tried to leave my head. I was just going to pretend for the next five or ten minutes that the king wasn’t the person I thought he was. That I was just talking to a friend. While I stalled and waited on Keir. I cast my eyes downward. “I’m not sure that really matters, Your Grace.”
“It doesn’t?” he inquired, his eyes tracking my every move and every breath. It was equally intimidating and horrifying.
I let out a long breath. “I am under no delusions, Your Grace. A Nerede woman is neither prepared nor educated in court ways. I may care about your son an awful lot, but that is not all that is at play here.”
He was quiet a long moment. “You are a smart woman, Jorah.” He said it softly, and I was shocked to find a touch of affection in his tone. “No matter what happens, know he cares about you too.”
I brought my cider cup up for a drink, though I didn’t even let the liquid touch my lips. But I did lick my lips so they looked wet at least.
He reached across and patted my hand. “Do know that in a different world, love would be enough.”
I thought for a half a second the king actually looked sad. And like he possibly understood where I was coming from.
With a laugh, he added, “And you seem to be catching on to court ways just fine.”
“Thank you, Your Gr—”
The double doors to the room came open, still without a sound, and there was Prince Krewan making his way into the room. Not Keir.
I’d been stalling, waiting for Prince Charming, and instead in waltzed Prince Darkness.
